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!"

[MrBurghundy]

I mean it’s a good plan. Maybe he should just think of what he was going to do, and do the opposite. We’ll end up with a good GM.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Cope. Dubas is basically on record saying he won't sign anything beyond a two year deal and this era is over.

Pretty obvious that the method here is basically let Malkin retire. Keep our picks and then hope in 3 years you can do something with an old ass Sid.

Yeah I was not encouraged by anything he had to say. You can't half-ass kick start a rebuild.

 

[Sideline]

Yeah I was not encouraged by anything he had to say. You can't half-ass kick start a rebuild.

You also can't bottom out with Sid dragging the team out of the basement. My guess is not trading futures and selling off pending UFAs is about as rebuild-y as FSG will let any GM get.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

You also can't bottom out with Sid dragging the team out of the basement. My guess is not trading futures and selling off pending UFAs is about as rebuild-y as FSG will let any GM get.

I really don't want them to rebuild with Sid.

I think you need to do whatever you can to help the current core win. How does Dubas plan to do that without trading futures or targeting high end free agents? I don't think there's a way to accomplish that.

His talk about trying to appeal to players who want to be in Pittsburgh and play for Sullivan sounded pretty weak. That wasn't appealing enough for the Pens to acquire good talent through FA when they were consistently making the playoffs - why would it sound better now?

 

[Epic Neal Time]

I'm assuming this means they will sell Petts between now and the '25 deadline right? Makes no sense to sign him long term.

At the end of the day, he's just putting a spin on it. We're rebuilding now but they won't use that term for ticket sales reasons.

 

[chethejet]

Dubas is adding some grit and depth and youth. He is not big game hunting and moves Smith for picks. Now Jarry is available, but the offer has to be good enough to move him, Secondly, Pens top 6 with Bunting and a healthy Rakell is good enough. A healthy Acciari, some emerging 4th line centers and as I stated I love Stephenson as a FA. Add in a healthy Ponomarev, Poulin, and Pens are better than last year. Move Smith and Dubas has more than enough cap to add a couple key parts.

 

[TimmyD]

I’m usually someone that has the opinion of “wait to see what actually happens” before being critical of a GM, but man is it hard to have that mentality at the moment. There are definitely moves that can be made. I mean Colorado is supposedly looking to get out of Colton’s deal. He also talks about acquiring picks and prospects but then he mentions he’s not going to trade guys just to trade them… then how are you going to get those picks and prospects? I mean Smith at best gets you a 3rd… so are you asking for a 2nd and not budging off that? If so that’s stupid. Take the 3rd and free up the cap. It just all sounds like a bunch of contradictory word salad and it’s incredibly disappointing. Hopefully he proves me wrong and makes some deals today and some decent signings next week… but so far other than the Karlsson trade I’ve been very underwhelmed.

 

[BrookswasHere44]

Longer quote from Dubas in Yohe's recap.




Isn't this approach what the board has been asking for? Dubas isn't doing salary dumps. He wants assets back or he wants assets attached to other moves. And he's not signing long term deals in FA.

That's exactly the approach he should have.

Doesn't fit narratives though. So ANGER!

 

[SEALBound]

Doesn't fit narratives though. So ANGER!

People want to bitch. Doesn't matter the move. Mangiapane is a good example:

Dubas uses a 2nd to get him: Dammit Dubas! You can't give away future for middle 6 players! What the hell!?
Dubas does NOT use a 2nd to get him: Dammit Dubas! You sat on your hands! Where were you with this one! There is no plan!

We knew people were going to be in this thread bitching about Helenius no matter what. Has nothing to do with Helenius. Could have been anyone. Doesn't matter. They want to bitch.

Throughout the year, we wanted nothing more than for the lineup to be infused with youth. Now, Dubas says "We want to be contenders and we want to do so by infusing the lineup with hungry, young players. We won't dump good players for nothing nor will we pay to ditch anyone"

But then people come here and say "Ders no plun!" Again, they are here merely to bitch. Sad existence.

 

[The Old Master]

People want to bitch. Doesn't matter the move. Mangiapane is a good example:

Dubas uses a 2nd to get him: Dammit Dubas! You can't give away future for middle 6 players! What the hell!?
Dubas does NOT use a 2nd to get him: Dammit Dubas! You sat on your hands! Where were you with this one! There is no plan!

We knew people were going to be in this thread bitching about Helenius no matter what. Has nothing to do with Helenius. Could have been anyone. Doesn't matter. They want to bitch.

Throughout the year, we wanted nothing more than for the lineup to be infused with youth. Now, Dubas says "We want to be contenders and we want to do so by infusing the lineup with hungry, young players. We won't dump good players for nothing nor will we pay to ditch anyone"

But then people come here and say "Ders no plun!" Again, they are here merely to bitch. Sad existence.

if things go well in a few hours it will all be forgotten. imo

 

[ThosePuckingPenguins]

People want to bitch. Doesn't matter the move. Mangiapane is a good example:

Dubas uses a 2nd to get him: Dammit Dubas! You can't give away future for middle 6 players! What the hell!?
Dubas does NOT use a 2nd to get him: Dammit Dubas! You sat on your hands! Where were you with this one! There is no plan!

We knew people were going to be in this thread bitching about Helenius no matter what. Has nothing to do with Helenius. Could have been anyone. Doesn't matter. They want to bitch.

Throughout the year, we wanted nothing more than for the lineup to be infused with youth. Now, Dubas says "We want to be contenders and we want to do so by infusing the lineup with hungry, young players. We won't dump good players for nothing nor will we pay to ditch anyone"

But then people come here and say "Ders no plun!" Again, they are here merely to bitch. Sad existence.

I was going to comment about how it’s hilarious so many now wish we just did nothing and we would’ve had a top 15 pick this year but now that it looks like Dubas won’t do much this offseason thus setting us up with having a good first rounder next year, everyone is bitching about that.

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

As long as Sullivan is still in charge I'm not excited about anything with this team.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

As long as Sullivan is still in charge I'm not excited about anything with this team.

This is it. To "go for it" again would mean you are CONFIDENT that this head coach still has what it takes to get you to where you want to go.

If the core wants to be here, we should all be happy about that. If they want this coach, it is what it is.

The fact that Dubas is talking about going counter to the obvious "all-in" approach that has failed this organization time and time again...especially in the last 5-6 years or so..should be viewed as a good thing.

SO, that is where we are at. Most people want us to go in one direction or the other, but the pitfalls to both look sooooo scary (at least to me), that being conservative seems necessary to me.

Again, one terrible decision in either free agency or via trade could change my mind, but it has not happened yet. So, I cannot bitch about something that has not happened yet.

 

[The Old Master]

I was going to comment about how it’s hilarious so many now wish we just did nothing and we would’ve had a top 15 pick this year but now that it looks like Dubas won’t do much this offseason thus setting us up with having a good first rounder next year, everyone is bitching about that.

not everyone

 

[Maninthebox87]

I’m curious today to see if there some moves to be made as far as trades go. I think Dubas is just trying to play poker with some of his comments. He can’t possibly look at the roster as is and think yep everything is fine… can he?

 

[Andy99]

Hungry young players? Can’t wait to see what Mike Sullivan does with those…

Don’t wonder…we know. They’ll play 8 min a night in the bottom six and as soon as they make a mistake, they’ll be benched, minutes will dwindle and they’ll be in the AHL…we have 6 years of past history to support this lol

 

[Empoleon8771]

People are aware there’s a middle ground between blowing the team up entirely and doing nothing, right?

I’m discouraged at the Dubas quotes because it seems like he’s going to do nothing, which is absolutely not what I wanted him to do this offseason. It’s not about him going a full blown tear down right now, it’s that he seems content just sitting on his hands and doing nothing.

For me, it’s not about the path Dubas says he wants to take. It’s that I really get the impression that he’s going to be passive about it, which is absolutely not the correct path for him to be taking.

 

[deakka]

I’m curious today to see if there some moves to be made as far as trades go. I think Dubas is just trying to play poker with some of his comments. He can’t possibly look at the roster as is and think yep everything is fine… can he?

As i said earlier. He probably WANTS to make a move i.e Jarry, Smith, Rakell etc. But he doesnt wanna pay to get rid of them, or take bad contract back.

 

[The Old Master]

I’m curious today to see if there some moves to be made as far as trades go. I think Dubas is just trying to play poker with some of his comments. He can’t possibly look at the roster as is and think yep everything is fine… can he?

if he's planning on a high pick next year, he can.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I remember Errey saying during a a broadcast that Verbeek was the only player he ever played with or against that he never respected. It was so off-the-cuff and coming from him it stuck with me.

Nobody called Verbeek "Little Ball of Love" for a reason.

 

[Empoleon8771]

As i said earlier. He probably WANTS to make a move i.e Jarry, Smith, Rakell etc. But he doesnt wanna pay to get rid of them, or take bad contract back.

If this team is building for the future, why shouldn’t he be bringing back bad contracts? He should be sending out guys like Rakell and Smith for a bad contract plus assets to build up the prospect pool.

 

[Maninthebox87]

As i said earlier. He probably WANTS to make a move i.e Jarry, Smith, Rakell etc. But he doesnt wanna pay to get rid of them, or take bad contract back.

Yeah I never thought a first round trade was likely but a third or fourth is kinda the sweet spot.

 

[deakka]

If this team is building for the future, why shouldn’t he be bringing back bad contracts? He should be sending out guys like Rakell and Smith for a bad contract plus assets to build up the prospect pool.

Yeah he should get bad contracts if we get compensation for taking it on. Not paying to get rid of our own bad contracts

 

[HandshakeLine]

People are aware there’s a middle ground between blowing the team up entirely and doing nothing, right?

I’m discouraged at the Dubas quotes because it seems like he’s going to do nothing, which is absolutely not what I wanted him to do this offseason. It’s not about him going a full blown tear down right now, it’s that he seems content just sitting on his hands and doing nothing.

For me, it’s not about the path Dubas says he wants to take. It’s that I really get the impression that he’s going to be passive about it, which is absolutely not the correct path for him to be taking.

Yeah, at the end of the day the team has to commit to SOMETHING otherwise, it's just a death spiral. But man, those quotes are not reassuring.

 

[Jacob]

Nobody called Verbeek "Little Ball of Love" for a reason.

What’s weird is they were teammates in Dallas. But I think he was referencing an earlier incident when they were opponents.