[powderjunkie]

$1.45M for one more year on Berra. Would you trade a 7th rounder (or more ideally a very weak prospect) to Col if they retained ~$300k? Would mean there is virtually no penalty for us to bury him, and Col saves a bit compared to burying themselves.

We need to add two NHL goalies next year, and this might at least give us leverage so we don't have to rush and sign a bad deal.

Ward, Reimer, Scrivens or Enroth...I think at least one of them will find themselves without a dance partner on July 10th (and at worst Montoya, Khudobin, Lindback, Raanta, etc.).

Reimer is the only one that has a chance to be a long term solution if we want to contend, but I think the answer probably lies elsewhere. I definitely don't want to go down a 5x5 route for him. I'd rather go into next season with $3-4M payroll for two below average goalies (always a chance that someone will go Dubnyk/Bobrovsky/Smith for you). A cheap, competent backup is probably going to be necessary to pluck a soon-to-be expensive 1B from another team (of course, that needs to wait until a certain date before you can trade a new UFA).

Another spitballing idea, but Berra + Wideman for Lehtonen? We could even go crazy capology on it and retain 50% of Wideman if they retain 25% of Lehtonen or something. Gives them more room in the short term and makes the Lehtonen contract suck less for us in it's last year.

I don't think KL will lead us to the promised land, but he'd plug the hole better than any other foreseeable option.