Yeah those contracts are a gamble. I wonder what we couldve got for him in a trade back then
Trading a potential rental is usually a tough deal. At the 2011 Draft, Minnesota moved Brent Burns and a future 2nd rounder for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and a late 1st rounder. At the time, I didn't think Setoguchi would have flamed out like he did although his party reputation was known.
Burns was going into his final year of his contract, but I think San Jose was confident that they could re-sign him. Not sure if teams would have felt the same about Parise, especially now knowing that he and Suter were trying to be handcuffed.
I believe that LA (pre-Jeff Carter trade) was interested. When the Devils came to LA early that season, the Kings made a peculiar choice to start Jonathan Bernier. Jonathan Quick had posted three consecutive shutouts and had two full days of rest. That always felt like a Bernier showcase game to me.
The Kings moved Jack Johnson and a pick for Carter, but they knew they'd have Carter locked up long term so I don't know if they would have done the same for a potential rental. At the time, they had Slava Voynov and Thomas Hickey in the minors. Hickey had gotten passed up by Voynov and Jake Muzzin, so perhaps he could have been dangled as well (he'd be lost to waivers the following year).
So, at least in my head, a potential offer of something like Bernier, Hickey, and a pick seems plausible at the time, but with hindsight obviously doesn't look that great.