Canes pass. No, that does not get you Kotkaniemi.

Gourde is a decent player that Buffalo could be interested in
But not at all for a 2nd- that’s a bit rich for him, even with retention

Canes happy to dump Kotkanemi for that

He's a negative asset and not even close to worth the contract... your gonna have to pay to get rid of him

Canes should take that and just cut their losses but i'm not sure it happens

Buffalo might take that, the retention slides his cap hit more into line with his production and likely line deployment.

However we may not even bother with an extension/a really short one

Will Toronto be in the market for another left handed shot defender in the off-season? Absolutely. But no need for another bottom pair guy. They need a solid #3 left handed guy for the second pair, Dumoulin would be in a battle for the #7 spot and that’s not worth moving a defensive centre and right handed defender for when they’re gonna have to add another right shot on the back end as is