I don’t really think St. Ivany even has much upside to even be worth the trouble in the first place. Unlike Poulin or Ponomarev. I think his maximum upside is a steady #7. He’s already 25.
I mean, if he's asking for a long or expensive deal, then don't bother, but I don't expect him to play hardball when he's an RFA with minimal experience. He's got no leverage, and all the incentive to just take a short-term low-money deal with a team where he'll get a good chance to make the NHL roster out of camp.
I just really don't want to bring in UFA veterans for the third pairing on the idea that if there are injuries they'll be moved up. The real problem is that the Pens don't really have any other right-handed defense prospects at the moment. Hopefully they can acquire some, either as undrafted/unsigned-draft-choice free agents, or via trade.
The team will never do this (at least, not when they aren't admitting they're in a rebuild), but I'd like to see the bottom pairing and the fourth line be mostly, if not entirely, young players. If they perform, then give them more minutes. But at least they can bring some youthful energy during their shifts, if nothing else. They should have motivation, as they ought to be out to prove themselves, as well as cheap, as they haven't yet made the NHL full-time yet.
I'm tired of multi-million dollar players at the bottom of the roster making it all-but-impossible to make improvements elsewhere... or even make it possible to call up promising prospects. It's a lot easier to bump out St. Ivany out of the lineup if he's regressing and someone else is taking WB/S by storm, after all.
