Modifié 13 juill. 2020 à 17 h 31
It is not realistic to suggest Edmonton trading its 2020 1st round pick in order to dump salary, but since Capfriendly is not the real world...
If you want to chase Edmonton's 2020 1st round pick then the conversation has to start with James Neal headed to Detroit. Edmonton will need something in return, at least Detroit's 3rd but preferably Washington's second round pick.
If Holland had Lehner signed, then he would probably move Koskinen. Yzerman would have to pay to acquire him though; I'd guess one of Detroit's better forward prospects, or at minimum a third round pick.
Even in the make-believe world it is difficult to imagine Kris Russell waiving his M-NTC in order to go to the Wings, but if he goes anywhere, the preference is a mid-ranking forward prospect or at least a 4th round pick in return.
The cap space created by moving Neal, Koskinen, and Russell without bringing back additional NHL contracts amounts to $14,250,000, which when added to the $9,000,000 or so that Holland currently has to work with should provide plenty of space to sign Lehner, offer Bear a long-term contract, chase a high-end UFA like Mike Hoffman or Evgeni Dadonov, bring back Tyler Ennis and Riley Sheahan on 1-year deals, and still have room to extend RHN and re-sign Yamamoto next summer. This is particularly true with Larsson's contract expiring and the possibility that he will be surpassed, or at least replaced by a younger, less expensive player. Benoit Pouliot's $1,333,333 cap hit comes off the books then as well.