Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
I agree that there is no official internal team cap.
However, I wouldn't be surprised if they look for ways to keep his number similar nonetheless, i.e. go shorter term.
I could see them doing 5 years to keep the number in the 6s. It only buys 1 year of UFA, but it gets him done at a very manageable cap for the same window as all the other key guys.
Then when all these contracts start coming due in 4 or 5 years, you decide which guys you're going to keep and which ones you can't
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This would be a huge mistake IMO. The way the league economics have gone the last decade or so, he's only going to get increasingly more difficult to re-sign a young star when you kick the can down the road like that. I'd rather the Flames lock him up as long as possible as he is looking like one of the exceptional players for his draft and will only get better. I can't see any way he signs a Gio cap deal, and if he does, Treliving should get the key to the city.
A max term deal will give the Flames their future captain for the entirety of his prime years. An 8x8 or 9x8 deal would not cripple this team at all given $12-13M will come off the books over the next 1-2 years as Smith, Frolik and Stone are either moved out or complete their deals. Other financial issues will probably be covered by the annual cap increase as all other key players are signed long term.