Assuming we don't trade for a top 6 C and we bridge Wennberg & Anderson for somewhere up to 6 million combined we will have a bit under 5 million in cap room.
Projecting out to next year and assuming Hartnell is gone either via a trade or a buyout we are still in good shape.
As I look at the roster without adding a top 6 C I think our best bet is to re-sign Gagner to a 2 year deal and spend what we have to, within reason, to get it done. I think we could go as high as 4 mill per and still be ok cap wise for the next 2 years.
With a bit of planning and a Dubi buyout 2 years down the road we could pay Panarin 8 per and Wennberg 7 mill (not saying we will or should just saying we could if we had to) in 2019.
Wild cards in this scenario are :
How much does Cam get re-signed for? I wouldn't go higher than 5.5
Do we re-sign Johnson and for how much and how long? I say he is a goner after this year maybe at the deadline depending on how we stand and how the youngins develop.
Can we re-sign Bob at 8.5 mill going forward?
By adding Gagner we get a guy who can play C or RW just about anywhere in the lineup in case of injuries;
Add a pretty sure bet 40 point guy with a 50ish upside
2 years - up to 4 million per.