The salary cap freeze is probably a blessing in disguise for this team. The players know there aren't going to be any pay raises for a couple years, not big ones anyway. Then having Chara come in for not much above the league minimum just because he still wants to play must've made an impression on OV. The team still needs to dump salary big time though. Kuzy appears to be a cancer that should've been removed long ago. I think he helped Vranas attitude here, and Sammys. Caps clearly need to improve secondary coaching though, goalie coach, PP/PK coach as well.
Just getting rid of Kuzys cap hit won't be enough. I'd leave Carlson unprotected, and if that didn't work start looking for trade deals, primarily because of his cap hit. Having the two young goalies wasn't that big of a deal this year, and wouldn't be a consideration if the rest of the team played up to expectations.
I could see this team keeping OV until he retires, as long as OV realizes he needs to give up some cap space. He's just about achieved Michael Jordan status anyway, he makes about the same money if not more from endorsements. Plus he's still the kind of player that brings in other talent. Fan attendance will take a hit though, unless the team can keep winning without him.... and keeping OV wouldn't be nearly as bad as a political party inserting a 77 year old dementia patient into office.
interesting note, Jagr is still playing at a level where he contributes. It's in the ELH(Czech league) and he owns the team, but still. So if push comes to shove I'm sure OV would do the same, in Russia obviously.
After the playoffs, we can start a discussion about the entry draft and what kind of team the Kraken have assembled. I'm guessing that will move Nashville to the east permanently.
