Quoting: Marcsnack
That's fair I guess. I feel like Stalock could be good if they gave him a chance, and Smith has been good. I dont know if Smith plans on coming back though.. I just think that $4.5M could go a long way for the Oilers. Sending them Neal or Kassian would cost more in my opinion, so from my POV, this was their way of freeing up some cap before the start of free agency.
I'd be prematurely penciling Stalock into a trade to Tampa Bay. They'll pay rather well for his low cap hit.
Edmonton's in a weird spot: the Kassian deal isn't even a season old yet, so it's likely that Holland - even though he likely doesn't protect him - grants Zack another season to try and get things back together. After that? All bets are off. If the price for dumping cash-dollars is too high, Edmonton's merely better off burying Neal for a year before looking to buy him out in the summer of 2022. This will minimize the dead cap against by two years, which will be important given the run of ELC's that will be up for grabs.
Given that there is a cheap solution out from Neal and odds suggest Holland wants to make good on the first Oiler contract he signed, neither man is likely going to be sent to the Kraken with a king's ransom. The UFA pool isn't strong enough to prioritize making every penny available and the Oilers don't actually need THAT much money this year (assuming RNH and Larsson are resigned, Barrie walks). It's a bigger deal the following year.
Edmonton going 4-4 isn't a great option either. Right now, their protection list should look like:
7F: Archibald*, Benson, Draisaitl, McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto
3D: Bear, Klefbom, Nurse
1G: Koskinen*
As I see it Edmonton has two options:
1. Allow Seattle to take Jones
2. Trade Jones for Hill/Vanacek (Vanacek would require a three-way deal given that the Caps don't have 'extra' protection slots) or as part of a package for a scoring winger and let the Kraken have their take of Archibald*, Kahun, Kassian, Khaira, Koskinen*, Turris, or any unprotected UFAs.
If Edmonton acquires a winger for Jones, I don't protect Archibald despite his utility. If it's Hill or Vanacek, then exposing Koskinen isn't the end of the world: I figure that Allen, Holtby, and whichever of Hill/Vanacek Edmonton doesn't acquire are more alluring for the Kraken to take over Koskinen. All three are cheaper, which gives them more room to wheel-and-deal with those teams actually willing to pay the price to dump cap.