COLLINGWOOD has more challenges to navigate in the fallout of last year's trade period, according to new head of football Graham Wright.
Despite moving Adam Treloar, Jaidyn Stephenson and Tom Phillips to assist the cap squeeze, the Pies look set for further short-term pain.
Wright joined the Pies in January and will also add the list management portfolio on an interim basis after the departure of list boss Ned Guy this week.
Treloar (2025), Stephenson (2023) and Phillips (2022) all had outstanding contracts with the Pies, and while there was hope their departures would rid the club of salary cap issues, Wright has forecast more.
"There's still a hangover in relation to (the) salary cap. We've still got some issues we're dealing with there, but they're not insurmountable at all," Wright told SEN on Thursday.
"There hasn't been any conversation at the moment about how we look at the list from an end of year perspective and exactly what we're going to do.
"From our perspective we're looking at how do we bring in talent and using all mechanisms of player acquisition to do that, whether that be trade, whether that be free agency, whether that be drafts and mid-season drafts.
"We're looking at all of those things at the moment, but no concrete decisions made on anything from that perspective."
Treloar had an estimated $900,000 owing in each of his final five seasons, with the Pies committing to paying approximately $300,000 of his contract per year while playing for the Western Bulldogs.
As they did with Treloar, the Pies have moved to extend contracted players' deals into future years in recent times including Taylor Adams, Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe.
They also recommitted to deals for Darcy Moore (2022), Jordan De Goey (2022) and Brodie Grundy (2027) last year, with president Mark Korda admitting earlier this year the board would've preferred Grundy receive only a "four or five year" deal.
However, Wright stopped short of suggesting they'll need to move on any further contracted players in 2021.
"I wouldn't have thought so," Wright said.
"From a talent perspective, we need to keep as many talented players as we can, so I don't think that's in our thinking at the moment.
"It hasn't been discussed either, but from my perspective your talented players, you need as part of what you're doing."
The Pies currently have 15 players out of contract for 2022.
