Salary Cap: Dr Dubas Cap Thread: He wants the Nurse

[Jag68Sid87]

Yea, Francis has done nothing in a management role that makes me want him involved in any way unless it’s to shake hands and sign autographs for sponsors.

I would be very curious about what Francis thinks of one Shane Wright, for instance.

 

[Duffy13]

This guys is really pushing for it.

On Nurses perspective, why wouldn't he want to come here? He's going to get top minutes, the media and fanbase, barring grumpy f***s like me, will embrace him, he likely has spoken to Kulak and Skinner and they were warmly accepted and appreciated here. Plus he gets to play with Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Karlsson and guys who outwardly look like they are having lots of fun.

I'd rather they bump him to wing and tell him to just go punish defenders, abuse the opposing crease and fight.

 

[thevelvetfog]

I mean, as cynical as I am about Dubas, I kind of believe given his press conference that it was less that Dubas decided to stand pat, but more like the value of guys like Brazzeau and Mantha is close to non-existant or Dubas expected it to be way higher than it was.

So sure, get those guys as stop gaps or whatever, but I'll believe we'll trade them when we actually do so.

No way on Mantha. Maybe everyone else is harder to move because they had/have term. But Mantha on a cheap expiring deal with the year he had? I'm sure someone offered at least a 2nd. And if the Pens were not on the playoff bubble leading up to the TDL, Mantha (and perhaps others) would have been as good as gone, even for a lesser return as there would be absolutely no point in hanging on to him in that scenario.

 

[Ulf5]

Taylor Haase​

11:15 pm - 06.19.2026Pittsburgh

The Penguins' sale to the Hoffmann family could be finalized on Tuesday. The NHL's Board of Governors will meet then in New York.
The league and Board have to vote to approve the sale from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffmann family, and the Board only meets in person twice a year. The last meeting was several days before the sale agreement was made, so it's been a long wait to get the deal done.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Why are we back to talking about Nurse. Anyone discussing the name actually watch the guy play? He's horrendous in his own zone. He's looked horrendous against international competition that wouldn't sniff NHL ice.

I feel there's way to much 'this guy played 20 minutes on a team that went to a cup' - and not enough actual dialogue about just how putrid the man is as an NHL defender.

And on a club who's defense was complete ass the last few seasons - it's a pretty rich take to even consider taking on someone like Nurse here. I don't give a crap if it's for free or has 5 2nd round picks attached to it (to flush Wilkes Barre full of even more non NHLers).... it's a stupid move to consider. Idiotic really.

There are a bunch of reasons:

- It's being reported that Dubi and Bowman are talking about it.
- We're a bad team that can't compete for at least 3 years/
- They'll pay to move the contract.
- We need to hit the cap floor and have no one to spend cap on.
- We'll be able to flip him in a few years for further assets.

Honestly, it would be pretty weird if we weren't talking about Nurse.

 

[TojoP]

Sometimes guys who are great assistant coaches make terrible head coaches. I'm going to hope it's something similar with Francis that he's better suited to a lesser role.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

I really think that too many of you have no idea how the Cap works. Pens can add Nurse and still be under the cap floor. They need to add like 20-25M this summer at minimum to allow them flexibility to make TDL moves (Novak 3.5M, Braz 1.5M, Girard 5M, Woth 1M).

If Dubi somehow managed to move one or more of Rust/Rak/Ek to move up next week, then add another 5-10M+ to what they need to add to the cap.

Take a basic math class.

https://puckpedia.com/teams

 

[plaidchuck]

Sometimes guys who are great assistant coaches make terrible head coaches. I'm going to hope it's something similar with Francis that he's better suited to a lesser role.

like Jacques Martin? Anywho barring legacy concerns and throwing someone semi retired a bone, the Francis hiring seems odd to me. Dubas doesnt seem like the type of guy who would say he needed a “special advisor”. Imposition from new management?

 

[deakka]

I really think that too many of you have no idea how the Cap works. Pens can add Nurse and still be under the cap floor. They need to add like 20-25M this summer at minimum to allow them flexibility to make TDL moves (Novak 3.5M, Braz 1.5M, Girard 5M, Woth 1M).

If Dubi somehow managed to move one or more of Rust/Rak/Ek to move up next week, then add another 5-10M+ to what they need to add to the cap.

Take a basic math class.

https://puckpedia.com/teams

Chinakov and Silovs will take up some cap as well. And i bet we sign some FA at least. I dont see the floor being a problem so big we need Nurse to solve it

 

[Andy99]

Yeah, we don’t need Nurse to reach the cap floor unless Dubas is going to ship Rackell/Rust/EK out for solely futures…

 

[eXile3]

Chinakov and Silovs will take up some cap as well. And i bet we sign some FA at least. I dont see the floor being a problem so big we need Nurse to solve it

It’s not. It’s just a narrative created by Oiler fans to get us to think Nurse would be good for us.

 

[deakka]

We could also sign carlsson for 1 year at like 12-14 mil. Retain half at the deadline and its easy movable for a great return . He's worth a 1st I've heard!

 

[Koivunsons]

Chinakov and Silovs will take up some cap as well. And i bet we sign some FA at least. I dont see the floor being a problem so big we need Nurse to solve it

Cap floor is currently 76.9 million. We are currently at 66 million. That means Chinakov and Silovs have to combine for a total of 10 million and that would also mean any trade we made in season would need to involve a cap+ asset.

 

[Koivunsons]

It’s not. It’s just a narrative created by Oiler fans to get us to think Nurse would be good for us.

I think it has more to do with next year then this year. Our forward commitments go from 37 mil to 15 mil and our defensive commitments go from 28 to 10 with us likely not re-signing anyone outside of Crosby and Malkin that are becoming a UFA.

 

[Andy99]

We also could trade for an actual good player who’s going to cost a lot on a new contract, you know, like Jason Robertson , instead of trading for some shitty D man…

 

[deakka]

Cap floor is currently 76.9 million. We are currently at 66 million. That means Chinakov and Silovs have to combine for a total of 10 million and that would also mean any trade we made in season would need to involve a cap+ asset.

It's also not a full lineup. Murashov/blom will be there. And i bet we sign at least 1 F of the mutli-million kind (Tolvanen, Marchment, Laine, Bjorkstrand) to replace Mantha and at least one D for Shea/Clifton.

There's also other trades than having to take Nurse. Like Wright, one of the D from Anaheim etc.

 

[Perratrooper]

Would Pens fans have any interest in Jack Drury or Nic Roy?

 

[TojoP]

like Jacques Martin? Anywho barring legacy concerns and throwing someone semi retired a bone, the Francis hiring seems odd to me. Dubas doesnt seem like the type of guy who would say he needed a “special advisor”. Imposition from new management?

I think smart people value having someone who will give them a different perspective and then be able to sift the bad takes out. Francis brings experience to a fairly inexperienced group below Dubas. As well as the inside perspective of an entire organization. Even if he wasn't very good as a GM, there is value in that knowledge so long as you aren't letting him steer the ship.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Chinakov and Silovs will take up some cap as well. And i bet we sign some FA at least. I dont see the floor being a problem so big we need Nurse to solve it

Chino will be in the 3-5M range and Silov in the 2-3M range. That means they'll need to add 12-15M in shit FAs to give them space to move anyone at the TDL.

Basic math.

 

[Peat]

I think Middleton has negative trade value. He's a 30+ DFD 3LD with not very good underlying numbers in a sheltered role making 3 x $4.35. I think you can approximate what he does for ~$1M per. He's a bit of a cult hero so not sure if he gets traded, but if they keep handing out stupid contracts like McCarron, they'll have to move out something(s) and he would be low-hanging fruit.

I don't think Middlestone was sheltered.

An example of Middleton's deployment is that in the playoffs, he faced the MacKinnon line more often than anyone else in the Colorado series, he got them for 14 defensive faceoffs to 1 offensive faceoff, and given his most frequent centre with McCarron, I'm guessing he didn't always have a bunch of support.

The 5 Cs he saw most in the regular season were Toews (okay, cooked), Bedard, Drai, Nelson, and whichever of Stamkos/Evangelista plays C on Nashville's top line. Solidly top 6.

When he played us, 21 of his 32 odd minutes were against Geno or Sid.

This is pretty emphatically not sheltered. That he came out of this season with only a -0.3 relative xG% is, imo, fantastic work. No doubt owes a lot to Jared Spurgeon but he still did his part.

And as noted, turning 31 next January doesn't make him particularly old for a dman in this league, nor will he be outrageously old when he finishes his contract.

But, let us say I'm wrong and he's still in the same trade boat as Dumba was last year.

Last year ain't this year though.

14 teams with 20m+ of cap. 7 with 30m. No team in the red before they even start making moves.

There's just gonna be a lot less negative trade values this year. The guys with cap space no longer have anything like the same leverage they did. The prices in UFA are gonna be obscene and contracts will be running a lot longer than 3 years.

I don't think he had negative value to begin with. But I especially don't in this market.

like Jacques Martin? Anywho barring legacy concerns and throwing someone semi retired a bone, the Francis hiring seems odd to me. Dubas doesnt seem like the type of guy who would say he needed a “special advisor”. Imposition from new management?

He already had one in Wilson. I don't know what advice he asks from them, but I doubt he's against another.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

We also could trade for an actual good player who’s going to cost a lot on a new contract, you know, like Jason Robertson , instead of trading for some shitty D man…

Holy f***, it's like no one remembers getting absolutely embarrassed in the POs this year or the fact that Carolina is a juggernaut that isn't going anywhere.

Why, the actual f*** would the Pens trade all their current assets for f***ing Jason Robertson? He's not getting them any closer to winning.

f***.

 

[deakka]

Chino will be in the 3-5M range and Silov in the 2-3M range. That means they'll need to add 12-15M in shit FAs to give them space to move anyone at the TDL.

Basic math.

Id be shocked if Chinakov comes un under 5 million. But sure, they won't take up all the space needed. But we still need to sign guys to replace Mantha/Shea/Clifton.

Also sending Graves down gets us some much needed dead cap as well

And I dont mind spending in FA as long as it's 1 year deals. Rather that than somehow give up assets for Nurse.

And as i said. There's other players to trade for that males money

 

[Empoleon8771]

The issue with just saying "don't trade for Nurse and instead sign someone in UFA" is that the UFA class is dogshit on LD and you're not going to get anyone on a high AAV, short term deal. Sure, if you had a Mantha equivalent LD in free agency that would sign for 1 year at $7 million, sure sign them instead of trading for Nurse. But there isn't anyone like that.

That's something people keep ignoring despite it being mentioned. Combining every trade board, the available LD are Rielly, Nurse, Byram, Middleton, Lohrei and Zellweger. The best UFA LDs are Shea, Kulak, Stanley, Ferraro, Lauzon and Oleksiak, and a majority of those guys (Stanley, Ferraro and Lauzon especially) are going to get completely braindead contracts in UFA. There are a couple of RFAs you can speculate shaking away as being available, with Del Mastro, Stastney, Xhekaj and Sebrango feeling like options, but that just feels like more of what they already have (I still want to add Del Mastro though).

People saying "I don't want Nurse because I want to do something better" are ignoring that Nurse is the 2nd best LD available right now, only behind Byram. And considering what Byram would cost in a trade along with the other red flags he has, I'd pretty easily argue that getting paid to take on Nurse is a better option than trading for Byram.

 

[eXile3]

I think it has more to do with next year then this year. Our forward commitments go from 37 mil to 15 mil and our defensive commitments go from 28 to 10 with us likely not re-signing anyone outside of Crosby and Malkin that are becoming a UFA.

I just don’t think spending money is going to be an issue for a NHL team. I also think Dubas is going to re-sign EK to a short deal.

If the Hoffmanns aren’t cash rich enough that we need to take on high cap, but low cash guys then we’re screwed anyways.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Id be shocked if Chinakov comes un under 5 million. But sure, they won't take up all the space needed. But we still need to sign guys to replace Mantha/Shea/Clifton.

Also sending Graves down gets us some much needed dead cap as well

And I dont mind spending in FA as long as it's 1 year deals. Rather that than somehow give up assets for Nurse.

And as i said. There's other players to trade for that males money

ugh, the Pens don't need to replace anyone w/ FAs. They'll have 21 players once Chino and Silovs are signed. Add 2 of Rut/Koui/Brun/Pick/Hayes and that's a full roster.

Where the f*** are you seeing the Pens are adding to Nurse? Have you been reading the Oil board? Pens are getting paid ot take the contract, that's the whole f***ing point.