I don’t think Stone is going anywhere. He was signed with the team knowing exactly who he was, and he performed more or less to expectations last year. He only moves if a prospect D surprises (arguably, would want two of them to step up because injuries happen), because he’s one year into his contract and has played as advertised.
The price tag is no doubt high, but a capable veteran on the bottom pairing to help introduce new NHLers is valuable. I don’t think you save more than 1mil before compromising on something - and I don’t know if that 1 mil is worth the risk of losing defensive depth. Especially the same summer that we lose Hamilton for a less established player.
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