from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,
“Even if John Tavares or Erik Karlsson hit the market,” noted ex-Calgary GM Craig Button, now a commentator on NHL Network and TSN, “where are they headed, or where are they going?”
Karlsson, perhaps the most offensively skilled blue liner in the NHL, still has one year remaining at $6.5 million with the Senators. Rumors ran rampant at the February trade deadline that he would be dealt, a conversation that no doubt will be rekindled around the amateur entry draft.
Tavares just finished up a six-year deal that paid him $5.5 million a year. The salary cap for next season is expected to approach $80 million.
There could be teams willing to hand Tavares and/or Karlsson max deals, which would be for seven years at about $16 million per — substantially above the $10.5 million that both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will earn with the Blackhawks at the top of the current pay pyramid next season.
At figures that high, noted Button, it makes for a quirky fit on any team’s cap structure.
“How do you even clear enough cap space to be able to get a Tavares or a Karlsson?” mused Button. “I’m not saying it can’t be done, but all of a sudden you are clearing out three players to get one and I’ve never figured out where that makes sense.”
a bit more and other hockey topics too...
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