Salary Cap: Pens '24-'25 Salary Thread: The Crosbicles Volume XIX

[DearDiary]

When will the Nieto experiment end? He sucks donkey dick while Sullivan videos it.

Here's what Sullivan had to say about Nieto

He's one of those guys that's going to bring us a lot of energy, he can really skate. He’s a real good puck-pursuit guy that can help us establish the game that we're trying to play. He brings juice when he plays. He’s fast, he's tenacious, he's a real good penalty killer. He's just a terrific teammate. He's a popular guy in our room. So, for him to go through what he's gone through – multiple surgeries and all the rehab that he's gone through – to get himself to this point is remarkable, and we're all thrilled for him.

 

[Bishop7979]

Whose on the all-dubas ultimate I can fix her line up with Sid, Geno and letang? (Sullivan's opinion be damned)

Off the top of my head I'm going

Zegras sid robinson
Geno Norris Kailyev
Bunting turcott tomasino
Berggren glass pool party

Letang valimaki
Graves samuelsson
Grzlyk Holl

Jarry

 

[SEALBound]

It would suck if the Pens play themselves into a wild card spot over the next few weeks and end up keeping MP. Feels like that scenario isn't unlikely. I don't see how Dubas could justify selling off pieces if they're in the hunt.

No way. Pettersson is 100% gone by the TDL. WC spot or not.

Here's what Sullivan had to say about Nieto

The problem isn't what Sullivan said there because he's not necessarily wrong. Nieto does do all of those things. The problem is just that from a 10,000ft view, Nieto does NOTHING to ultimately impact the game. Thank you for skating hard and being all energetic but it's not translating into production that is needed to win games.

Whose on the all-dubas ultimate I can fix her line up with Sid, Geno and letang? (Sullivan's opinion be damned)

Off the top of my head I'm going

Zegras sid robinson
Geno Norris Kailyev
Bunting turcott tomasino
Berggren glass pool party

Letang valimaki
Graves samuelsson
Grzlyk Holl

Jarry

You jest but this lineup would be very much what the lineup would look like if Dubas followed what Washington was trying to do with their mini-retool.

 

[Turin]

Whose on the all-dubas ultimate I can fix her line up with Sid, Geno and letang? (Sullivan's opinion be damned)

Off the top of my head I'm going

Zegras sid robinson
Geno Norris Kailyev
Bunting turcott tomasino
Berggren glass pool party

Letang valimaki
Graves samuelsson
Grzlyk Holl

Jarry

I like the spunk but that defense is the worst in the NHL.

 

[Turin]

Not sure how to make cap work with Vancouver if they're trading anybody off the roster over like 2 million bucks.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Not sure how to make cap work with Vancouver if they're trading anybody off the roster over like 2 million bucks.

I think a Pettersson to Vancouver deal almost definitely includes a 3rd team to retain more money.

I figure it would be something like:

Penguins get Hoglander, Mynio and a 2025 2nd and retain $2 million on Pettersson
Hawks get a 2025 5th from Vancouver and retain $1 million on Pettersson
Canucks get Pettersson at $1 million

 

[Turin]

I think a Pettersson to Vancouver deal almost definitely includes a 3rd team to retain more money.

I figure it would be something like:

Penguins get Hoglander, Mynio and a 2025 2nd and retain $2 million on Pettersson
Hawks get a 2025 5th from Vancouver and retain $1 million on Pettersson
Canucks get Pettersson at $1 million

Would be fine with it I guess. Pens would have a stupid amount of picks the next couple years.

I really really don't want Graves back in the lineup...

 

[SomeDude]

When will the Nieto experiment end? He sucks donkey dick while Sullivan videos it.

Is it an experiment if a guy has an iron clad roster spot?

Matt Nieto is what Mike Sullivan would be if he played in the NHL today. That is why he thinks he is useful and an actual NHL level player.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think the ideal realistic plan for the deadline is:

1. Pettersson at 50% for Hoglander, E. Pettersson and a 2025 2nd
2. Nedjelkovic, Gryzelcyk, Nieto and Beauvillier for picks (probably 3rd for Grzelcyk and Nedjelkovic, 4th for Beauvillier and 5th/6th for Nieto)
3. Re-sign O'Connor if he's willing to take a reasonable deal (like 2x2 or something like that), otherwise move him for picks as well
4. Trade one of Bunting, Rakell or Rust if you can get a good return for them (2nd and prospect at minimum)
5. Try to find another Tomasino type of deal and use one of their spare 3rds to find a similar player in a similar situation (ideally a D)

Without a Rakell/Rust/Bunting trade:

Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Tomasino
Hoglander-Lizotte-O'Connor
Hayes-Glass-Puljujarvi
Poulin-Acciari

Pickering-Letang
E. Pettersson-Karlsson
Graves-St. Ivany
Shea

Jarry-Blomqvist

With a Rakell/Bunting/Rust trade, remove one of them and promote McGroarty to the top-6 in their spot (either McGroarty-Crosby-Rakell/Rust or McGroarty-Malkin-Tomasino).

I think Fabbro would have been a great target to look at in terms of that "Tomasino type of deal" had he not hit waivers, but I figure there's another similar guy out there that you can trade for. I think there's a spot for both a LD (to push Graves out of the lineup) and RD (to have insurance when you trade Karlsson next off-season) if you're targeting a D. Or you could use some of those spare picks to pay to get out of Graves' deal as well, I think it's easier to justify that when you have like 5 3rd rounders this year.

 

[Dennis Reynolds]

Whose on the all-dubas ultimate I can fix her line up with Sid, Geno and letang? (Sullivan's opinion be damned)

Off the top of my head I'm going

Zegras sid robinson
Geno Norris Kailyev
Bunting turcott tomasino
Berggren glass pool party

Letang valimaki
Graves samuelsson
Grzlyk Holl

Jarry

Ever since GMKK outlined his plan to rebuild on the fly, I've thought it screamed Josh Norris.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

When will the Nieto experiment end? He sucks donkey dick while Sullivan videos it.

At this point i blame Dubas for bringing in crappy players that Sullivan falls in love with.

 

[Ryder71]

Just because he shouldn’t, it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t. Especially if he’s on tilt from trying to get Jiricek.

I don't think there's any correlation there whatsoever. One is potentially a number one RHD. The other a complimentary middle six wing. An honestly I think Dubas has extracted pretty decent value in his trades here.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

At this point i blame Dubas for bringing in crappy players that Sullivan falls in love with.

You blame 'em both imo. Dubas for either being in total lockstep with Sullivan on personnel issues, or being a spineless dork who simply bends the knee to Sullivan. And Sullivan for a steep and steady decline that started in 2019.

 

[Turin]

The deflections here are pretty dope. Goes to the net frequently.

 

[DesertPenguin]

I know he's gone, but damn is Pettersson going to leave a void on the D. Even if E Pettersson comes back, a left side in 2025 of Pickering, Graves and E Pettersson is.... Not an improvement on status quo.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I know he's gone, but damn is Pettersson going to leave a void on the D. Even if E Pettersson comes back, a left side in 2025 of Pickering, Graves and E Pettersson is.... Not an improvement on status quo.

This is the worst defensive team in the NHL. It doesn't matter.

 

[Gurglesons]

I know he's gone, but damn is Pettersson going to leave a void on the D. Even if E Pettersson comes back, a left side in 2025 of Pickering, Graves and E Pettersson is.... Not an improvement on status quo.

Would’ve been nice if our GM could’ve got Walman by taking on a 2nd versus signing Gryz.

 

[Turin]

I know he's gone, but damn is Pettersson going to leave a void on the D. Even if E Pettersson comes back, a left side in 2025 of Pickering, Graves and E Pettersson is.... Not an improvement on status quo.

It's going to be so brutal that I'm actively hoping Hoglander isn't a Pettersson related deal, and they just trade him at the deadline when there's only a month of games left to suffer through.

 

[Turin]

Just noticed that Tomasino was over a ppg in the AHL in his first season after the OHL. Man Nashville really screwed his development.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Would’ve been nice if our GM could’ve got Walman by taking on a 2nd versus signing Gryz.

I agree but I don't think Dubas was in a position to do that. Apparently Yzerman offered that directly to the Sharks without shopping Walman around, and the Sharks instantly said yes when Yzerman offered a 2nd for them to take him.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Just noticed that Tomasino was over a ppg in the AHL in his first season after the OHL. Man Nashville really screwed his development.

League was a bit watered down that year but yeah

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Would be super cool if it were Graves to VAN instead of Pettersson. Even if we have to add a little bit.

Though, on the flip side, Graves can help with the tank and meeting the cap floor.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Just noticed that Tomasino was over a ppg in the AHL in his first season after the OHL. Man Nashville really screwed his development.

Gotta love the job Humpty Dumpty is doing down there!!

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Gotta love the job Humpty Dumpty is doing down there!!

Like, what is he doing??? Fabbro on waivers who is lost for free to CBJ. Which then allows them [CBJ] to move on from Jiricek for a pretty decent haul.

Then signing Wedgewood which blocked Askarov who then asked to be moved. Askarov brough back an okay return. And he recently traded Wedgewood for what, I think, is a bad return.

Not gonna complain about him trading away Glass or Tomasino though.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

If we look at the top six heading into 2025-26, it could be shaping up OK right now. Let's cross our fingers that Tomasino was that one rare Dubas find. Malkin obviously is going into his final season, so replacing him in two years time is probably the top priority. If Rakell and Crosby stick together, then we are probably looking to add someone for that line. Hoglander is the big hot rumor right now, but I am luke warm on him. I just don't think Sullivan would want both Hoglander and Tomasino in his top six. I could be wrong, but his reputation precedes him. My dream acquisition for line 1 is obviously Marner, and until that situation is resolved I will continue to hold out hope that Dubas can pull it off.

I started thinking about another player to target in the top six. What about Andrei Svechnikov? He is expensive at $7.75 Million/year but his role in Carolina seems to be diminishing. Necas has turned into a superstar this season, and he is going to need a new deal starting next summer. Carolina is reportedly in the goalie market. I wonder if there is a deal to be made with Carolina involving Svechnikov and Jarry? I don't know how many other pieces would need to be added, but Carolina probably does not need futures at this time. And if they want more depth for a long playoff run, we could definitely help them there.

Under this scenario, Rust could either be traded after his NMC ends or be a mentor for someone like McGroarty or maybe Koivunen on the third line. If you want to trade Rust and keep O'Connor instead, fine. But there is no way I am re-signing O'Connor without making other trades to move out other players. O'Connor would definitely be the guy to block McGroarty and/or Koivunen next season, so he is the type of Sullivan player we need to move on from for the benefit of the non-Sullivan guys in the system. My opinion of O'Connor going into this season was completely different but now I see him more as a cheap trade chip for contending teams who see him as a fourth liner. That is what he is, imo.


Regarding Graves vs. Pettersson, I think this is definitely something that Sullivan is screwing up right now. We are giving Grz so much ice time right now, so if that was for the purpose of flipping him then great! But with this Mass. mafia in place, Grz is far more likely to sign a five-year extension than be a deadline trade casualty at this point. Giving Pickering minutes is also good, because he is clearly one of our six best defensemen right now. He has brought some stability. Shea is whatever. He has a good game now and then, but that is usually when he is on the left side. On the right, he is a train wreck. And St. Ivany is a solid No. 7. Where does this leave Graves?

If we trade Pettersson, Graves would likely get back into the lineup. But that is not a given with 8 defensemen and Graves is clearly No. 8 on Sullivan's depth chart. So what exactly are we doing with Graves here? Not playing him does nothing for his trade value. And if the plan is to keep him as the No. 7, that is a terrible plan.

Could Graves be placed in an O'Connor deal for almost nothing in return? What about our boy Puljujarvi? Does he have any value? I would want to keep him but I also realize he is not Sullivan's cup of tea, clearly!