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

[Dipsy Doodle]

The Caps got 20M in free cap space this summer to take all those big swings. They'd be exactly where the Pens are with a old Backstrom and Oshie in the roster and Kuzy retention on the books.

The Pens will have loads of cap space after next year. For next year, we can use the space we have to take on short term bad deals with sweetener.

 

[Ulf5]

Makes sense. Rosen was very noticeable in the game the baby Pens played against them the other day.

I would think that or one of the 3 Cs. Kulich, Ostlund or Helenius. Although Kulich has graduated to the big club.

 

[Andy99]

From another poster as I don’t have access…sounds like Yohe wrote it lol…

A TIOPS deadline update, so take it with a grain of salt.
- There's interest from multiple teams on Rakell (including Vancouver and LA, some say Edmonton should take a legit shot) but they're very divided on letting him go.
- The Pens have put a 3rd round asking price on Matt Grzelcyk. He's believed most likely to be moved.
- It's doubtful Karlsson is dealt by the deadline, and it's reported that it would be a team pulling off a hail mary type transaction.
- For Beauvillier, a 4th or 5th round pick has been the talk.
- Apparently, moving Acciari is more realistic than we may think. Several teams were interested in signing him back in 2023, and some remain high on him. They're working through options on trading Acciari.
- Something we already know: 2026 picks are very coveted.

 

[Ulf5]

 

[Icarium]

Don’t be shocked if the Penguins make their biggest splash a day or two before Friday’s deadline. The reason is simple and logistical. Only seven hours after the deadline expires, the Penguins play the Golden Knights in Vegas. They don’t want to find themselves in a position where they have fewer than 20 players capable of dressing. If they make several deals on deadline day, that could happen. It’s not easy to swiftly get players to a location three time zones away.

I hope this is just Yohe being Yohe because if the front office cares so much about having a full complement of players for a meaningless game then they are not very bright.

 

[Ulf5]

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

• Alex Nedeljkovic is not unmovable, but the Penguins do like the idea of having him around their stable of young goaltenders.

"Ok young goalies, this is how you let in the SECOND shot of the game. You don't to be like that loser Jarry who does it on the 1st shot. That's how you get sent to the minors"

 

[Empoleon8771]

My guess for the western conference teams interested in Rakell are LA, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Minnesota, although I figure Nyquist likely takes them out of the running. Friedman had discussed Rakell to Winnipeg before in one of his 32 thoughts column, I think there's a really good fit there with how good the Jets are defensively this year.

The Jets are currently running with a top-9 of:

Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Ehlers-Namestnikov-Perfetti
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton

But they could rearrange that 2nd line to run with Ehlers-Perfetti-Rakell and bump Namestnikov to L3. They'd likely send Iaffalo back to make the money swap more even and Rakell gives them some insurance in case Ehlers walks as a free agent.

Lambert would probably be too much but Iaffalo, Lambert and a 2026 1st for Rakell would be a really nice deal IMO. Hell if you could get Lambert, I'd probably even be good with getting a 2nd rather than a 1st for Rakell.

 

[Jacob]

I would think that or one of the 3 Cs. Kulich, Ostlund or Helenius. Although Kulich has graduated to the big club.

Kulich looks like the GigaChad guy

 

[eXile3]

From another poster as I don’t have access…sounds like Yohe wrote it lol…

A TIOPS deadline update, so take it with a grain of salt.
- There's interest from multiple teams on Rakell (including Vancouver and LA, some say Edmonton should take a legit shot) but they're very divided on letting him go.
- The Pens have put a 3rd round asking price on Matt Grzelcyk. He's believed most likely to be moved.
- It's doubtful Karlsson is dealt by the deadline, and it's reported that it would be a team pulling off a hail mary type transaction.
- For Beauvillier, a 4th or 5th round pick has been the talk.
- Apparently, moving Acciari is more realistic than we may think. Several teams were interested in signing him back in 2023, and some remain high on him. They're working through options on trading Acciari.
- Something we already know: 2026 picks are very coveted.

Is 2026 good or is just McKenna? I haven’t looked a lot into it.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

You're f***ing delusional, or flat out stupid, if you're part of this team's FO and you're "divided" on trading a 32 year old having a career year, in a setting where teams are slinging around 1sts like candy. Sorry, no way to sugarcoat it. You're a f***ing moron. Zero chance you get a 1st next year for Rakell, even if he miraculously replicates his production from this season.

Is 2026 good or is just McKenna? I haven’t looked a lot into it.

Both.

 

[Jacob]

You're f***ing delusional, or flat out stupid, if you're part of this team's FO and you're "divided" on trading a 32 year old having a career year, in a setting where teams are slinging around 1sts like candy. Sorry, no way to sugarcoat it. You're a f***ing moron. Zero chance you get a 1st next year for Rakell, even if he miraculously replicates his production from this season.


Both.

I think the concern about not having a winger for Sid is valid. I also think you could probably trade Rakell for a 1st at a future date too. Like next deadline or something.

It'd suck to put Sid on an island but there's also a small chance that someone we take in the 1st might even be a forward that's very close to NHL-ready. And that small chance increases with every 1st rounder we acquire.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Yeah something Yohe correctly notes in that article is that there aren't really that many sellers right now because of how many teams are close to a playoff spot. Teams like Columbus and Vancouver are likely going to be sitting on their rentals rather than selling them off, so the availability of guys is going to be limited.

I think Marchand, Zucker, Palmieri, Smith and Donato are the only rental top-9 wingers that look like they'll be available, plus Boeser may join that group as well if Vancouver decides to sell. It's a very slim market and a lot of teams are going to be buying.

 

[Ugene Magic]

You're f***ing delusional, or flat out stupid, if you're part of this team's FO and you're "divided" on trading a 32 year old having a career year, in a setting where teams are slinging around 1sts like candy. Sorry, no way to sugarcoat it. You're a f***ing moron. Zero chance you get a 1st next year for Rakell, even if he miraculously replicates his production from this season.


Both.

You know what's more important than a lousy late 1st?

The level of the b prospect coming back because, that late 1st isn't worth dick.

You are over selling the dude at any cost. You get it right or you don't do it at all.

 

[Sideline]

I think the concern about not having a winger for Sid is valid. I also think you could probably trade Rakell for a 1st at a future date too. Like next deadline or something.

It'd suck to put Sid on an island but there's also a small chance that someone we take in the 1st might even be a forward that's very close to NHL-ready. And that small chance increases with every 1st rounder we acquire.

I think you can stack Malkin-Crosby-Rust and just let those guys put up some numbers and have fun on their shifts for the rest of this season. Hayes, Glass, and Lizotte is a horrid 2-4 centre lineup, but who cares? They aren't making the playoffs and you can fill out the top six with Koivunen, Bunting, and a UFA next year.

 

[Ulf5]

I think the concern about not having a winger for Sid is valid. I also think you could probably trade Rakell for a 1st at a future date too. Like next deadline or something.

It'd suck to put Sid on an island but there's also a small chance that someone we take in the 1st might even be a forward that's very close to NHL-ready. And that small chance increases with every 1st rounder we acquire.

I don't think the chance of getting a 1st for Rakell next season is 0% if he replicates this season.
But I do think the chances are greatly higher of replacing him in ufa. If providing shotgun for Sid is a concern.
I'm trading Raks 101 times out of 100 at the deadline.

 

[SEALBound]

I would be offering Acciari for a 7th just to get him off the roster. I can't see any level of worth between a 5th, 6th, or 7th that is worth keeping him over sending his ass out.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I think the concern about not having a winger for Sid is valid. I also think you could probably trade Rakell for a 1st at a future date too. Like next deadline or something.

It'd suck to put Sid on an island but there's also a small chance that someone we take in the 1st might even be a forward that's very close to NHL-ready. And that small chance increases with every 1st rounder we acquire.

Eh, that's made up bullshit. There's no legit concern there. Sid has Geno, Sid has Rust (unless the team trades him this summer, and while I'd be ecstatic, that shit's not happening). This team's f***in' dead in the water whether people (not you, in general) want to accept the reality or not.

Sid will make due. He's fine. This hasn't been any more than a one line team for half a decade, and sometimes they're not even that.

Don't think you're getting a 1st for Rakell in the 2026 or 2027 drafts with McKenna and Dupont being available, and the odds Rakell replicates his production when he's having a career year seem slim. I dunno, it seems like borderline sabotage to not take advantage of the value the dude has. We're a year removed from the guy being a 40pt player.

 

[Ugene Magic]

I think you can stack Malkin-Crosby-Rust and just let those guys put up some numbers and have fun on their shifts for the rest of this season. Hayes, Glass, and Lizotte is a horrid 2-4 centre lineup, but who cares? They aren't making the playoffs and you can fill out the top six with Koivunen, Bunting, and a UFA next year.

Malkin isn't helping anything on a line with Crosby at this late stage of Geno's career. He will end up corrupting an already poor defensive line. Considering Geno's defensive lapses, it's now a triple threat defensively.

 

[Gurglesons]

It’s gonna be funny when Rakell gets an LBI injury next year and is a 15-20 goal guy and 40 pt player for the rest of his career here.

 

[BillyOcean]

We gotta stop posting yohe and kingerski boys

 

[Empoleon8771]

I hope the Penguins get Yager back in a Rakell to Winnipeg deal, they somehow also trade for Rosen and the Rangers 1st ends up #14 overall. Claim the entire market on all of the #14 picks in recent drafts, that would give them the #14 pick from 2021 (Rosen), 2022 (McGroarty), 2023 (Yager) and 2025.

Had they not traded their 1st for EK, that would have also been the #14 picks in 2024

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Eh, that's made up bullshit. There's no legit concern there. Sid has Geno, Sid has Rust (unless the team trades him this summer, and while I'd be ecstatic, that shit's not happening). This team's f***in' dead in the water whether people (not you, in general) want to accept the reality or not.

Sid will make due. He's fine. This hasn't been any more than a one line team for half a decade, and sometimes they're not even that.

Don't think you're getting a 1st for Rakell in the 2026 or 2027 drafts with McKenna and Dupont being available, and the odds Rakell replicates his production when he's having a career year seem slim. I dunno, it seems like borderline sabotage to not take advantage of the value the dude has. We're a year removed from the guy being a 40pt player.

I mean, that's why conditions are a thing.

Rakell should be dealt before next season, assuming there's a good enough deal on the table. But I don't think Dubas should jump at the first offer of a late 1st in a shallow draft he gets either.

 

[Icarium]

He will end up corrupting an already poor defensive line.

And that would be bad because...?

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Had they not traded their 1st for EK, that would have also been the #14 picks in 2024

Just wait until Jarry plays the best hockey of his entire career starting right now. We’ll be picking 14th this year too.

Will be his final f*** you to us before he gets shot to the moon this summer