But the LTIR doesn't gain them anything. They have roughly $3m in cap space by dealing Johnson for nothing, and roughly $3m in cap space by trading Johnson for Z and putting Z on LTIR.
There problem is RFA's so you shift out Johnson gaining you cap space but you use Zetterberg to get you right to cap. You LTIR him on the first day of the season you now have 6.1 million in cap. This a part of a series of moves. But the point is on day one of the season you LTIR Zetterberg, then you sign Cerelli or Cernak maybe both with the insane contracts Tampa somehow gets on a bridge using the LTIR money. It is a careful operation though, because we have seen both Chicago and Detroit **** this up in different seasons. Still that is the attempt. The Flyers had that hand shake agreement with Cleary too that famously fell apart while waiting for LTIR. But if Tampa has Cerelli agreed to a 6 X 6 extension he can sign it on the first day of the season and they just play him on Z's LTIR number... I don't totally get this benefit, I think people have broken it down in excellent ways on the business board here to explain the usage of LTIR. I know fugu (RIP, man I miss her) was really a master at explaining this
@mouser certainly is one I trust on this stuff. But there is an advantage to burying contracts and a big one with Z's being desirable is the back-diving nature.
The issue here becomes Tampa is stuck with the same flat cap but that isn't our problem. We should punish them as one of the only teams that can probably help them at all.
The rumor where we do both Johnson and Killorn, I would want to gut their farm system of at least two big time prospects and take two firsts.
