CARLTON is closing on a welcome slice of good news, with captain Kerryn Harrington and NAB AFLW Rising Star winner Mimi Hill among a handful of players poised to re-sign at the club.

It's understood Harrington, Hill and promising youngster Lucy McEvoy are all on the cusp of extending their respective deals, softening the blow of the Blues losing three-time best and fairest Maddy Prespakis to the Bombers earlier this week.

Harrington and Hill are believed to have had interest from expansion sides Essendon and Hawthorn respectively, while McEvoy is rated among the top talents at the club after being recruited with pick No.2 in the 2019 NAB AFLW Draft.

Mimi Hill (left) and Kerryn Harrington warm up ahead of round five, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

Harrington is a two-time All-Australian defender and has held the Carlton captaincy role for the last three seasons, while the 19-year-old Hill's stunning comeback from an ACL injury earlier this year was recognised when she claimed the Rising Star award.

Their imminent re-signings follow the news that Prespakis, along with talented forward Georgia Gee, will head to expansion side Essendon ahead of its maiden campaign in the AFLW next season.

As reported by womens.afl earlier this week, St Kilda is also eyeing a move for Carlton forward Nicola Stevens while Sydney is among a host of teams chasing young midfielder Grace Egan.

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But rival clubs now believe the Blues are among only a small handful of existing Victorian sides with salary cap space to burn ahead of the AFLW's sign and trade period, potentially putting them in a strong position to target replacement players.

Blue Lucy McEvoy in action against Geelong in round six, 2021. Picture: Getty Images

"While we certainly did not want to lose Maddy and Georgia, it now gives us a significant number of options heading into this off-season," the club's AFLW football boss Brett Munro said in a statement earlier this week.

"One aspect is that we now have considerable flexibility in our salary cap, from both a player retention and acquisition point of view, that we can take into the upcoming sign and trade period."

Carlton also signed coach Daniel Harford to a two-year contract extension earlier this week.