Salary Cap: Pens 2024 Summer Thread: "Thus, knocking us out of these superior numbers when we emerge! Mr. President, we must not allow a non-playoff bound gap!"

[TNT87]

Get Reilly Brassard the hell out of here.

 

[Gurglesons]

Yeah Henrique is a guy I think the Pens should seriously consider targeting.

Wennberg and Roslovic are also guys that intrigue me, though I think Sully would haste Roslovic.

Stephenson would be great too but I suspect Vegas re-signs him and even if they don't he seems like a guy who teams would be bidding a lot for.

Why would we target Henrique? He is old as hell and a winger lol. Eller 2.0

 

[66-30-33]

Why would we target Henrique? He is old as hell and a winger lol. Eller 2.0

I stopped at "he is old". That's why we need him.

 

[Pancakes]

Why would we target Henrique? He is old as hell and a winger lol. Eller 2.0

I'm kinda confused right now looking up his history this year because some places are listing him as a winger and some as a center. He has taken a ton of draws this year for Anaheim and Edmonton so either he is playing as a center or he just takes a lot of draws and then moves to wing.

He is old, but still pretty productive. He would absolutely be Eller 2.0 but I don't view that as necessarily a bad thing. If we had another Eller in the bottom six this year instead of Acciari/Carter we would have made the playoffs.

I think as far as free agents go there's definitely better options but most of them I consider pie in the sky. Like we're not getting Lindholm or Stamkos. We're probably not getting Stephenson even if he leaves Vegas to cash in. Monahan probably wouldn't come here to be 3c.

I think the options are pretty limited unless you go the trade route. Stephenson would 100% be my number one choice if he were available but I just doubt he will be.

Get Reilly Brassard the hell out of here.

God Derrick Brassard. Now that has to be the most disappointing trade Rutherford ever did. That guy was always a pain in the ass on the Rangers playing against us and then he comes here and pouts and plays like shit. What a f-ing loser that guy was.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Yeah Henrique is a guy I think the Pens should seriously consider targeting.

Wennberg and Roslovic are also guys that intrigue me, though I think Sully would haste Roslovic.

Stephenson would be great too but I suspect Vegas re-signs him and even if they don't he seems like a guy who teams would be bidding a lot for.

Which is why I liked your suggestion of Wennberg.

Wennberg is a step below Henrique but I think he's a more realistic guy to target. I'm still a bit lukewarm on O'Connor-Wennberg-Puustinen, I'd probably be targeting another 3rd line winger to upgrade that line a bit.

O'Connor-Wennberg-Foegele looks like it could be really good, but spending that kind of money on Wennberg and Foegele (along with whatever would happen with Puustinen) doesn't seem feasible.

I do not think this can realistically work with the cap, but I'd be shooting for this if I could call the shots:

Bertuzzi-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Rakell
O'Connor-Stephenson-Puustinen
Lafferty-Eller-Acciari

 

[Pancakes]

Given the way the goalie situation shook out this year I see little reason not to go with Blomqvist as one of the two goalies for next year.

Even if they keep Jarry and let Ned walk I think you can still go with Blomqvist as the backup and get him into 30+ games.

The only reason I see for leaving Blomqvist off the roster is if management thinks he'd get more mileage out of playing a lot of games in WBS instead of splitting time with Jarry (or Ned or *insert goalie here*). But Blomqvist put up a 920 in WBS this year. I don't know how much more he has to learn down there. He was an elite AHL goalie already.

I'd give him a chance to run with it as one of the two goalies and then in the event that he really struggles or has a bad camp maybe you sign a cheap third string goalie as a backup option as well and bring them up if Blomqvist really struggles. But I think he's ready.

 

[wheelz87]

I'm sure part of it comes down to the personality/playing style of the player but it is hard to look at Smith on the ice and Bunting on the ice and conclude they care the same amount.

I'm sure part of that in Bunting's case was him coming here with something to prove whereas Smith had just won a cup and didn't seem hungry for another.

I don't expect Smith to charge into the corners like DOC or Bunting but man there were so many games where he lost a lot of battles he should have won, and he didn't bring nearly enough offensively to make up for that.

I would say much of the same applies to Rakell. I actually think Rakell cares but he's gotta show it on the ice more than he did. Too passive a player.

Just to reiterate, ALL of this.

Wennberg is a step below Henrique but I think he's a more realistic guy to target. I'm still a bit lukewarm on O'Connor-Wennberg-Puustinen, I'd probably be targeting another 3rd line winger to upgrade that line a bit.

O'Connor-Wennberg-Foegele looks like it could be really good, but spending that kind of money on Wennberg and Foegele (along with whatever would happen with Puustinen) doesn't seem feasible.

I do not think this can realistically work with the cap, but I'd be shooting for this if I could call the shots:

Bertuzzi-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Rakell
O'Connor-Stephenson-Puustinen
Lafferty-Eller-Acciari

I think Stephenson would be a huge get. Honestly he's possibly my number one target. I'd look into him as 2C/part time 2C as Geno just can't handle that all the time. And a 3C for DOC. I'd be willing to spare some offense for a nice two way player there. Wennberg type of guy would do just fine. Especially if Puusty/Poulin/whoever takes a step forward.

 

[Pancakes]

Stephenson would rock and if the Pens got him I'd be legit pumped about next season (well as pumped as one can get knowing Sully is still behind the bench).

He's gonna cost an arm and a leg to get if he gets to FA though. He's really good. Pens would probably have to clear cap space just to fit him.

 

[SEALBound]

Wennberg is a step below Henrique but I think he's a more realistic guy to target. I'm still a bit lukewarm on O'Connor-Wennberg-Puustinen, I'd probably be targeting another 3rd line winger to upgrade that line a bit.

O'Connor-Wennberg-Foegele looks like it could be really good, but spending that kind of money on Wennberg and Foegele (along with whatever would happen with Puustinen) doesn't seem feasible.

I do not think this can realistically work with the cap, but I'd be shooting for this if I could call the shots:

Bertuzzi-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Rakell
O'Connor-Stephenson-Puustinen
Lafferty-Eller-Acciari

As you pointed out before, I don't think Stephenson comes here to be 3C but you could entice him with the idea of "Malkin will shift to wing and you will be the 2C". He'd be great as a 2C fill in.

Love the lineup there as it hits on the three things I've been longing for:
1. Offensive-minded 3C
2. Heavy-focused 4th line that can be used as a pivot line
3. Shift in philosophy from 2 offensive lines, 2 defensive lines to 3 scoring scoring lines and 1 defensive line.

I think you could do a lot of mixing and matching with those wing pairings, too, if something gets stale. That's 6 top 6 wings, realistically. O maybe rather 6 top 6 capable wings. Having those options would be highly desirable. Earlier in the year, we were basically stuck with top 6 wings and bottom 6 wings. No one (at that time) in the bottom 6 had the ability to go into the top 6 reliably. DOC changed that and then they brought in Puustinen who changed that but still.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Given the way the goalie situation shook out this year I see little reason not to go with Blomqvist as one of the two goalies for next year.

Even if they keep Jarry and let Ned walk I think you can still go with Blomqvist as the backup and get him into 30+ games.

The only reason I see for leaving Blomqvist off the roster is if management thinks he'd get more mileage out of playing a lot of games in WBS instead of splitting time with Jarry (or Ned or *insert goalie here*). But Blomqvist put up a 920 in WBS this year. I don't know how much more he has to learn down there. He was an elite AHL goalie already.

I'd give him a chance to run with it as one of the two goalies and then in the event that he really struggles or has a bad camp maybe you sign a cheap third string goalie as a backup option as well and bring them up if Blomqvist really struggles. But I think he's ready.

100% agreed. I think they should go into next year with Jarry and Blomqvist as their 2 goalies and actually run with them as a platoon, rather than Jarry as the starter and Blomqvist as the backup. I've already said this multiple times, but I think them overusing Jarry early in the season is partially a reason why he falls apart later in the year.

My plan would be running with Jarry-Blomqvist next year, and if Jarry doesn't see any sort of improvement (aka if he still sucks down the stretch), I'd move on from Jarry after next year and go for a veteran platoon partner for Blomqvist. I wouldn't hate if they went with Blomqvist-Nejdelkovic next year and beyond, but I do think it's a bit aggressive to do that. Blomqvist-Nedjelkovic is the kind of tandem I'd be targeting after next year if Blomqvist is legit.

I think Stephenson would be a huge get. Honestly he's possibly my number one target. I'd look into him as 2C/part time 2C as Geno just can't handle that all the time. And a 3C for DOC. I'd be willing to spare some offense for a nice two way player there. Wennberg type of guy would do just fine. Especially if Puusty/Poulin/whoever takes a step forward.

If they bring in Stephenson to play LW with Crosby, I'd have substantially less concerns about running with an O'Connor-Wennberg-Puustinen 3rd line. Not only would Stephenson be great with Crosby, but having Stephenson ensures that you have a solution available if your 3rd line still continues to struggle.

I'd pay him $6 million a year to come play with Crosby, but if the 3rd line is still struggling, you have the option of bumping him to 3C and bumping O'Connor up to L1.

As you pointed out before, I don't think Stephenson comes here to be 3C but you could entice him with the idea of "Malkin will shift to wing and you will be the 2C". He'd be great as a 2C fill in.

I think he'd fit a lot better on LW with Crosby personally.

 

[Sideline]

Why do we want Miles Wood exactly?

Speed in the bottom six. I don't think he's anything special. I was just looking at Colorado for similarly too long contract.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Henrique is just another guy that you risk decline and/or falling off a cliff. We can’t continue to up our (already huge) exposure to the risks of age IMO.

I would much rather do nothing and force this organization to play its young guys than sign 34 year olds that can turn to pumpkins at any second.

 

[SEALBound]

I think he'd fit a lot better on LW with Crosby personally.

Agreed. He's a 5v5 monster to boot.

Having a capable extra center would be great as well. Just to fill if needed. Or to a finer point, replace what they wanted Carter to be doing.

 

[SEALBound]

Looking at potential cap causalities, I wonder if we could entice the TBL to trade us Cirelli? As is, they have $9mil next year in free space to sign three forwards, one being Stamkos. Unless they want to do Stammer at like $6mil and then two super cheap forwards, maybe?

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Looking at potential cap causalities, I wonder if we could entice the TBL to trade us Cirelli? As is, they have $9mil next year in free space to sign three forwards, one being Stamkos. Unless they want to do Stammer at like $6mil and then two super cheap forwards, maybe?

The consensus seems to be they move on from Stamkos.

Stephenson would rock and if the Pens got him I'd be legit pumped about next season (well as pumped as one can get knowing Sully is still behind the bench).

He's gonna cost an arm and a leg to get if he gets to FA though. He's really good. Pens would probably have to clear cap space just to fit him.

I would give Stephenson just about anything to get him here. He's exactly what they need in the top six.

I'm actually curious for what they plan on doing with Puustinen. I think a 3rd line winger duo of O'Connor-Puustinen is decent, but I don't know that I'd call it anything more than "decent". I think you'd need a real top of the line 3C like Henrique or Stephenson between those two if you want the 3rd line to be anything "good", and I'm not sure you can convince them to take a 3C role on a declining Pittsburgh team over a 2C role on a different team.

O'Connor-Henrique-Puustinen does look like a damn good 3rd line if they could pull it off, though.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Puustinen will be brought back but end up in WBS.

In college football terms, he's going to be recruited over. I just don't think the Pens view him as anything more than an injury stopgap.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I have a sneaking suspicion that Puustinen will be brought back but end up in WBS.

In college football terms, he's going to be recruited over. I just don't think the Pens view him as anything more than an injury stopgap.

He'd get claimed off waivers instantly if they tried to put him in WBS.

If he's not viewed as a part of the 3rd line, I think they may just not bring him back.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

He'd get claimed off waivers instantly if they tried to put him in WBS.

If he's not viewed as a part of the 3rd line, I think they may just not bring him back.

I think a lot of teams have players just like Puustinen that if he's sent through waivers at a particular time of camp, he won't get snagged.

Frankly, I don't care if he's re-signed. I think they can find better options or move in a different direction.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think a lot of teams have players just like Puustinen that if he's sent through waivers at a particular time of camp, he won't get snagged.

Frankly, I don't care if he's re-signed. I think they can find better options or move in a different direction.

I'm not super in love with Puustinen, but moving on from cheap scoring talent like Puustinen is exactly the reason this team's depth sucks right now. It's the same exact dumb thing they did when they moved on from Heinen just to sign guys like Nieto.

Unless they can end up with a top-9 of something like this, moving on from Puustinen does not make sense:

Stephenson-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Bertuzzi
O'Connor-Wennberg-Foegele

And considering that Foegele will make $3.5 million or so on an extension while Puustinen will come in around $1 million, I'm not even sure that there is a justification to do this route anyway.

 

[BrookswasHere44]

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/reilly-smith-never-wanted-join-pittsburgh-penguins

From Yohe:



Absolutely no way you can bring Smith back next year if this is the case.

Wasn't this debunked a few weeks ago?

 

[Deport Ogie]

I seem to recall Smith himself saying it was bunk but I'm not sure what else he would be expected to say.

 

[DearDiary]

Wasn't this debunked a few weeks ago?

Did Rielly Smith never want to join the Penguins? I'm sure that's true, he likely wanted to stay on the Knights. It's probably the case for most of the league when being traded from a team where they liked playing.

Does Rielly Smith dislike playing for the Penguins? Zero evidence to suggest that. He's a professional athlete. If Smith or any other player has a problem with a team, it's always going to be a issue with the coach or the system. So it could be true that Smith feels like his assets aren't being utilized well and feels a lack of motivation that he isn't being set up for success.

 

[Pancakes]

I mean put yourself in Smith's shoes. Would you be happy to be traded from a Cup contender to a team that just missed the playoffs?

But no excuse for him to not be ready by game one of the regular season. Get the f over it and play.

 

[SEALBound]

I seem to recall Smith himself saying it was bunk but I'm not sure what else he would be expected to say.

I recall OJ saying he was innocent.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Wasn't this debunked a few weeks ago?

It was "debunked" as in Smith said what any athlete would say when asked the question. I don't think taking his words at face value is exactly the most correct thing to do.

I would bet it's more "upset about not playing for Vegas" than "upset about playing for Pittsburgh", but I really don't think it's much of a stretch to conclude he wasn't all that thrilled here based on his play.

 

[Ulf5]

Wasn't this debunked a few weeks ago?

I thought for sure I saw a Taylor Haase snippet that said he's loving it here and spent a lot of time with I think it was Rust's (?) family. Couldn't find the snippet. Search function sucks on dk.