I like most of this except Gusev on the 4th line I think is doomed to fail. He's just one of those guys who seems to need top 6 time to play well. What about a guy like Brandon Sutter or Armia? Not a rags fan so unsure if that will get Zibanejad.

I chose Gusev solely because he gets along with Kaprizov. He could honestly be any 4th line grinder on a short deal. I think Armia is out of our price range but Sutter could be an option if he agrees to a cheap deal

I don't see why Fiala has to fight tooth and nail for 6x6 and Kaprizov "settles" for 5x8.5.

It would also be interesting to see this team in years 3 and 4 especially, when we undoubtedly have to dump both Zuccarello and Dumba just to field a full team. Bjugstad already playing in the top six and we traded Boldy to get Zibanejad. This team will be struggling to make the playoffs.

I am tired of the Kirill/Kevin negotiations so I really just threw a random number there. I could have thought about it more.

What comes to the years 3 and 4, trading Zuccarello at that time helps a lot, and I don't think he'll be a top contributor anymore. We'll also have cheap ELC-players in Rossi, O'Rourke and possibly Lambos, Khusnutdinov playing. Add in a couple cheap value-additions and this team is a contender no doubt. Especially in the Central division, where really only the Avs/Stars are at our level or close to it.

And hopefully we also have a Cup to alleviate the pain by then...

This team you've constructed isn't a Cup contender, though. And adding guys like O'Rourke and Khusnutdinov as rookies doesn't move the needle.

This roster above is a bubble team. Colorado has more high end talent and more depth everywhere on their roster. Tampa as well, even after this summer. The Isles may not have more top end talent, but their depth and coaching far exceeds this. You have Nick Bjugstad playing in your top six.

I have Bjugstad there just because I wanted to get the Foligno-bros on the same line. It could also be Gusev, who thrives in a bigger role. Rossi could conquer a top6-spot if he recovers well. I also left 3,7 million in cap space for upgrades. This team is a contender. That's a fact. It has a strong center, extremely deep wings, great top4 D and above-average goaltending. It has also elite youth on the way.

I'd love Zibanejad, I've wanted him for years now. I'm a lot more interested in Eichel than most fans but Zibanejad would be my #1 target if he's available. Seems like a decent package for him with the extension, but it sounds like he wants $10M AAV so I'm not sure he signs that.

It's not a fact, man. It's an opinion. The defense is average. You're replacing Suter and Soucy, who were above average as the 4-5D, with Goligoski and Bogosian, who are average to below average in those spots. That's going to significantly impact your defense and goaltending as a whole, and it's also going to potentially impact your offense. Do you remember the years when our offense couldn't even get anything going because we were too preoccupied playing defense the whole game and not allowing goals?

Your offense is average to above average for year one. The second line is underwhelming. If Ek is going to be your top six center, you need two good offensive wingers, and you only have one. And Gusev isn't going to make a difference there either because he already proved he's not good.

But that doesn't account for years 2-4 when you need to start dumping guys like Zuccarello and Dumba just to ice a full team. You're going to get continually worse every year because you need to fit under the cap. This team certainly isn't a contender without Dumba and Zuccarello.

Finally, the strength of our schedule is going to get a lot better, we're not going to be cruising to an automatic playoff spot because almost 60% of our games are against bottom 10 teams anymore. And with a weaker team and a stronger schedule, this is a bubble team.

If the Rangers go for Eichel Strome becomes expandable, not Mika. Trading Mika would be a backwards step for a team trying to compete

I see you are an extreme pessimist. When I look at this team, I see a huge contending window for the next two years and a smaller, but still a rather big window the two years after that. Maybe I don't know hockey, maybe I am too much of an optimist, but I'd give this team a solid 50-50 chance of getting into a Cup final during these years.

It's not pessimism, it's realism. DM me in four years and we can talk about it.