There is no way Ennis gets $3M.

Why would the Panthers do this?

Yeah there is... He has the 8th most points of any player on the UFA market and I only gave him a 1 year deal.

Why not grab extra assets to move down 2 spots? Unless they are planning to grab Askarov for themselves in which case they should keep the pick.

That doesn't make much sense though since they just grabbed Knight last year.

Assets? You added JP that’s an asset singular and not a good one. JP doesn’t carry much value.

Why? He’s worth ALOT more than 2 spots

The flat cap probably sees Ennis and most UFA's making less than they would. I'd safely wager they'll only make two-thirds of what they would have in a normal season. Nobody has the cap space for them with the exception of the bottom teams. Maybe he takes a deal with New Jersey for that kind of money, but it is counterintuitive to the historical "I want to win" deals we've seen previously.

If Florida offered both of the third round picks they have this year, I'd struggle to say no. Puljujarvi has a lot of value to the club internally to the point where Holland's ask is high.

JP is worth a 2nd round pick. How much do you expect a team to pay to move up 2 spots? a 1st?

The Florida deal makes total sense for Florida if Sanderson doesn't fall to 12. They need dmen prospects so trading down isn't an issue, Guhle or Schneider will still be available. I think EDM values Pulju higher than 2 spots up and a 3rd though

Ottawa deal is kinda meh. I guess it's fine. Hopefully Russell with retention is worth a decent asset to some team, and Benning might stick around for a bit, or be deadline fodder.

Any retention on Russell makes the Oilers 3rd line weaker. Not worth to retain half for a 6th or 7th round pick.

Benning isn't really needed at 2M with Bouchard coming up.

Exactly his value is high for the Oilers not the league. If his true value was just a second why hasn’t he been traded? It’s because no one has offered a second. They probably received a mid rounder (3 or lower) possibly with conditions to bump it up a round. Cats will keep the pick and choose a defenseman or center that has the possibility of playing this year.

Oh I meant the Sens retaining on Russell when they trade him on. He's still an NHLer but they don't really need him and he has decent value to a contender at a lower cap hit imo. I get why Benning is expendable for the Oilers, I just don't see a long term fit on Ottawa either. He can fight Jaros for 3RD and maybe he's worth a pick at the deadline for the Sens.

Nah he hasn't been traded cause Holland wants a 1st for him which is unrealistic.

Melnyk probably just keeps him. He likes contracts where he doesn't have to pay the player as much as their cap hit.

I mean yeah but I don't think Melnyk is really involved to that level... I think he's more of the guy that'll set a max limit on contract extensions too low for the GM to re-sign the guy than actively push for any specific player to be kept. I like to think he at least has a basic understanding of what a rebuild is. It's the only hope I have left lmao

Carolina offered Kuokkanen and their 2nd rounder earlier this year. Holland balked at it because he wanted either Bokk or Foegele instead of Kuokkanen. I believe the Rangers offered a combination of Andersson and a midround pick, but Holland remains steadfast in his ask.

Both of those offers came before Puljujarvi dominated in Liiga. His value is likely higher today than it was when teams originally came knocking.

He is... look at all the acquisitions and signings they have made.

All acquisitions were cap over cash and signings are back loaded so he can save money if he trades a player...