Interesting, think Pesce would have happened already if a trade was to happen.

I could see Don W doing that trade, but I hope he doesn't. Right now they've got the best defense in the NHL and it's not even close. At some point they're just going to have to try to win a cup, for once...instead of continuously selling for the future.

They keep adding defensmen. Someone is gonna have to go and stands to reason it's a pending ufa (pesce or skjei)

I hear ya. I'm just tired of CAR always looking to the future vs trying to win right now. Those two aren't the only ones that are pending UFAs AND then what about next year? If that's the basis for trading a player away...are they really trying to dump their entire D in 2 years? It just doesn't make sense to me that they'd go out and try to get worse. Plenty on teams trade AWAY 1sts for pending UFAs at the TDL. How about they just keep their players and roll Orlov/Pesce or Skjei/TDA as their bottom pair. Easily the best D in the NHL. I just have a hard time understanding why DW would try to make his team worse.

BUT, to your point...this is a move he might make. I just would hate it if he did it.

Well, if they did, it would free up cap and add assets to move at deadline.

Would also allow for extensions for other players, and there are several.

I get not doing it of course

Nice work. Looks like a solid lineup.

Seems like a big overpay just to get Pesce. And a 30 year starting an expensive 6 year contract IMO isn't wise either.
The trade would have to made before the signing, cause Canes aren't allowing a star player to negotiate with another team.

Canes would probably do that if there was a plan in place, I continue to think they either just hold depth and play out the year, or it’s Skjei more likely to go.

I can't see them carrying 9, that would leave no forward extras and doubt they can get one of them thru waivers

They have two waiver exempt players and are under the cap - Pyotr paper transactions create $1m in cap space and a extra slot.

Without an AHL team, they are probably forced to do this, carry extra D, and use forwards who are waiver exempt like Drury and Pono

Adams is not going to devote $26M of his cap - more than 1/4 of even what the cap is projected to go up to - on 4 defensemen, which is what would occur if Dahlin gets the predicted $10M and Power the predicted $6-7M on top of the $6M Pesce is rumored to want and the $4M Samuelsson gets.

I also don't believe Adams is going to give up his 1st rounder in any trade.

That top 4 is 20% of the lineup and will be on the ice for 66-70% of the game. Don't think paying them 25% of the current cap (will diminish as a percentage every year) is outlandish

Assuming Dahlin at $10M and Power at the rumored bridge of $6M, adding Pesce at your $6.875M extension to Samuelsson's $4.28M totals $27.2M - which for 4 players would amount to 31.1% of an assumed $87.5M cap (if the rumored jump goes up $4M for 2024-25, when all 3 extensions kick in). Add in 3 more forwards (Skinner, Thompson and Cozens) for another $23.2M on top of that and they'd have 57.6% of their cap in 2024-25 committed to 7 players - and only $37.1M left for 16 other players. Krebs and Jokiharju each seem destined to be extended, albeit for shorter tems, next summer.

Other teams may top-load their cap usage on 5-6 players but that approach doesn't sync up with what Adams keeps saying about allowing space. He also seemed to shoot down the scenario pretty clearly of trading for players on expiring contracts (i.e. Pesce, Hanifin and Hellebuyck amongst the media speculated rumors) during his press conference on July 1st.

Agm stands for armchair gm not adams gm.

Well see what he does