Pacioretty ($4.5M) - Plekanec ($5M) - Weise ($1.025M)
Galchenyuk (RFA) - Desharnais ($3.5M) - Gallager ($3.75M)
Sekac ($0.925/$1.35M) - Eller ($3.5M) - Parenteau ($4M)
Bournival (RFA) - xxx - Prust ($2.5M)
xxx
Markov ($5.75M) - Subban ($9M)
Emelin ($4.1M) - Gilbert ($2.8M)
Beaulieu (RFA) - Tinordi (RFA)
xxx
Price ($6.5M)
Tokarski ($0.5625M)
Before RFAs, that's $57.8375M. I think it would be fair to make the following RFA budgets:
Galchenyuk ($4M)
Bournival ($0.75M)
Beaulieu ($1.25M)
Tinordi ($1M)
So that is $64.8375M with 3-4 roster spots open. 2F, 1D minimum. It is $7.1625M in cap space on a $72M cap. There might be $0.425M more if you take the bonus cushion on Sekac.
5 or 6 weeks later... I wonder if our deadline pickups aren't actually pretty good candidates for those empty slots! Flynn is RFA, so for sure he is, but also Mitchell replacing Malhotra, and Petry as the key acquisition on D... it's quite a fit... we'd assume now that JDLR is in the mix as well...
Pacioretty ($4.5M) - Desharnais ($3.5M) - Gallagher ($3.75M)
Galchenyuk (RFA) - Plekanec ($5M) - Parenteau ($4M)
Eller ($3.5M) - De La Rose($0.925M) - Smith-Pelly ($0.800M)
Weise ($1.025M) - Mitchell (UFA) - Prust ($2.5M)
Flynn (RFA) - Bournival (RFA)
Markov ($5.75M) - Subban ($9M)
Beaulieu (RFA) - Petry (UFA)
Emelin ($4.1M) - Gilbert ($2.8M)
Tinordi (RFA)
Price ($6.5M)
Tokarski ($0.5625M)
Before putting in numbers for the UFA/RFAs... $58.2125M... and then estimates...
Galchenyuk ($4M)
Mitchell ($1.5M)
Flynn ($0.75M)
Bournival ($0.575M)
Beaulieu ($1.75M)
Petry ($4M)
Tinordi ($0.851M)
For a grand total of...
$71.6385... which is pretty much right where the cap is projected.
I think on the
Galchenyuk file, I'd be looking at a bridge deal, $3.5M/$4.5M for 2 years maybe. I don't think a longer term one makes as much sense for him as it did for Gallagher, because the expectation is that he's more liable to blossom into a top scorer.
I know
Mitchell is making a little more at present, but I think the expectation coming off his best years in SJ were for a somewhat more prominent role for him, and he hasn't really lived up to those expectations. Still a good player, but for the role we're looking at, $1.5M seems more than fair. Nobody wanted him at the deadline for a 7th round pick, after all. I think if he likes it here and performs, he'd be a decent fit for that spot.
Flynn and Bournival as extra forwards, both RFAs, I would give Flynn just that hair over his QO, basically. Bournival dropping back to the minors and not really distinguishing himself does put him in the category where you can offer him the league minimum IMHO.
Beaulieu has come on since the last estimates... I'd be looking for another bridge here, something like $1.5M+$2M on a 2-year deal, for a $1.75M cap hit. Assuming he keeps it up.
Tinordi is just the QO on his current deal, basically. He's not going to be waiver exempt and will be on the team.
If
Petry plays really well, the way the market goes for UFA defensemen, who knows, he could be looking for more than the raise to $4M. As long as we find we like him, I'd try to lock him down in that ballpark. Still somewhat TBD there, but he's as good a candidate as about any at this point.
What I don't like about this lineup is the $4M sitting on the nominal 2nd line RW spot...
Parenteau at $4M there doesn't look too good. Buying him out on June 15 is an option I'd be considering. That would be a $1.333M cap hit for 2 years, I think. Basically freeing up $2.67M to spend on a replacement. I think with our depth, you could elevate from within and keep going with the committee approach and get as much from Weise or Smith-Pelly or others in that role as Parenteau, or bring up Andrighetto, see if one of the younger prospects like Scherbak or McCarron or Hudon surprises in camp, etc. Alternatively, perhaps find more of a bargain bin UFA on a 1-year show-me deal at well under that $2.67M who can do as much or more than Parenteau. So basically, I'd have the Parenteau buyout pencilled in already.
Pateryn is another guy we have to think about. He's also not going to be waiver exempt anymore... unlike Tinordi who would almost certainly be claimed if he was waived, Pateryn may be able to survive post-camp waivers. He's certainly affordable in the spare D role.
In this setup, if the Habs were going to look at some flashier upgrades in the summer, it probably means other trade scenarios involving Eller, Desharnais, Emelin, or Gilbert would need to be explored. I think in the case of Emelin and Gilbert, the potential for Pateryn to step up ultra-cheap could make one of them candidates to sacrifice, if the opportunity was there to really upgrade scoring. The $2.67M freed from the Parenteau buyout, plus losing the cap hit of Emelin or Gilbert and replacing with Pateryn would get us into a position to potentially target a true top-6 scoring winger in the $5M+ range.
We're in decent shape pretty much no matter how you look at it, though.