Only Carolina can sign Pesce for 8 years, the max for anyone else is 7. Or, you'll have to trade for his rights before July 1st. Otherwise, you're still about 750 grand short. He's looking for 7x7 and high Canadian taxes are likely only going to drive that up. Leafs just won't be able to afford him with

Cap is going up to $87.7M; Bettman already confirmed or pretty much confirmed this.
Massive overpayment (in $, but especially term) for Pesce imo. No way Brodie bumps McCabe to 3rd pair. The bottom 6 needs addressing.

Hawks accept

Think you are over estimating the cap increase for next year after the announcement of Bally Sports going bankrupt and 12 teams losing their TV rights

I love Katchouk but he and Richardson don't see eye to eye so I'm sure he's available for the right price.

The big 4 would have to have amazing stats or that team isn't making the playoffs.

Leafs can’t give Pesce 8 years. Besides, Pesce has already said he has no desire to play for Canadian teams, so even getting him to consider signing is going to be very problematic.

What makes you say that?

https://www.hawksinsider.com/nhl-team/chicago-blackhawks/tension-brews-in-blackhawks-locker-room-coaching-staff-and-player-butt-heads

"Yesterday, a noticeable rift has emerged within the Chicago Blackhawks locker room, centering around forward Boris Katchouk and head coach Luke Richardson.

Katchouk, who was called up from Rockford on December 30th, believes he's been performing well despite underperforming and a call out from his head coach. With five points in 17 games since his call-up, he ranks sixth on the team in individual scoring chances.

Expressing his confidence in his play, Katchouk emphasized the difficulty of finding confidence in the league but asserted that he's been creating chances and enjoying the game once again. However, Richardson's assessment of Katchouk's recent performance differs significantly."

Oh. Definitely interesting dynamics taking shape, but I generally don't trust Hawks "Insider" for anything, really. They are like the tabloids of the CHI beat, IMO. Reading that article, it seems like the writer was taking things out of context and overblowing the situation. Richardson is just trying to get across the point that confidence and ego are separate things. You can be upset if you make a bad decision or bad play but you have to keep your feet moving and your head in the game. If there is any real animosity, it sounds like that is Katchouk's problem. But I doubt things are as severe as that article makes it seem.