Quote:
Originally Posted by gescom  Cammalleri and _________ & Dallas' 1st round pick to Tampa Bay for Brad Richards... |
That's actually pretty close to the "wtf" trade that I imagined Lombardi would be making. The following is a whole mess of "what ifs" but just play along because I think it makes some kind of sense...
Here's the setup:
Michael Cammalleri is making $3,350,000 for one more year.
Lubomir Visnovsky is going to make $5,650,000 for 5 years, and a no trade clause kicks in after July.
Brad Richards is making $7,800,000 for the next 3 years.
Dan Boyle is making $3,333,333 and is set to be a UFA.
Reports indicate that the Lightnings are going to have to fit under a self-imposed salary limit of 42 million -- they're currently projected to be at $43,683,971, which doesn't seem like a hard number to get under, but with Boyle's contract demands...
According to TSN, Boyle is reportedly asking for an eight-year contract worth more than 6 million dollars a season with some estimates saying the asking price might be between 6.5 and 7 million. Obviously with Lecavalier, Richards, and St. Louis signed to their big contracts that becomes very difficult to afford.
So you have something that looks like this:
Brad Richards ($7,800,000)
Dan Boyle (6,000,000)
Total: $13,800,000
Michael Cammalleri ($3,350,000)
Lubomir Visnovsky ($5,650,000)
Total: $9,000,000
If they decide to accept a package of Michael Cammalleri and Lubomir Visnovsky for Brad Richards, 2008 1st Round Pick, and Shane O'Brien (or a prospect) -- they'd be saving $5,800,000 and if they didn't include O'Brien, $4,800,000. The Lightnings then trade Dan Boyle for a package of players to flesh out their lineup with much needed depth and shed an additional $3,333,333 for a potential grand total of $8,133,333 ~ $9,133,333, which gives them plenty of breathing space.
Tampa Bay gets Cammalleri who closely matches Richard's point production that fluctuates between 70 and 90 points, acquire Visnovsky who also matches well with Boyle's numbers, free up a ton of cap space, and get a hold of some good depth depending on the return they get for Boyle.
Kings get another 2008 1st Round Pick, a legitimately tough, young defenseman in Shane O'Brien that adds some bite to the blueline, acquire a bonafide center to take some pressure off of Kopitar, and projecting on a long term basis, we actually save money by taking on Richards and getting rid of Visnovsky and Cammalleri.
How that last part works is like this:
Lubomir Visnovsky is going to make $5,650,000 for 5 years, with a total contract hit of $28,250,000.
Brad Richards is making $7,800,000 for 3 years for a total contract hit of $24,300,000.
That's a savings of $3.95 million in the long-term and a short-term savings of $1.2 million if it's just Richards (Lubo's 5.65 + Cammalleri's 3.35 vs. Richard's 7.8) or save only $200,000 but also have Shane O'Brien.
It's improbable, I know, but I don't think it's all together impossible. Of course the first major hurdle in this "fantasy trade" is that Brad Richards has a no trade clause that could kill it before it even gets off the ground, but whatever.
Birdman
