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Jeremy Davies is a C-level prospect but I would classify him as a B-Level, he's come a long way since his draft year. Santini is nothing special, basically a No. 7/8 defenseman who could be a No. 6 defenseman. Obviously two second-round picks is OK return but nothing great. The Preds are thinking about making a big offer to Duchene (which they'll regret two years in, three max) and also looking ahead to when they have to pay Josi and Eckholm what they are actually worth. More so the former. Do I think dumping Subban's final three years and giving the same money or more to Duchene for seven years is a smart idea? No. But they have a firm sense of how PK's health is, I guess, and this trade isn't a strong indicator. Still, he's only 30, so for New Jersey this is a modest risk with a huge potential payout. Not only is he potentially a 60-point guy who breathes life into a power play and gets back on pucks like a panther, but that's EXACTLY what the Devils need. They were in desperate need of a dynamic right shot D when they got Vatanen and are still in almost equally desperate need now since he's been hurt a bit and of course can only play 25-ish minutes in any case. The Devils also had a glut of cap space that roller over from last summer and they don't have any guys in line for big raises. They were an ideal partner here. Nashville was rumored to be willing to eat $3M of the salary but only if they didn't take any salary back. Here they neither retained salary nor took any back. Other teams with space like Arizona and Philly probably couldn't have made that deal, especially since Philly went out and jumped onto two older, worse right-shot DMen at roughly the same combined cost as Subban here.
The Leafs didn't want to give a first or a top prospect to unload Marleau's contract, but WTF did they expect? In the end, they had to give a lightly protected first. It was worth it because now they can sign Marner, Johnsson and Kapanen. The Marleau association was totally worth it for them IMHO. He helped Marner and Matthews along. He was a figure in the Tavares wooing. He also scored a little for them. Odd signing that looks terrible on paper, but in reality was pretty smart. The 'Canes make out great. They were another team with some unlikely-to-be-used cap space and now they use it another exemplary vet opposite Justin Williams. Marleau will give them a little production, too, should boost their second PP unit. The 'Canes were huge winners. Maybe not the marquee names like the Devils--Hughes and Subban--but here they get a bridge player for the short run plus a first-round pick, and if they fall flat they can move him at the deadline for a third-rounder or more. They also had an awesome draft, loved their picks in the first three rounds and liked almost all their picks, really. Having been to the conference finals they were hardly in a position to snag a guy like Hughes, but they got two top 20 talents at 28/73, which is pretty good.
Lastly Tampa Bay scores big first with the timely but unfortunate news that Ryan Callahan's career may be over (LTIR for a guy they have been trying to trade forever) and now the J.T. Miller trade. Unlike Subban and Marleau, Miller actually had a good contract. He is 26 with a deal that pays him 5.25M annually through age 30. Four more years, prime years, at a fair price for a second-liner. The Canucks are pretty set at center so I assume he'll be playing wing there, which he's done in his career already. But for Tampa, wow, that's almost $11M in cap hits off the books. Hello, Point extension; hello, Vasi extension. And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
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