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

[ZorkEnchanter]

He's not a positive player even at 50%.

Better off buying him out, I don't see many teams interested in a bad defensively, soft, PP merchant.

it's crazy... 2nd round pick and we have to keep Granlund because his contract is ballz. 2/5m.

Hextall just dropped a f***ing absolute turd on us.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Hey Emp remember how unlikeable LAST year's team was?

Wait til ya get a loada this!

I hate Wheeler and want nothing to do with him

I just think it seems like a Dubas kind of buy-low move. Exactly what he did in the past with guys like Spezza.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I hate Wheeler and want nothing to do with him

I just think it seems like a Dubas kind of buy-low move. Exactly what he did in the past with guys like Spezza.

I knew what you meant.

He sure fits the preferred age bracket for his hoary old bag of bones team.

 

[Ryder71]

I'm guessing around 2 million. Maybe 2 years, $1 million per for Poehling and 2 years, $.9 million for DOC. Poehling was an every day player but missed a lot of time, didn't produce or play much, the other was only a regular player later in the year and also didn't really produce or play much.

Right, but I like both of their upside. My point was they can be retained for peanuts. So, we can get at least two more nice pieces via free agency or in a trade where by we take on a bit of salary. And still have enough for a goalie and another depth defender and forward.

 

[Jacob]

What even is Wheeler's deal? Just seems a little bristly but nothing major. Certainly not half as bad as Evander Kane.

 

[Nakawick]

Jagrwatch, 12 years ago today... Never forget.

We could sign him when Yager is NHL ready. A Jagr and Yager pk1

 

[BusinessGoose]

Dubas better go ham this weekend or lots of STHs will not renew

 

[Darren McCord]

I'm joking a bit but I feel like giving Wheeler a 1 year, $2 million deal is exactly the kind of thing I can see Dubas doing tomorrow.

Yay

Ehh they express getting younger. Smith and Wheeler are the opposite of that. So will see.

Dubas likes to take a risk on a young guy who might break out.

Bunting
Mikheyev
Hymann

I see a move more like
Yamamoto
Comtois

 

[Gurglesons]

Ehh they express getting younger. Smith and Wheeler are the opposite of that. So will see.

Dubas likes to take a risk on a young guy who might break out.

Bunting
Mikheyev
Hymann

Maybe he should "connect with his coach" then if he is going to keep Granlund and Carter around.

 

[OnMyOwn]

He can always explore a mid or early season trade with Granlund. Hope he produces early. I didn’t like the idea of a buyout, either. I was furious when Hex made that deal and still am.

Several names on the market I like right now.

 

[Ryder71]

I think we'll come out of this weekend rather well relative to reasonable expectations.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

What even is Wheeler's deal? Just seems a little bristly but nothing major. Certainly not half as bad as Evander Kane.

I guess he's been at the center of all the locker room drama in Winnipeg for a long time. Stripped of the captaincy last year. Which always raises an eyebrow.

For the Penguins purposes... him being kind of a douche doesn't even factor in so much to me as him being a fossil. All full up on those.

 

[Lust for Life]

Don't mind a one year deal for Wheeler at all.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

The problem with the "mid-season trade" is if Granlund is producing early, there's no reason for the team to trade him. It wouldn't be a case of "Okay, maybe teams will be interested now--time to trade him before he inevitably sucks again." I don't think that's how hockey execs' brains work.

 

[Turin]

Wheeler sucks now.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Maybe he should "connect with his coach" then if he is going to keep Granlund and Carter around.

I can tell you are very much looking forward to the mental gymnastic fans and the media will contort themselves into when next year's roster is mostly the same but somehow the coach still doesn't have any input. Even though evidently now the coach finally has input. It's all very convenient if you're Mike Sullivan.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I guess he's been at the center of all the locker room drama in Winnipeg for a long time. Stripped of the captaincy last year. Which always raises an eyebrow.

For the Penguins purposes... him being kind of a douche doesn't even factor in so much to me as him being a fossil. All full up on those.

Yeah, he's a scumbag. I want no part of Wheeler for a lot of reasons.

iirc he has a burner twitter account that he just shit talks guys all day on. Which would be kinda funny if not so f***ing sad for a 37 year old.

 

[Gurglesons]

I can tell you are very much looking forward to the mental gymnastic fans and the media will contort themselves into when next year's roster is mostly the same but somehow the coach still doesn't have any input. Even though evidently now the coach finally has input. It's all very convenient if you're Mike Sullivan.

A Penguin fan on another media format is arguing with me that Sullivan doesn't like Granlund despite the fact Granlund played 15+ a night after coming over here.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I can tell you are very much looking forward to the mental gymnastic fans and the media will contort themselves into when next year's roster is mostly the same but somehow the coach still doesn't have any input. Even though evidently now the coach finally has input. It's all very convenient if you're Mike Sullivan.

"It's not Sullivan's fault that JR ... I mean Hextall ... I mean Dubas didn't build a good roster. He can only do so much with what Rutherford ... I mean Hextall ... I mean Dubas gives him."

 

[Empoleon8771]

The thing that sucks with trying to figure out a logical 3rd line with Granlund on it is that there is absolutely no one available in UFA that fits what you want out of a LWer for Granlund. Kostin fit that perfectly but it seems like he's going to stay with the Wings.

I could squint and see a line that could work if the 3rd line was Kostin-Rodrigues-Granlund. You can still get ERod, but who are you playing at LW between them? You need a physical LWer, ideally a guy who can score goals for that spot.

Miles Wood is the closest in UFA to fitting that spot but I think someone gives him a downright moronic contract in UFA. If you could get him and ERod for less than $6 million combined, I could see myself not hating a 3rd line of Wood-Rodrigues-Granlund. But I'm super skeptical the Penguins can make the money work with that line.

 

[Peat]

What is the identity?

Sid, Geno, and Letang are competitive. But what is their identity? Skill.

Where's the skill around them?

The reality is Sullivan thinks the identity around our core should be safe, two-way players who play the game in a boring way that leads to "chaos".

Dude's toast.

Skill isn't an identity, it's a tool, and I'll criticise head coaches for valuing two-way players when I start seeing cup champions that aren't built on two-way players throughout the forward lines with maybe a couple of carefully shielded elite attacking players who can freelance.

The identity has usually been an emphasis on strong transition, lots of puck pressure, lots of skating. Which, yeah, mightn't be an ideal identity for three guys in their mid-thirties. I don't think it's the ideal identity for the Stanley Cup playoffs either right now, where victory is usually going to teams that are willing to play passive and clog. But then again, that maybe isn't suited to Tanger, who isn't the biggest, or Geno, who likes to freelance a lot, or Sid, who played awfully under Johnston.

But once again, I care less about the identity than I do sticking hard to it and being willing to pay to execute it as necessary. I'd rather see the team go out there with a C- identity that they can at least execute up and down the line up and are good at then some jumble of players trying to do everything and that can do nothing.

And hey, I get there's not a whole lot of assets. That's why we don't have a ton of high end skill. Consistently capped out team that spent all its picks long ago doesn't have amazing players is not news.

And I think that's part of why not going to a more passive, clogging identity is hard, because the players who can both do that and play with skill are expensive. Fast and scrappy is at a discount right now.

But that's all up to the GM. Who right now isn't impressing and my only real defence for him is he's probably executing orders from the top.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Yeah, he's a scumbag. I want no part of Wheeler for a lot of reasons.

iirc he has a burner twitter account that he just shit talks guys all day on. Which would be kinda funny if not so f***ing sad for a 37 year old.

Substitute in "burner twitter account" with "hockey prospect board" and suddenly I'm all like:

 

[BusinessGoose]

A Penguin fan on another media format is arguing with me that Sullivan doesn't like Granlund despite the fact Granlund played 15+ a night after coming over here.

Lol he kept getting spoonfed situations only to not make a single pass or carry the puck across even the red line

Granlund was the most pathetic "playmaker" I've ever seen. All game. Every game.

 

[Gurglesons]

Skill isn't an identity, it's a tool, and I'll criticise head coaches for valuing two-way players when I start seeing cup champions that aren't built on two-way players throughout the forward lines with maybe a couple of carefully shielded elite attacking players who can freelance.

The identity has usually been an emphasis on strong transition, lots of puck pressure, lots of skating. Which, yeah, mightn't be an ideal identity for three guys in their mid-thirties. I don't think it's the ideal identity for the Stanley Cup playoffs either right now, where victory is usually going to teams that are willing to play passive and clog. But then again, that maybe isn't suited to Tanger, who isn't the biggest, or Geno, who likes to freelance a lot, or Sid, who played awfully under Johnston.

But once again, I care less about the identity than I do sticking hard to it and being willing to pay to execute it as necessary. I'd rather see the team go out there with a C- identity that they can at least execute up and down the line up and are good at then some jumble of players trying to do everything and that can do nothing.

And hey, I get there's not a whole lot of assets. That's why we don't have a ton of high end skill. Consistently capped out team that spent all its picks long ago doesn't have amazing players is not news.

And I think that's part of why not going to a more passive, clogging identity is hard, because the players who can both do that and play with skill are expensive. Fast and scrappy is at a discount right now.

But that's all up to the GM. Who right now isn't impressing and my only real defence for him is he's probably executing orders from the top.

Weird how Hextall wasn't this guy, eh?

 

[Darren McCord]

Seeing Janmark get 1mill.

I just don't see huge contracts going out. Depth guys should be cheap this summer.