OFF-SEASON: *It sounds like the salary cap is going to increase 1.1 to 4.1m (I'll air on the side of caution, for now)...+1.1m...+1.1m total salary cap space. #1) Modano(1.8m, *FA*)...+1.8m...+2.9m total salary cap space. #2) Draper(1.6m, *FA*)...+1.6m...+4.5m total salary cap space. #3) Eaves(0.8m, *FA*)...+0.8m...+5.3m total salary cap space. #4) Miller(0.7m, *FA*)...+0.7m...+6.0m total salary cap space. #5) Lidstrom(6.2m, *FA*)...+6.2m...+12.2m total salary cap space. #6) Rafalski(6.0m, 1yr)...+6.0m...+18.2m total salary cap space. #7) Salei(1.1m, *FA*)...+1.1m...+19.3m total salary cap space. #8) Ericsson(0.9m, *FA*)...+0.9m...+20.2m total salary cap space. #9) Osgood(1.4m, *FA*)...+1.4m...+21.6m total salary cap space. #10) MacDonald(0.6m, *FA*)...+0.6m...+22.2m total salary cap space. #1) Howard(2.3m, 2yrs)...His raise kicks in...-1.6m...20.6m total salary cap space. #2) Mursak(0.6m, 2yrs)...He's going to be added to the roster...-0.6m...20.0m total salary cap space. #3) Janik(0.5m, 1yr)...He's going to be added to the roster...-0.5m...19.5m total salary cap space. #4) Lidstrom(6.2m-ish, ?)...He's probably going to be brought back at around the same price (maybe less now that Rafalski's gone?)...-6.2m...13.3m total salary cap space. #5) Backup goalie?(0.5m-ish, ?)...I don't know who the backup goalie's going to be (Osgood/MacDonald/Larsson), but he should be making around league minimum...-0.5m-ish...12.8m total salary cap space. ...So, there's going to be about 12.8m available in salary cap space (maybe as much as 15.8m if the cap goes up 4.1m), and four players left to sign - two forwards and two defensemen. This is where things get interesting, and where the speculation begins: FWIW, here's my prediction: #1) I think that Ericsson gets 3-4m/season from a stupid team, leaves, and is replaced by a high-profile free agent (like Bieksa?). #2) I think that Brendan Smith makes the team. #3/#4) I think that the remaining cap space - about 8m - is spent on upgrades for Eaves and Miller.