In the event Muzzin can't come back from his injuries this season and gets put on LTIR for the season (hoping he makes a full recovery though)
Forwards:
- You get three legitimate scoring lines. Perron is the added experienced legitimate scoring threat we need
- a complete shutdown 4th line and enough cap flexibility for an extra forward
- Clifford taggles between AHL and NHL roster. He'd need to pass waivers I believe but can pull a Spezza and have nobody claim him
- There is cap room to get Perron on a two-year deal. In this scenario, the only player due for a real raise after the first year is Bunting. Most others are due for a new deal in 2 years from now when the leafs will have a lot of cap flexibility. So in the meantime, you have a loaded top nine for two years. Perron is the perfect FA to spend on because he's more inclined to take a short-term deal due to his age, he's seasoned, and can rack up the point on whichever line he is on. Just as in St.Louis where the forwards routinely bounce around lines, he'd probably need to bounce between the 2nd and 3rd line to Give prospects like Robertson a chance.
- Kase, Mikheyev and Engvall will all get more money elsewhere than if they stayed here. Better to let them walk and deal the rights of Kase+Engvall to fill needs
- However, re-sign Blackwell. Because his last contract was 725K, we can actually afford his raise.. a 1x1 deal seems like a possibility though we might need to give more. I like him though because he'll fill the penalty-killing role after we lose a lot of our PKers, and he played good for us on even strength and will play good in the 3rd line if he's given good linemates
- Minnesota centre depth next year will be Eriksson Ek, Hartman, Jost, and Rossi. Gotta hope they'll deal Gaudreau as a cap casualty for picks and a prospect they can use while on their rookie deal
Defence:
- Reunite Rielly-Brodie
- Gio re-signs on a team-friendly deal. Both Gio and Sandin are around top-4 defencemen level, so have them alternate btwn 2nd and 3rd pairing
- On the right side, Matt Roy has been killing it in LA on a good deal. LA RD depth is insane though. Doughty, then they have Clarke, Spence, Durzi all in the pipeline, and Walker as well. More than willing to deal Roy for a good return. We're giving a good enough haul in my proposal I'd say. Joey reunited with his brother Mikey Anderson, Kase bolsters their scoring depth, and Abruzzese is a valuable prospect. Maybe add another LHD prospect is LA only wants to deal Roy to improve their LHD depth. I'd honestly be willing to give any of our LHD prospects in that trade, including Kokkonen, simply because Roy's contract is a good AAV and expires at the same time more other leafs do which is perfect.
- Gio-Lilljegren and Sandin-Roy would be good reliable pairings. Each can play top 4 minutes in their own right. So you have Rielly-Brodie as your top pair, and whichever of the bottom two pairings are playing better will get the 2nd pairing minutes
- Borowiecki is a good, cheap, physical, veteran 7D. And there's enough cap room for him to be on the NHL roster
- Deal Holl. He played great in the 2nd half of the season nothing against him but in this cap world you don't wanna spend 2M on the 7D
Goalies:
- Here's the deal. Campbell is in a position to command a 4-5 year deal from us. I'm not too thrilled with that much term when we can possibly find a better alternative in that time. Husso has never been a starter and is younger, so he is more inclined to sign a two-year "prove it" deal which would be better for us
- Stolarz is a good backup and he's cheap
- Joseph Woll contract turns 1-way the year after this one. He'll replace Stolarz once his contract is up if he has a god year in the AHL
- Mrazek situation: I assumed a team would be willing to take Mrazek's contract for free bc aside from this year he has been a reliable tandem-level goalie. But then nobody claimed him off waivers. Send him to Chicago and add Kallgren to the deal. This way, Chicago gets a bounceback-primed Mrazek, as well as promising goalie prospect. For a team with no good NHL goalies intheir system, gaining Kallgren is a worthwhile price to take a risk on Mrazek.
- if a 1st needs to be dealt to make any of these moves do it. Especially in the Roy deal. But I don't think it would be necessary. Ideally, you can keep it until the deadline when you can either find a replacement for an injured player or make a retained salary deal and stack the team
Kallgren probably isn't super enticing to the Hawks. They have Commesso in the pipeline and Soderblom waiting for his chance. Probably need at least a 2nd or decent prospect to take on that cap.
Nothing in that package is enticing to LA. Anderson isn't a real NHL addition, regardless of his brother being in LA. Neither Kase nor Abruzese jump any of the prospects the Kings are already trying to get in the lineup. And the 4th is just an insult. In addition to that, Matt Roy is frankly just not available until Brock Faber is suited up for the Kings and ready to play 20 minutes a night, so think 2 years down the road.
Sean Walker, Durzi, and Spence would be available before Matt Roy at the right price.
Kallgren probably isn't super enticing to the Hawks. They have Commesso in the pipeline and Soderblom waiting for his chance. Probably need at least a 2nd or decent prospect to take on that cap.