Salary Cap: Penguins Salary Cap Thread: We suck again summer edition

[Randy Butternubs]

As of right now, my preference for next year's defense is this:

XXXX - Letang
Pettersson - Petry
Joseph - Rutta
Smith - YYYY

XXXX being one of Orlov, Graves, Gavrikov, Soucy, or the like. YYYY being Ruhwedel, Friedman, Fedun, and so on.

I'd rotate in Joseph and Smith based on performance & health. And it does help that Smith can play both sides.

I've not really considered trades in the above situation since we don't have a GM.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Yeah Gaudreau picking Columbus was completely outta left field and made no sense to me. It probably came down to taxes or something, because the Blue Jackets are awful and aren't gonna be competitive any time soon.

I bet he regrets not signing with the Devils, who was the other team reported to be in on him. CBJ is going nowhere and NJ is gonna be a wagon as soon as this season.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

I bet he regrets not signing with the Devils, who was the other team reported to be in on him. CBJ is going nowhere and NJ is gonna be a wagon as soon as this season.

Yes I believe they were, I'm sure he regrets that one big time! Maybe he was just a big fan of the canon!!!

As of right now, my preference for next year's defense is this:

XXXX - Letang
Pettersson - Petry
Joseph - Rutta
Smith - YYYY

XXXX being one of Orlov, Graves, Gavrikov, Soucy, or the like. YYYY being Ruhwedel, Friedman, Fedun, and so on.

I'd rotate in Joseph and Smith based on performance & health. And it does help that Smith can play both sides.

I've not really considered trades in the above situation since we don't have a GM.

Orlov or Gavrikov for me, I'd be careful with Graves. Just not sold on him

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

As of right now, my preference for next year's defense is this:

XXXX - Letang
Pettersson - Petry
Joseph - Rutta
Smith - YYYY

XXXX being one of Orlov, Graves, Gavrikov, Soucy, or the like. YYYY being Ruhwedel, Friedman, Fedun, and so on.

I'd rotate in Joseph and Smith based on performance & health. And it does help that Smith can play both sides.

I've not really considered trades in the above situation since we don't have a GM.

I'm not a fan of increasing significant assets/cap space to the defense this offseason. Last year it got the makeover. This offseason should be bottom 6 and goalie-centric.

A core grouping of Letang/Petts/POJ/Rutta/Smith/Petry is capable.

2 out of: Ruh/Friedman/Cheap Vet FA can be the 7th and 8th

 

[Peat]

As of right now, my preference for next year's defense is this:

XXXX - Letang
Pettersson - Petry
Joseph - Rutta
Smith - YYYY

XXXX being one of Orlov, Graves, Gavrikov, Soucy, or the like. YYYY being Ruhwedel, Friedman, Fedun, and so on.

I'd rotate in Joseph and Smith based on performance & health. And it does help that Smith can play both sides.

I've not really considered trades in the above situation since we don't have a GM.

Fair, but I'm inclined to look at one of Joseph and Smith as trade bait to fix holes elsewhere. Even with how much 7D plays, that seems a better use of resources.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

I'm not a fan of increasing significant assets/cap space to the defense this offseason. Last year it got the makeover. This offseason should be bottom 6 and goalie-centric.

A core grouping of Letang/Petts/POJ/Rutta/Smith/Petry is capable.

2 out of: Ruh/Friedman/Cheap Vet FA can be the 7th and 8th

I get what you're saying but looking at the math/cap it seems like we could afford a higher end LD. Allocating Dumoulin's past cap hit ($4.1M) and adding another 1 to 2% of the cap ($835k to $1.67M) to it for a total of around $5.75M seems fair.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

I get what you're saying but looking at the math/cap it seems like we could afford a higher end LD. Allocating Dumoulin's past cap hit ($4.1M) and adding another 1 to 2% of the cap ($835k to $1.67M) to it for a total of around $5.75M seems fair.

I think the biggest question mark is: how much is a goalie going to cost us?

I'd rather have some finality on the G situation before I start addressing any other position(s) You start shelling out an extra million here or there at other positions and it adds up.

I realize it ties into the other thread, but this is partly why I want the GM thing finalized. So they can sort out the goalie opening.

 

[Gurglesons]

I think the biggest question mark is: how much is a goalie going to cost us?

I'd rather have some finality on the G situation before I start addressing any other position(s) You start shelling out an extra million here or there at other positions and it adds up.

I realize it ties into the other thread, but this is partly why I want the GM thing finalized. So they can sort out the goalie opening.

If you pay 6 mil for a goalie you still have 14 mil left over for a top six forward, the bottom six and a LD. And that’s without moving Granlund or buying him out.

 

[Dominance]

If you pay 6 mil for a goalie you still have 14 mil left over for a top six forward, the bottom six and a LD. And that’s without moving Granlund or buying him out.

For once we have a healthy amount of cap space. This FA class doesn’t really have any big fish but perhaps that’s for the best - I hope they still shoot high with guys like Barbashev and ROR for the middle-6.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

If you pay 6 mil for a goalie you still have 14 mil left over for a top six forward, the bottom six and a LD. And that’s without moving Granlund or buying him out.

And I think all of that could be intertwined. We may end up acquiring a $6M goalie and need to send some players out in a trade. So that's why I think goalie situation needs to be resolved, so they can fill in any holes by potential acquisitions/departures.

 

[Gurglesons]

And I think all of that could be intertwined. We may end up acquiring a $6M goalie and need to send some players out in a trade. So that's why I think goalie situation needs to be resolved, so they can fill in any holes by potential acquisitions/departures.

I’m just saying we have the cap to target a top nine LW, top four LD and goaltending with the cap we have.

 

[DesertPenguin]

As of right now, my preference for next year's defense is this:

XXXX - Letang
Pettersson - Petry
Joseph - Rutta
Smith - YYYY

XXXX being one of Orlov, Graves, Gavrikov, Soucy, or the like. YYYY being Ruhwedel, Friedman, Fedun, and so on.

I'd rotate in Joseph and Smith based on performance & health. And it does help that Smith can play both sides.

I've not really considered trades in the above situation since we don't have a GM.

Anyone out there comfortable standing pat on D? See if POJ can hold down a 2nd pairing, and give Smith a shot at an everyday role on the 3rd pair.

I just think we have bigger holes to fill in goal, the bottom 6, and maybe 2LW if Zucker walks.

 

[Peat]

Anyone out there comfortable standing pat on D? See if POJ can hold down a 2nd pairing, and give Smith a shot at an everyday role on the 3rd pair.

I just think we have bigger holes to fill in goal, the bottom 6, and maybe 2LW if Zucker walks.

No. A high end LD will do a lot more to help the bottom six than spending that money on the bottom six will help the D.

It might end up being the best use of resources to sit pat with the guys they have, but I wouldn't feel remotely comfortable doing so.

 

[Andy99]

No. A high end LD will do a lot more to help the bottom six than spending that money on the bottom six will help the D.

It might end up being the best use of resources to sit pat with the guys they have, but I wouldn't feel remotely comfortable doing so.

true…just think if we could land Orlov…would make life easier…imo our best use of cap space would be 1) Meier or someone like that for the top six, a finisher, 2) a LD with offensive skills who can transition the puck and 3) a new goalie….

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

No. A high end LD will do a lot more to help the bottom six than spending that money on the bottom six will help the D.

It might end up being the best use of resources to sit pat with the guys they have, but I wouldn't feel remotely comfortable doing so.

Perhaps a little surprising coming from me but a good LD is second only to a new starting tandem on my short list. I think it will make a much bigger impact on the total roster rather than hand-wringing about the damned third line for like the 12th consecutive offseason.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Looking at their cap situation, I think the largest impact Granlund being here has on the cap is that you likely can't replace Zucker in free agency without trading Granlund. I'm using a template of trading POJ and futures for Swayman and signing Graves ($4.5 million), Bunting ($5 million) and Swayman ($5 million). Without trading Granlund, I'm sitting with about $3.5 million in cap space with this lineup:

Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell
Bunting-Malkin-Rust
XXXXX-XXXXX-Granlund
O'Connor-Poehling-Carter
Nylander-XXXXX

Graves-Letang
Pettersson-Petry
Smith-Rutta
Ruhwedel

Swayman-DeSmith

I really like that top-6, defense and goalies (I think DeSmith is fine as long as he's not forced to start more than 25-30 games), but you don't really have the money available to address that bottom-6. You'd have to get really lucky like Hextall did in 2021-2022 with ERod and Heinen on cheap and terrific value deals, which I really don't think they should be trying to do with their 3rd line.

This might be a "no shit, Sherlock" comment, but they either can't replace Zucker or can't build a good 3rd line without trading Granlund.

 

[Malkinstheman]

Granlunds buyout caphit is only 833k next year and then 1.833m the 3 years after. Cap is expected to jump after next season so buying him out is a no-brainer imo

 

[Empoleon8771]

With that being said about me not wanting to do reclamation projects, one guy I'd absolutely be calling about in free agency is Connor Brown. He missed basically all of last year due to a torn ACL, but he's been an extremely reliable 2-way middle-6 winger for years. I'd easily give him what he'd normally be getting on a UFA deal (long term at about $3.5 million a year) even with him missing all of last year due to an ACL tear.

If you can tell Granlund to go play in traffic and pay Brown and Rodrigues (yes I want to bring back ERod) around $3.5 million a year, I think your 3rd line is sitting in a phenomenal position to start.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I admire your optimism Emp but you know damned well that we're getting your Granlund/Malkin/Rust tire fire line next season.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I admire your optimism Emp but you know damned well that we're getting your Granlund/Malkin/Rust tire fire line next season.

Oh yeah I know you're right on that

It may just be Stockholm Syndrome, but I think there is a forward group I like that involves Granlund in the top-6. Put him with Crosby and Guentzel and tell him to just set up those two for goals, I think he could legitimately thrive there. Or at least be good enough that the Penguins could trade him next year.

To me, the #1 concern this off-season is fixing the bottom-6 and goaltending. They tried having a stacked top-6 last year and they missed the playoffs. I'd easily take a weaker top-6 but a much stronger bottom-6 after how last year went. Your top line will still be good if it's Guentzel-Crosby-Granlund because Crosby and Guentzel are still good. Your 3rd line won't be good if you try to shoehorn Granlund on it and don't invest serious money in it.

I'm much more hesitant to put Granlund with Malkin because the Penguins have a history of their 2nd line not being very good and I don't think Granlund really meshes with Malkin all that well. But if they're in a position where they can't move Granlund, I'm putting him with Guentzel and Crosby and making the 2nd line Rakell-Malkin-Rust.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Well I know this isn't a popular opinion but I kinda hate the dynamic of the top six even if they did OK production wise last year. So I'm not as set on being content with it largely intact. However I also know I'll never get my way on that so what can you do.

Granlund might do... better... with Crosby/Jake. But I dunno. In a vacuum he might be a good playmaker but his skating and from what I saw offensive zone IQ/vision are too shitty to really do much with it in actual game situations. Always a step behind the play either via footspeed or just not thinking the game well enough. But maybe you could put him in a leech position to bump his value a bit in order to help move him... I dunno.

I just know that unless Dubas brings an operational DeLorean with him and chucks Malkin in there and tells him to 88MPH his way to his 28 year old self when he could still carry trash... a Granlund/Malkin/Rust line will be a catastrophe.

 

[eXile3]

We won three cups with the likes of Talbot, Sheary, and Fedotenko in our top 6. I feel like guys like Cousins and Howden were getting top 6 playing time for the Knights and panthers.

We need a 3rd line that can produce 5 on 5 and a 4th line that doesn't bleed goals. I would rather have Sid and Geno carry subpar wingers than them trying to carry the entire team offensively.

 

[SomeDude]

I admire your optimism Emp but you know damned well that we're getting your Granlund/Malkin/Rust tire fire line next season.

Granlund is a 3rd liner now because Mike Sullivan said so. It’ll be Dom Simon/Malkin/Rust

 

[Empoleon8771]

We won three cups with the likes of Talbot, Sheary, and Fedotenko in our top 6. I feel like guys like Cousins and Howden were getting top 6 playing time for the Knights and panthers.

We need a 3rd line that can produce 5 on 5 and a 4th line that doesn't bleed goals. I would rather have Sid and Geno carry subpar wingers than them trying to carry the entire team offensively.

Yeah this is exactly what I meant. I think they'll still have a competent top-6 with Crosby and Malkin carrying lesser linemates, but they'll miss the playoffs if the bottom-6 can't be effective.

 

[Gurglesons]

With that being said about me not wanting to do reclamation projects, one guy I'd absolutely be calling about in free agency is Connor Brown. He missed basically all of last year due to a torn ACL, but he's been an extremely reliable 2-way middle-6 winger for years. I'd easily give him what he'd normally be getting on a UFA deal (long term at about $3.5 million a year) even with him missing all of last year due to an ACL tear.

If you can tell Granlund to go play in traffic and pay Brown and Rodrigues (yes I want to bring back ERod) around $3.5 million a year, I think your 3rd line is sitting in a phenomenal position to start.

Brown would be a good cheap player you can sell on getting points here.

Craig Smith might be another.