Shootica

Wouldn't be next year. He'd have a $5M cap hit next year even if we do but him out, so with the cost of a replacement it could easily raise our cap spendings. The only way I see us getting out of his contract is retirement or LTIR, and that's not something I really want to root for given his history.

I believe that leaves us with $2.6M in cap space and a 22 man roster, assuming Cozens makes the team.

$3.05M. Not bad at all.

Who at Hockey Canada do I need to bribe to see Quinn on Cozens' wing?

He loves Quinn, so I'll still happily call him a pro until he hates our pick next summer.

I agree that it's a bit premature for this conversation. But I can say I hate how much I like what Montreal has done. They've had a really, really strong off-season.

I'd want to dig into it further have more information before making a definite conclusion. Because unlike skaters where your roles and the game changes extensively on the PK, goaltending is still just goaltending. You're going to face more shots from in close and one time shots, but there's no drastic change in how you approach the position. So unless Ullmark is just terrible at stopping one time shots and our defense is unnaturally good at preventing them 5v5, I'm led to believe to believe that his PK save percentage is largely a product of our team play on the kill. With that said, I haven't watched enough film or dug into the stats enough to say one way or another.

I wonder why. Is this primarily an Ullmark issue, or is team play the bigger issue? Are we giving up considerably more high danger chances than other teams on the PK? Is he just bad at stopping one timers and other common PK shots? I don't know the answers here, but I think it's hard to take penalty kill numbers at face value without going back and looking at the film.

For me, it's because I really like the idea of rolling three strong scoring lines. The contract situation is secondary. For the first time in a while, I think we have the talent up front to have a third line with a purpose rather than the hodgepodge of spare parts we've been rolling for years. Vegas is the obvious model of how effective it can be if executed properly. And I think putting Reinhart at 3RW is the key to his potentially working. This obviously hinges on Cozens sticking alongside Staal on the second line. The top line might not be quite as dominant with say Olofsson at 1RW, but I think he would add an interesting element there and they would do just fine.

Well, dumping him for cap space can be a precursor to acquiring that goalie or LHD. Goalie in particular because we need cap space to trade for one of Arizona's goalies. That being said, I think the piece we move out is Miller, not Montour.

$75.849M including Cozens, with 21 players signed.

Solid price. I wish he got a 2 or 3 year deal, but I'd imagine they couldn't come to an agreement there. This allows both sides to avoid the messiness of arbitration.

Smart move if we're planning on having Olofsson and/or Cozens push him down the RW pecking order. Let him show how he handles being the main guy on a line away from Jack, and re-evaluate in a year.

Thank you for taking the time to put all this together! Really good information for figuring out who could make a good trade partner. Digging into the teams that are over or near the cap: Arizona: With Marian Hossa on LTIR they shouldn't have an issue with the cap. Ownership is likely looking to move out some money regardless, and they're reportedly shopping a number of vets. Vancouver: Likely will put Micheal Ferland on LTIR to become cap compliant. Could buy out Sven Baertschi if necessary as well to make space. They should be fine without significant moves. St. Louis: Likewise, they have Steen ($5.75M) on LTIR so as it stands now they should be fine. They're in an interesting situation with the cap this year because Tarasenko will likely be on LTIR for a good portion of the season at a $7.5M cap hit, but he should be back before the end of the year. So they'll have a lot of potential room for a while, but they can't really go out and use it. Toronto: They're around a million dollars over the cap without any easy LTIR solutions. That's with a 23 man roster. My guess is that if they don't trade Kerfoot, their plan will be to only keep 21 guys on the active roster and use the cap savings their to bring them under the cap on a day to day basis. Washington: They're around a million over the cap with 21 on the roster. Michal Kempny ruptured his achilles a couple weeks ago so his $2.5M will go on LTIR for most likely the whole year. With some smart bargain signings to fill out the roster, they should be alright. As an aside, it is honestly amazing that this team is right up against the cap with less than $2.5M tied up in goaltenders. Vegas: Something has to give here. They're around a million over with 21 players signed, and no potential LTIR targets. An Alec Martinez trade/buyout seems like the most likely path forward here according to their fans. Anaheim: Kesler LTIR. Next question. Winnipeg: As Ducky said, putting Little on LTIR should give them the space they need. Montreal: Right up against the cap with a 21 man roster, they might just have to keep it at 21 for the year. Summary: Vegas is the only one of these teams that has to make a move, although I have a feeling that Arizona and Toronto will be poking around the trade market to reduce cap. I didn't mention the Bolts, but they're a given.

Reinhart is the only one we'd be able to walk away from. Teams cannot walk away from an arbitration award less than $4,538,958.

Walkaway number is a shade above $4.5, so it won't come into play. If this makes it to arbitration, we're stuck with the result.

No, it will not be. It is specifically written into the CBA regulations on arbitration that neither the financial situations of the team nor the league can be presented as part of either party's argument.

I'm with ya. And it would work out in everyone's favor, because I think Arizona would rather keep the younger cheap guy anyway and get some value out of Raanta in a trade. The fact that we (or anyone else) can claim Hill is just the push for them to trade one of the other two.

I went through the same exercise, and Arizona is the only answer I came up with. The Coyotes have to make a move in net. If they don't, we can just claim Adin Hill on his way through waivers and answer the goalie question just like that.

Miller. I started playing in net right around when he came into the league so I grew to idolize him in that way. Love how he played (and plays) the position.

I did not get the impression from listening to his presser that he thinks our goaltending is good enough. Very much sounded like they're looking for an upgrade.

If we trade for one of Arizona's goalies, they are not taking Hutton. Full stop. The whole reason the Yotes are trading Kuemper or Raanta is because they have Adin Hill waiting in the wings to be their backup next year, and to try to recoup some draft capital while cutting cost. They have no use for Hutton or his salary. If we trade for one of their goalies (and honestly, I think we will), Hutton is either getting waived or bought out. And we'll need to look elsewhere to get the necessary cap space.

We can. Saves us $1.075M on the cap if I remember correctly.

Make it a conditional 1st. If we make the playoffs, they get our 1st. If we miss, they get either a '22 first or our 2nd and a small add.

Yeah, sorry if I implied otherwise. Not a real rumor or anything, I just had to stop and think about it because internet fanbases don't usually agree on anything.