Mike Halford

And I'll be very curious to see what the market decides for Elias Pettersson.

Because if I'm the Canucks...

I'm less concerned with return on that trade as I am about just getting rid of the entire contract.

I don't blame them.

I don't think it's that, well, it might be them just being cheap and just being like, I don't want to, I don't want to retain salary on this contract because I don't want to do it.

We just signed it, which isn't really the right way to think about it.

Like when you signed it, things were fundamentally different than they are right now.

But having a retention spot locked up for so long in a league where you often need to retain, right?

And you need those retention slots and you just, sometimes it's just easier to just move on, clear the books.

Would Seattle be willing to take the entire contract?

Would Detroit be willing to take on the entire contract, which could get tricky because, correct me if I'm wrong, he would then become the highest paid player in Detroit, and then that gets a little bit awkward.

By a wide margin.

Yeah, by a wide margin because Dylan Larkin isn't paid all that much.

And then another team that, even though it looks right now like they're going to make the playoffs,

The LA Kings still need to replace Kopitar.

And Kopitar is still an important part.

And they just signed Panarin.

You know?

So for them, for teams that are in the position of LA and Detroit and a bunch of other teams that frankly need centers, they're going to be in this position where they have to decide, okay, we can go after a guy like Thomas, right?

in St.