Salary Cap: Pens Off Season Thread: Pre Free Agency Shenanigans!

[AuroraBorealis]

They're not paying them to be good skaters. They're paying them to be good team mates.

Chicago are being deliberately bad again. They'll be better in that they'll have Bedard on ice and a good unit around him, but other than that, they don't want to be good. They don't have enough prospects to be done picking high and often.

So the rest of the team is going to be great locker room guys, tough guys, hard to play against guys so at least it's not embarrassing, mixed in with a bunch of young kids with things to prove who might give the Blackhawks a few more hits or deadline sales.

They should be taking on bad contracts like Granlund in exchange for assets if they wanna suck, not nuking their cap space on free agents like this.
Their primary goal should be asset accumulation right now, not locker room presences lol.

More of this.

 

[Peat]

They should be taking on bad contracts like Granlund in exchange for assets if they wanna suck, not nuking their cap space on free agents like this.
Their primary goal should be asset accumulation right now, not locker room presences lol.

View attachment 723998

More of this.

They want to suck in order to rebuild *and* give Bedard the best possible development at the same time.

They already have a ton of assets for the rebuild but only one stab at developing what could be the best player drafted this decade to his full potential. Which would you give priority to?

Plus, as already mentioned, they can still take bad contracts if they want. They still have 24m with which to fill out their roster after signing Bedard. They can take a ton of them. Handing out 8m to Foligno and Perry barely touches the sides there. But it's clearly a secondary concern and so it should be.

 

[Gurglesons]

They're not paying them to be good skaters. They're paying them to be good team mates.

Chicago are being deliberately bad again. They'll be better in that they'll have Bedard on ice and a good unit around him, but other than that, they don't want to be good. They don't have enough prospects to be done picking high and often.

So the rest of the team is going to be great locker room guys, tough guys, hard to play against guys so at least it's not embarrassing, mixed in with a bunch of young kids with things to prove who might give the Blackhawks a few more hits or deadline sales.

I still think you can acquire actual good players and then cycle them into picks instead of whatever the f*** the idea is with Perry and Foligno.

 

[Peat]

I still think you can acquire actual good players and then cycle them into picks instead of whatever the f*** the idea is with Perry and Foligno.

I can see I'm going to repeat myself a lot tonight

They don't want a bunch of good players if they're not in the group of guys playing with Bedard. They want good players like a guy putting on weight for an acting role wants a salad.

The picks aren't a priority because they've got a ton and will pick up plenty more. I'm sure they'll be able to convince some deadline team they must have Dickinson for another 2nd or 3rd. Hell, there might be suckers waiting for Foligno and Perry. Tough guys with names get better prices right now than good players.

They want a tough veteran team that won't win too much and four guys to play with Bedard. That's it.

Plus the cap space is still there if someone gets stuck on the market and wants a 1 year deal and a deadline move like Klingberg or there's a mugging to be done. They don't have to be done if it can work out for them. Just it's clearly not a priority.

 

[Gurglesons]

I can see I'm going to repeat myself a lot tonight

They don't want a bunch of good players if they're not in the group of guys playing with Bedard. They want good players like a guy putting on weight for an acting role wants a salad.

The picks aren't a priority because they've got a ton and will pick up plenty more. I'm sure they'll be able to convince some deadline team they must have Dickinson for another 2nd or 3rd. Hell, there might be suckers waiting for Foligno and Perry. Tough guys with names get better prices right now than good players.

They want a tough veteran team that won't win too much and four guys to play with Bedard. That's it.

Plus the cap space is still there if someone gets stuck on the market and wants a 1 year deal and a deadline move like Klingberg or there's a mugging to be done. They don't have to be done if it can work out for them. Just it's clearly not a priority.

And this route didn’t work out well for Buffalo when they did it.

I dunno. I 100% understand what they are doing. But, I think there are much better ways to go about it.

 

[Peat]

And this route didn’t work out well for Buffalo when they did it.

I dunno. I 100% understand what they are doing. But, I think there are much better ways to go about it.

In which season did Buffalo try this? Because it looks to me they were spending big to try and be successful the moment they got realised they'd trade high in 2015. 1st for Bogosian and Kane the deadline before they drafted Eichel, traded for O'Reilly and Lehner that summer, signing Okposo for a big contract the next summer, and so on.

Which is kind of the opposite as far as I can see. Lots of spending and ambition rather than continuing to build the prospect base.


edit: And maybe there are better ways to go about Chicago's dual mission of continuing to be bad enough the prospect base still develops but good enough that Bedard becomes all he should be... but the point is, they're not committed. They've still got the 4th most cap room in the league.

And it's not like teams are sending out cap dumps at great prices left right and centre right now for them to exploit. It's not like they're sat there watching Anaheim grow fat off of absorbing these instead.

 

[BusinessGoose]

CHI sucks

The city
The people
The team
The pizza
The band

So who cares. Whatever decision they make is dumb and they deserve the worst outcome

No reason to defend them

 

[HandshakeLine]

As an ex-Chicagoan, the city and people are great, the team and organization are wretched and nobody in Chicago eats deep dish except for dumb tourists. The real pizza is tavern style.

Chicago the band on the other hand is a warcrime.

 

[cygnus47]

Yeh Chicago is building a perfect continue to tank team. Have at least one good line so bedard has some linemates, have a bunch of vets that are tough to keep him safe and teach him the ropes. Don’t have players good enough to actually win games. Especially at goalie. They’ll have one of the best chances at another high pick next year and bedard won’t be completely screwed up and plenty of space for other prospects to make the team.

 

[Pens x]

Are we really not buying out Granlund? That’s unacceptable and stupid.

 

[canadianguy77]

I just hope he either gets rid of Rust or aquires someone good enough to push him down to L3. You can’t have a guy stapled to the too-6 who routinely goes 10-15-20 games with only 1or 2 ES points. You’re a hinderance to the team in that role with that sort of production.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Are we really not buying out Granlund? That’s unacceptable and stupid.

Still a few hours left but all signs point to 'no, we're not buying him out'...

 

[HandshakeLine]

I just hope he either gets rid of Rust or aquires someone good enough to push him down to L3. You can’t have a guy stapled to the too-6 who routinely goes 10-15-20 games with only 1or 2 ES points. You’re a hinderance to the team in that role with that sort of production.

That describes not only Rust, but Granlund as well.

 

[Pens x]

Still a few hours left but all signs point to 'no, we're not buying him out'...

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised coming from the GM that acquired Matt Murray last season. This just seems like a no brainer. Harry Potter better have some trade lined up for Granlund, and not one where we have to take back another team’s overpaid, mediocre player.

 

[TimmyD]

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised coming from the GM that acquired Matt Murray last season. This just seems like a no brainer. Harry Potter better have some trade lined up for Granlund, and not one where we have to take back another team’s overpaid, mediocre player.

“Granlund sucks, he’s terrible!” “Dubas better have a trade lined up that gets us good value for Granlund!”

 

[Zbynek]

8 hours left to sort out Granny.

 

[IcedCapp]

I’d give up a 2nd to get rid of him, honestly

Maybe make it conditional. A 3rd. If we make the playoffs, a 2nd.

 

[pistolpete11]

Here is my pie-in-the-sky-Friday-before-a-holiday-weekend-not-completely-thoughtout-roster.

Nylander for Rust
Ullmark for POJ+2nd
Hanifin for Petry (not directly for each other, but Hanifin in, Petry out)
Goodrow for...something

Re-sign Smith, Poehling, DOC for $800k
Sheary for $2M
Mayfield for $5M

Buyout Granlund

Add picks and other pieces as needed.

Guentzel - Crosby - Rakell
Smith - Malkin - Nylander
Sheary - Goodrow - Nylander (the other one)
DOC - Poehling - Carter
Puus

Hanifin - Letang
Petts - Mayfeild
Smith - Rutta
Ruhwedel

Ullmark
CDS

Under the cap by $800k



How do they re-sign Gunetzel, Nyalnder, and Hanifin? Details, my friend, details.

 

[ColePens]

As an ex-Chicagoan, the city and people are great, the team and organization are wretched and nobody in Chicago eats deep dish except for dumb tourists. The real pizza is tavern style.

Chicago the band on the other hand is a warcrime.

I've only been a couple times but the areas I'm in are usually very nice and have good energy. My only complaint is how damn big it is. That city is big! I'm not a big big city person. Chicago/Toronto are two cities that every time I go, i feel they are almost identical. Just too big for me.

 

[Darren McCord]

If you dont buy out granlund or trade him before UFA you are stuck with him for awhile.

Also look at Chicago and you can see how players aren't getting both money and term this summer.

Contending teams aren't going to give money.
Bad teams aren't going to give term.

Tarasenko
Bunting
Bertuzzi
Zucker
Erod
Domi
Compher
Kerfoot
Tatar
Killorn
Engvall

A lot of these guys are going to be sad if they don't sign soon and the money dries up. There are going to be more Erod and Klingberg contracts this summer.

Here is my pie-in-the-sky-Friday-before-a-holiday-weekend-not-completely-thoughtout-roster.

Nylander for Rust
Ullmark for POJ+2nd
Hanifin for Petry (not directly for each other, but Hanifin in, Petry out)
Goodrow for...something

Re-sign Smith, Poehling, DOC for $800k
Sheary for $2M
Mayfield for $5M

Buyout Granlund

Add picks and other pieces as needed.

Guentzel - Crosby - Rakell
Smith - Malkin - Nylander
Sheary - Goodrow - Nylander (the other one)
DOC - Poehling - Carter
Puus

Hanifin - Letang
Petts - Mayfeild
Smith - Rutta
Ruhwedel

Ullmark
CDS

Under the cap by $800k



How do they re-sign Gunetzel, Nyalnder, and Hanifin? Details, my friend, details.

No Sheary rather a guy like Engvall

 

[Zbynek]

If you dont buy out granlund or trade him before UFA you are stuck with him for awhile.

Also look at Chicago and you can see how players aren't getting both money and term this summer.

Contending teams aren't going to give money.
Bad teams aren't going to give term.

Tarasenko
Bunting
Bertuzzi
Zucker
Erod
Domi
Compher
Kerfoot
Tatar
Killorn
Engvall

A lot of these guys are going to be sad if they don't sign soon and the money dries up. There are going to be more Erod and Klingberg contracts this summer.



No Sheary rather a guy like Engvall

Exactly. That's why Granny needs to get sorted today before the buyout window at 5pm EST.

Hopefully there's a trade out there for a bottom-6 guy that needs a change of scenery. Granlund may be the poster child of our broken playoff streak, but he could still be a good fit on a team needing a 2C in a pinch.

 

[Darren McCord]

Exactly. That's why Granny needs to get sorted today before the buyout window at 5pm EST.

Hopefully there's a trade out there for a bottom-6 guy that needs a change of pace. Granlund may be the poster child of our broken playoff streak, but he could still be a good fit on a team needing a 2C in a pinch.

I do think he is a good fit for the flames since they won't admit to rebuild and he is signed for two years. Hed get top 6 time there and produce.

He wont bring back Hanifin or any value really.

 

[Zbynek]

He wont bring back Hanifin or any value really.

No definitely not. But maybe we could swing a piece for the bottom-6 which needs completely rebuilt anyway. Beats overpaying in UFA...

 

[3ladesof5teel]

I still highly doubt Granlund is getting bought out. The postive thing is he will be much better than last season. The problem is, its still Granlund and hes a pretty bad fit as he sits on this team.

 

[Peat]

“Granlund sucks, he’s terrible!” “Dubas better have a trade lined up that gets us good value for Granlund!”

I mean given he's the one who thinks you can offload Granlund without the buyout then yeah, I hope he does have that trade lined up.