Contenders

The contracts are the easy part: Xhekaj at 4 x $2.5M and Bolduc at 4 x $3.75M are both within a believable RFA range given their usage and production, and a 38‑year‑old Perron on a 1 x $1.5M deal is exactly the kind of short, cheap veteran add that shows up every summer. The cap and roster state you provided is legal, so there’s no structural issue there. The stretch is on the trade side. New Jersey moving a 33‑year‑old depth winger with modest production plus a 2nd for Kirby Dach is actually favorable to Montreal; given Dach’s age and upside, the Devils would likely need to add, not receive the 2nd, so that deal is optimistic but not impossible if they’re very down on Dach’s health. The bigger reach is Seattle: McCann is a 20G/40P forward on an expiring $5M deal, and you’re asking the Kraken to take a depth LD, a 4C, a stalled prospect, and two 2nds. With Seattle coming off a 79‑point year, they’d want either a clear top prospect or a 1st‑round pick for their best scorer; two 2nds plus middling pieces is light. If you upgrade the McCann package to something closer to a 1st‑equivalent, the plan looks quite workable; as written, it relies on Seattle undervaluing their own player.