Let Gagner, Medvedev, White, Weal & Manning walk.
Buy-out Umberger.
Sign Brodziak or Gordon. (~$1.5-2m, 2 years)
Re-sign Schenn. (~$4.5-4.75m, 3-4 years)
Re-sign Gudas. (~$2.5-3m, 2-3 years)
Re-sign Cousins. (~$1m, ~2 years)
Re-sign Alt on a Manning 'show me/cheap #7' deal. ($0.625m, 1 year)
Trade Streit once bonus paid.
If Konecny blows us all away at camp send Leier back to AHL, put Laughton on 4th line LW and put Konecny in middle six.
roll:
Schenn ($4.75m) -- Giroux ($8.275m) -- Simmonds ($3.975m)
Raffl ($2.35m) -- Couturier ($4.33m) -- Voracek ($8.25m)
Laughton ($0.863m) -- Cousins ($1m) -- Read ($3.625m)
Leier ($0.780m) -- Brodziak ($1.5m) -- Bellemare ($0.713m)
VandeVelde ($0.713m)
Del Zotto ($3.875m) -- Gostisbehere ($0.925m)
Provorov ($0.925m) -- Gudas ($3m)
MacDonald ($5m) -- Schultz ($2.25m)
Alt ($0.625m)
Mason ($4.1m)
Neuvirth ($1.625m)
Umberger Buyout ($1.6m)
Total cap hit: ~$65.05m
(In this circumstance I would keep Umberger if we know by summer how the expansion draft treats NMC's... I mean, 99% he will not have to be protected ofc... and if he does not have to be protected no point buying out... just bury him as 14th forward to save the $1.5m in 2017-18... as if Streit is traded cap will be no problem at all next season.)
This is pretty close to what I want to see, except that I would rather Leier be an injury call up than an NHL regular next year.
I'd like to see them re-sign White along with a guy like Brodziak, as Appleyard suggests.
I also would rather keep Umberger on the books next year, as long as the opening night roster is a few million below the cap, just so he's completely off the books for the following season.
I'd like to see Medvedev brought back on a reasonable deal, but I'm not sure if he would take less than the $3M he made this year.
Schenn-Giroux-Simmonds
Raffl-Couturier-Voracek
Laughton-Cousins-Read
Bellemare-UFA Centre-White
Umberger, VandeVelde in the press box
MDZ-Gudas
MacDonald-Ghost
Provorov-Medvedev/Schultz
Streit - moved at some point
With Leier and Morin as depth call ups.
I'd also like to see a change in the special teams groups:
Couturier-Read
Laughton-Bellemare
Giroux-Raffl (used sparingly)
PP1 left the same.
PP2:
Cousins - net front presence (White/Raffl) - Couturier
Provorov-Gudas
Keep Read off of the powerplay unless he re-discovers his mojo.