Joined: Jun. 2019
Posts: 11,805
Likes: 12,035
I understand the concept of weaponizing cap space, but this is not that. Those trades are examples of letting teams off easy, and letting them dictate what they want to pay to dump a player. If they NEED to dump a player, then the team receiving the cap dump should dictate the price. "Weaponizing" cap space is knowing we have it, other teams want it, and being comfortable not taking any cap dumps if our demands aren't met. Which we should absolutely be able to do without any issues.
Balancing rebuild priorities with getting to the cap floor is absolutely a concern for CHI, but it is a fairly minor one and will be much easier than people make it seem. Also, the NHL doesn't actually have any preordained penalty for not getting to the cap floor. Which is weird that they have a rule that doesn't have a known consequence and they will probably just have to make it up as they go IF a team doesn't meet the minimum cap hit requirements.