Bolts decline

Thats good because the Rangers do to

D9nt overrate Lundkvist, hasnt proven anything yet. Hes not the next Sergachev/McAvoy

Its not even that though, at worst Lundkvist is worth a 1st, and the package has another first, Gauthier who is still young and a meh prospect. To be fair I dont know much about Ben Thomas, but it would be a smarter move for the Rangers just to OS Cirelli if they really wanted him

Everyone says "just offer sheet" no that is not easier at all. The player has to accept it and i think Cirelli would rather stay in Tampa

Of course not, that's ridiculous

He's the next Hedman :

Sure...I'd rather stay in Tampa too...but if another team offers 2-3M per year more than Tampa offers in a bridge- not sure he likes Tampa that much.

No body is offering a bridge deal that is 2-3M more than what Tampa will offer. That's absurd because of the QO at the end.

Correct...the comparison is TBL offering a bridge deal vs an offer sheet like 6 X 6.5M. Don't think TBL could match that

Not every player is obsessed with money though. Like Winnipeg could offer 7M and he would probably still stay in Tampa

Actually hope you are right about that...but a few things always seem to come into play: 1. Ego 2. Desire to maximize earnings
Players do seem to compete with their peers in the "earnings race"...and as far as maximizing their earnings- you always hear: "Have to do what's best for my family"...in the end these guys are extremely talented and have a short earning span- they do deserve to be compensated handsomely for that...and they are...but is it really necessary to extract every dime??? Unfortunately most do think so. TBL does have the advantage in that state tax is less than other states- so they can offer less for a better take home pay...but beyond that advantage- all they can hope for is that other teams don't aggressively pursue Cirelli, Serg, and Cernak...we'll see how this plays out.