I think it is quite realistic.
Though, Armia and Lekhonen will each likely earn 1M more than what you budgeted.
That is if Bergevin does not use his cap space to absorb a bad contract and acquire an promissing young player.

90% chance yes

Something we havent considered , what if Poehling leap frogs Kotkanemi?

he's put in the most work of any athlete in MTL that i can think of in the past 30 years.

he's told he's not strong enough,puts on 15lbs of muscle his first year , 25lbs his 2nd and grew an inch .
he's told he's not offensive enough , goes out and leads all his peers in scoring at WJC
he's told he's not fast enough , he works on his foot speed and Stamina this summer opting not to take time off .

he finds a weakness and attacks it . At 20 he's already made more progress then Galchenyuk his entire tenure here in that regard .

Kotkanemi's a stud but he came in much the same way opting not to take the summer off ,training and earning a opening roster spot . this summer Kotkanemi chose not to train taking time off and that could be just the edge Poehling needs to sneak into 2nd Center . (plus this also allows Kotkanemi to stay with his fellow Finn's )

Poehling has done nothing but impress since being drafted. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the team as a bottom 6 guy opening night and earns his way to the top 6 role by the end of the season.

But let's not get a head of ourselves, Julien will make him earn it through regular season play, not only after one game of NHL exp.

Agreed all around .

i think he'll earn a spot in the Top 6 for Julien because he's a got a chip on his shoulder and pushes himself further then the next guy.

i love that he decided to put on 40lbs of muscle instead of lean out to become faster .
the reason i think this was smart is the style he plays up the middle is based on powering through.
he doesnt break in to the OZ he carries the puck in then dishes it off , gets set up infront of the net and battles .

KK is a gem but Poehlings had 2 years to put in the work in that time which stands to reason why he'd potentially pass KK for 2nd line status.
KK should develop as he is steadily at his own pace , we got no need to rush him at all .

Suzuki will also be gunning for a spot but i think he'll get last cut at camp and sent to the AHL even if he out plays a roster player to give MTL time to move out a player and get good value at TDL.(Sadly , i'd love to see all 3 in the opening roster )