The EJ situation is an interesting one. If he misses something like 65 consecutive games due to injury, he can be exempted from the draft. But, should he come back and play in the playoffs, he would have to be protected. If he waives, it would seem stupid for Seattle to take him due to his age and injury history, especially when someone like Donny or Gravey will be there. But if he doesn't waive, that changes the equation for management but I wouldn't assume the Avs would just buy him out - that's a lot of dead money on the books during a time when they're re-signing core players during their Cup window but there is a flat cap.

In a perfect world (you know, the one where we run things because we're so smart and well-informed and everything goes according to plan), EJ waives but comes back healthy and plays well in the playoffs, Seattle takes Donny, Graves is traded for a good prospect or pick, we find a partner for a JTC trade, have enough money to re-sign everyone, make some high-value trades and smart UFA pickups then begin the 2021-2022 season where we left off: as defending SC champs.