1) Carter can still play, maybe not at the top level, but he will be an asset come playoff time.
The problem is the 2 years you have to account for after this year. Retention or not, he has to be accounted for on the roster, in some capacity, for 2 additional seasons, and he's already 35. That's a tough sell.
2) The Bruins desperately need Cap space for next season if they want to keep their core together, and they will with Marchand and Bergeron not getting any younger. They will have to get rid of Backes one way or another just like Toronto had to offload Marleau.
Then just get Thornton today, with no long term issues, and worry about Backes at a later date. He doesn't have to be traded at the deadline. Marleau was traded in June 2019 for a conditional 1st in 2020 or 2021. If the Bruins are absolutely desperate to get rid of Backes by Monday, ok, but I'm not sure the Kings are getting a + if they're shipping Carter the other way. Because Carter has that extra year. If the Bruins can wait, they might be able to get rid of 100% of Backes, and not have to deal with a 35/36/37 year old forward.
3) A third to 1/2 of our roster next season will be guys on their ELC or are RFAs with little negotiating power (Walker). We won't lack cap space and can take on Backes dead money for a year. Retaining on Carter in 2022 won't be so painful as Phaneuf's hit goes down and IK will be off the books.
The Kings aren't the issue though. I believe the Kings could fit Backes at 100%, get the 2021 pick, and not even bother including Carter in the deal. They can get Thornton cheap, clear out $6m for next year, maybe add another cheap veteran rental, and be done with it. Why get the 2 additional years of Carter? Backes at $6m, or Carter retained at 30% is around $3.7m, so they gain a little over $2m in space. Is that enough for them to do whatever they're doing next year?
Just seems like adding Carter in there is just us wanting to be rid of Carter. If Carter is still an asset come playoff time, why is Boston adding in that deal? Straight 1 for 1. The Kings get rid of Carter, the Bruins get rid of dead weight, the dead weight is done a year earlier, and that extra year of no cap space commitment is the value the Kings get in the deal, while the Bruins get a player that might help them more than Backes will at this point.
With only a quarter of the season remaining, Lewis and Forbort will only represent relatively small cap hits. One has to believe Blake is saving a retention slot for a bigger deal possibly extending beyond this season.
But if you can only have 3 guys you retain on at any given time, to give yourself the most flexibility, why lock up a retention slot for 2 years? Retain on Lewis and Forbort, and they're done after this year, so you have all your slots back. You never know what trade might pop up at a later date.
I think we might be trying too hard to find ways that Blake can get rid of Carter, but we'll see. Even the rumor with the Flyers, I don't really see how it fits together. They don't have any open space. Scott Laughton? It's the same issue that goes back to 2017, when people wanted Carter gone because the Kings were done. He was already 32 then, with 5 years left, which is that much more complicated in a hard cap world than the 2 years he currently has left.
