Wouldn't Montreal just match this and he stays put?

I really think the whole "danault will test the market" is more smoke than anything, Bergy doesnt want to move on his price, and Danault wants to see what his value is to other teams, i think unless someone is going to offer him a 6 mil deal with a promise of more offensive responsibility he will just return to MTL.

Danault's issues are

1. He wants Pageau money
2. He wants a Guaranteed top 6 role, so if you plan on keeping McMichael and or Lapierrer in the minors for at least another year then I think you have as good of a shot as anyone else. If he views them as replacements then I don't think he signs in Washington either. TBH I think Danault over values himself, he is a great defensive player but he just does not put up enough points to warrant a huge contract.

I think he's just a free agent so he can choose whatever he wants.

I think Danault is an amazing 3C but lacks the offensive ability to be a 1-2C. A perfect fit would be between pasta and rat but I dont see bergeron leaving soon.

I agree that even 5 is a little high. He might find no one going higher and just go back to Montreal like 'habs need scoring' just said. MCMichael is a year away but would probably start on 3rd line and wing at that and LaPierre who I think has a higher ceiling than McMichael is 3 or 4 years away IMO.

I think this is the best the Caps could do while getting rid of Kuzy is what I'm trying to show here. I think we'd be fine with what I have above as we have wingers that would fit well with him in Oshie, Mantha, Sprong so I wouldn't worry about losing too much scoring. One thing Danault seems to show is consistent effort.

MTL is offering this exact deal IMHO. I think Danault testing free agency is to see if he can get 6M+ a year x 6 years.

If he gets 6m+ x 6 elsewhere, I wish him good luck. His career high is 13 goals.... Being good defensively only gets you so far.

Yes, but he would choose to return to Montreal as habs_need_Scoring said, without giving him more than 5 mill. They already offered him that.

Theres a lot Danault brings that is easy to over look, and he can produce at a 40-50 point pace depending on who he plays with and the opportunities he gets, he starts a crazy amount of shifts in the defensive zone on face offs so his lack of offensive is just a skill things its by design. I personally dont want to lose him at all.

Washington can't trade Kutz without taking cap back, so it's not like the Caps have all this 7.8m X 4 in cap space available

This is about Danault, not Kuzy.

Sorry...It is about Kuzy. In your post you traded him without taking any cap back, just have enough cap to sign Denault. No way you can clear 7.8m Kutz's 7.8m cap.

And I bet there's no way anyone would take all of washed up Duncan Keith's 5.5 million...You can always find a sucker...