Salary Cap: Pens '23-'24 Salary Cap Thread: "Mandrake, do you recall what Clemenceau once said about hockey"

[Gurglesons]

Didn't FSG hire ol Ronny Puffnuts?

No. He was hired in February. Penguins were sold in November.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Hextall Penguins were much more enjoyable than Dubas.

Imagine that... this team looks more boring adding Erik Karlsson.

No they f***in' weren't. They were just as much of a chore to watch and nearly identical standings-wise.

And we all knew Sullivan was gonna take a sledgehammer to EK's game the second he did his whole "we can help him be better" bullshit.

Didn't FSG hire ol Ronny Puffnuts?

Did they? I thought he was here when they took over. Don't gaslight me, man.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

No. He was hired in February. Penguins were sold in November.

Gotcha. Well regardless like HSL said I think I'd prefer owners who are... you know... invested beyond just the dollars. But hey it's better than being on the brink of moving and having to court like... actual gangsters and criminals to buy the team lol

 

[molon labe]

I was doing the math this morning and they have to go 25-13 down the stretch. That is a .657 winning percentage. That gets them to 98 points.

If they keep going at their current pace, they will have 68 points at the trade deadline and would need to go 15-5 to get to 98 points.

The math is not in their favor unless they pick it up massively. IMO, they need to go on a 10-12 game win streak to make it happen.

Been talking and thinking this same math for a couple months myself.

It's looking BLEEK.

Interesting when you see a team like the Oilers win 14 straight games and still are in third place without home ice. This team damn near needs the same at this point and there isn't a shred of evidence to suggest that's even possible with this roster/system.

I don't even know where 98 points could get us this year. Atlantic is likely going to represent both WCs

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Gotcha. Well regardless like HSL said I think I'd prefer owners who are... you know... invested beyond just the dollars. But hey it's better than being on the brink of moving and having to court like... actual gangsters and criminals to buy the team lol

You said billionaires twice at the end there. Just a heads up.

 

[Gurglesons]

No they f***in' weren't. They were just as much of a chore to watch and nearly identical standings-wise.

And we all knew Sullivan was gonna take a sledgehammer to EK's game the second he did his whole "we can help him be better" bullshit.

I disagree. The 20-21 Penguins were fun to watch. Won the division. The 21-22 Penguins hit 100+ points.

Last years team was rough, but to be honest it was more entertaining than this year. Zucker alone brought energy worth checking in on every night.

The enjoyable players this year have been DOC, Crosby, and Puustinen. That's about it lol.

 

[Invalid cuz QoC]

It is wild how boring Erik Karlsson is on this team, and we should all be realizing that this is not something that should be happening.

First few games I was like who is this stud offensive defenseman. He was light years above letang in terms of skill, not even close. And while he’s still great, I don’t see those brilliant plays anymore, completely neutered.

I disagree. The 20-21 Penguins were fun to watch. Won the division. The 21-22 Penguins hit 100+ points.

Last years team was rough, but to be honest it was more entertaining than this year. Zucker alone brought energy worth checking in on every night.

The enjoyable players this year have been DOC, Crosby, and Puustinen. That's about it lol.

Yeah that energy is pretty hard to come by. And I miss it. I feel like everyone in their life had that one friend who had a non stop motor no matter what. Now that one friend would have to also play sports and also make it to the big leagues. Pretty rare.

 

[Gurglesons]

First few games I was like who is this stud offensive defenseman. He was light years above letang in terms of skill, not even close. And while he’s still great, I don’t see those brilliant plays anymore, completely neutered.



Yeah that energy is pretty hard to come by. And I miss it. I feel like everyone in their life had that one friend who had a non stop motor no matter what. Now that one friend would have to also play sports and also make it to the big leagues. Pretty rare.

The funny part is we are being critical of EK65 and he is on a 9 game point streak. That's how boring this team is.

 

[molon labe]

I don't like Toronto media but I tend to like and respect Hayes.

His feelings are (I think) those of many Pens fans. Not all, certainly. But Sid has transcended this franchise and has been nothing but great. I think it's utter selfishness to insist he remain on a sinking ship - that by all means has NOTHING to do with him.

Either fire the coach and blow up the roster around him, or give him the chance to compete elsewhere. And note this sickens me to think about but this organization just flubbing and acting like morons for several years now is even worse.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

It just seemed like an acquisition to me. I tend to agree with @AuroraBorealis - I think they're just dumb about the sport and don't much care, anyway. Just stuck some dingdong yes-man in Pittsburgh to run things who is probably a Pats fans first second third and fourth and also saw a hockey game that one time when he was on vacation overseas.

I mean the guy in question was at an FSG presser after Hex was fired, where he was really transparent about his learning curve with the sport. He talked about who he leans on and his day-to-day. What I'm stating isn't opinion.

I don't blame him. He's trying.
I blame his superiors for hiring him.

 

[Gurglesons]

I don't like Toronto media but I tend to like and respect Hayes.

His feelings are (I think) those of many Pens fans. Not all, certainly. But Sid has transcended this franchise and has been nothing but great. I think it's utter selfishness to insist he remain on a sinking ship - that by all means has NOTHING to do with him.

Either fire the coach and blow up the roster around him, or give him the chance to compete elsewhere. And note this sickens me to think about but this organization just flubbing and acting like morons for several years now is even worse.

Meh. Patriots moved on from Brady. He would've stayed there.

 

[ThosePuckingPenguins]

I don't like Toronto media but I tend to like and respect Hayes.

His feelings are (I think) those of many Pens fans. Not all, certainly. But Sid has transcended this franchise and has been nothing but great. I think it's utter selfishness to insist he remain on a sinking ship - that by all means has NOTHING to do with him.

Either fire the coach and blow up the roster around him, or give him the chance to compete elsewhere. And note this sickens me to think about but this organization just flubbing and acting like morons for several years now is even worse.

Could be wrong on this but I think he retires earlier than he wanted to before he plays for another team. The whole ‘staying with one organization’ thing means a lot to him. And he’s won three Cups, not like he’s at zero or one.

If he wanted to go elsewhere and ring chase, I certainly wouldn’t hold that against him.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I don't like Toronto media but I tend to like and respect Hayes.

His feelings are (I think) those of many Pens fans. Not all, certainly. But Sid has transcended this franchise and has been nothing but great. I think it's utter selfishness to insist he remain on a sinking ship - that by all means has NOTHING to do with him.

Either fire the coach and blow up the roster around him, or give him the chance to compete elsewhere. And note this sickens me to think about but this organization just flubbing and acting like morons for several years now is even worse.

I don't think Sid would ever want to play elsewhere. He's just way too fanatical about his routines and all that; changing everything for the final couple of years in the NHL doesn't seem to me like something he'd do. But I do wonder if he'd keep putting his body through the rigors of an NHL season after his deal is up just to plod around on this ever-worsening dogshit team.

It was always gonna be like this. All eras end, and it's never pretty. Sullivan, Rutherford and Hextall made certain it would be as ugly as possible though, so kudos to those schmucks.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Wasn't there some interview with Crosby a year or two ago where he was asked about playing until he's like 100 years old or whatever and he was actually very non-committal about it? I think that goes double if this team is just floundering around and doing little to solve it's problems aside from blaming one of his buddy's for every single loss.

I dunno if him playing past his contract is as guaranteed as everyone thinks it is. He's just human and he's been doing this since he was literally a tiny child. I know the watchword is that his whole life is the game but I think he probably has other things he'd like to do someday.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Wasn't there some interview with Crosby a year or two ago where he was asked about playing until he's like 100 years old or whatever and he was actually very non-committal about it? I think that goes double if this team is just floundering around and doing little to solve it's problems aside from blaming one of his buddies for every single loss.

Even this season, there was an interview with him before the Chicago game and Bedard's debut where they asked him what his plans were after his deal was up and he just did the smile "We're taking it one year at a time" thing.

I wouldn't be surprised if he walked away when his deal was up if this team continued its trajectory of the past six years. I wouldn't be surprised if a guy who has only ever known hockey his entire life found it extremely difficult to stop playing even if the team was at the bottom of the standings. /shrug

 

[molon labe]

Price would have kept Montreal from ever fully bottoming out.

Sid has the ability to do the same.

For the record I'd rather watch Sid and Geno on the same line for the next few years with a few highlights than see either in another sweater. But watching Sid perform to (easily) a top 10 forward in the league while the rest of the team looks like hot ass is really tough to watch. Really. It's like a cringey scene in a script. One guy out there competing - then a whole lot of dogshit. For that reason I'd rather see him in Colorado than taking draws for Sullivan.

First choice is to of course right this ship - but that involves several things that should have been put in motion months (years?) ago. An AllStar break ain't gonna cut it.

Even this season, there was an interview with him before the Chicago game and Bedard's debut where they asked him what his plans were after his deal was up and he just did the smile "We're taking it one year at a time" thing.

I wouldn't be surprised if he walked away when his deal was up if this team continued its trajectory of the past six years. I wouldn't be surprised if a guy who has only ever known hockey his entire life found it extremely difficult to stop playing even if the team was at the bottom of the standings. /shrug

The quiet ones. Barry Sanders did it. Just walked away when his organization seemed no longer interested in winning and only selling his jersey. The Pens front office is headed that way.

Obvious irony there having traded for EK - but not so much when you consider the coaching and lack of roster moves.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Price would have kept Montreal from ever fully bottoming out.

Sid has the ability to do the same.

For the record I'd rather watch Sid and Geno on the same line for the next few years with a few highlights than see either in another sweater. But watching Sid perform to (easily) a top 10 forward in the league while the rest of the team looks like hot ass is really tough to watch. Really. It's like a cringey scene in a script. One guy out there competing - then a whole lot of dogshit. For that reason I'd rather see him in Colorado than taking draws for Sullivan.

First choice is to of course right this ship - but that involves several things that should have been put in motion months (years?) ago. An AllStar break ain't gonna cut it.



The quiet ones. Barry Sanders did it. Just walked away when his organization seemed no longer interested in winning and only selling his jersey. The Pens front office is headed that way.

Obvious irony there having traded for EK - but not so much when you consider the coaching and lack of roster moves.

I still maintain EK was a gift that fell into this team's lap for essentially free. No other teams were genuinely interested, and Dubas worked for like a month to figure out a landing spot for Petry to make the cap work. The only other team who was even hovering around were the Canes and by all reports they had no real interest in shifting around the cap needed to get a deal done. Grier was kinda f***ed too; he couldn't sit on Karlsson, who wanted out, because of EK's injury history. So it was wait for Dubas to figure his stuff out and unload Karlsson for nothing, or keep a guy around that made it public he didn't wanna be there. /shrug

It's not like Dubas went out and paid a king's ransom for somebody. He gave up literal trash and a mid-1st for Karlsson and Grier had to accept because Pittsburgh was the only team in the running (and they could absorb nearly all of his cap hit).

But yeah, I dunno. Sid's a fierce competitor so I could see him not wanting to waste time on a bottom feeder, risking injury all the while. He's also been programmed like a robot since he was like 10 years old to only ever know hockey so it'll probably be rough for him to hang up the skates--particularly so because he's still playing at a high level.

I don't really care either way. I know that's sacrilege around here but like you said; watching him waste away in this piss poor organization is arguably as bad or worse than watching him get a legit shot at a Cup elsewhere. I'd *prefer* he retire a Penguin, same with Geno. But if they wanted out, meh. I'm not gonna pretend to be all emotional over a professional athlete (stranger) playing for another team after 20 years. But I'm not from Pittsburgh so that probably adds to my apathy about the situation. I do think he retires here because of how often he's talked about Yzerman being his idol and the one team thing meaning so much to him throughout his career.

 

[molon labe]

I still maintain EK was a gift that fell into this team's lap for essentially free. No other teams were genuinely interested, and Dubas worked for like a month to figure out a landing spot for Petry to make the cap work. The only other team who was even hovering around were the Canes and by all reports they had no real interest in shifting around the cap needed to get a deal done. Grier was kinda f***ed too; he couldn't sit on Karlsson, who wanted out, because of EK's injury history. So it was wait for Dubas to figure his stuff out and unload Karlsson for nothing, or keep a guy around that made it public he didn't wanna be there. /shrug

It's not like Dubas went out and paid a king's ransom for somebody. He gave up literal trash and a mid-1st for Karlsson and Grier had to accept because Pittsburgh was the only team in the running (and they could absorb nearly all of his cap hit).

But yeah, I dunno. Sid's a fierce competitor so I could see him not wanting to waste time on a bottom feeder, risking injury all the while. He's also been programmed like a robot since he was like 10 years old to only ever know hockey so it'll probably be rough for him to hang up the skates--particularly so because he's still playing at a high level.

To the former - right. I give credit where it's due but your logic is spot on - they didn't shuffle cards and work something out of nothing, even though it appeared so.

I.e...GMJR Kessel. That gets lost in the fold because it wasn't his best deal it's the deal that fell into his lap. That guy made Scuderi for Daley and Neal for Hornqvist moves. Dubas hasn't done shit. He signed what needed signed - for too long on just about every deal - then washed his hands of the big club and turned over the keys to Sullivan. I genuinely have no clue what he's been up to for the past 5 months. At least with JR you always had a suspicion another move was coming. No way, even though he was going off the rails there - would GMJR witness the season Sid is having and not make MOVES back in December. Let alone sit on his hands til the ASB.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Unfortunately I can not insert multiple quotes and send them because of the ads blocking the button

Tldr: I do that Karlsson trade every day of the week.

Sullivan I don't know what he did but he neutered Karlsson. Went from woah plays to what the hell you doing

 

[Gurglesons]

Wasn't there some interview with Crosby a year or two ago where he was asked about playing until he's like 100 years old or whatever and he was actually very non-committal about it? I think that goes double if this team is just floundering around and doing little to solve it's problems aside from blaming one of his buddy's for every single loss.

I dunno if him playing past his contract is as guaranteed as everyone thinks it is. He's just human and he's been doing this since he was literally a tiny child. I know the watchword is that his whole life is the game but I think he probably has other things he'd like to do someday.

[ESPN] Crosby on how many years he has left: I hope for a long time. The game is not getting any slower. Speed is obviously a huge thing. I would love to play forever. We'll see how long I can play here. I'm hoping at least another four years.​

^ 2022.

"I think when you stop having fun, it's probably time," Crosby recently told Emily Kaplan of ESPN about when he will retire. "So, I'm still having fun, and there's different challenges, different motivations. When that spark isn't there, that fire isn't burning, then it's probably time to put 'em away."

^ 2023.

He also said in an article with Rossi that he hopes to play for a long time and he's not close to being done this year.

 

[cookthebooks]

if sid doesnt finish his career in pgh i hope he goes to the place that pisses off the most canadian hockey snobs. maybe a solid 3 seasons in phoenix before his 50th

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

To the former - right. I give credit where it's due but your logic is spot on - they didn't shuffle cards and work something out of nothing, even though it appeared so.

I.e...GMJR Kessel. That gets lost in the fold because it wasn't his best deal it's the deal that fell into his lap. That guy made Scuderi for Daley and Neal for Hornqvist moves. Dubas hasn't done shit. He signed what needed signed - for too long on just about every deal - then washed his hands of the big club and turned over the keys to Sullivan. I genuinely have no clue what he's been up to for the past 5 months. At least with JR you always had a suspicion another move was coming. No way, even though he was going off the rails there - would GMJR witness the season Sid is having and not make MOVES back in December. Let alone sit on his hands til the ASB.

We all called this team being as mediocre and boring as it's been back in like July.

But Dubas has been here for six months. Dude's signed until, what, 2030? He's not gonna make his life harder in the long run for a knee-jerk move in the here and now, for a team that's been circling the drain for half a decade. And he shouldn't, imo. /shrug

He should absolutely fire the coaching staff if this team continues to putter around .500 hockey into the All Star break though. Shit, he should fire them regardless. Now.

 

[Josey Wales]

I don't like Toronto media but I tend to like and respect Hayes.

His feelings are (I think) those of many Pens fans. Not all, certainly. But Sid has transcended this franchise and has been nothing but great. I think it's utter selfishness to insist he remain on a sinking ship - that by all means has NOTHING to do with him.

Either fire the coach and blow up the roster around him, or give him the chance to compete elsewhere. And note this sickens me to think about but this organization just flubbing and acting like morons for several years now is even worse.

UMMM Considering Sid is OCD out the ass, The chances of him asking to be traded are right up there with The Pirates being 2024 World Series Champs

 

[chethejet]

Sid is a FA after next year. He can make a decision as to his future then. Him playing for a couple more years is not a Pens have him under contract. Now do I think he wants to go elsewhere? No. But missing the playoffs and having one more run just to have one more run can be his decision. After next year if Sid signs with say the AVs, good for him. It doesn't diminish what he has done here.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Eh, I think one-team-players are pretty special, so I get it. The f*** do I care if Sid wins another Art Ross (lol as if) or goes up a few points in the record books? But staying as a Pen for life is pretty special.