Washington Capitals and Trade Deadline Math
J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington (mailbag): A flat salary cap remains for the next few seasons. The Washington Capitals need a center. It was something Washington did not address during the draft or free agency last year. They have a nice core of four centers with the big club but little or nothing else after that. A dollar-in, dollar-out deal to deliver a depth center seems unlikely.
Evgeni Kuznetsov trade possibilities rise a little but not until after the season. During the season makes little sense for the Washington Capitals. As for the expansion draft, stay tuned as Washington will try to steer certain deals to Seattle. A Vegas-like sequel will not happen again.
Toronto Maple Leafs and the Salary Cap Math
James Mirtle of The Athletic: Kyle Dubas does not have to make a dollar-in, dollar-out trade in every scenario. The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager possesses options in his arsenal to make a deal. It would not take too much to trade for a $4 million player. Talents like that include Rickard Rakell, Mikael Granlund, Eric Staal, and others.
Take a deal for Granlund which Toronto would have to wait around a week to make. A couple of moves later and some salary retention could get the Maple Leafs right near the salary cap.
Now, the Leafs could wait, demote a player, or do double retention. The second retention involves a third team who would retain salary. Again, there are crazier options as far as the math. Toronto may be able to afford Taylor Hall and his huge salary even.
That would require more maneuvering but again it is possible. The idea behind this is that dollar-in and dollar-out is kind of a myth here. Teams can get creative, add sweeteners, etc. No one expects this to be easy but Kyle Dubas can acquire talent without having to trade what he does not want to.