- Bergeron and Krejci call it quits
- Reilly is bought out
UFA's: Cliffy gets a hefty offer from a team that he can't deny and/or the B's cannot match. Orlov walks and, as much as it hurts to say, Bert goes. Foligno grew a lot on me this year and I really love Hathaway in Boston but, signing either of them will prevent bringing up the youth to help fill out the team. Wagner leaves and Nosek is bumped out for Beecher.
To fill the 2C void, take your pick between ERod, Drouin, and Monahan in UFA or Glass and Steel that you could work a deal out for if you go RFA. I could also see JD getting dished this offseason as a part of the "change" that is coming, but if they can fit him under the cap then it's best to keep him. Rest of forwards are rounded up with young players that have spent a good amount of time in Prov. 3rd line could either look like Merkulov-Coyle-Freddy or Freddy-Coyle-Lysell depending who has a better camp.
As for the D, you really only have 4 guys returning in Mac, Lindy, Carlo, and (I know it's a stretch) Zboril. For the 3RD spot I wouldn't mind giving Carrick a shot but there has to be some insurance. Holl, Schenn, Stecher, Hamonic, and Stone are my shortlist. I've always liked Stone and in this case he's the cheapest and one of the best defensively out of this group. On the left side I'd be willing to give Zboril top pair minutes but if things go to ****, you would need someone more reliable than Lohrei to step up. Cole, Gustafsson, Kulikov, and De Haan are the options I think fit best. Cole brings championship pedigree as well as veteran leadership and is still capable of playing Top 4 minutes.
Bussi gets the call up because I don't believe there's enough money to shell out to a reliable, veteran goalie. The taxi squad guys are potential players I can see playing. If the TDL rolls around and the B's aren't looking good, trade anyone on a 1-yr deal with value. 2024-25 this team will be dangerous, I feel it.
When Sweeney references "changes", my mind automatically goes to Grz..."I believe our core of, [Brandon] Carlo, [Hampus] Lindholm and [Charlie] McAvoy, is really at the top level of the league". Hasn't been the transition from Krug that we expected.
Gotta sell high. This isn't a performance related trade but, it's Swayman time to step up and they are going to need the cap space. I'll miss you Ully.
Canes pass. There's other alternatives that are just as good when they are at their best. I'd go as far as to say Freddie at his best is better than Ullmark and they don't need to move picks to re-sign him. No reason to do this.