Kovacevic and Neighbours

The cap and roster are legal and the contracts on the target roster are all within a believable range, so the structure of the plan works. The STL deal is aggressive but not crazy: Neighbours plus a 1st and an extra mid‑rounder is a lot of value, but Nikishin is a premium RD prospect with cost control and top‑pair upside, and St. Louis is a mid‑pack team that could talk itself into adding a potential cornerstone on the right side. It’s a stretch, but not impossible if the Blues are very high on Nikishin and less sold on Neighbours as a long‑term top‑six driver. The weak point is the New Jersey trade. Flipping Lindstein alone for Kovacevic at $4M with term and an NTC plus a 4th going back to Carolina is tilted heavily toward the Hurricanes. A 29‑year‑old third‑pair RD with modest production and a no‑trade clause is not returning a recent first‑round LD prospect straight up, let alone with NJD also adding a pick. The Devils would almost certainly demand additional value from Carolina or downgrade the pick going to the Canes, so this move is the main reason the plan lands in the "workable but optimistic" range rather than being fully believable.