I just am not sure about all this windows being closed if big contracts are given, we need re-tool business.
As far as I understand, the cap is going to rise again.
If Mikko is resigned, we have 3 guys who are potentially top 10 players in this league, and we still have supporting cast around them.
We will have to rely more on ELC contracts for depth, Manson or Girard may have to be shipped out.
Wood would likely be sent out.
Colton likely sent out and replaced by Ritchie.
The pro scouts will have to do an ace job at finding bargain deals to round out the lineups with signings like the Droin deal.
There are moves that can be made, and if we actually get Nuke and Landy back, this team still has a wide open window.
Let me break it down for you:
If Mikko signs an expected deal. Avs will be in the realm of ~86-87m spent with ~6-7 roster spaces needed to fill. That includes needing a starting goalie and no Drouin.
The supporting cast now is rather weak. Yeah there are stars, the top of the lineup looks good. But Wood, Colton and LOC are the 3rd line. Wood is very much a 4th line level player. Colton is probably best suited in a role as an elite 4th liner. I think he's average across the league as a 3rd liner, but he doesn't play with smarts and abysmal defensively. LOC is recovering from surgery and he's an unknown. Last year he was great as a 3rd liner, but previous years he wasn't at that level. Typically it takes a full season to recover from his surgery. Additionally the bottom pairing looks really weak and the middle pairing isn't really much of a plus. That's before you to the situation in net. It all could improve, but there isn't nearly the quality down the lineup because of the contract sitaution.
On ELCs, next year, the only ELC that'll help us is Ritchie. The rest are either up for new contracts or the players aren't capable.
On top of all of this... this team is rather old. Next year, we have MacK, Lehky, Nuke and Wood all being over 30 joining Toews and Landy above that number. Rants, Colton, and LOC will be 29. The typical aging curve in the NHL has players dropping off in the 27-29 range with 30+ being significant drops. No one size fits all, but a lot of the roster is hitting ages where steps back should be expected. Especially when you consider them core players. Teams don't often win Cups with their core with any member above 30, and usually that is limited to one guy. Certainly some older guys contribute, but you need the prime age (22-28 +/- 1 year) leading the charge.
IMO simply on age, and excluding all other factors, you have a maximum of 3 seasons. Odds are much higher it is really only 1 or 2 seasons. That's before you get into the lack of depth, young players, injuries, cocaine, the pile of shit in net, etc.
