Upgrading Assets

Trouba probably doesn’t waive

Each of Trouba, Smith, and Mikheyev have partial no-move clauses. I really don't know how likely any of them would be to have Chicago on their no-move list, but it's absolutely possible that any or all of these trades are nixed by the players.

My thinking for Trouba is: all 7 Canadian teams are on it followed by the bottom 8 US teams in standings

The only one of those proposals that makes any kind of sense is the Pittsburgh deal.

In both the Mikheyev and Trouba proposals the only thing the Hawks should be sending back is FC.

The way I'm looking at it, the going rate is roughly a 2nd round pick for a cap hit of $5,000,000 for a player that's going to be bought out. Mikheyev has $9.5 million left across two years but should average 30-40 points per year-- I'm saying he's worth slightly more than a 2nd round pick. It's a poor return for the Hawks if the Canucks' pick is 28 and the Hawks' is 34 next year, but I'm expecting the Canucks to be worse and the Hawks to be better, and with a 1st round exit from the Canucks there's a clear upside for the Hawks. I don't have a great idea how good Trouba is, but the other trades I've seen on this website seem to imply that he'd be about even value at $5-6 million per year-- I'm saying that with no retention he's worth about a 2nd round pick. I'd rather the Rangers trade be more similar the Canucks, but I'm expecting the 2026 2nd round picks to be nearer the middle of the round than the start and the Rangers' 2026 1st to be closer to the 20th pick. I'd love to get a 1st back straight up for each of Mikheyev and Trouba, but I don't think that would happen.