Quoting: NR1203
The cap won't go up that high, I think it was CJ a little while back who said the cap could increase very little or even stay the same next season, 84.5 is impossible in my opinion.
We're already losing Hyman, don't want to lose another top-9 forward.
In any case, if there was 9 million in space, I'd rather bring back Muzzin and sign Hamonic for that price, or sign Barrie for say 7 million and bring in Demelo or even Hainsey for that last 2 million. 2 solid players for the price of one good player, it's already a top heavy team so it's ok to lose a bit of star power (Pietrangelo) for a strong supporting cast. On top of that, Pietrangelo turns 30 in January and you don't want to commit another high salary to a player whose best years, considering the normal aging curve in the NHL, are probably behind him.
Bettman literally said like 2 weeks ago that they were looking at a 84.5 cap. The lower numbers specified months ago are still double the increase that I had there.
We have another year of Hyman, and Moore can take over for him by then anyway. I'd like to keep Mik, but it is a luxury. If he kills it (is better than Hyman) sign him for 3 mil and move Hyman. It ultimately isn't a huge deal which one stays if you have to chose.
I intentionally signed Pietro for 5 years in my AGM, I wouldn't go any longer precisely due to that ageing curve, but remember, the cap is going to jump in 2 years time. He will be worth it for a MINIMUM of 3-4 years, and if he is only worth 6 Mil those last 1-2 it wont be a huge deal.
Also, Top heavy and cheap depth is the way to go. It has been an analytic theory for years that it is the most optimal usage of cap and Doobie is doing it. I think he will continue to do so.