Kolesar as RW2 is a tough look though

Would think you move on from Stephenson. His only real chance to get paid, he'll get more than that

Seems like its going to be either Stephenson or Marchessault that gets re-signed.

Also wondering if Hanifin gets extended or if its purely a rental - doesn't seem to be a lot of cap space to sign him. Only have a 21 man roster with less than $1M in cap space. Not a whole lot of depth.

Stephenson as 4C is probably someone you move on from, but what a lot of depth you'd have at that position if you could keep him around.

I think Hanifin can fit. Move Howden and/or don't sign Stephenson, fill those slots more cheaply, and you're there.

What does it cost to bring Marchessault back?

I would imagine Marchessault would be about the same price as the $4M that is allocated to Stephenson here. IMO Vegas would essentially have to decide to move on from both Stepheson and Marchessault to re-sign Hanifin. I don't think the $1.9M of moving Howden is really going to move the needle - would probably be a cap saving of just about $1M to replace with a minimum contract and there would be a real lack of depth at the F position (see: Kolesar as 2RW).

Maybe Roy gets moved?

Roy should be last on the list to move he's excellent. Lots of corners will need to be cut in the offseason. Start with not giving Dorofeyev close to 2M for ~70 games of NHL duty. Howden 1.9M might not move the needle too much but the list of people to move should still start with him he's replaceable. Decent chance you have to move one of McNabb, Hague, Whitecloud, or Korczak. Definitely choose Marchessault over Stephenson if given the reasonable option. Unless they're truly committed to being the mercenary team, someone needs to be given the chance at a VGK retirement and Marchessault is the best candidate assuming his ask isn't outrageous. Will need to be nickel and dimeing going on that won't be easy and might get uncomfortable but they'll figure it out somehow I'm sure.