For who or what? Lol I have a feeling you're gonna say Towes
No, wasn't going to say Toews. I'm not convinced Toews isn't cooked. He was useless most of last year. He would be Bluger replacement if there was double-retention, he's not a top 6 F.
But getting back to Chicago: they are going to need to remain above the cap floor this year (assuming they trade Toews & Kane) and especially next season when both Toews & Kane are gone and they're worse than Arizona, and they will have a hard time attracting players.
In a similar vein, aside from looking for sweeteners & assets, Arizona was actually interested in acquiring players like Kassian and Nick Ritchie because they had term left on their deals, because the Coyotes know they're going to have a difficult time attracting players to play there until they get the new arena deal and because they're one of the 2 worst teams in the NHL, and they have to stay above the cap floor.
Chicago similarly projects to be the worst team in the NHL over the next 3-4 years. It's going to be hard for them to attract players during that time and will need to stay above the cap floor. Right now it's not an issue because Kane & Toews are on the books, but if they trade both this year with 50% retention, they'll be flirting with the cap floor. And next year, when both of those 2 guys aren't on the books, they'll need to reach the cap floor. And these scenarios don't even include the possibility of Seth Jones being traded, which will further push them below the cap floor.
So Kapanen is a perfect fit in CHI. If he plays well, they can retain 50% and flip him at this year's or next year's deadline.
What would be my ideal "return" from Chicago (or another team) in a Kapanen trade? Get them to take McGinn as well