The crippling thing for the Sharks was the Karlsson trade (and subsequent signing). Bad deals like Vlasic and Jones weren't necessarily insurmountable (though we've seen it's very difficult to win a cup with any bad contracts).
Norris (was ELC, now 7.95M)
Stutzle* (last year of ELC)
Demelo (now 3M)
Balcers (750k)
Tierney (was 3.5M; apparently he's signed 750k in FLA...he could've been worth a shot here)
And recent picks 39 and 44 that could easily turn into something
Those 5 players now cost ~13.5M, but it's been a lot less than that until this season. Karlsson +4 guys at league min is still 14.5M.
There's a lot of butterfly effect if that trade isn't made...the Evander Kane trade also lead to the 1st in the EK trade getting delayed and turning into Stutzle...who knows where those pick(s) end up. But SJ probably could have managed a reasonable re-tool despite Vlasic/Jones and even Kane's contracts if they kept those assets.
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