Thread Starter
Joined: Apr. 2017
Posts: 1,120
Likes: 439
In my opinion, I don't think the trade is wildly off, nor something that VAN should outright dismiss.
VAN has ~$14mm in free cap space with 15 players. Two of the players they have to sign (EP and Hughes) will take up most, if not all, of that remaining cap space. They can't backfill the rest of the roster with AHL talent (At best, only Woo and Pod would graduate, but Pod has never played on small ice before, so that's a lot to ask a kid). But even if you graduate kids, they take up cap space too. Even buying out Virtanen only saves you ~1.5mm.
If VAN says 2021-2022 is a lost year, then you eat Loui (or play him, as you'll need bodies), sign EP and Hughes, and wait until 2022-2023 to make any moves. In 2022, they'll lose Loui's cap hit, Roberto's cap hit, plus Beagle and Roussel, but they'll also have to sign Boeser.