I hate the idea of Coyle playing the wing. He's not as effective.

Yeah he's a matchup problem at that 3rd center spot with his size and possession in the middle of the ice. I get adding a winger on that line but leave coyle where he is.

No 3rd team is helping out the Bruins by retaining $2,625,000 on Jonathan Toews for a lousy 5th round pick. Most teams are tight and it's going to be a premium cost. Doubt you'd get anything less than a 3rd rounder to retain 25% on Toews.

It’s not actually 2.6 mil they have to pay. Ends up being like 186k because of the money that’s already paid on the contract.

2.6 mil is the actual cap hit,Cap hits don't come down only real money being paid out comes down. Cap hit remains the same for the life of the contract it doesn't depreciate.

Actual money in this instance doesn't matter -- few teams will have the ability to retain as third parties in facilitating a trade between two other teams. Right now, only 8 teams have the cap space to absorb a $2.625 million cap hit without making other moves.

We'll take your 2024 third, thanks.

Each team can only retain cap on three players each season. In this situation, it isn't about the $ amount being retained, but using one of those retention spots.

There are only a few teams that can retain 25% of Toews cap, so obviously the cost to do so will be higher than a 5th rounder.

This is correct, in terms of actual cash the retention would be very little, but retention slots and cap space are both at a premium and come at a cost. 3rd rounder or equivalent prospect is probably right for a 2.6m retention slot.

The good news is the slot frees up again this offseason, so it's very short-term thing.

Bruins are good at center. Don't need him