Salary Cap: Pens 2024 Summer Thread: "Thus, knocking us out of these superior numbers when we emerge! Mr. President, we must not allow a non-playoff bound gap!"

[AuroraBorealis]

Nuke's just kind of f***ing stupid. How dumb do you have to be to be caught up in this magnitude of shit two years in a row? Great player, but a complete dipshit. I don't care what drugs people do recreationally, but being involved in the whole (alleged) trafficking thing put him under a microscope and for him to not cut out the extra shit like his coke habit--that's some astronomical levels of stupidity, man.

Addiction and habits overwhelm reason on the daily.
For example we keep coming back to the board, despite knowing many users are toxic and a lot of topics and discussion will be dull.

It's just like how it's impossible to convince people to change their minds about something they've told themselves is truth over and over.
You can list pages of evidence, but it won't matter in the end. They'll circle back to their original opinion.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Nuke is a great 2-way player, when available. He's played 62, 53 and 54 games the last 3 seasons though.
That, combined with the very real risk of him being suspended from the league because of his addiction, and it becomes very sketchy to pay him 6.125 for 6 more years until he's 35.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Nuke is a great 2-way player, when available. He's played 62, 53 and 54 games the last 3 seasons though.
That, combined with the very real risk of him being suspended from the league because of his addiction, and it becomes very sketchy to pay him 6.125 for 6 more years until he's 35.

52, 47, and 53 points in those seasons, and 18 goals/26 points in 28 playoff games. Is that not worth 6 mil per?

If he's suspended from the league, his cap hit comes off the books.

 

[sauce66871]

I have a feeling our shiny new top 9 forward this offseason is going to be Anthony Duclair.

 

[Empoleon8771]

They have already bumped Geno to the 2nd PP unit, and both Sid and Geno are passive as far as taking shots go. Actively passing up shots to give lesser players chances.

As far as a 5 on 5 guy concerns, Teuvo is a + positive player each and every season 7 seasons deep.

I look at the whole picture.

Edit: Granlund was a decent player at Minnesota, Nashville and San Jose. A minor stop for the Pens is hardly proof he wasn't anything more than poorly used.

There is a zero percent chance that the Penguins bump Evgeni Malkin off of their top powerplay for Teuvo Teravainen. Good lord.

 

[Gurglesons]

I have a feeling our shiny new top 9 forward this offseason is going to be Anthony Duclair.

Think it's more likely it's someone like Teuvo Teravainen, Sean Monahan, or Alex Wennberg.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

52, 47, and 53 points in those seasons, and 18 goals/26 points in 28 playoff games. Is that not worth 6 mil per?

If he's suspended from the league, his cap hit comes off the books.

Gotta consider the Sullivan points tax. What's his place on PP1 and how many PPPs does he lose going to a far worse one? He's a left shot, so the left wall doesn't really work.
Net front? Bunting was doing a pretty great job at that. Don't see the urgency to push him to PP2.
Plus you gotta look at linemates. He primarily played with Mac and Rantanen.
Sid's 37 next year. Other linemate likely Reilly Smith I guess? No more Makar and Toews on the blue line either. Puck's in his hands less.

Not saying it's impossible for him to play up to 6 mil still, but it gets sketchy here in Pittsburgh. Sure, he can come off the books if suspended, but if that happens mid-season then there's no more free agents available. You gotta give to get at that point.

My main concern here is committing to yet another big contract during years we should be rebuilding. I don't get the purpose. Nichushkin isn't gonna make us a contender. It's possible he help us make the playoffs, sure, but after that it's a quick dismissal to stronger teams.
If the team is gonna dick around for a few more years still, it should all be short-term deals.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Addiction and habits overwhelm reason on the daily.
For example we keep coming back to the board, despite knowing many users are toxic and a lot of topics and discussion will be dull.

It's just like how it's impossible to convince people to change their minds about something they've told themselves is truth over and over.
You can list pages of evidence, but it won't matter in the end. They'll circle back to their original opinion.

I don't think Nuke's a coke addict. I think Nuke is a grotesquely wealthy young dude who enjoys a bit of coke now and then. I think you could find probably 40 or so guys like Nuke league-wide if you tried hard enough tbh.

But after last year with the hotel room situation and the definite microscope he was under, he's a f***ing complete moron for not shelving the stuff until the off-season. As good as he is at hockey, and he's very good, he's equally as stupid.

 

[Gurglesons]

I don't think Nuke's a coke addict. I think Nuke is a grotesquely wealthy young dude who enjoys a bit of coke now and then. I think you could find probably 40 or so guys like Nuke league-wide if you tried hard enough tbh.

But after last year with the hotel room situation and the definite microscope he was under, he's a f***ing complete moron for not shelving the stuff until the off-season. As good as he is at hockey, and he's very good, he's equally as stupid.

He's in rehab lol.

 

[The Great Mighty Poo]

Looks like we'll get an extra 900K to use along with the cap going up, Neito's excepted to miss all of next year and be LTIR'd.

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

Looks like we'll get an extra 900K to use along with the cap going up, Neito's excepted to miss all of next year and be LTIR'd.

I can't wait for his number retirement.

 

[Gurglesons]

Looks like we'll get an extra 900K to use along with the cap going up, Neito's excepted to miss all of next year and be LTIR'd.

Where did you see this?

 

[SEALBound]

Where did you see this?

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pitts...enguins-matt-nieto-expected-spend-season-ltir

Nieto should not play another game for this team.

 

[Ugene Magic]

There is a zero percent chance that the Penguins bump Evgeni Malkin off of their top powerplay for Teuvo Teravainen. Good lord.

They literally bumped him off the top PP last season for a lesser player in Bunting.

Why would you think it would be so hard for them to do it for Teuvo?

 

[Ugene Magic]

I have a feeling our shiny new top 9 forward this offseason is going to be Anthony Duclair.

Think it's more likely it's someone like Teuvo Teravainen, Sean Monahan, or Alex Wennberg.

In his defense he did say top 9, not top 6.

 

[Gurglesons]

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pitts...enguins-matt-nieto-expected-spend-season-ltir

Nieto should not play another game for this team.

So, this article says he'll be healthy allegedly by November.

"Nieto suffered setbacks during his recovery phase and eventually underwent a second surgery to start the offseason. His second surgery was on his left knee, however, and will keep him for six to seven months.

If everything clears and Nieto can hit the ice again, his earliest return would be early November, nearly a year since his last game action."

 

[Coastal Kev]

I have a feeling our shiny new top 9 forward this offseason is going to be Anthony Duclair.

This would make me so very happy

 

[BusinessGoose]

Dude, awesome

I was excited for nieto but it did NOT work out, I'm fine if they LTIR him like they should (they won't, it's not how we do things in Pittsburgh... Unless you're dupuis i guess)

 

[Ryder71]

Near the bottom of Cap Friendly team pages they list the available space for future years.

I'm aware, I just wasn't sure that they counted the guys listed on IR.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Gotta consider the Sullivan points tax. What's his place on PP1 and how many PPPs does he lose going to a far worse one? He's a left shot, so the left wall doesn't really work.
Net front? Bunting was doing a pretty great job at that. Don't see the urgency to push him to PP2.
Plus you gotta look at linemates. He primarily played with Mac and Rantanen.
Sid's 37 next year. Other linemate likely Reilly Smith I guess? No more Makar and Toews on the blue line either. Puck's in his hands less.

Not saying it's impossible for him to play up to 6 mil still, but it gets sketchy here in Pittsburgh. Sure, he can come off the books if suspended, but if that happens mid-season then there's no more free agents available. You gotta give to get at that point.

My main concern here is committing to yet another big contract during years we should be rebuilding. I don't get the purpose. Nichushkin isn't gonna make us a contender. It's possible he help us make the playoffs, sure, but after that it's a quick dismissal to stronger teams.
If the team is gonna dick around for a few more years still, it should all be short-term deals.

Nichushkin scored 16 PP goals in his 54 games last year, tied for 7th in the league. Every player ahead of his played at least 75 games. Our highest PP goal scorer had 10.

Nuke wouldn't just make PP1, he'd be our best PP player. He's one of the best in the league.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Looks like we'll get an extra 900K to use along with the cap going up, Neito's excepted to miss all of next year and be LTIR'd.

You can bury 1.1k in the minors. Nieto not being here doesn't create cap space.
What it does do is unblock a bottom-six position for someone better.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Nichushkin scored 16 PP goals in his 54 games last year, tied for 7th in the league. Every player ahead of his played at least 75 games. Our highest PP goal scorer had 10.

Nuke wouldn't just make PP1, he'd be our best PP player. He's one of the best in the league.

So, what then? Right wall Nichushkin, with Crosby on the left? When have they ever done this for more than a few games?
Net-front? Our net-fronts in recent years barely get puck touches, and Bunting is already doing a really good job there at a cheap cap hit.
Left wall as a left shot? Suboptimal. Makes it hard with one-timers and getting good angles to shoot.

You're also ignoring the rate at which his stats would decline here. He would no longer be among the tops in the league here, so it doesn't matter.
I'm not denying that he's an excellent PP player, but it needs to fit with everything else that's going on.

Why commit 6 years now, of all times, to an expensive winger? To accomplish what? It's illogical.
As much as I like the player's game, timing and contracts matter.

 

[HandshakeLine]

He's in rehab lol.

I saida, "no, no, no".

 

[wej20]

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pitts...enguins-matt-nieto-expected-spend-season-ltir

Nieto should not play another game for this team.

Not ideal for a guy whose only selling point was skating fast.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Not ideal for a guy whose only selling point was skating fast.

And PK. He was stingier there than all Forwards not named Smith. Small sample size, but I gotta give him credit there.
On a related note, this team should stop using Rust on the PK. No Forward got scored on more frequently there, relative to his minutes. And in 2022-23 he was 2nd worst, behind Carter.
I don't get what Sullivan sees in him there, but he's not Bergeron. Smith should eat his minutes there. He's like a 90 percentile PK'er.