Ya that’s probably around what Mercer would get for 6 years. Slightly higher maybe if it’s 8.
Gonna be less than that for 2 or 3 years I’m guessing.
Good thing though is if Fitz did decide to give Mercer the Lundell contract, $5m x 6 years, we can still fit him in.
Current cap space is $4,976,103 per Puckpedia but that includes 8 defenseman and 12 forwards on roster.
Send DeSimone to minors increases cap space to $5,751,103, so enough to fit in Mercer's new $5m salary.
However with $751,103 left, we can't carry an additional forward as a 2nd scratch like Nolan Foote as his qualifying offer is $875,000 per year.
If we can convince Mercer to take slightly less than Lundell, say $4.8m for 6 years, it will open up enough cap space to carry a 14th forward.
The other alternative is if Mercer new contract stays at $5m and we bury Bastian in the minors (if we can't trade him) and effectively replace him with Foote moving into the lineup, and call up one of Beckman (assuming he signs QO) or Willman to be team 14th forward, with MacDermid 13th forward, that is also another scenario that can work for the team, cap wise.