Those are great trades value wise, but they essentially become rather useless if they don't yield results and then they leave.
Last year, you can say we got experience out of that Vanek trade. Maybe we just don't reach the Conference Finals if we don't go after him. But you can't keep trading 2nd round picks for rentals.
It doesn't make the Petry vs 2nd+conditional a bad trade on the value side of it. But from a managerial point of view, you can't keep doing it.
It definitely isn't ideal to keep trading 2nd round picks away for assets that we might not keep as more than rentals. But I think it is important to look at the quality of players being acquired. Tomas Vanek was still a star in the league last year, going almost point-per-game, and I'd do that trade again in an instant just from the sheer star power and offensive boost it gives an otherwise lackluster offense.
I think Petry is another steal of a trade because the guy is entering the prime of his career, still has offensive upside, has an amazing contract that fits in perfectly for a playoff run, and most importantly, opens the door to keep him long-term.
In the end, I don't think Bergevin acquired Petry as a rental. I think he wants him long-term, and this trade just gave us a big boost for the playoffs with the upside of keeping him long-term. I also think he wanted Vanek as more than a rental too, but made the good decision not to keep him due to financial reasons. I agree that we shouldn't keep moving important assets for rentals, but I also think these trades weren't intended to only be rentals in the first place.
