All right. So Backstrom and Wilson are now scheduled to be back on the roster and in the lineup tomorrow.
We've been angling over the salary cap implications of this for awhile, and I said recently that Backstrom was the key to the salary cap management issue. The only way to allow these guys back on the ice was to move Carlson and his cap hit (that is almost as large as Backstrom's) to LTIR. So essentially the cap exemption weapon the Caps had with Backstrom has been shifted to Carlson.
That means either Carlson is off the ice until the playoffs, or the team is in salary Cap hell when he is ready to come back -- unless some OTHER high-salary player goes on LTIR, or is moved.
Now the next question: With Backstrom and Wilson back on the ice, what other moves are made? I'd be very surprised if Backstrom was ready to assume top-line minutes or responsibilities after being out so long. It seems to me that the logical place to start him is 3rd-line center, because his defensive instincts are good. That means that Eller has to move to a wing somewhere, because I don't think Dowd is going to be ousted as 4C. Wilson is going to displace someone on RW, and it's probably going to be A-K - pecking order. Otherwise, probably Sheary has to move. Maybe Eller sits for awhile.
It sure seems as though someone needs to be traded, IF Backstrom and Wilson show themselves ready to play productively.
