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[lusshouse]

League in sig, but here I'll include the cuts I plan on making.


2G
Gustavsson
??

6D
Burns and a bunch of low salary, low upside guys on D

3 C
Eichel
Larkin
???

3 RW
Pastrnak
Pavelski
Tarasenko

3 LW
Marchessault
Hagel
Zuccarello


I have 17M in cap space for 1 G, 1 C and possibly upgrades on D where everybody is so overpriced.


The guy who has Alex Barkov has cap issues and wants to deal him for cheap.

Would you invest 12M on Barkov to stack my C?
Is it worth it to cut Larkin and put Barkov there for 2 extra mil?



Options for the draft right now at C3, all in the 5-7M area :

Malkin
Kopitar
Benn
Nelson
McCann
Couture
Eriksson-Ek

[RizzeeDizzee]

Barkov for only $2M more than Larkin is tempting, although you'd have to stomach Barkov's injury risk. I could go either way honestly, in which case I usually stand pat.

The $5-7M guys are pretty decent and I'd rate them as McCann (look at his Q4 and realize what is likely to come), then Malkin (still likely with gas in the tank but not a safe bet for more than 65-70 games if even that), then Kopitar (stats from last season boosted by one far better quarter, and probably now is more like a 60-65 point guy), then JEE (solid for now, but vulernable next season when Minnesota finally will have some $$ to spend, and even more so in 2025 when Pairse and Suter penalties are done), then Nelson (proving more and more he's the real deal, but I'm not a fan of hitching my horse to forward who play for the offensive dead zone on Long Island).

[metaldude26]

Malkin, Nelson and McCann are the best bang for your buck for your 3C. I like Nelson the most because he doesn't miss games but Malkin's your upside option.

That leaves you with $11M on your goalie and D upgrades.

I think that provides enough room to go for Barkov over Larkin.

[random-d]

I'm with Rizzee on this one. McCann seems like the best option at C. I think you'll see improved production from Eichel and Larkin to the point that investing that much in Barkov won't be worth it.