Quoting: Doug7004
Toronto says you have the right pieces in the Weber trade. . . . .BUT it's Liljegren for Montreal's 1st's in both 18 and 19 and Weber. . . . or you can sit on that contract FOREVER!
You get 4 years of a top Dman, after which his salary plummets in relation to his cap hit. Beginning in the 5th year, if his performance no longer justifies his cap hit, he becomes expendable.
In year 6, Weber's contract becomes a commodity, even if the player is not. His contract is unique and no longer possible. Only $1M in actual salary in each of the last 3 years.
A budget/floor team will happily turn over an asset in order to save in excess of $20M in actual dollars over the remainder of the contract, while using the cap hit to reach the floor.
If not, you trade him back to Nashville so they can avoid recapture penalties.
If he retires early, you don't even have to worry about it.
If none of that happens, you still have the standard options available.
Nobody will be stuck with Weber's contract any longer than they want to be. So treat it as a 4/5 year contract, not a 20 year one.