You still have add Klefblom's 4.165m cap for 21/22. I don't think Hall is at all worth superior UFA money. No one seemed to want to overpay for him this offseason, and he'll be another year past his peak next summer. Hamilton has had one superior season. Does any team want to pay the most for him in UFA.? Lots of better value UFAs will likely be available.

Good take, although I thought I covered the Klefbom cap issue in the Team Explanation.

The only way that the Oilers will be able to acquire Hamilton is via trade-and-extension, the asking price likely including Holloway. Otherwise, Carolina is going to re-sign him. He's one of those guys that Carolina's not going to just let go in UFA.

Maybe. But signing a UFA takes agreement from both sides, and their defense is the last place they should be spending more money. That's 2 reasons why he might go to market. Nobody thought Pietrangelo would go to market and look what happened. So I can't agree with your sentiment.

Museums are not good enough in Edmonton to sign Hamilton and Hall I wouldn't want to be tied into for another 5 years or more. 7 million max is my spend and only like 3 or 4 years. Otherwise I wouldnt even look at it.

One difference is that Carolina's core is quite young, and they are therefore not yet in must-win-at-all-costs mode. Therefore, if the price for Hamilton is too high, they can deal him at the deadline without too much "seller" stigma attached to doing so. Even St. Louis effectively traded Petro for Krug as an unofficial UFA-for-UFA swap.

I would laugh so hard if Hall comes back . It would be nice though.

Yeah, I'm wondering if the best option would be to just re-sign Barrie on a short-term deal after the expansion draft. As long as the ask is reasonable and he played well in 2020-21. I think Holloway will be ready sooner than most think (2021 or 2022 at the latest) and will be a great fit for McDavid, so I wouldn't sign a bunch of LWers for longer than Holloway's 3 year ELC (whenever that starts). Hall might take another 1 year deal if things don't work out in Buffalo (it doesn't look like they'll make the playoffs, for instance) - I'd be interested in doing that. Come to think of it your suggestion of $7M for 3 years dovetails nicely with my plan for Holloway - sign him to his 3 year ELC next summer so his contract expires at the same time as Hall's. At that point Savoie should be ready to step into the top-6...

Sure. But then the likelihood of him reaching the market on July 28th is higher than ever, meaning he'll be available for Edmonton to pursue if they wish.

It'll depend on how Kahun and Puljujarvi pan out this season. Also alot will depend on if Klefbom comes back.

If Kahun and Puljujarvi pan out, I don't see much of a need at forward other then to help round out the bottom 6 some. Maybe someone like Armia would be a fit. If they don't pan out, I'd still avoid Hall and go for the Tatar, Saad, Palmieri group.

If Klefbom doesn't come back they may want to try to shore up the D some more. As that defense is underwhelming without Klefbom. The bottom 4 dmen currently have only 216 games played between them with 75% or so coming from Koekkoek. Jones and Koekkoek will likely be the only ones getting regular ice time this season. Can Bouchard and Samorukov come right in an provide big minutes? Possibly... will management be willing to risk having a bottom 4 with the most experienced player only having played about 2 full seasons worth of games? I'm not sure on that. Problem is... i don't see alot of great UFA dmen. I don't think Hamilton will sign there. That mainly leaves a crop of uninspiring aging dmen. Maybe someone like Savard, Martinez, Montour, McCabe, Oesterle but are any of them a big step up from what you are letting walk in Barrie/Larsson?

Undoing the Chiarelli years would make this team one of the best ever.

Why would Carolina not bring Hamilton back for less than 9 mil? They're a better team than Edmonton, with a better climate, a better tax haven, and the only place he's ever escaped criticism in his career.

Any trade for Hamilton is likely to be similar to the Pageau, Pacioretty, Stone, and Faulk deals, where extensions are probably penned before the deal takes place. Hamilton is therefore not likely to reach UFA no matter what.

Bingo. That's why I don't think that Hamilton's going anywhere. Most Canes fans couldn't give a rat's a** about "how" the game is played as long as you help our team win.

Unless Tampa magically free up 10 mil, I can't see him leaving.

I see a lot of great potential UFA defensemen coming in 2022, probably best to wait until then to blow their wad. I think I'd rather bring back Barrie on a short-term deal than sign Hamilton anyhow, but Hamilton is the big fish so it's interesting to consider that the Oilers have the cap space to contemplate both him AND Hall if Klefbom isn't coming back. Obviously its early to be having any strong opinions on this topic as we'll know a lot more about Jones, Koekkoek, Samorukov, Bouchard and even Klefbom, Bear and Barrie by July, but I though it would be interesting to see what the general thoughts were. Barrie and Larsson are viable options for RHD, I don't see both of them returning if Bouchard arrives this year as expected.

Or if Winnipeg drastically overpays to revamp their team, which Cheveldayoff has never done in his entire GM tenure. Besides that, no.

The canes will not let Hamilton go to free agency that I can almost guarantee. The most likely scenario is that the canes resign Hamilton, both sides have expressed that they want to get a deal done. Carolina is the first place Hamilton has fit in, so I don’t see him wanting to go back to Canada. If the canes can’t sign Hamilton I see them moving him somewhere with an extension in place like they did with Faulk

Goaltending and D are a bigger concern of mine. Would like to have a better D than Barrie, guy is a nightmare, but does bring offense. If I am spending on what he will probably want, I want better in own zone. And goalie, we need a better backup or 40 game guy, money better spent.

It's certainly possible. But countenancing otherwise isn't unreasonable, is it?

Same thing with Winnipeg, Frozen tundra, Carolina are better, warmer, and WPG is another major market with Canadian taxes.

When I say overpay, Caniac, I mean future-albatross Karlsson money. LMAO!

Considering possibilities isn't unreasonable, but Hamilton is not a "realistic option" due to that.

It doesn't always work out like that.

This is EXACTLY the same pushback everyone got for signing Alex Pietrangelo to their AGM's last summer - and look what happened. It's incredible how short our memories are and how foolish we are to think that players will do what we think they should do.

Fair enough