I'm not an Isles fan, but would you consider trading Ladd with a top prospect to someone like the Sens, then try to sign Lee. You would then have a pretty solid team with the addition of Panarin and Bob

I would if the prospect wasn't Dobson, Wahlstrom or Wilde

I'd consider something along the lines of Ladd with one of Bellows or Vande Sompel for a 2nd or 3rd round pick. OTT can't be too stingy on the return since they would need to make the deal to hit the CAP floor and they'd be getting a second tier Defensive prospect or a former 1st round prospect back as well.

With dal Colle, Beau, Panarin, Martin and possibly Lee on the left side Bellows could become expendable.

Yea, I think they are stuck with him then. Its the 4 year term that hurts them

Also, why didn't the OP sign Beau, dal Colle and Ho-Sang here? Leddy and Greiss can be moved to clear CAP space, even without moving Ladd.

It's not going to take a prospect the level of one of our TOP 3 prospects to move Ladd to a team that NEEDS the CAP hit... that's just absurd thinking. A second tier prospect or two should be enough to move the contract, if need be.

Ladd has a full NTC so trading him is off the table. Beau, Ho Sang and MDC all are on the payroll so you will be over the cap.

Exactly, It is hard to move a player to a rebuilding team if said player has a full NTC