Preliminary

I don't see Jeannot nor Cole signing that cheap. I think they can bump Jeannot up closer to 2 aav, then go after maybe Nick Seeler in trade for 3LD(he only makes 775k next year). If not, then maybe sign Kulikov for around 1.5. I think they're going to have to roll with 21 on the roster to make everything work, but maybe Cole and Jeannot give the team a real friendly deal.

Yeah it's gonna be really tough. Colton deserves more than 3250000 imo. Probably somewhere closer to 4 or even more than 4 not sure. Jeannot shouldn't make more than Paul I dont think. Really tough tho now. With Colton getting his contract and Jeannot getting brought in, it's a serious crunch to round out the bottom 6 and find an upgrade at 3LD over Fluery. Would love to bring Cole back but I dont know if we can afford him. Maybe if he's given like 3 years at 1250000 or 2 years @1.5. Idk, it's too hard to ballpark. Cause if I was a different team, I would be willing to pay Cole more than 3 mil cause he's a very solid top 4 guy still

I don't see Colton at 4, but I can see 3.5 or maybe a little more. JBB needs to sign them both for between 5 and 6 most likely in order to be able to make a 21 player roster work. Maybe Colton at 4 and Jeannot at 2, but I'm not confident Jeannot takes that. Maybe Colton at 3.5 and Jeannot at 2.5, but it will be tricky. Whike Cole has been solid, I'm betting he's priced himself out of Tampa. Luckily, trading for or signing a 3LD on the cheap isn't tbe hardest thing to do, so I'm not too worried about that spot. With 4 decent or better guys on the right with Cernak, Perbix, Raddysh and Bogo, they just need to find a better 3LD than Fleury.

On the F side, I doubt either Bellemare or Perry are getting re-signwd, as both have declined this year. Provided Brisebois can sign Colton, Jeannot and Eyssimont for no more than 6.8 or 6.9 combined, they can then bring up one of Barre-Boulet or Ryfors from Syracuse, find another cheap vet F like Bjugstad or someone similar, then decide on a league.min vet type or another Syracuse promotion. I'm guessing Alnefelt becomes the back up l, but I suppose Elliot could return for one last season. In any case, as long as Fleury and Myers aren't taking any cap space, I believe JBB will have just enough for 12 F, 7D, and the 2G. I'm hopeful they can trade for Seeler out of Philly, as he just seems like an ideal fit for them at 3LD. If not though, there are other dmen they could find I'm the 1.25-1.5 range for that spot.

I believe that if they trade/waive Fleury and trade Myers, they'll have approximately 10.5 million for Colton, Jeannot, Eyssimont, Raddysh, backup G, 3LD, and 2 additional F for 21 players. As long as the first 3 come in between 6 and 7, Tampa can make it work(it's very close though). Raddysh should be 800k, backup G 800-850k, 3LD as Seeler let's say, 775k, leaves enough for 2 min contracts at F, maybe. It all depends on what Colton and Jeannot get signed at, but realistically, to make 21 work, there's probably only 5.5-5.7 between them available(maybe Colton at 3.5, Jeannot at 2.25 or something like that). I can't see Tampa trading either, but I think the 3th line next year will need to see some Syracuse players make the jump(unless Perry decides to return for one year near league min).

I always appreciate your thought out responses. Yeah a lot of it hinges on playoff performances this year. If let's say Jeannot is completely invisible, or Perry is -10+, something crazy, then there are more decisions to be made. I like Jeannot, and while he just got here, I'm not opposed to trading him again this offseason if he doesn't want to sign a reasonable contract. I'm really high on Bellemare even though there are probably better options out there. If he takes league minimum, I would still gladly have him 4C or as our 13th. Perry also. Both are quite sacrificial at critical points, and provide great leadership. Perry has more unseen offensively this year, but his defense has suffered the most. -24 being miles ahead of anyone else on the team. With cap being so tight, it's a matter of running it back with chemistry, or getting marginally better depth players and hoping the puzzle fits. Can't wait for ploffs!