Canes would target Crouse or Schmaltz

If they went the prospect route, they’d want Geekie

But could be a nice piece, everything else is very meh

Take out the $50 gift card and CHI thinks about it. Money is tight right now.

Agreed, and maybe add some more picks going to Chicago.

Hawks decline, that Kotkaniemi contract is for too long and too much. Chicago would want more then a 2nd round pick to take that deal.

Honestly if Carolina is ready to move on from KK, just buy him out, it’s only $835,000 per year for 12 years.

Yeah. Like 6 of them.

That’s what I’ve been saying, instead of paying Kk for blank amount of years, you pay a near minimum contract price

Might as well add that old 50$ Walmart gift card to Chicago instead as well

Yeah. And a boat!

Pretty much any 6+ year contract (that hawks can realistically obtain in FA/trade) is off the table for the hawks this offseason

I think the thought process from a canes fan perspective is that the hawks can take a risk on KK while accumulating an asset or 2. If he doesn't work out after 2 years in which the Hawks most likely won't be contending anyways they can buy him out for the cheap price. Best case for ya'll is KK turns out to be an actual player that fits your timeline and will be able to develop without the pressure of winning a cup. Worst case, take the few assets the canes gave you and walk away from his contract after 2 years.

Makes sense. KK’s term and low AAV is so unique for a player of his age lol. Not unimaginable that there’s an exception.

I agree with all of this. But they are still pawning all the risk off on another team, and although the U26 buyout is certainly more ideal than over 26, it is not nothing and can still easily complicate a cap situation and cause problems, especially considering the term. Simply put, it's a valid argument but is a bigger possible burden and risk than Caniac's are painting it as. Could definitely be worth while, though.

You are right, roughly 1 million in dead cap for 12 years can cause complications, especially when trying to turn a team with a few young potential stars to a contender. I still think there is a world where KK can be a middle of the road 2c or solid 3c, there have been flashes but absolutely no consistency. He is still only 23 and give him 2 years with powerplay time and 2nd line minutes you will know what you have by the time he is 25. Ideally for the Hawks he would have turned himself into a steal of contract while also obtaining assets for him but with the cap rising significantly over the next couple years the $865,000 shouldn't be too much if he doesn't pan out. Whoever and if someone trades for KK will need to weigh the assets coming in for taking his contract on and the chance they think his contract lives up to expectation during their projected cup window. It is a very unique situation like tugspiedman mentioned since no current cup contender would take on his 4.8 but if a rebuilding team thinks he has a chance to live up to his contract in a couple years while also accumulating some draft picks it would be worth it.
I will always wonder what would've happened in the canes kept trocheck instead of giving KK that money.

For sure. They probably should've kept Trocheck, tried to do a bridge with KK or traded him, and maybe not gone after Burns. But, hindsight is always 20/20.

Burns has been a good move. He had a few rough games in rags series and the loud minority of canes fans want him gone and think he sucks. Need to shelter his usage a bit more next year and keep him fresher but still an effective player and no reason to move him for the sake of it next year. I also think it was a good move to let Dougie walk and this has been a good replacement. Def not as good but cheaper and provides more cap flexibility long term which looks great now with Dougie not being able to stay on the ice and honestly probably not exactly built for playoff style hockey after watching him here for a couple of years.

Troch, yes that was a big miss. At the time I agreed with letting him go and laughed at how the contract would age. I’m now crying instead of laughing since he’s the perfect fit for what we’ve been looking for since he left..even if last couple of years his play falls off it still would’ve been worth it and with cap going up it wouldn’t have been difficult to make work. Them rushing to a KK deal put the writing on the wall though I guess and made it tougher to bring Troch back long term. Hopefully that’s a lesson learned..

For sure. I love Burnsy. I just think a strong defensive team like the Canes could've spent that cap elsewhere and still been fine on the backend. Not a bad player or a bad trade though.