Interesting Idea, but I think a couple of these moves don't make sense. Gabe Carlsson is going to struggle to even get an NHL spot so I can't see him as a top pairing guy getting a pay raise this offseason, I'd replace him with Fehervary on the 1st, and shift Orlov to pairing 2 and Alexeyev to pairing 3. Also can't see Alexeyev getting that much of a payday since I think Washington is going to force him to the AHL for one more year in favor of Johansen.

Also on the defensive side, I can't see Washington paying 3 mil for Drouin or bringing in Sanford and Gudas instead of giving raises to Jensen and Hathaway as they also bring some chemistry to the locker room and shouldn't be asking for too much of a pay raise, especially Hathaway considering Dowd only received a 400K raise. With guys like Snively, Protas, and Jonsson-Fjallby on the bench, I think 1 of them or Oshie could slot in on the 3rd instead of Drouin.

I do like the extensions for Fehervary, Orlov, and Strome as long as he plays well, though I don't know if they will be able to get Fehervary on that team-friendly contract length.

Agreed on all your points. Just a small detail here -> I don't think WASH will force Alexeyev to the AHL for one more year. I think HIS INJURY will force him down to AHL. I think before surgery this offseason, he was on track to battle it out for the 6th/7th spot on the NHL roster.

Fehervary next contract I think might be a bridge deal (unfortunately, I would love a 5+ year contract on a team-friendly deal lol. This deal 4x4 actually would be really solid). I was thinking 2-3 years (hoping for 3) for around $3.5mil. What do you think?

Forgot about Alexeyev's injury, though I thought he was at the non-required skates at Kettler about a week ago? Either way, I think we agree that he won't see the NHL at least to start the year, though I'd like to see him get a callup if any long-term injuries occur (I would prefer he only comes up for long stints so he isn't bouncing back and forth).

For Fehervary, I think you are pretty much spot on. I was expecting a 3 year at 3-3.5 mil personally, but I think he'll get 2 years instead. This weird offseason for young defensemen, like the Mikey Anderson deal, will also make things confusing but regardless I think your prediction will still come true.

would rather just keep jensen than bring gudas back + drouin, and think some of the salary from guys like Carlsson and Alexeyev will be shifted to Orlov. Definitely agree though that the priorities next year will almost certainly be

1) a bigger ticket top 6 winger like Tarasenko
2) re-signing orlov
3) re-signing jensen or signing another complimentary second pair defenseman
4) signing a bottom line grinder to replace hathaway