Yep- this is exactly the personnel we need to retain, and I agree with expansion list 100%.

This is really cool, thanks for putting it together. At a glance, it seems pretty solid. The Schwartz re-up will be interesting -- he's a better player than Schenn and will be hitting that age 29-30 extension. Do they really pay him $6.6 over 7? Does he have that sort of impact?

Defense really seems underwhelming in two years. Even assuming that Mikkola works out, he brings nothing on offense so that pairing with Parayko will be a black hole. I think we've seen in only a few games with Scandella what an even slightly offensively-minded defenseman can do on Parayko's left side. I doubt Bortuzzo is offering much 2 seasons from now, and we are hoping that Perunovich works out as well.

So yeah, I could nitpick this to my personal preference but I think you've got it pretty good. Makes me a little more comfortable that the core of the team will be able to stay together for a while yet. Nicely done.

Yeah the D pairings are hard to predict that far out... Perunovich needs to improve defensively if he's gonna be any more than a 3rd pair guy. Mikkola is def gonna be a black hole on offense, but I think he and Parayko would be good enough in transition to be effective. Any loose change would definitely be well-spent on a no.4 d-man that could play with Parayko or Pietrangelo (if he's still here).

2 years out binner will be 27 going into UFA... I mean he hasnt been lights out this year but im not entirely sold a 4 year 6m aav gets it done for him.

True, but we'll have double the sample size at that point to figure out what he is / how he should be paid. There might be a little room for a higher AAV, I just hate the idea of long-term goalie deals. There is also a decent chance that he wants to move on as a UFA - despite winning the cup, it's not like he's had the best relationship with the organization. He was basically set aside and sent around while we constantly struggled with goaltending. Not sure if there are hard feelings or not.

at the same time do you leave a contending organization for a crapbag one for money like bobrovsky did? (horrible signing by the panthers).

depends on how much you like money i guess

I think your Binnington evaluation is dead on. Now that there's been a full season under his belt, he has kind of settled in as a league-average++ netminder with upside that has played well in pressure situations. Puck handling, positioning, and athleticism are all strong, but rebound control is subpar.

There will be another full season to evaluate him, plus hopefully two deep playoff runs. If he is super successful he could easily push past where you have him pegged but I think it's likely he goes for right where you have him.