It's a slap in the face because one is bought out while the other still has a contract. That makes zero sense. I was never their biggest fans but I respect what they have done.
What you don't understand is that it's near impossible to move them.
1. NTC, they aren't going to move. This has been their home. They love the city and they love it. They also do so much charity work. There is no way they will waive, especially to Buffalo...
2. Nobody is willing to pay $14 million for 2 players on decline. If you don't want them, what makes you think a GM would want them? They're not stupid. Even if we retain salary, few, few teams would be interested. And if we retain so much salary, what good would that do us? We still have to retain a bit of Lu's salary for the next million years. And even if the sedins cost $2 million, we aren't getting any decent draft picks. Especially not top 10 picks you're looking for.
Have some respect for these guys. They're not pawns. And all of the things you're proposing aren't realistic