I could see Steen going to Ottawa, they've been collecting contracts like this (those with higher cap hit than salary remaining) for a while now. That said, would Steen waive? Or can Steen develop an allergy to his hockey gear? (This is sad, I'm all for keeping Steen... at <2M)
So, back to the topic which is "what do we do if Pie is gone", I agree that making space for a top 4 LD is top priority.
Parayko and Faulk are good enough on the right, but the left is too weak. Sadly, the list for UFA for LHD this year is very weak.
Let's check who's better than Dunn :
https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/free-agents/2021/caphit/all/defense/all/desc/1/left
Boston have the space to resign Krug and even if they didn't we would have to move 2 of Bozak, Steen and Allen to pay, which is pretty much the same as Pie, which leaves Andy Greene (too old), TJ Brodie (might hit the market, but again, the price might be too high despite the lesser season he have, and I don't know if he's playing on the right side by choice or necessity right now), Kulikov (he should resign to WPG too) or, the most likely pick up : Edmundson (if the hurricanes doesnt get rid of Gardiner first, he should at around 4~5M on the market so that only requires one of the three players to move.) Am I missing anyone else?
So... I really hope Dunn can step up if Pie is gone or we'll have to work on a trade or be ok with Edmundson.