Rumor has it Florida hangs up the phone once you say lundell

In a league without cap, absolutely. In the reality the Panthers are faced with, they will have to make some decisions. Beck is considered by most to be a "can't miss" 3C prospect. I don't think this deal is crazy...

They will have roughly 20 million to sign ~12 players...

They are just going to have to let their big ticket UFAs walk, they don't have much choice, especially since the names that need deals next year are even bigger. Lundell would be the most cost-efficient player.

VAN trade is the worst one. 32/32 GMs take Mikheyev over Anderson straight up. Cheaper, better, shorter term. MTR has to add.

Montour and Tarasenko, sure, but what would be the point of letting Reinhart & Cousins walk? At that point, they might as well sell all their players and start rebuilding with players like Lundell.

Teams with players like Barkov, M. Tkachuk, Reinhart don't do that. They push it for as long as they can.

I expect Lundell DOES get traded, even if this isn't the deal that gets it done.

Alright. I don't much like either player, but I hear you on losing 1 year of salary. Not sure what the Habs need to add, but if it's a couple of later picks like 2 x 3rds, I can get behind that.

They still have Verhaeghe and Bennett up front, and Ekblad and Forsling at the back end all of who are key pieces who will need new contracts soon. Reinhart maybe gets signed but wouldn't be surprised if he's gone after the season that he had. So, keeping 4/6 of their top-six wouldn't be too bad. Teams that have success usually have like 8-guys that they really like that they build around. Cousins could probably get signed, don't think he'll make too much.

I wouldn't rule out a Lundell trade, but it's probably an NHL trade. Though if they like him, no reason to move him.

I think they choose Reinhart over Lundell and then use the additional cap space from the cap growing to resign some of the other guys.

I would also mention, Montour is gone this year, Ekblad next year, so they need some defenders who can come in at affordable deals to pickup the slack.

Obviously the players I'm proposing are not close to Ekblad or Montour, but decisions will have to be made.

I think it would be foolish for them to let Ekblad go, they don't really have any replacement, but I get a feeling that it could happen. Personally, I want them to keep 2014 Draft boys club together and it would be cool if they found a way to get Draisaitl to complete the top 4. Maybe if he requests a trade they can offer Lundell + Verhaeghe + a 1st or something.

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An outsiders perspective from me is that your trade doesn't improve Florida's cap situation in any way. The two defensemen you are sending them would replace OEL and Kulikov so that shaves a whole 1M off the cap. Beck isn't playing in the NHL next season so for cap purposes Florida is balancing what they would pay Lundell vs what they'd pay some other guy to be their 3C. You want to pay Lundell 3.5M... I can't see any 3C that a true contender wants on their roster making less than that. A lot would make more, upwards of 5M.

If you want to help Florida with their cap help them deal with Knight and/or Bob. 16M on goal tending is nuts.

The conversation is not just about 1 year, but about the next 3.

Beck "could" win a spot or not next year. But certainly this crowd of players helps over the next 3-4 years while the competitive window is open. If there is a step back one year, it's not ideal, but it does not mean this is not shrewd from a cap management perspective.

Also, I suggest a 3 year "prove it deal" but if Lundell's camp wants a 6 year deal at 5-6M per season, the Habs can do it and the Panthers cannot. Agents are not stupid, they know the players who need to be resigned this year and next, they know that if they let their client take a short term deal, he will have to move on in a couple of years. Maybe Lundell is ok with that, maybe he's not. There is no risk of that on the Habs however.

Don’t see why the Canucks would have any interest in swapping Mikheyev for Anderson. Mikheyev is better (especially defensively), cheaper, and has less term. Montreal would have to add significantly and/or retain quite a bit

Shrewd and cap management are two words that don't often exist together in the NHL. I'm fascinated by how Florida will navigate this problem of theirs but I really don't see any dire problems beyond letting Montour walk away. How is that guy only making 3.5M on his current contract? One of the biggest value contracts in the entire league.



Lundell is an RFA without arbitration rights. His leverage to get what he wants is limited to holding out and that's a move that hurts him as much as the Panthers. Just ask Zegras about that.

Zegras who signed a 5-6M contract you mean?

Apple to orange is like 1C to 3C.

The point you should be taking from my Zegras comment is that he didn't get a Suzuki or Caufield contract. Verbeek played hardball and he eventually caved to taking what he got then had a miserable season.

And a miserable season is what you want for Lundell?