Thats a match from Colorado

The Avs would definitely match that, I'd have to think.

I'd think so too but with what cap space? Mack's salary is doubling and they need to sign Byram as well. Might be a casualty but the Habs can go up to 4.2 million before the pick becomes a first

The money they save by letting Johnson and Compher walk should give them 3 mil in wiggle room with Mack's contract kicking in, and I don't see Girard (or possibly Toews for the right offer) returning next year with their LD being stacked and possibly being able to get a good return for Toews/Girard, which would free up 4 or 5 mil more to get the Byram and Newhook deals done. If Montreal wants to target Newhook, I think they would have to end up paying a 1st in comp to get the salary correct.

Thanks for the input! Makes sense. In that case it isn't a fit cause MTL has no room at LD unless they moved Edmundson too and traded for Girard

With 21/50 contracts and 12/23 roster members signed COL has 13m as it stands next year according to Capfriendly.
The only forwards signed are Mckinnon,Rantanen ,Landeskog, Nischiskin , Lehkonen and Oconnor which is the real issue.
Byram is the only major Defensive piece needing paid but he'll take up conservatively 6/13m if he signs to 4 years or longer.
That leaves 7m for 7 forwards which is doable if your plan is for the player who's offer sheet you're trying to match signs with you right now for 1m for atleast 2 years if he wants any real money longeterm.(Assuming Rantanen doesnt demand a lot as his contract ends )


Most of the cards say even with Compher and Johnson gone that COL needs to dump a big contract.
Otherwise signing Byram and Newhook will leave them with a 18-19 man roster outta 23 with them still being over the cap

Innaccurate check again more closely .
You wont be able to sign more the 18-19 players if that's your only plan.
With them assumed as already gone COL has 12 players signed with 13m cap
That's not hard math to break down as it demands someone else has to go for Mckinnon to get paid.
Before he doubled his salary you were right , you could just skim by and make it work.
Now you need roughly 5m cleared in the next 3 years to deal with Newhook, Byram and Rantanen (assuming you're keeping him)

thus the part where I clearly state that this is assuming that one of Girard/Toews is being dealt due to the wealth of LD in Colorado's system, but they can also make space for Newhook up to 4.2 without making a move. Assuming that Byram and Newhook both receive 3 year, 3.5 million dollar deals, Colorado would be able to have a 22 man roster (with MacDonald and MacDermid as scratches) with resigning Johnson (1 x 900000) Helm, Cogliano, Maltsev, Ranta, and Kaut to the same cap hits, leaving Colorado with 100K in cap, which can be adjusted as it is unlikely that Helm and Cogliano will get higher than around league minimum in my opinion.

However, in the much more likely event that one of Girard or Toews is moved, none of this is a problem, as they'd have enough cap room. I can post an ACGM I used to work it out if you need more detail, as it is hard to provide enough in a comment such as this.

With one of them traded yeah its possible but tight

Even if lets say the 2 RFA's sign for 7m combined of 13m then you factor in lets say Girard's 5m .
You're back down to 11/23 contracts with Girard gone and not need 12 contracts signed on 18m.
You give 7/18m to 2/12 players you've signed leaving 10 spots for 11m .

This is Doable but it requires 10 forwards to sign for 1-1.1m each for 3 years to sustain this build without sacrificing Toews with Girard.
That's also leaving you in a vulnerable positiion when your Goalie's and top RW will be up at the end of the term.
Plus its already a hard sell getting 10 quality NHL level players for your cup run when your Starting Goalie left and your answer while good is still a step down from where you were. I mean for years Goaltending was COL issue and Kuemper filled that void the best. Georgiev is doing great but i dont see the same dominance and ability to steal games that made Kuemper clutch.

Your build is like buying a mortgage with a rate of 20% or higher interest on a 25 year term
Sure it sounds doable even if horrible terms but when you leverage yourself like that your 1 bad year from bankruptcy.
But feel free to post your take on this complex cap situation and show me how this builds possible and sustainable without moving players or giving the kids more.
(you better pray one of them doesnt Subban or Kotkanemi your plans trying to sign their way out)

ACGM for more clarity

Now some of this will obviously shift but I believe you aren't quite properly factoring in what the NHL expects to happen with the Salary Cap. Should it go up around 4 Mil like expected in 2024, combined with Beaucage and Olausson pushing for roster spots, it seems quite doable that Colorado could pick up a couple bottom 6 guys for cheap (I'm thinking along the lines of the Dowd contract signed by Washington last year), and not have to sacrifice anybody. It would be certainly not as easy/flexible for Colorado to operate with only 2 scratches for the year, but it seems more than doable if they have faith in MacDonald being able to play offense or defense (or replace MacDonald with a different cheap deal). As long as the cap does go up like expected, with 4 mil jumps in 24 and 25 (which I currently can't see a reason why it wouldn't), they should be able to fit Georgiev and Rantanen's new deals in, assuming Rantanen gets around a 1-2 million raise.

You dont factor in what isnt confirmed.
If its not on this site then it isnt confirmed.
While i get what you're saying i also know they always say its going up and half the time its true but only a portion of what was predicted.

Your post gets you by on the bare minimum but doesnt account for depth if injuries happen with a 22 man roster.
While more Girard opens up room you've now got 5m to sign his replacement and a decent Center assuming Johnson returns on a 1m.
If he doesnt then its 5m for 2 Defensman and a Center that can help you win a cup

Again doable but you'd be getting buy on the bare minimum and if injuries occur after the TDL would be left reliant solely on AHL, Junior Call Ups and Oversea's Loans.
Again all doable if you're not in Win now mode after winning the Stanley Cup but losing your 2nd line Center ,Winger and Starting Goalie .
While you found replacements you didnt replace the 50 goals Kadri and Burakovsky combined for nor did you replace the void Kuemper left that COL had been missing with Varlamov.


While yes you can skate almost a full 23 man NHL Team you arent putting forth a contender even with Girard gone.
Right now COL would have to use Girard to fleece a team like LAK who has infinite RD and in need of a LD like Girard.
Girard deal would have to be a 3 way deal to make the cap work but doable

I could see COL/LAK and MTL doing a 3 way deal
COL could get Durzi a top RD prospect who's primarily a PP player with a lot of his production coming there and with Doughty down stepped into top minutes in the final stretch into the playoffs.
LAK could get Girard the missing piece they covet.
MTL could take on Roy or Walker to fill their RD needs while clearing most of the cap they need. Lizzotte or Lemieux would likely need to go to COL


It also create's more room for Clarke and Spence with Durzi and Walker gone.
LAK are a stronger team after this as are the COL
MTL its questionable but we got a RD who's injury prone to fill a void during a rebuild if we get Walker.
If we get Roy then we got our Petry replacment on 2nd pair and 2nd PP unit.


That would solve all the problems for COL for a few years atleast until Durzi needs paid.
Even then if he works out half as well as i think he will as a PP dominant player on the PP dominant team then COL will have 4/4 top D able to play big minutes in various roles