ottawa offered EK 10 million why would he sign here for 9.5 he should get 11 million at least

10m in canada means he makes less than 5m in the bank, 9.5m in Florida means he makes over 6m in the bank dollars. it is WHY stamko signed for 8.5 and Kuch signed for 9.5.

Cap prob goes up an extra million than you have maybe even 2. Trade Johnson and you’ll free up enough money to sign your extra 3 players or promote within the org. Also you could probably get Koekkoek and dotchin to sign a tad bit cheaper on each side to save you around 1 min between the two of them

But you’re right tho, it’s gonna be near impossible to do

FIrst off you are over paying Koekkoek and Dotchin by about 1.9 million each. So take 3.8 million away right there and then only one of Gourde/Johnson would stay on the team so take 5 million away there and you are now have 8.8 million in cap space. Now probably add another million to the cap and now you have 9.8 million to spare. Based on your team that leaves Tampa about 4.8 million to round out their roster to 23 players. Then we can play this game all over again the following year when Vasy is due a raise.

It should be manageable without losing key assets, if it's done correctly. I'm not sure how Dotchin and Koekkoek each get paid that much, considering they're both unproven, and, in their brief stints, have not showed that they can perform at that kind of level. You can easily take $3.8 million from their two contracts. If Yzerman bridges Point, you can probably get about $1.5 million off of that contract, and then you're under the cap and have room to call up a 13th forward or 7th defenseman. The cap hit probably goes up a little more than you have it, and you might be able to reduce Yanni Gourde's salary a touch, giving them room to do both, assuming each is an ELC contract. I would move Cirelli to center and Johnson to wing, but still.

I'm not sure how Callahan got full cap relief and Killorn got on the LTIR at all, though....

They do have modified NTCs, so they can be moved, and considering what they provide, I think some teams with cap space would benefit from taking them along with an upgrade in draft picks. Then you have the team under the cap. That fourth line is a risk, though, as they're all rookies. Katchouk may or may not be ready. That's the problem with this situation - they're paying their core group so much that they're reliant on prospects developing when needed. Cirelli's shown that he thrive as #3C, and Johnson can play wing if necessary (as he did during the playoffs), so Katchouk probably plays fine in that role with two players who are more than capable supporting him. Meanwhile, Dennis Yan has not shown NHL potential yet, and though Volkov and Joseph can probably play on a fourth line, I'm not sure that putting them without any experienced NHL players goes well.