Blockbuster deal! - Malkin etc

[regehr]

I received the following offer - at first glance, it looks like a bad deal for me, but I have a big cap problem this coming summer, so this solves that problem. So it would be a case of taking a bit of a hit short-term to be able to keep my core together long-term. I believe my team is strong enough to take the short-term hit and still win.

League/team in sig - yes, I have a good team - it's a 70M cap. I've shown cap hits and ages (for next yr) and how their current production translates into a rating out of 10 in our scoring system.

Evgeni Malkin - 8.5M cap hit (10M in 18/19, 11.5M in 19/20); 31 yrs [rating 12.7/10]
Blake Wheeler - 4M cap hit (4M in 18/19, 4M in 19/20); 31 yrs [rating 6.7/10]
Sami Vatanen - 3M cap hit (3.5M in 18/19, 4M in 19/20, 4.5M in 20/21); 26 yrs [rating 4.3/10]
=15.5M cap hit (17.5M in 18/19, 19.5M in 19/20)

for

Mark Scheifele - 2.5M cap hit x 4 yrs; 24 yrs [rating 10.4/10]
Ryan McDonagh - 2M cap hit x 3 yrs; 28 yrs [rating 7.4/10]
=4.5M cap hit (4.5M in 18/19, 4.5M in 19/20)

As you can see, that's a whopping 11M cap hit savings next yr, 13M savings in 18/19, 15M in 19/20.

Right now, I have 27 good players whose salaries total 83.5M next year -- so I'm running way over the 70M cap. This deal would leave me with 26 keepers (still 1 over) and 72.5M cap hit. I can pretty easily move another player (and acquire some cap relief) to get down to 70M, so this deal solves my problem. It's basically breaks down as this:

Malkin <> Scheifele (7 yrs younger, 6-9M/yr cap savings, 18% worse)
Wheeler <> McDonagh (3 yrs younger, 2M/yr cap savings, 10% better)
unload Vatanen (3-4.5M cap savings), who hasn't played well enough to justify his cost

I'd appreciate your thoughts, considering this situation...

[Eskimo Brother]

It's extremely tough to make these kind of cap dump deal, both because you don't want to give up the talent, and because it's tough to get others to take it on.
That being said, I think it is a deal worth making. With your team as it is, the salary space is the most important aspect. Vatanen would likely be lost as a non-keeper anyways, so he's a throw in. I really liked your breakdown down to some quantitative values, and it shows you that for the downgrade, your 11M savings is worth it. This is also the best time to be selling Malkin, and I would love to have Scheifele on any team I manage.

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It's extremely tough to make these kind of cap dump deal, both because you don't want to give up the talent, and because it's tough to get others to take it on.
That being said, I think it is a deal worth making. With your team as it is, the salary space is the most important aspect. Vatanen would likely be lost as a non-keeper anyways, so he's a throw in. I really liked your breakdown down to some quantitative values, and it shows you that for the downgrade, your 11M savings is worth it. This is also the best time to be selling Malkin, and I would love to have Scheifele on any team I manage.

[regehr]

as always, many thanks, EB! anybody else have thoughts on this before I decide?

[Moses]

$70M for 25 players. Yikes! That is a tight cap.

Malkin is almost un-ownable in this set up. If you are getting a good player on a value contract for him you have to consider it. Even if the optics looks bad. The perceived value on Malkin is as high as it is going to be this season. It can't get any higher. This IS the 'sell high' moment.

[SuperMario]

Something doesn't add up here. Maybe I'm missing some rules or settings, but your forwards alone add up to $83 million, and that's not counting your pricey stacked D corps or your also stacked and expensive goalies.

[regehr]

it's $83M for all my keepers (does not include players on farm), so that include all my Fs, D and G. Still, that's $13M over the cap! But also 2 players over the 25-man limit.

[Sulla]

I think it's a yeah, the only caveat is does this deal upgrade him enough to challenge you the rest of the season?

[regehr]

Anything is possible in the playoffs but unlikely he could catch me in the regular season.

I'm 49-9-0 to date. He's 32-25-1.

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Anything is possible in the playoffs but unlikely he could catch me in the regular season.

I'm 49-9-0 to date. He's 32-25-1.

[Moses]

.... and Malkin is hurt. Sun rises in the east, sets in the west.