Seems more realistic than a lot...does $20 mil get Nate, Byram, Newy and 7 other guys signed in 23 though?

Unfortunately next seasons cap crunch is a problem we deal with next year. Because this year is the last MacKinnon “discount” year, we must treat it as an “all in” scenario.

EJs 6mil covers Macks raise plus some.

Maybe cap ceiling increases means Newhook and Byram take 1 year bridges until Toews money comes off the books.

Roster needs to start to fill out using these cheap ELC guys like Kaut/Ranta/Maltsev/Olausson etc once Helm/Cogliano deals fall off.

Sneaky dark horse here is if Mack is willing to take an extra friendly deal to keep this machine going (ie match Makar or Rantanen contracts).

Based on what I’ve seen so far, Newhook is minimum 2 years away from being a competent everyday 2C on a playoff contending team.

Personally, I’ve always seen Toews as the cap casualty, not Girard. Avs can’t afford to pay his raise so why trade Girard now then lose Toews to FA the following year, when you could just trade Toews now at his peak value, and keep Girard.
Core 4 D being Byram-Makar, Girard-Manson.

I think you're kind of in a position where you keep Toews and lose him for nothing (Not ideal, but also-you're a contender...wouldn't worry about that unless you get out to a slow start).

Not a fan of that term but that's what it may take to keep him around - he's actually running out of options IF he wants to play for a contender. He nixed a trade to Calgary three years ago but maybe he sees things differently now.

The moving Toews scenario I foresee would happen in the 23-24 season, not 22-23 season ( to free up additional cap for Newhook and Byram).

I think they'd rather keep Toews and let him walk just to get two more bites at the apple with him but things can change. If he has another great year, I could see his value being sky-high and some team paying a LOT to get him. But between him and Girard, if the Avs are going to trade one of the two, it should be Toews after next season.