Skjei could definitely be moved, but Carolina already have an issue getting 7 D men into a 6 D men-shaped hole. Could you not move Miller elsewhere and increase the round of the pick a little?

We need a LHD for the season, not for 4 years.

also, we suck again so not sure we dont let bryson and samuelsson play to see if we have anything there.

If we can get term why not especially for a dman who has proved his worth. No one knows McCabe's status or if he will return to form after this injury or if he will even resign in Buf. That leaves a spot for Bryson/someone else

Id be ok giving a 3rd and 4th with Thompson

I think that would do very nicely for Carolina (who take that 5.25 million in cap space and RUN FOR THE HILLS)

You can have a Thompson....

The Canes really shouldn’t be trading away D prior to
the expansion draft without bringing one back or prior to knowing whether or not they will be re-signing Hamilton. They’re not really as deep as they seem at the position.

I don’t mind getting Miller back for Skjei. Being an RD, he balances out the handedness on the D. Not sure on taking Thompson back, no room up front for him.

Keane, Beane can both fill in and there will be a boat load of defenseman in the free agent class who will want to play on a cup contender, even on the bottom pair.

Losing Skjei in a trade, Hamilton to UFA and potentially Fleury to Seattle would be disastrous.

Bean isn’t ready for 20mins a night and Keane won’t be ready for anything other than sheltered 3rd pair duty next year anyway. The “depth” they have on D is very fragile due to the looming expansion draft and due to Hamilton’s looming ufa status.

You mis-understand.

You move Skjei to bring in enough money to sign Hamilton, regardless of what he wants. That nullifies the issue of losing him (because Skjei's 5.25 cap hit is gone) and Fleury isn't a major loss. He's been awful. Replace him with Bean, move Gardiner up the line up and then bring in Keane or McKeown for next season on the bottom pair and it's all working.

How do you keep Bean if they re-sign Hamilton? You lose prime assets in paying off Francis.

And no, waiting to sign Hamilton after the ED is not a viable strategy nor is counting on UFA D to want to sign in CAR.

Okay, say they lose Bean in the expansion draft, you protect Hamilton, Slavin and Pesce.

That still leaves you with a D core of:

Slavin - Hamilton
Gardiner - Pesce
Fleury - McKeown/Keane

You could then literally claim a 7th D of waivers or sign one. Joakim Ryan for example, since he's already in the organisation.

There's enough depth in the organisation to make this move and to not be worried about the expansion draft. Skjei isn't going to be taken anyway and that cap space is more valuable than he is to the roster.

Can I interest you in a slightly used Marc-Edouard Vlasic?

I agree they have the depth to withstand the loss of Bean, but I don’t think they have the depth to withstand the loss of Bean/Fleury and Skjei.

Part of being able to lose Bean, if it comes to that, is the fact that you still would have Skjei, Gardiner and Fleury. With Bean’s play, he may force their hand to protect him with the uncertainty around Hamilton.

1 good season of a rookie does not force anyone to protect them over someone who's widely been regarded as the best player in the NHL from an analytical perspective. Hamilton, Slavin and Pesce will be the ones protected. You would need to lose Skjei regardless just to move on from his cap hit because Svechnikov also needs re-signing, especially when you don't have to take anything back. Carolina's defensive depth is strong enough to withstand losing Bean and skjei and not blink twice.

Disagree. Their depth is unproven.

Hamilton re-signing is far from a given at this point.

Hamilton admitted he wants to stay in Carolina, so it's a case of the number. Moving Skjei sorts that.

Sure, and Peitrangelo admitted he wanted to stay in St Louis. With his less than stellar play so far, Dundon will be more hesitant to give Hamilton mega-bucks for the next 7-8yrs. Other teams won’t have tha problem. He’s getting paid, and as time goes by, the less I think it will be the Canes paying him.

Dundon doesn't make the player decisions. Waddell does, with the guidance of Eric Tulsky's analytical department. Tulsky is the best analytical mind in the game. There's 0% chance Hamilton walks away. Everyone recognizes his value. And Hamilton's "slow start" still has him 11 points in 17 games!

Dundon signs the checks.

He’s not going to pay Hamilton $8M x 8. I just don’t see it. We’ll see how much Hamilton really wants to stay. I have my doubts, other teams will be willing to give him $8M. I’m not really sure he’s worth that.

Dundon doesn't sign the check, he deposits the money into the organisation before the season. Waddell gets to make all the moves. Dundon doesn't get a say in how it's spent unless he's like Eugine Melnyk, which he isn't.

Everyone knows Dougie's worth, and Waddell, and specifically Tulsky's analytical group, will pay him.

Nope

You need to listen to the Dundon interview Custance did a few weeks ago. The signing of Hamilton is very, very far from a sure thing.