Do we have a another tier of targets
Chychrun weegar Marino.
Marino gone. Weegar apparently doesn’t want to play here. And klingberg.
So what’s the next tier of targets? Any ideas ?
I think there are definitely other targets, maybe some names that haven't been discussed as much. I went sifted through the teams and came up with this list of potential realistic targets:
Connor Murphy - 4 years $4.4M AAV (modified NTC)
Adam Larsson - 3 years $4.0M AAV (NTC)
Chris Tanev - 2 years $4.5M AAV (modified NTC)
Matt Roy - 2 years $3.15M AAV
Sean Walker - 2 years $2.65M AAV
Sean Durzi - RFA
Matt Dumba - 1 year $6M cap hit, $5.2M salary (modified NTC)
Damon Severson - 1 year $4.16M cap hit, $5.1M salary
No guarantee that every player on the list is even available or would waive to come here for those with trade protection rights, but there are still some good options that are worth exploring.
Dumba and Severson with 1 year remaining would not be my first choice. I feel like both will be expensive to trade for and there's the added uncertainty that they would not extend after this year. On the riskier end for me so I'd look at some of the other options before inquiring here.
Murphy's interesting because Chicago is in a position to take back Zaitsev in a potential deal. Identical AAV as Marino but has 4 years remaining instead of 5. I don't know how true the rumblings are that we backed off on Marino because of term so I'm not sure if Dorion would view this as a viable option with a 4 year term. I like this as a target though because the cost of dumping Zaitsev and acquiring Murphy sort of get blended together so we may be able to get a bit of a deal depending on how each team values the different aspects of the transaction. Murphy has had some concussion issues so he may not cost as much due to that.
Calgary's a team to watch as well. I have no idea which direction they will decide to go after losing Gaudreau. If they sign their 3 remaining RFAs to deals that are generally in line with expectations, they'll be right up against the cap. It seems like whether they choose to rebuild or compete, they'll be in need of some cap space. We would actually be suited to help them with their cap situation by taking on Lucic, who is owed $875k cash for the final year of his contract even though his cap hit is over $5M. I wonder if the Flames would be interested in a Lucic + Tanev for Zaitsev + futures swap?
If we are able to unload Zaitsev in a separate deal, I feel like LA would be the team to negotiate with. They seem to have a glut of RD so most likely to be willing to trade one of Walker, Durzi or Roy at a reasonable price.