I wonder how many guys are losing their NHL jobs this yr because of Covid & other insinuating circumstances. Teams seem to be adding & signing more & more guys that are cheaper than thought especially for their bottom six forwards & bottom D pairings. Getting younger usually means getting cheaper too & putting all their money into the top six & top two D pairs rather than expensive players on the bottom six or bottom D pair.
Yes, there's a new financial reality. Some teams need to cut expenses, reduce their budget and cap strapped teams are stuck with their contracts, even decent players seems "untradable". It's not Hoffman that is holding back everything, it's more the cap burden teams and the fact that nobody knows exactly how the NHL season will look like, not even Gary Bettman himself.
Covid is way too widespread in NA at the moment. Once the situation gets a bit under control (doubt it will be the case until the vaccine though, population has too much disbelief in authorities and not enough resilience) and the NHL makes statements about the season "settings" then all the last pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. But the last FA signings might come after teams like Tampa Bay make their moves though
I would also say that you might see some players (Duclair would be a good example) signing in Europe/KHL if they could get more money but the seasons are well underway already so they'll have no choice
I think Duclair has just asked for too much money. He's a good player with some great tools who could definitely find a good niche with the right coach (I think DJ was on the right track).
But he's not getting signed for what he's asking. Maybe once Mike Hoffman signs at a reduced rate Duke will understand that he's not getting $3.5-4 M. At which point I'd bet that some team gets a real bargain, signing him for about $2M on a 1-2 year deal.
Well, if he didn't understand that he won't get anything close by this point and that he really needs an agent.... nothing is going to help him.
And like I'm saying in the quote above, it's not Mike Hoffman holding back eveything, it's more the uncertainty of the season and the cap strapped teams who might have to "sacrifice" good players.
Maybe we get lucky, he signs 1mil 1 yr with us, and we flip him for a 2nd round pick at the deadline after he scores on pace for 50 pts.
We went out to get Dadonov and Galchenyuk since, and there's a strong possiblity the Sens sign Perry. I know we're repeating and repeating but the Duclair with the Sens ship has sailed.
Duclair signing for 1 M$ here would be admitting "ok I was really dumb lolz"
It's not going to happen just by simple pride.