[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Problem being they are $3.3M over the cap right now with 13 forwards, 7 dmen, and 2 goalies.

Even if Duclair can go on LTIR they have to drop one more of the players to be cap complaint at $300k over.

But really the need to clear about $4M-$5M in salary to be able to add Duclair once he’s healthy and have a full 23 man roster.

Pretty much need to find a taker for Hornqvist, which is easier said than done especially with no firsts.

And even if they can do that I don’t really like their 2nd and 3rd d-pairings, or their bottom 6 outside of Lundell. Their depth compared to last year has really taken a big hit and that’s a big part of why they were so successful. Combine that with the downgrade from Coach Q to Maurice and I think they will be in a battle with Ottawa in that division.

I'm not disagreeing that they will be worse off than last year. I'm just challenging the notion that they'll struggle to make the playoffs. This is still a very good team that has some holes. Show me a team that doesn't at this point. I don't think they'll win the division again, but they'll be in the playoffs for sure without much issue.