I think Vancouver would need to retain more for the Stars to consider this. It's not the package it costs, it's the lack of future Cap Space the Stars have to be able to add Kiviranta, Glendening replacements next year, plus the next contract for Dellandrea. Stars would have zero flexibility into the offseason, and only 2.6m in cap space in 23-24 given your scenario.

So the Stars either need more retention from Vancouver (which increases the return), or the Stars need to look for a cheaper option.

Not commenting on the value of the deal, but the Stars can quickly solve that cap issue by buying out Suter. Buying out Suter gives Dallas enough cap to sign Dellandrea to a <$2M contract, call up both Harley and Stankoven for NHL roles, and sign cheap depth pieces for the 4th line/3rd pair (internal candidates would be Joel Hanley & Jacob Peterson)

While I do agree with you that the Suter buyout is something I would consider; I dont think Nill buyous out Suter, given his endearment (for better or worse) of veteran players. The Suter and Pavelski family connection is really close, and with Pavelski extending for another year, I have to assume that implies that Suter is planning on playing another year or two. Though, I can see Suter retiring if the Stars make a deep run, something Suter has never done in his career.

I think ultimately Suter will decide when he is done. If anything, they may bury Suter's contract in the minors and have him move into a different part of the organization for the life of his contract, similar to Comeau last year and Bishop the last couple years ("Officially" starting next year).

Difference between Pavelski and Suter is that one of them actually produces and is worth the money he's making...and the other one is Suter.

Also, the Stars can't send Suter to the minors, due to his NMC. The difference between the Suter situation and the Bishop/Comeau situation is that the Stars could send Comeau to the minors and recoup his entire cap hit & we found someone Bishop was willing to waive his NMC for that would eat the last year of Bishop's contract. If, for some reason, Suter agreed to be sent to the minors, the Stars would still have a $2.5M cap hit for him.

Frankly, what Suter WANTS to do is irrelevant in this situation. He SHOULD be bought out for the betterment of the team over the next 2 years. Will Nill pull the trigger on a buyout though? Probably not.