Modifié 31 mai 2022 à 13 h 24
No this doesn't work in the long term.
Assuming Hughes, Holtz, and the 2022 1st rd draft pick become top of the lineup players (+6m aav), Devils will have to resort to major cap casualties at around 2026-2027 when all those ELCs are coming off.
Even replacing Holtz with Meier doesn't solve that issue in the long term.
Devils can go big with taking on external cap if it's expired by end of 25-26, this is why I would have no qualms doing shorter term (2-3 years) higher aav (+7m) contracts for guys like Kadri or Kuemper.
However I think the best course of action is to look at FAs one tier below Kadri or Kuemper with guys you can keep around for a little bit longer: Nichushkin, Copp, Burakovsky, Palat, Marchment.