I know everyone likes to blame anders, bailey and pageau’s contract… but our real problems are horvat and barzal.

Let’s start with Barzal. He’s getting SUPERSTAR money. He’s not a superstar. Hell, our (great) 2nd liner made the all-star team over him. Most nights our 2nd line is our best and most consistent. He refuses to shoot the puck. He has elite edges, hands and speed… I get it and I love watching him play. But to make what he makes, he needs to be a ppg guy… can’t be a 60 something point guy that is difficult to play with. Would we really be a worse team adding a 6 million winger and a 4 million defenseman over him and his contract? Probably not.

Now Horvat. 1st liner money. We knew that he probably wasn’t going to keep up his pace, but we simply cant give 8.5 mil to a guy that can’t create for himself and goes invisible for long stretches and expect to be competitive. Face offs are a bonus. But he should be no less that 35-30 this year or we’re screwed. Time will tell.

Lee. Is he slow, old and sometimes lacks that extra hustle? Yes. Does he frustrate the hell out of me? Yep! But he still is a great front of the net guy and a great leader. 3x7m left. On the open market he’s getting 3x6 mil at least off his 28 goals last year and previous 30 goal seasons. He’s not a first line winger anymore, but still not the issue here.

That’s 1/3 of our cap. That’s our problem.