Whatever we do with this season's Cap crunch... it's also interesting to ponder how things will look projecting that lineup out to next summer...
2024-25 Nashville Predators
Forsberg ($8.5M) - O'Reilly ($4.5M) - Nyquist ($3.185M)
Evangelista ($0.7975M) - Stamkos ($8M) - Marchessault ($5.5M)
Novak ($3.5M) - Glass ($2.5M) - Tomasino (RFA - $0.775M)
Jankowski ($0.800M) - Sissons ($2.857M) - Smith ($1M)
McCarron ($0.900M) - Parssinen (RFA - $0.775M)
Skjei ($7M) - Josi ($9.059M)
Lauzon ($2M) - Carrier ($3.75M)
Stastney/Del Gaizo (RFA - $0.775M) - Schenn ($2.75M)
Fabbro ($2.5M)
Saros ($5M)
Wedgewood ($1.5M)
Ekholm retention: $0.250M
Johansen retention: $4M
Turris Buyout: $2M
Duchene Buyout: $5.5556M
TOTAL: $89,7291M
2024-25 NHL Cap: $88M
REMAINING CAP SPACE: $-1.7291M
Next year, we can at least be very sure that Glass and Fabbro will be gone, anyway. One will have already departed prior to the current season, but I would be shocked if either was still around next season. Meanwhile, Nyquist will be a UFA. Evangelista will be ready for a raise on a bridge contract. If we only gave Parssinen a 1-year show-me, then hopefully he'll be ready for a raise too. Ditto Stastney/Del Gaizo. All the bottom end guys signed for 2 years so will still be around. I'll believe they play Molendyk straight out of junior when I see it. There isn't much change, therefore...
2025-26 Nashville Predators
Forsberg ($8.5M) - O'Reilly ($4.5M) - Nyquist (UFA)
Evangelista (RFA) - Stamkos ($8M) - Marchessault ($5.5M)
L'Heureux ($0.8633M) - Parssinen (RFA) - Novak ($3.5M)
Jankowski ($0.800M) - Sissons ($2.857M) - Smith ($1M)
McCarron ($0.900M)
Skjei ($7M) - Josi ($9.059M)
Lauzon ($2M) - Carrier ($3.75M)
Stastney (RFA) - Schenn ($2.75M)
Del Gaizo (RFA)
Saros ($7.74M)
Wedgewood ($1.5M)
Ekholm retention: $0.250M
Turris Buyout: $2M
Duchene Buyout: $6.5556M
TOTAL: $79.0249M
2024-25 NHL Cap: ?$92M?
REMAINING CAP SPACE: $12.9751M
So even if there might be around $13M in Cap space, it will get chewed up pretty quickly... at least if our young players progress as hoped. Imagine Evangelista and Parssinen are good enough next season to get something like the Glass Bridge, that's $2.5M+$2.5M. Hopefully Stastney or Del Gaizo show themselves to be reasonable regular bottom-pair D. At least one of them at $1.5-$2M. Then fill out the roster with a couple of league minimum players at $775k... so you are looking at using up around $8M of that $13M. It would still leave enough room to replace Nyquist, but not with anybody very fancy, just a similar level of UFA signing.
It's really 2026-27 when the slate is going to be wiped clean on a lot of Cap.