Offer Sheeting Cirelli

Team: 2020-21 Washington Capitals

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 19, 2020

Published: Aug. 27, 2020

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

I know any AGM with an offer sheet is inherently unrealistic because of how rarely those happen, but oh well. I'm a sucker for two-way centers, and Cirelli's already a great one. Just 23 years old, and he put up 44 points in 68 games while playing the 2nd most SH minutes of any forward in the NHL. Why try to make Kuzy into something he's not when the Lightning's cap situation means there's a guy out there who can do everything Kuzy doesn't, while still being productive, and he'll only cost a 1st and a 3rd in compensation? And not even this year's picks? Kuzy can move back to his natural position on the wing and we never have to see him try to win a faceoff again.

The major flaw is that adding Cirelli makes next year's cap crunch even worse. It pretty much necessitates losing Oshie in the expansion draft, and even that might not be enough. Worst comes to worst, you trade whichever one of Kuzy and Vrana underperforms next year. If neither one underperforms this team is a cup favorite, so it's a good problem to have.

As far as the other new guy, Grant's an all-around upgrade on Dowd. With the roster crunch forcing Panik down to the 4th line, he and Grant make it one of the best 4th lines in the game, almost a low-end 3rd line. I added him with the idea that the Caps hire Gallant, who loves to roll all four lines. He could probably get a higher salary elsewhere, but maybe after playing for 7 teams in 7 years he'd value getting to settle down in one spot with a longer-term contract than a guy like him would typically get.

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