I may not be adding anything new here, perhaps summarizing some posters I have agreed with and my own thoughts as well.
This team needs a change. Adding a new GM (last year) and a new coach is a very good start. I do believe that Berube is a good add and the type of coach we need.
Our roster has holes in it. We need middle six C, a couple of top four D, and a G. Across the board we need to think about grit, penalty killing, and playoff performers.
Yes, we have cap space but not enough to fill all of this holes.We need to move salary out. The two obvious candidates are Marner and Tavares.
I really don't believe moving out JT is an option. I don't think they ask our captain and hometown boy to waive his NMC. I do believe he gives us a honey of a hometown discount on the next deal and I think it would be wise to sign that this July 1st. 3 x $2.5m?
There is no such hometown discount coming from Marner. We ask/force him to waive and we move him this off-season. I won't dream up trades in this thread, so I will go to a tried and true scenario of Marner to Seattle for Wright and Larsson (or Oleksiak). It gives us a F (prospect), a top four D, and $6M in cap space.
Adding another F (Wright) would add to a glut we have, even with Marner out. We really need to consider moving out Kampf and Jarnkrok. Call that another $4.5M in space.
I will stop her, because the rest would be me making up what we can do from here. My point is this, if we do the above (Marner, Kampf and Jarnkrok out) and resign Liljegren ($2.5M), Dewar ($950K), and Robertson ($1.1M) we find ourselves in the following position:
FORWARDS
Matthews
Nylander
Tavares
XXXXX
Knies
XXXXX
McMann
Robertson
Wright
Jarnkrok
Holmberg
Dewar
XXXXX (13th)
DEFENCE
Rielly
XXXXX
Larsson/Oleksiak
XXXXX
McCabe
Benoit
Liljegren
GOALIE
Woll
XXXXX
XXXXX
Let's say we fill the 13 F position from within with Cowan or Minten or Grebenkin or Hirvonen or Steeves. This would leave us with $25M in cap space for:
Top 9 F
Top 9 F
Top 4 D
Top 4 D
2A/1B G
3 G
That's enough to go shopping, right? That's enough change, right? This is why we have to move Marner, right? Even for a less than awesome return, right?
How would you shop for the XXXXX's?
Me?
Domi @ $3.5M
Bertuzzi or Debrusk @ $5M
Skjei @ $7M
Roy/Tanev @ $5M
Brossoit/Stolarz @ $3M
Jones @ $850K
Sure I have opinions, but I don’t live in the past, I’m pretty old and have plenty of regrets, but they’re in the past, I don’t dwell on what could have been if I had did things differently……….
That's fair and I appreciate the position and perspective. I don't like living in the past either, would much rather look forward myself.