Roster construction:
***I left $4.7 million in cap space because Botterill was an idiot and will likely have cap overage penalties due to the Simmonds move and Dahlin bonus
Forwards:
-1st line: nothing changes
-2nd line: Cirelli is the responsible 2 way center we haven't had since O'Reilly. He can get Skinner's form back and the line as a whole can give Cozens some freedom to develop his game. Cirelli's arrival closes the door to Cozens becoming 2C, but he will thrive on this wing to start his career. If Cirelli can't be had, I try to go for Domi and D. Strome in that order
3rd line: I'm pretty down on Mitts, but if he can't pull his weight with Larsson and Kahun, then he will never be an NHL player. Larsson is fantastic defensively and good in transition, which complements Mitts' game, so these 3 can really be a force of a 3rd line offensively and defensively. I don't want to risk Mitts at 3C and I think Cozens' upside would be wasted there
4th line: Not much to write home about, maybe a cheap player comes in a Risto deal, but these guys can probably hold their own in a defensive role
1st pairing: Dahlin and Miller played great together last season for a small stint, I think they compliment each other
2nd pairing: Gardiner takes needed pressure off Dahlin and is the perfect 2 way mentor for Jokiharju. Also replaces Risto with some toughness in the lineup and PP2. Gardiner and Miller will compete for the last protection from the expansion draft, and it is not the end of the world if we lose one, hence Gardiner's 3 year deal not being too concerning. Gardiner is a risk, and if his health remains a concern, we simply move on and don't protect him
3rd pair: A defenseman who is only good at defense paired with one who is only good at offense, it only makes sense. Let both walk after this year and bring up Bryson and Borgen as cheaper options
Goaltending: Ullmark is a great starter, but Hutton sucks and needs to be bought out. Greiss comes in for 2 years as proper stopgap for UPL and improves this unit
Even out picks somewhere if needed to make it fair. The Lightning should heavily consider this trade given their cap situation and having a NMC on all of their long term, expensive contracts. The chance to land a cheap, top-tier talent in the top 10 of this draft is hard to pass up on.
TBL
Choix de 1e ronde en 2020 (BUF)
Détails additionnels:
Can't see why this trade wouldn't make sense for both teams. Cirelli has improved every year, is very young, and has amazing analytics. Perfect 2C, Sabres need to win now and this is how to do it.
Mojo may not fit in Carolina's lineup with a stacked roster and good young players coming up, but they can't turn down the chance to get rid of Gardiner's contract to use elsewhere in the squad. He is expendable, with Slavin, Skjei, Fleury, and Bean, and that's even if they let Vatenen and Edmundson walk.
Picks to even out if needed. Sabres fans may think it's bad to be taking on a 3 yr deal for a recently injured 30 yr old defenseman, but I believe his struggles on Carolina were due to his fit in the system and their stacked blueline. They didn't really need Gardiner. I think he would a perfect second line pairing for Joki and a perfect stopgap for Samuelsson/Johnson. Gardiner has great analytics and a great 2-way game, a fair contract, and can step in on the PP2 to replace Risto. Other guys I would target: Brodie (UFA, probably can't afford him and probably wouldn't come here), Gostisbehere (worse option analytically, but not terrible, can likely be had for a Risto 1 for 1 deal), Ryan Murray (the Sabres don't have much that CBJ would want in exchange, plus is a UFA in a year. Great analytically, but worse injury concerns than Gardiner).
Canes don’t need to get rid of Gardiner’s contract.
How do you think you're going to eventually pay for Hamilton, Svechnikov, and a goaltender? That's roughly $25 million right there. By that time Bean should be good enough to make Gardiner look like an afterthought. That $4 million will be desperately needed. It's just a forward thinking move that benefits both sides imo
How do you think you're going to eventually pay for Hamilton, Svechnikov, and a goaltender? That's roughly $25 million right there. By that time Bean should be good enough to make Gardiner look like an afterthought. That $4 million will be desperately needed. It's just a forward thinking move that benefits both sides imo
*exaggerated Souther accent* well durn mister I never considered that. All dem fellas will be expensive. But I read on The Internet that there is an expansion draft. Not sure what dat is but maybe that’ll work. *ends accent* ::eyeroll
So we have the expansion draft. Gardiner or Nino
We have 30 million of space right now for 21-22
We have a top 5 prospect pool that will fill in very nicely.
If push comes to shove, which it wont, we can trade Trocheck and slide Necas over.
Canes cap situation isn’t a mess or that hard to figure out. Even for us bumpkin Hurricanes fans