But that doesn't really substantially change their cap situation, considering one guy going to Vegas means one more body they'll need to replace? Even if Vegas takes the highest-paid player the Hawks can expose, which is Kruger, getting rid his ~$3.08 mil salary leaves the Hawks roughly $5.3 mil to fill nine roster spots, which averages out to ~$590,000 per player, just over league minimum. Other than Kruger and Panarin, literally every other Blackhawk making over $1 mil has some form of NTC/NMC, so they won't find it easy to shed salary.
Re: Playoff feels
But that doesn't really substantially change their cap situation, considering one guy going to Vegas means one more body they'll need to replace? Even if Vegas takes the highest-paid player the Hawks can expose, which is Kruger, getting rid his ~$3.08 mil salary leaves the Hawks roughly $5.3 mil to fill nine roster spots, which averages out to ~$590,000 per player, just over league minimum. Other than Kruger and Panarin, literally every other Blackhawk making over $1 mil has some form of NTC/NMC, so they won't find it easy to shed salary.