Marchand - XXX - DeBrusk
Hall - Haula - Pastrnak
Frederic - Coyle - Smith
Foligno - Nosek - Wagner
Lindholm - McAvoy
Grzelyck - Carlo
Reilly - Clifton
Forbort - Zboril
Ullmark
Swayman
By my math, that lineup of 21 players costs $79.35 million against the cap, leaving $3.15 mm as free to play with as the cap is reportedly going to go up to $82.5 million.
A Foligno buyout would free up ~$1.93 million against this seasons cap and add $933K to 23-24. They could save another $633K with a Wagner buyout, but I think I'd rather bury him again. Maybe he can be included in a cap dump trade since he's inexpensive and entering the final year of the contract. He's only making $1 million in real money so that could help facilitate a trade to a cap floor team. The Foligno contract feels imovable. The structure might be enticing as he's due a $1 million bonus on 7/1 (or whatever the opening of free agency is this year) then has a $2.8 million salary, but he's got a no-move and 16 team no-trade. I think this one gets bought out.
DeBrusk's trade demand, as far as we know, remains on the table. That's $4 million that could go out the door. They seem very high on Lysell who could theoretically take DeBrusk's spot on an ELC.
I thinkk they also need to move a defenseman. They've got 8 signed right now. I know they value depth to cover for inuries, but I don't see how Grzelyck, Reilly and Forbort can coexist on the roster. Too much money would be in the press box at full health. I think one of Grzelyck/Rielly goes. They can cover themselves depth wise with Ahcan (RFA) and signing a Steven Kampfer/Josh Brown type. I will say, I believe I've said for about 6 years running that they have too many defenseman and they need to trade someone but they almost never do. The only time I remember it happening was McQuaid. And even that felt like they ran the runway out until they had no choice.
If they clear DeBrusk + a defenseman for futures, then they're in the $10 million range of available cap space. That's nice to have but there's not much interesting on the market. Gaudreau is the top FA but he probably stays in Calgary and isn't really a positional fit for Boston (LW). The UFA C market is pretty brutal. It's a bunch of aging stars (Bergeron, Malkin, Giroux), youngish guys who won't be worth the contracts they are likely to get (Trochek, Strome), and then a tweener between both groups, Nazem Kadri. On the right, Filip Forsberg is a UFA and would probably fit better than Gaudreau but that would essntially mean ignoring the center position and just loading up on the wings.
Hall - Haula - Pastrnak
Frederic - Coyle - Smith
Foligno - Nosek - Wagner
Lindholm - McAvoy
Grzelyck - Carlo
Reilly - Clifton
Forbort - Zboril
Ullmark
Swayman
By my math, that lineup of 21 players costs $79.35 million against the cap, leaving $3.15 mm as free to play with as the cap is reportedly going to go up to $82.5 million.
A Foligno buyout would free up ~$1.93 million against this seasons cap and add $933K to 23-24. They could save another $633K with a Wagner buyout, but I think I'd rather bury him again. Maybe he can be included in a cap dump trade since he's inexpensive and entering the final year of the contract. He's only making $1 million in real money so that could help facilitate a trade to a cap floor team. The Foligno contract feels imovable. The structure might be enticing as he's due a $1 million bonus on 7/1 (or whatever the opening of free agency is this year) then has a $2.8 million salary, but he's got a no-move and 16 team no-trade. I think this one gets bought out.
DeBrusk's trade demand, as far as we know, remains on the table. That's $4 million that could go out the door. They seem very high on Lysell who could theoretically take DeBrusk's spot on an ELC.
I thinkk they also need to move a defenseman. They've got 8 signed right now. I know they value depth to cover for inuries, but I don't see how Grzelyck, Reilly and Forbort can coexist on the roster. Too much money would be in the press box at full health. I think one of Grzelyck/Rielly goes. They can cover themselves depth wise with Ahcan (RFA) and signing a Steven Kampfer/Josh Brown type. I will say, I believe I've said for about 6 years running that they have too many defenseman and they need to trade someone but they almost never do. The only time I remember it happening was McQuaid. And even that felt like they ran the runway out until they had no choice.
If they clear DeBrusk + a defenseman for futures, then they're in the $10 million range of available cap space. That's nice to have but there's not much interesting on the market. Gaudreau is the top FA but he probably stays in Calgary and isn't really a positional fit for Boston (LW). The UFA C market is pretty brutal. It's a bunch of aging stars (Bergeron, Malkin, Giroux), youngish guys who won't be worth the contracts they are likely to get (Trochek, Strome), and then a tweener between both groups, Nazem Kadri. On the right, Filip Forsberg is a UFA and would probably fit better than Gaudreau but that would essntially mean ignoring the center position and just loading up on the wings.