[BrownDrake]

I compiled 18 teams, considered to be "playoff" teams or contenders to look at the mix of the top 4 forwards and top 3 d-men with regards to cap hits that make up those teams. Numbers based on players under currently contract for the 2015-16 season.

Average Cap Hit on those 7 players - 37.7
Average Cap Hit for top 4 forwards - 22.9
Average Cap Hit for top 3 D-men - 14.8

Highest Payroll - Chicago @ 47.6; Minnesota @ 42.1; Washington @ 39.6
Lowest Payroll - Islanders @ 33.4; Ottawa @ 33.9; Winnipeg @ 34.2

Highest Forwards - Chicago @ 32.2; Minnesota @ 26.4; Pittsburgh @ 26.3
Lowest Forwards - Montreal @ 17.3; Winnipeg @ 17.7; Islanders @ 18.0

Highest D-Men - Montreal @ 20.25; Winnipeg @ 16.5; St Louis @ 16.2
Lowest D-Men - Pittsburgh @ 11.7; Dallas @ 12.2; Anaheim @ 12.8

Looking ahead to 2017-18 season when Sam Bennett will require a bridge deal what will the Flames top 7 look like and how much room to sign the missing pieces to fill out these top 7 players to be average?

I am assuming we will have the following:
Monahan, Gaudreau, Bennett (+/-18.0) 1 Forward @ 4.9 to be average
Giordano, Brodie (+/-12.0) - 1 D-man required @ 2.8 to be average

I understand the cap may go up but also has its issues with a lower dollar, the probability of the cap being 10% higher is unlikely. If we inflate those positions by 5% we could add a Forward at 5.2 and a D-Man at 3.0 and probably maintain the average mix.

If you are a team that has a higher than average payroll at the forward position there is less money for defense and vice versa (Pittsburgh, Montreal, Winnipeg).

This analysis seems unlikely that the Flames would be signing or trading for any larger contracts passed the 2016-17 season if they feel their core 5 guys are where they plan to build around.