This lineup makes sense until you consider the following year 2022-2023 when you need to have space to pay Suzuki.

The next year you can buyout Byron and there is good chance that the cap space will go up a little.

There is a zero % chance that the cap goes up at all next season, and virtually zero % that it goes up at all the season after that either. Probably not even the season after that. The players currently owe a massive debt to the owners (since HRR fell off a cliff with no fans in stands in so many places for so long), and the new CBA dictates that the cap ceiling can’t and won’t go up until that debt is repaid.

Bergevin isn’t buying out Byron just to enable him to overpay Danault. Check out the Adam Lowry contract, probably the best comparable to Danault as far as signings go post Covid.