I think I brought this up last year, but players now score more than they have in the last 8 years, so extensions are going to take up a larger % of our static salary cap.  My view is that GMs still mostly resign their own players and then because they take up a larger % of the cap it has sharply reduced FA costs.  Sure, some players will make the odd $25m for one season, but most players are getting signed to peanuts compared to what their extension value would be. 

Sometimes you can cash in on FA with a rebuilding amount of cap space, but mostly there isn't much to sign.

I attribute the stagnant trade market the last two years with the top teams being just so dominant that there weren't 2-3 trades that would put a team into contention.  Maybe that will change this upcoming year. 

My opinion recently has been to reduce the number of years of prospect extensions down to 3 years.  This will allow for more players to be making full scale money faster which would push more players into FA and probably increase trading.  The extension multiplier probably doesn't matter too much.

Buyout:
Victor Olofsson $2.9 (26-27)    2.9 x 4 x .66 = 7.7m all this year
Damon Severson $1.5m (24-25)  1.5 x 2 x .66 = 2m all this year
Juuso Valimaki $1.5m (24-25)  1.5 x 2 x .66 = 2m all this year



Drop
Cam Atkinson $.9m (24-25)
Travis Hamonic $.9m (24-25)
Vladislav Namestnikov $.9m (24-25)
Matt Grzelcyk $.9m (24-25)
Adam Ruzicka $.5m (2nd)

I did it on Fantrax, but if someone wants to double check my math.

2 years

drop Derek Forbort

2 years

Yeppers