Salary Cap: 2017-18 Roster Building Thread V | Contract/FA charts in Post #1 | CAP SET at $75M

[Shady Machine]

Keep in mind Bozak will cost significant assets to acquire, makes 4.1m and will be a UFA seeking a raise next season. That's my concern there.

Oh yeah for sure. I don't know if Bozak is a practical acquisition for those reasons, but he's definitely the caliber of 3C I'd be happy to have.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Yeah, I find Dom Moore to not only be better than Boyle, but also cheaper.

Moore had a decent season with the Bruins. I wouldn't mind him if Cullen would retire.

 

[Iron Tusk]

Yes please to both Bozak and Moore.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

snipe is not a word I would use...very few of his goals come from hitting the top corner. his goals come more from thinking the game at a high level, knowing where to go, hard work, and a little good luck. nothing wrong with that.

I find Jake Guentzel plays the game an awful lot like the way Luc Robitaille and Michel Goulet used to play the game. Right place, right time, instincts, savvy, and shot accuracy.

He is in many ways an old-school scoring winger.

 

[pistolpete11]

Moore would be about as perfect of a replacement as you could get for Cullen.

I'd like Bozak as well, but worry about the assets going back to Toronto.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Bozak would be huge for Kessel's offense, but he'd be a pretty considerable downgrade from Bones defensively...and he flat-out doesn't PK.

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

We need us a Kirk "its happening" gif day.

Still not sure what "It" is though

 

[Riptide]

...what's not straight forward is why they would give up Henrique. Smart ass.

I try

Besides... that part of the equation wasn't asked.

 

[cheesedanish87]

Bozak doesn't make much sense to me.

If you trade for Bozak your gonna be in the same situation next year at this time looking for another 3rd line center when bozak cashes in free agency.

Its just bad asset management IMO.

 

[Riptide]

I'm really starting to warm to the idea of Sam Gagner as their third line pivot.

He's coming off a big statistical year, so there's a risk of him getting a bloated contract, but Ill be surprised if he gets much over 2m.

He's a really skilled guy with experience on the pk, but he's inconsistent for sure. Of course, so is Bones.

When I watched him on the Oilers, he was always getting a plethora of short handed chances with his speed. He's nothing special defensively, but I think Sullivan and his coaching staff could help him improve substantially in that area.

He seems like a much better option than overpaying Bones or Hanzal.

I would think that at 27 (or however old he is) and him having been in the league since he was 18, that any chance of him finding a "substantial" improvement to his defensive game would have already come - especially last year with Torts.

Gagner's faceoff skills typically suck and while he'd be more offensive then Bonino, I don't think his 2 way game would make up for the difference. I wouldn't be opposed to signing him - simply because we really need a #3C... but honestly... I'd rather overpay for Bonino first.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

 

[wgknestrick]

I would love to see us get Nesterov this year.

 

[Riptide]

I am wondering about Boyle as well. Can he play as a third pivot still or is it past his time?

I think he falls into the same class Cullen does in that regard. He can, but you'd rather he didn't. But if we could get the numbers to work... I'd love him to be our #4C next season - for all the reasons that have been brought up. Big, PK, mean, good on draws, good defensively. Might not spend as much time in the offensive zone as Cullen did... but neither is he a liability out there that you're afraid to put out vs top lines.

 

[Peat]

question for people on here..... what do you guys prefer?

1 - going all in for the three-peat, even at the expense of the future? Such as trading Maatta, Sprong, & a 1st round pick to get Duchene to play 3rd line center, and signing another D to replace Maatta.... this could hurt them 2-3 years down the line, but it would make them damn hard to beat..... or sign someone like Bonino or Hanzal, despite overpaying which could really make us tight against the cap and hurt us 2-3 years from now when trying to resign key pieces

2 - have a competitive and obviously try to win, but not mortgage the future to try to win it all now..... dont trade Sprong as he could be a legit top 6 winger for the next 5-10 years..... dont overpay guys like Hanzal or Bonino as they are just 3rd line centers and make sure you manage the budget not just for now but down the road

they are 2 completely different situations, but I think you need to make a decision on which way to approach the offseason/free agency

I'd go with 2.

Even if I was going with 1, I'd still be really leery of doing the Duchene deal. It's a gamble, but those assets could make us better next season than Duchene can by himself, and I'm really not sure about Duchene in a 3C role.

 

[Riptide]

Yes, i thought Bones was terrible in the regular season and playoffs outside of one or two good weeks he had at the end of the regular season.

Almost every shift Bonino's line was on the ice in the playoffs they were stuck in its own end the majority of the shift.

I can only remember Bonino's line having one good game the entire playoffs and that was game 5 against the Sens when the pens blew out Ottawa.

I know its a small sample size but did anyone actually think the pens missed Bonino the last 4 games of the finals?

I thought they looked a lot better without him.

That applies to almost everyone in the playoffs except for the last 3-4 games against Ottawa.

The only 3 forwards over 50% SAT were Kunitz (51.59%), Crosby (50.81%) and Kessel (50.4%). Other than Hagelin (48%), everyone else was below 48%. 5 were below 45%.

 

[Peat]

That applies to almost everyone in the playoffs except for the last 3-4 games against Ottawa.

The only 3 forwards over 50% SAT were Kunitz (51.59%), Crosby (50.81%) and Kessel (50.4%). Other than Hagelin (48%), everyone else was below 48%. 5 were below 45%.

One of these things is not like the other things

 

[ColePens]

I think Pens fans should hope nothing big happens because my guess is.. it wouldn't be pretty for the Pens. I want to trust in JR, though. The reason why I do not want Duchene is because Sakic wants the world for him. Noooo thank you.

 

[ColePens]

I said he sniped in game 1 of the finals. Do you disagree with the use of that word for that goal?

I think Jake's shot is really underrated. Sneaky, quick release, solid pop. He is smart with how to release it (using dmen as screens). He rarely shoots right into a dman.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I think Pens fans should hope nothing big happens because my guess is.. it wouldn't be pretty for the Pens. I want to trust in JR, though. The reason why I do not want Duchene is because Sakic wants the world for him. Noooo thank you.

Whatever we do has to make sense, naturally. I'm just eager to see how we solve this center issue.

It's something we haven't had to worry about in like...a decade.

 

[ColePens]

Whatever we do has to make sense, naturally. I'm just eager to see how we solve this center issue.

It's something we haven't had to worry about in like...a decade.

Since Chicago is going old school with Saad, possibly Sharp, etc... Pens are going to trade for Jordan Staal.

 

[TimmyD]

With McDavid close to signing a big money deal any chance that we could possibly pry Draisaitl out of Edmonton? I'm not sure what there cap situation looks like and if they could fit him in under McDavid as well

 

[seabs926]

With McDavid close to signing a big money deal any chance that we could possibly pry Draisaitl out of Edmonton? I'm not sure what there cap situation looks like and if they could fit him in under McDavid as well

You prepared to part with Malkin? EDM has no reason to trade away their second best player.

 

[Malkinstheman]

On top of the assets required to get him, Drai is going to ask for 7-8m.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I would think that at 27 (or however old he is) and him having been in the league since he was 18, that any chance of him finding a "substantial" improvement to his defensive game would have already come - especially last year with Torts.

Gagner's faceoff skills typically suck and while he'd be more offensive then Bonino, I don't think his 2 way game would make up for the difference. I wouldn't be opposed to signing him - simply because we really need a #3C... but honestly... I'd rather overpay for Bonino first.

I don't view Torts as some master technician to be honest.

You may have a point, but I certainly wouldn't base my opinion on how his defensive game not improving much under Torts would be any type of benchmark.

I think he falls into the same class Cullen does in that regard. He can, but you'd rather he didn't. But if we could get the numbers to work... I'd love him to be our #4C next season - for all the reasons that have been brought up. Big, PK, mean, good on draws, good defensively. Might not spend as much time in the offensive zone as Cullen did... but neither is he a liability out there that you're afraid to put out vs top lines.

I think Boyle will cost too much to be a fourth line pivot.

Pens have plenty of cheaper options including Blueger I'd rather see fill that spot.

 

[Nakawick]

question for people on here..... what do you guys prefer?

1 - going all in for the three-peat, even at the expense of the future? Such as trading Maatta, Sprong, & a 1st round pick to get Duchene to play 3rd line center, and signing another D to replace Maatta.... this could hurt them 2-3 years down the line, but it would make them damn hard to beat..... or sign someone like Bonino or Hanzal, despite overpaying which could really make us tight against the cap and hurt us 2-3 years from now when trying to resign key pieces

2 - have a competitive and obviously try to win, but not mortgage the future to try to win it all now..... dont trade Sprong as he could be a legit top 6 winger for the next 5-10 years..... dont overpay guys like Hanzal or Bonino as they are just 3rd line centers and make sure you manage the budget not just for now but down the road

they are 2 completely different situations, but I think you need to make a decision on which way to approach the offseason/free agency

Why not both? We can do both, it will take 2 trades and a UFA signing. If we move Maatta, then we move a winger for a D and sign a FA winger. Or don't replace the winger. We don't have to mortgage the future for 2 years.