Yup. Still going to be a squeeze signing the next-gen while Getz/Perry/Kesler are on the books.

The worry is always that their bodies don't hold up at the end of their contracts, but those salary cap hits look manageable compared to the ones signed since Toews + Kane broke the 8 digit barrier.
I think everyone is still learning about the cap. The last few years the cap only went up because players agreed, because revenue hasn't climbed and any cap-increase is lost to escrow clawbacks.
There would be chaos if the salary cap were still $69 million as in 2014-15, those $8.6 million cap hits would be like $9.3 million cap hits today. Eventually all the players who make less than $3 million, frequently on short contracts, will stop voting to approve the increases because the cap increase is taking away more money through escrow than their salaries are increasing. Then we'll all have to really learn about the salary cap and the value of a below-market price signing.

Although, this is why I think Vatanen may move. It is a little bit of a squeeze under the cap and Larsson is probably ready for an NHL role this year and defiantly should be the following season. It wouldn't suprise me if Vatanen was moved for players on ELC and/or picks, since the owners typically like to be a few million under the cap.

Very true and I totally agree regarding Getz/Perry/Kesler and how they'll perform in their last few years, and the difficulty allocating cap to other players, however that problem is likely around 3 years away, so it's not one I would worry about immediately addressing.

Regarding the cap as a whole and escrow, I believe they aren't allowed to make any changes until like 2019, and even then that's only if the NHLPA or owners back out. Otherwise it's still going to remain as-is until 2022.

I generally agree with the reasoning. I do think adding a high end forward could push us forward for the next couple years. It is one of the reasons I really want Duchene. If we consider that this deal is likely Vats last as a Duck no matter what because of guys like Montour/Manson then moving him for a shorter term asset like Duchene makes sense. You're not losing a whole lot of "asset control" but it also gives Steel a full year in the AHL with injury call ups. The D is obviously weaker without Vats but we has fans were prepared for that. We have 3 young Vets in Fowler, Lindy, Manson, 2 older guys in Bieksa and Holzer leaving room for 2 rookie D with Montour(who we expect in the lineup anyway) and either Larsson(most likely) or Megna. Still leaving guys like Megna, Pettersson, and Welinski as depth call ups from the A. I deal like this also opens future money as we would expect to lose Duchenes 6 mill ehoch can be rotated into new deals for deserving young players.

So in summation you create a definitive top 9 that every team will have issues matching with while also maintaining legit D depth. You could even sign a guy like Beauch to a cheap deal if you're worried about the rookies.