Congrats to both sides in the signing.
Our intrepid poster has a list of people we have to worry about, but it seems somewhat simple to me that this is not much of a problem as he thinks (IMO).
1. Johnson walks and the CBJ lets him go.
2. Calvert is a great heart and soul guy, but if he asks for a big deal he follows JJ out the door.
3. Murray is a great d-man, but likely he goes at the trade deadline when the CBJ trades for offense.
That gives management enough room to sign people, and the reality is the salary cap has to go up sometime soon, no matter what the economic conditions are in Canada or the US. If there is not a decent increase in the next couple of years the big market-teams will start squirming with all the contracts they can't make, and/or the players will go on strike on the matter because the NHL owners can't plead poverty at this point.
When the cap goes up more people can get signed without putting us face-first into the ceiling of the salary cap.
- jkumpire
I don't think Murray is leaving. To be honest, I think the most likely dmanto go at the trade is Johnson. It makes absolutely zero sense to move Murray and then risk Johnson leaving at the end of the season and suddenly lose 2 dmen.
Combine that with the fact that Murray has been our most consistent dman all year. I've been a Murray fan from the beginning, admittedly, but I really think moving Murray is a huge mistake. One thing I find interesting is that Jones/Murray is our #1 PK unit. I think that says a lot about
Ryan Murray is 24, Seth Jones 23, Nuti 23, Carlsson 20, Werenski 20.
Those 5 guys are who we need to keep and build our Dcorps around. Not Savy who's 27 and JJ who turns 31 in January.
While I think Johnson is the most expendable dman we have (minus harrington) because of age and contract situation, I do think the one guy whose play has made him more likely to get moved is David Savard. While losing a RHD is always painful, I start to wonder more and more about the possibility of him getting moved. Last night's scratch is making me think he's more expendable than we ever realized as well.
