I have a sneaking suspicion only one of Wilson and Smith will be back for next season with both now arbitration-eligible. That never goes well for this organization and its player relations. The one who does return gets a big contract, though; the other is probably a piece (along with Jones or Ellis) in a deal to get us a center.
With so many smaller players coming in, we need bigger forwards now more than ever, so Gaustad and Beck are probably safe where they are. I'd give Beck a two-year deal and see if he develops into anything more.
I'd also like to see Jarnkrok on a two-year contract. I'm not totally convinced he's a long-term solution at center, but I know the coaches love him, so give him some job security and let him make a good case for himself. Bourque I could take or leave, because clearing him out gives a chance for the younger players in Milwaukee (Watson, Salomaki, and Sissons in particular) to crack the NHL, but he shouldn't be prohibitively expensive, so I don't mind if he comes back.
Cullen walks. I think he retires; he was visibly running out of gas at season's end. Franson sounds like he wants to go back to Toronto to sit on the bench for 50 minutes a night play for Babcock. I don't see much reason to make him an offer based on his form after the trade. Santorelli can't get out of here fast enough. Volchenkov is a coin flip for me, but the team needs a defenseman other than Weber who will go out and physically punish people. That probably saves Nystrom's job, too.
I'm really on the fence about Stalberg. I'm not convinced he's going to come back and be better, and I'm definitely not convinced we couldn't use that spot on a young player like Fiala (admittedly conceding a lot of size there) or a net presence forward to improve the power play. Money is no object with nearly $30M in cap space, but with so many other players in the mix, I think he gets lost in the shuffle because he doesn't really specialize in anything: he played 96 seconds total of special teams time in 25 games.
This is where GMs make the real money. This team is already pretty good; now it has to be better. I'd say our shopping list is a first line center, a veteran RHD to replace Jones or Ellis, and another defenseman to bolster the team's depth (maybe this could be Bitetto or Aronson?) in that order.
