Cap Room

by brendan1 on Mar 8, 2010 11:15 PM CST

I thought since I am in a good mood I would break down our entire budget situation for next season and discuss possible options going forward.

I think it is fairly safe to say Joe likes the core of this team going forward, including most of the defense. Here is a complete breakdown of salary committed to next season(keep in mind I am using the salary numbers not the avg cap hit, because cap hit for this team is basically irrelevant) using figures from nhlnumbers.com

Goalies:

Kari Lehtonen- 3 million (assuming he is signed to a standard qualifying offer)

Total Hit- 3.75 million

Defense:

Robidas- 3.250 million

Fistric- 1.0 million

Daley- 2.5 million

Karlis- 1.65 million

Woywitka- 700,000

Total Hit- 9.1 million

Forwards:

Richie- 7.8million

Ribs- 5.0 million

Morrow- 4.1 million

Loui- 3.2 million

Ott- 2.95 million

Benn- 635,000

Sutherby- 850,000

Segal- 550,000

Total Hit- 25.085 million

Overall Hit- 37.935 million

Team Budget- 50 million (based on on currect projected salary totals)

Remaining Money- 12.065 million

RFA`s (assumptions, open to discussion)

Neal- 3 million

Grossman- 2.5 million

Niskanen- 1.5 million

Fortunus- 650,000 (2 way deal)

Brunner- Don`t see him coming back....

Wandell- 900,000

Sawada- 650,000 (2 way deal)

Lindgren- 650,000 (2 way deal)

UFA`s

Modano- Retired

Lehtinen- Retired

Barch- Not re-signed

Petersen- 800,000

Turco- Not re-signed

Total Signings- 8.6 million in NHL contracts

1.95 million 2 way deals

Remaining Salary- 3.465 (not including 2 way deals)

Needs:

-Backup Goalie

-Checking Line Forward

-RW

-Upgraded Defense

So after some assumptions and generally accounting for re-signing all the youth there is 3.465 million left, based on maybe a generous assumption for the team budget, with a few pressing needs.

I like what I have seen from Segal as a depth winger, however I still think there is a need for some veteran depth. Or maybe we just offset what we need with the likes of Lindgren, Sawada depending on how Joe views this teams direction. So really the cost of shoring up for forward groups is minimal at best.

possible options; Begin, Yelle, Comrie, Halpbern, Malholtra, Primeau, Morrison

Goalie....pretty simply veteran presence who can play at least 30 games given Kari`s history this will be vital

UFA`s; Lalime, Hedberg, Biron, Ellis, Raycroft, Leighton

Best for last ....Defense, based on what I have thrown out there, there is basically no salary room left over for a FA signing. However with this scenario there is about 13-14 forwards signed, as well as 8 defenseman. Point being there are quite a few options left with this siutation. You obviously do not need to make all of these signings 1 or 2 fewer signings along with moving Daley or Nisky and you can go after a FA with hopefully 3-4 million.

options; RFA; Grebshkov, Coburn, Lee, Ranger, White, Letang, Franson

UFA; Martin, Clark, Mitchell, Seidenberg, Hamhuis, Mara, Leopold, Ference, McKee

Clealry options are going to be limited, and I think we would be lucky to get 1 new guy on the blueline and the team is going to probably have to rely on the infusion of new prospects like Larsen, Fortunus, Lindgren. But I remain hopeful that time will serve the current d-corps well along with hopefully 1 solid addition . But as it remains on paper this team seems to have a lot of good pieces and I think it is just a matter of time, experience, some tweaks to figure this thing out....A new owner with big pockets wouldnt hurt tho.

***I totally forgot about adding in Avery's 2 million....but no one really knows if Hicks is counting that or not but here it is anyways.

This is a user-created FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Defending Big D. FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable hockey and Dallas Stars fans.

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thanks

Thanks for puting all that together. I’ve accepted Jere and Mo moving on but I’m not ready for Turco to leave yet….bummer huh?

by KingPodda on Mar 8, 2010 11:33 PM CST reply actions

I didnt wanna accept it either..

But honestly unless he is willing to sign for 2mill or less and play in a 1a 1b scenario it is not gonna happen. They really just cannot afford him, defense is a much larger concern than keeping an aging goalie and there is hardly any money to take care of that concern.

by brendan1 on Mar 9, 2010 12:02 AM CST reply actions

I'd like it...

If Marty would stick in a 1a/1b situation I’d love it.
But think about this… the Flyers are gonna bust out in the 2nd round. They’ll blame their goalie.
A risky, aging goaltender who’s made one good run at the Conference Finals… They’ll sign Turco for 3.5M.

by Waywardstars on Mar 9, 2010 8:21 AM CST up reply actions

That's gonna suck.

I hate the Flyers.

Really hate them.

A Lot.

Did I mention I hate the Flyers?

I do.

West Texas Contemporary Photographer

by Damien Franco on Mar 11, 2010 2:50 AM CST up reply actions

Team Budget

Hicks has all but said the budget for next season is going to be around $45m. That leaves $8m to sign RFA’s and FA’s. So for the Stars to have any extra cap space to sign a stud D man, then someone like Ribs is going to have to get moved.

by jf55510 on Mar 9, 2010 12:50 AM CST reply actions

Doubt it

I do not believe for a second Joe signs Ott for 2.95 mill if the team budget is less than 50. He said this years budget was gonna be 45 million and it clearly isn’t. He also did not clarify what 45 million represents we can only assume.

by brendan1 on Mar 9, 2010 1:15 AM CST reply actions

Maybe he meant,

“I’d be spending $45 if I wasn’t about to have to sell this biatch, but I’ll spend a little more so I have something more buyers might like?”

It’s all speculation, but it wouldn’t make sense to let the shutters fall off just as the “For Sale” sign goes up.

by laurenb on Mar 9, 2010 10:14 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah, thats pretty much the way I see it too.

No money to do anything but hope your young D grows up quick. For awhile I was thinking they would move $ from the forward pool to D via a trade. But with the moves at the trade deadline and playing the young D in the playoff push, I think he is going to live with them.

I’m starting to think the vision is keep your offensive skill and make the budget with a young D. Hope they grow up in the short run and in the next 1-1.5 years the team is sold or Hicks finances improve enough to allow you to spend to the cap and get 1-2 quality blue liners to fill in what hasn’t developed from the youth. Talk Brad into reupping with that vision and there’s a couple of years window with a true cup contender.

by 1paniolo on Mar 9, 2010 11:43 AM CST reply actions