Salary Cap: '24-'25 Salary Thread: Crosbicles Volume MMXXVI: Sid is Still Goat

[McGroarty2]

Malkin is just no longer capable of carrying a line, put him with Crosby and I think he'd be significantly more successful. Just let those two play as long as they want together on L1 and rebuild the rest of the team.

Hell, keep Rust too and just have it be Malkin-Crosby-Rust.

Malkin Crosby Rakell line would be pretty good.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Malkin is just no longer capable of carrying a line, put him with Crosby and I think he'd be significantly more successful. Just let those two play as long as they want together on L1 and rebuild the rest of the team.

Hell, keep Rust too and just have it be Malkin-Crosby-Rust.

Malkin's shot/finishing is awful now though. I still run 71-87 next year cause it would be fun.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Malkin Crosby Rakell line would be pretty good.

That looks like a "too many cooks" problem on L1 to me.

If you were trying to be competitive, I think you'd want to have a top-6 of something like:

Malkin-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Zegras-Rakell

But with where this team is at, they should be looking to trade Rakell and Bunting and just keep that L1 together.

 

[The Old Master]

Crosby pulled out of his rut immediately after Malkin was placed on his line.

I don't think they've been tried nearly enough together over the years to say this with any confidence. They have been given what amounts to spot duty at best 5v5 for their whole careers.

just putting a good player with another will do that. Imo but their styles never seem to match it seemed more like gee i now have more space so I'll just take over.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

I wonder who the Pens have a better chance of signing, Marner or Raantanen.

Assuming Raantanen doesn't sign with Carolina obviously.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I wonder who the Pens have a better chance of signing, Marner or Raantanen.

Assuming Raantanen doesn't sign with Carolina obviously.

Marner for sure imo. Dubas connection and getting to know Sid at the 4 Nations.

 

[Andy99]

I wonder who the Pens have a better chance of signing, Marner or Raantanen.

Assuming Raantanen doesn't sign with Carolina obviously.

Neither…why the hell would any talented player in their prime who wants to pursue a Cup ever pick the Pens lol

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Marner for sure imo. Dubas connection and getting to know Sid at the 4 Nations.

Neither…why the hell would any talented player in their prime who wants to pursue a Cup ever pick the Pens lol

Lol these are pretty much my thoughts.

Marner has the connections. Raantanen already has a Cup and may just be looking for a payday.

 

[Gurglesons]

Neither…why the hell would any talented player in their prime who wants to pursue a Cup ever pick the Pens lol

Cash.

 

[Andy99]

Cash.

I mean, but they can get cash from other teams too who have way better odds of winning a Cup in their lifetime lol

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Lol these are pretty much my thoughts.

Marner has the connections. Raantanen already has a Cup and may just be looking for a payday.

I don't think either should/would come here tbh, but Marner seems to have a better chance. I think they'll get their money wherever they end up. I just think a team like San Jose or Chicago would be smart to throw a Brinks truck at Marner to play with either Celebrini or Bedard, and those teams only stand to get better whereas the Pens are gonna be wretched for probably another 5+ years.

 

[Dennis Reynolds]

At least Sullivan lost. Could you imagine if he won? He'd have a decade-long contract extension on his desk before his first practice back with the team.

 

[Rudy Russo]

At least Sullivan lost. Could you imagine if he won? He'd have a decade-long contract extension on his desk before his first practice back with the team.

And at least the penguins don't have Trocheck, Fox and Kreider on their roster. Have fun with those contracts Rangers fans. No to Sully in 2026.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Part of me expects Sid to go on IR immediately after he gets back to Pittsburgh and gets evaluated. But then again, dude played with a f***ed up wrist for like 7 years or some bullshit so who knows.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Neither…why the hell would any talented player in their prime who wants to pursue a Cup ever pick the Pens lol

Because the Pens can offer them 15mil per and not even blink

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I mean you aren't totally wrong but this is clearly his reality and has been for seasons, now. We can pound the desk all we want to "get him help" -- they aren't going to do it. They don't care. At this point maybe they shouldn't.

The best outcome is that he plays with Crosby next season then retires. Do we really think he's gonna be anything less than f***ing abysmal once he comes back from this self-imposed knee injury? Hell he might not even be able to keep up in that role.

No one gave a shit he was with Sid. The issue was, the dipshit coach didn't do it right. Sid should have been the LW with Geno at C and Rakell as the RW. Sid's game was always the better one to translate to winger, never Malkin.

Geno has been a placeholder for Sid's line for basically his entire career and it's bullshit to see it at a time where he needs a unit of wingers that he has chemistry with, now more than ever and the coach still f***ed him over.

It's not opinion either mate, it's literally what has happened and has been.

Yeah and I mean that's fine and whatever I just think it's a bit of joke how much people are shitting on Geno when Sid is being given the absolute best circumstances possible to produce while Geno is a year older and is being given worse linemates.

I bet if Sid were to get injured and sit some games out and they went Rust-Malkin-Rakell that Geno would magically start producing again and people would be talking about how he looks rejuvenated from the break lol

Sid getting Rust is fine. But Rakell and Rust is a massive f*** you to Geno. He should have had Rakell back on his line immediately.

Sullivan was always horse shit with his pairs ideology with the roster, it was only applicable to Sid and no one else.

 

[OtherThingsILike]

Neither…why the hell would any talented player in their prime who wants to pursue a Cup ever pick the Pens lol

I think there will be at least one coveted UFA who will take a very short-term contract; maybe even only a year, in order to cash in better when the cap goes up in the next couple of seasons.
We could feasibly sign Marner for a year and trade him at the deadline (assuming the team isn't in a playoff position then, of course.)

 

[OtherThingsILike]

I don't get it. We desperately need more center depth, yet here we are discussing Malkin on the wing for the 1,957,983rd time in his career.

I think the idea is that we move Malkin to the wing and trade for (or sign) a hypothetical 2C in the offseason. For once, we have some cap space and some trade capital to feasibly be able to do that.

 

[eXile3]

Cash.

Like 99% of the time they just go to the highest bidder.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

I thought he would age into becoming a power play merchant but he’s seemed to have gotten worse there.

Yea his shot is well....shot
<I'm here all week>

 

[Andy99]

Because the Pens can offer them 15mil per and not even blink

I said players who want to play meaningful games in their prime playoffs…those only about the Benjamin’s will obviously consider us if we pay the most lol

 

[Empoleon8771]

JR/Allvin are speedrunning ruining the Canucks it seems. What a bizarre contract to give a goalie like Lankinen.

 

[SEALBound]

Sticker shock because the cap is going up but also:
1. There's not a ton of goaltending talent left in the league.
2. They have the room to do it.
3. Other GMs have flooded the market with these level of contracts for similar players.

I imagine they are hoping that giving him the money and the nod helps him go from a 2a/1b to a true #1. Or at least provide that "good enough" goaltending.

 

[Malkinstheman]

So I guess the new norm is paying goalies based off a ~20 game sample size? Still find the Blackwood contract to be egregious. He hadn't been above a 0.900 Sv% since 2021 and Colorado handed him a 5x5 contract on 20 games this season. Not like goalies have a track record of becoming pumpkins after a good year or anything

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

lol on the bright side... if league GMs keep that kind of slackjawed, drooling moron shit up... Jarry might eventually look halfway palatable.

...

OK no he won't.