Too much for Subban imo

But hopefully his big name helps increase his value at the deadline (similar to what happened to Risto)

that was exactly my thinking

Mtl absolutely declines. They will never again take subban back. That side show left town

Carolina's 1st.
I could see it, valuewise, if Subban double-retained.
Certainly more than I expect (2nd plus lesser player/prospect).

Torn on Keller deal.
For a young team with tons of cap space, it kinda makes sense.
But on other hand, we still may be better long-term with Bratt at 1RW.

value wise it does make sense, but the habs will most likely be in no position to justify moving their first period (up until Dvorak trade Bergevin never moves his first round pick). Not to mention we probably wont be buyers at the deadline, but the devils should be able to find a suitor for that trade.

Devils are gonna have a ton of tricky extensions to navigate in the following years, I wouldn't want Fitzy to trade for Keller.

We are at ~$69 million now. Add Keller's $7 million and we are at $76 million.

2022:
- Subban (-$9m)
+ Hughes raise (+$6m)
+ Bratt raise (+$3m)
+ Zacha raise (+$2m)
+ Wood raise (+$1m)
+ Subban replacement from prospect pool (+$1m)
= $80 million

2023:
- Tatar (-$4.5m)
- Johnsson (-$3.4m)
- Graves (-$3.2m)
- Bernier (-$4.1m)
+ Smith raise (+$3m)
+ Sharangovich raise (+$2m)
+ Kuokkanen raise (+$2m)
+ McLeod raise (+$1m)
+ Blackwood raise (+$3m)
+ Siegenthaler raise (+$1m)
+ Severson extension (+$2m)
+ Back-up goalie (+$1m)
= $80 million

Tight, but doable.
Would probably have to move someone out in next couple of years.

That might be the case, but Montréal is the last team that would trade for Subban.

I dunno they've been sitting on the old stock Subban jerseys for years now
If they can grab him for a 3rd the gamble would be worth it alone short term on Jersey/Merch sales

Long term i dont want him
But in a return given a chance to step up and reclaim his reputation
Its a low risk high reward situation

Anything more then a 3rd round pick though and im out
Even a 3rd is quite high IMO

These are plausible scenarios for the next two offseasons that you set here. It's unlikely that there will be any significant cap issues to manage at those points in time.

But do look further ahead.
2024 there are as of now no significant UFAs coming of the cap (I think) but the extensions at that time would likely include Holtz, Mercer, Walsh, Bahl and possibly Schmid, Daws and Stillman.
Although Schneider's buyout goes off the books, that's still not accounting for any other bridge deal needing re-upping for 2024.

Even if the ceiling rises by one million for each season (so around 85 million by 24-25), I think we could be in serious trouble by then if the Devils bring on any additional external cap that does not expire by 2024.

Being a Devils fan (read nerd) got a lot more interesting this past year.

u could have both. could see the cap being tight in like 4+ yrs tho

Devils add Hughes, Habs add Kulak
And Poehling

No way you're serious