CLW
Registered User
- Nov 11, 2018
- 7,585
- 7,490
Cap stuff
Seems to me that excluding Buch, Strome, like they are gone and no cap came back.
Panarin, Trouba, Kreider, Lindgren = ~29M
They have Shesty and Chytil to sign, = ? (I'd guess like 6 to 8M)
So like 35-37M in 6 players
Next summer is where I think the bigger cap hits come into play
Zbad, Fox, Kakko, Krav. That seems like 18-22M
If so ~53-58M in 10 players.
Add in the buyouts, IR wiggle room, and a backup and I feel like that is somewhere about 60M in those 11-12 players.
~20M left to field 11-12 more players is not a lot of cap room left.
Assuming they keep the entry levels, Laff, Miller, Jones, Barron, at 925K each, another 3.7M
So like give or take a bit, 16M left for 8-9 players.
Assuming they have some less expensive guys like Rooney, Blackwell, Bite that they had this year, another ~2.2M
~14M left for 5-6 players.
Again assuming some of those 5-6 players are cheapish, entry level or cheap signing, say 3M for 3 more players. (Richards, Lundkvist, Robertson, just for examples sake)
11M left for 2-3 players by 2022-23 (and that is without Buch/ Strome)
My point being, the next off-season after that they will have Laff, Miller, Jones, Barron to extend (or their replacements, maybe Lundkvist, Richards, Robertson too) and the bridge they gave out this summer to Chytil will also maybe be ending.
I just am not sure I see their ability to sign or even add in cap hits that are very expensive if those contracts run through that. It's not like they get cap space by trading lower cap hit players out.
My take away, grabbing someone like Thomas is a good idea in terms of cap structure, and acquiring any cap hit(s) that go two years or longer, which are above say 4M in total is probably going to mean them scrambling to move out cap when it comes time to extend Laff/Miller/Lundkvist/Richards/Robertson assuming they are not bridging all of them, and even if they are replacing them it can't be for bigger cap hits)
Counting on them being able to move away from Panarin, Trouba, Kreider in the next three years seems pretty iffy to me. Nor am I super optimistic the cap rises all that much if at all between now and then.
What I'd do, be very careful and look for entry levels players or those who ended them recently who were or can be extended to inexpensive bridge deals even if those players have some question marks. Using Buch and Strome to try to get them.
Good post.
The flat cap has changed the game significantly. The #1 priority has to be to play the cap game the smart way. Look at Tampa as an example who are effectively playing with a huge cap bonus in the playoffs. The Rangers want to limit the dead cap to nothing or a bare minimum when the window is open for real.
The team has already made some long term cap decisions that have consequences for future decisions, can't afford too many more of those or the team will hobble it's own chances needlessly.