from Travis Yost of TSN,

To recap: the Panthers acquired 2014 first-round pick Jared McCann and two 2016 draft picks (a second and fourth-rounder) in exchange for Erik Gudbranson and a 2016 fifth-round pick....

Let’s not forget that Florida added a 19-year-old centre and upgraded their fifth-round pick to a second-round pick and fourth-round pick. The incremental value in that pick swap in and of itself is big. Add in a productive young player who has already exhibited himself as a competent bottom-six talent and is locked in on a team-friendly $894,000 deal through 2017-18, and you have a great transaction.

Truthfully, it’s difficult to see what Vancouver sees in this deal. If the prize is Gudbranson, well, the prize is something like a third-pairing defender. And the premium they paid – a legitimate prospect and multiple picks – is, in a word, inexplicable.

Call it like it is: Florida took advantage of a team who egregiously misvalued a defenceman to once again win a trade in striking fashion.

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