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

[TojoP]

I can’t imagine Howard being happy with just signing with them after 4 years of college, only to get traded.

We'll just explain to Howard what life under Babcock would be like

 

[Khelandros]

What will be the first impactful move that the Pens make?

"With the 22nd pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins select......."

 

[Pancakes]

"Big game hunting" and "Bowen Byram" don't go together very well for me. Not super interested in him and the absurd contract he'll get.

If that's Kyle's big summer move consider me underwhelmed

 

[Empoleon8771]

Byram still has some runway to round out his game - and OFD generally take awhile. Nurse is on the downslope of his career.

Dependent on price, I'd much rather have Byram.

That's a pretty massive thing to be dependent on. He's going to cost a fortune to acquire.

I also don't see how "OFD take a while" is true really at all either. There are a lot of defensemen in the NHL today that were top producers before age 22, but even the more "late bloomer" guys were usually in the 23 or 24 year old range when they broke out. Just a few examples, but Letang and Rielly broke out at age 23 while Bouchard broke out at age 24. Meanwhile guys like Karlsson, Hutson, Makar, Dahlin and such were already elite OFD by age 21.

I also don't really see Byram's skillset as one that is primed to really "break out". He's not a natural PPQB, his offense comes from being a puck carrier and 4th forward in the transition game. He's stylistically similar to Chychrun, but Chychrun has a cannon of a shot that has him averaging 20 goals per 82 games from 2020-2021 through today. Meanwhile Byram had 11 goals in 82 games last year.

I think Byram's absolute ceiling is like 15 goals and 50 points driven mostly through 5v5 production, while being an underwhelming PP QB. It's not bad, but you're talking about like Brock Faber's production without Faber's defense. He's a player I'd like to have and would even be fine with a big contract, but the big contract plus trading a haul for him feels like it's too much.

 

[Andy99]

"Big game hunting" and "Bowen Byram" don't go together very well for me. Not super interested in him and the absurd contract he'll get.

If that's Kyle's big summer move consider me underwhelmed

It’s Darnell Nurse and bringing back Jansen Harkins, and you’ll be happy with it!

 

[PGHPSU99]

I mean, to be fair, we'd be paying Nurse a fortune and his play could just as easily fall off a cliff after being away from McDrai.

But yeah, getting paid to take Nurse sounds better than paying to get Byram but that's with the caveat that we use the payment from Nurse to make other moves.

I also don't hate the idea of doing both. Move Girard to anywhere, pay to get Byram, get paid to get Nurse.

Spoon-EK
Byram-Letang
Nurse-XXXXX

I think with how much money we have going forward in a rising cap. The risk is minimal financially for Nurse.

Byram will get 10+ with protections. We likely will have to give a 1st maybe 2.

I just don’t think we are in a position to give 1sts up. If we didn’t have to give 1sts. Sure get Byram and pay him whatever the money doesn’t matter at all right now.

Most important thing is to get Viggo.

 

[TojoP]

Getting Nurse for Free/picks>>>>> paying a fortune for Byram and then paying him a fortune.

Giving up 1sts for Byram when we could fall off a cliff in any given year. Is a nightmare idea.

If we could get Byram for minimal value. I’d be down to trade for him.

For people who are expecting the Pens to tear it all down, no, Byram makes no sense.

For Dubas's stated plan of aquiring players in their 20s to retooll around, Byram makes a ton of sense (IF you believe he's on the upswing). He's the same age as Chinakhov having just turned 25 last week. He checks off a major need as a puck mover and PPQB to replace Karlsson that they don't have and don't have anywhere at any level of the organization.

I'd honestly wouldn't mind if they added Byram and traded Karlsson to recoup draft capital, though more likely it's Rakell. But I understand not everyone views him as a guy whose game is coming together after being stunted early by concussions like I do and don't want to try to convince the board.

 

[SEALBound]

I think with how much money we have going forward in a rising cap. The risk is minimal financially for Nurse.

Byram will get 10+ with protections. We likely will have to give a 1st maybe 2.

I just don’t think we are in a position to give 1sts up. If we didn’t have to give 1sts. Sure get Byram and pay him whatever the money doesn’t matter at all right now.

Most important thing is to get Viggo.

I tend to agree. IF we are trading the 22ov, I would rather it be traded to trade up to get Viggo (even at the expense of a roster player or prospect or two).

If this was 2016, I'd be all over Byram with our 1st. I'm not convinced he's the right target for us unless there is a deal that Buffalo likes from us like "Oh baby, we looooove Bryan Rust. Slap a 2nd on that bad boy and we'll give you Byram" OR if we do was TojoP just said and traded out EK to recoup assets.

I like Byram but in the back of my mind, I'm also thinking "what does he actually do for us?" He's not keeping us from the gutter nor is he taking us to the SCF so I'm skeptical on using premium assets for him.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Honestly I don't think trading a 1st would be a dealbreaker for Dubas trading for Byram. I think he'd absolutely do that if he could get Byram locked up on a long-term deal. I just don't think you're only paying a 1st for Byram. I think someone is absolutely going to offer something Buffalo wants more than any amount of picks the Penguins could realistically offer. You're probably talking Chinakhov and pick #22 for Byram to just get Buffalo on the phone.

Also good news, according to Kypreos Nurse's preference is to go to Philly rather than Pittsburgh. Not that I think Kypreos has much credibility at this point though.

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

I will jump off a f***ing cliff the first time I hear "Ghostbusters? Oh you mean that one with Melissa McCarthy!?"

You can kill that person and no jury will convict.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Penguins not mentioned here by Pagnotta.

Makes sense

The Oilers probably want to trade him before his 6m signing bonus hits on July 1st. They'll have to pay more or receive value back of course but the Owner probably doesn't care about that

His signing bonus is spread throughout the year, so July 1st doesn't matter.

I think it's more about wanting to have that cap space opened up by July 1st to be active in UFA.

This. 3 2 million dollar bonuses spread through the year. 0 on July 1st


----

Byram is going to cost us a lot to acquire. I don't want Dubas to do it.

Nurse is basically free. Either he plays well or is tank commander.

Would people rather have Byram for a few years while we suck remembering the 1sts or other assets we spent to get him or...

Nurse who will do Nurse things and suck or be okay but free.

 

[thevelvetfog]

It’s Darnell Nurse and bringing back Jansen Harkins, and you’ll be happy with it!

Throw in Poulin and you have yourself a deal!

 

[Ugene Magic]

Bjorck is an empty promise. He might go as high as #4. So stop day dreaming people.

The rest of the draft isn't that worthy to move up for.

Take whomever BPA at #22.
Trade up from #39 with #54 or #86 or both

Did Scouchsim

Traded up with St. Louis.

St. Louis got #39, #54 and #86
Pens got #29 and #73

Pens had #22, #29, #73 and #170

/ = 2nd run
/ = 3rd run
I took...

#22 D - Villeneuve/ Villeneuve/ T. Bleyl
#29 RW - Preston/ Preston/ Preston
#73 C - Roobroeck/ A. Anderson/ LW - A. Nemec
#170 G - Nilsson/ Nilsson/ Vermirovsky

So, I was able to get a top D-man at #22, Preston at #29, a project at #73 and a goalie at #170

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I'm just spit-balling here, but what if new GM MacFarland wants to shed a contract as his first Predators move? Since he is familiar with Girard, maybe Skjei and 10 for Girard and 22 makes some sense for all?

Skjei has a 15-team NTC, so we might be on it potentially. And if not Skjei, maybe it's Hague. Anyway, we have focused mainly on pick No. 9 but maybe pick 10 could be had.

 

[BrookswasHere44]

Everyone with a brain likes Bjorck. Everything I hear about him leads me to believe he’s going to be the best center taken, and maybe the best forward.

Who are his comps, seems tiny

 

[SEALBound]

I'm just spit-balling here, but what if new GM MacFarland wants to shed a contract as his first Predators move? Since he is familiar with Girard, maybe Skjei and 10 for Girard and 22 makes some sense for all?

Skjei has a 15-team NTC, so we might be on it potentially. And if not Skjei, maybe it's Hague. Anyway, we have focused mainly on pick No. 9 but maybe pick 10 could be had.

I have no clue what Nashville is or wants to be. I don't think Trotz knew either. People cried here "There is no plan!" but you can point to Trotz as a guy who literally had no plan. I'd like to get Hague from them. I see him as an ideal partner for Letang.

Not sure you pay the 10ov to move someone. But maybe if we could so something like:
Rakell+3rd to Ottawa for 25.
22+25 to STL for 15
15+Girard+39 for Skjei+10+70

Maybe something like that?

It will definitely be interesting to see what the relationships between club and players are like with MacFarland now at the helm, particularly with Stammer and Marchessault.

 

[DesertPenguin]

My personal speculation:

A Byram trade could include Rust or Rakell, offeting the loss of Tuch if they can't re-sign him.

Also, Ottawa is short a top 6 winger or two, and just got loaded up with draft picks. Rust or Rakell for 25OA, Both for 9OA, or one of them plus 22OA for 9OA would sure be nice.

Then lots of options to use or trade those picks.

 

[Peat]

Some master of the obvious stuff but...

There'd be more interest here in Byram if his agent wasn't announcing his intention to mug the team that acquires him.

This team needs three guys like Byram to make a difference and it's foolish to say "we can't get one until we get all three at the same time" but it's hard to greenlight getting one when it's at a price where getting the next two seems unlikely

 

[thevelvetfog]

I'm just spit-balling here, but what if new GM MacFarland wants to shed a contract as his first Predators move? Since he is familiar with Girard, maybe Skjei and 10 for Girard and 22 makes some sense for all?

Skjei has a 15-team NTC, so we might be on it potentially. And if not Skjei, maybe it's Hague. Anyway, we have focused mainly on pick No. 9 but maybe pick 10 could be had.

I don't see cap space as motivation for Nashville to shed a contract as they have a full roster right now with $23M in cap space with a lot more cap space coming in the next 1-2 years (Stamkos $8M, O'Reilly $4.5M, Josi $9M). Both Skjei and Hague are probably pretty even value, so I don't think they would have to pay to get rid of them. Hague isn't very good so I don't think he would be a flip candidate in a year or two.

I have no idea who Nashville would be likely to trade. I would say Saros, but he has a full NMC for 5 years and he's an original so I think they just ride him out. Josi is also an original and the captain so I don't think they move him. Maybe some smaller moves but cap space is definitely not an issue.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I was just going on the assumption that MacFarland would want to change how the Preds play, with more puck movers. Also, GMs sometimes inherit contracts they do not want.

Anyway, my Viggo Bjorck lust has reached unhealthy proportions. So I will stop now.

 

[PGHPSU99]

For people who are expecting the Pens to tear it all down, no, Byram makes no sense.

For Dubas's stated plan of aquiring players in their 20s to retooll around, Byram makes a ton of sense (IF you believe he's on the upswing). He's the same age as Chinakhov having just turned 25 last week. He checks off a major need as a puck mover and PPQB to replace Karlsson that they don't have and don't have anywhere at any level of the organization.

I'd honestly wouldn't mind if they added Byram and traded Karlsson to recoup draft capital, though more likely it's Rakell. But I understand not everyone views him as a guy whose game is coming together after being stunted early by concussions like I do and don't want to try to convince the board.

I do agree with these thoughts. But I also don’t think a tear it down is happening. Most have agreed that it’s just coming in a few years when Sid is slowing down or done.

I don’t think Byram really fits any process that Dubas has done here as Prez yet.

Every move he makes he gets ahead of the market on based on some form of scouting. Silovs, Mantha, Kulak, Spoons, Braz , Novaketc. are all guys he beat the market on and got them by being paid or paid nothing for them.

Chinny, Soderblom and Dewar are all guys that were just acquired for little and outpaced their cost significantly.

Nurse just falls a lot into what Dubas has been doing where he might get paid to get a player he’s betting he can improve and probably move again. Also who makes your team better in their current moment for your core. Also Bjorck falls into Kindel Brunicke of where they bet on scouting.

The Byram is less about “tearing it down” but more I don’t think Dubas is going to gamble significant assets and money on a guy he’s not 1000% sure is going to win the value back on. His process hasn’t been like that since Graves/Acciari.

 

[Ulf5]

I was just going on the assumption that MacFarland would want to change how the Preds play, with more puck movers. Also, GMs sometimes inherit contracts they do not want.

Anyway, my Viggo Bjorck lust has reached unhealthy proportions. So I will stop now.

Some article was speculating McFarland might want to reunite with Byram?

 

[Ryder71]

We need Viggo here.

View attachment 1257519

I doubt we have the assets or more accurately would be outbid.

 

[Ryder71]

"Big game hunting" and "Bowen Byram" don't go together very well for me. Not super interested in him and the absurd contract he'll get.

If that's Kyle's big summer move consider me underwhelmed

Never understood the fascination with him. By the time we're anygood he'll be in his mid 30's. IT'd be a waste.

 

[SEALBound]

I was just going on the assumption that MacFarland would want to change how the Preds play, with more puck movers. Also, GMs sometimes inherit contracts they do not want.

Anyway, my Viggo Bjorck lust has reached unhealthy proportions. So I will stop now.

I think getting into the top 10 (sans maybe 9ov) might be too tough, as it always is. Question might be, how far does he drop? Say you get to 10ov, if you don't get Bjorck, christ you could get Belchetz, Lawrence, Rudolph, or Smits. Still probably worth it.