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

[Randy Butternubs]

Seeing Janmark get 1mill.

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

I felt like Janmark could've improved our bottom six. Low bar, I know.

 

[Ryder71]

Let Jarry go, rather have Thompson for far less. Jarry is a choke artist!

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

And my summer just got off to a shitty start.

 

[Empoleon8771]

This is 100% just me coping, but I wonder if Dubas has some sort of idea of how to clear out Carter's contract if he wants to keep Granlund while also continuing to add to the roster.

I just don't see how they have the cap space to do everything needed without clearing out more money. If you trade Petry, you're going to need to immediately replace him, so any sort of cap savings would be modest.

 

[Darren McCord]

I felt like Janmark could've improved our bottom six. Low bar, I know.

Lol same but equivalent guys should come as cheap

 

[Victor Z]

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

I don't hate Wheeler for the same reason the sensitive types do, but he does suck. He's an older, slower and worse -- but bigger! -- version of Danton Heinen. And I don't want Heinen back for any reason.

So the Dubas Era begins with:

- not buying out Granlund or getting rid of him some other way

- taking a pretty meh player at 14OV instead of trading the pick for immediate help or taking a better available player

- getting ready to bring back the wildly successful Jarry-DeSmith duo

- getting ready (?) to acquire another soft, old player (Wheeler) who is way over the hill

- Reilly Smith was cheap to acquire so that's not terrible but, at his age, is just as likely to turn out as the bad version of Jason Zucker as he is the good (2022-23) version.

We'll see how Jager (in about 4 years) and Smith work out, but so far it's a lot of rearranging the deck chairs. We're all waiting for him to target some Toronto players for the Pens, so I guess we shouldn't complain when it turns out to be ZAR instead of Bunting.

 

[xlm34]

I should have found a way to become a media member. “Team and Player haven’t agreed to a contract yet because they haven’t been able to agree to a contract.”

 

[Empoleon8771]

- Reilly Smith was cheap to acquire so that's not terrible but, at his age, is just as likely to turn out as the bad version of Jason Zucker as he is the good (2022-23) version.

This is a horrendous opinion. Smith is clearly better than Zucker, he's on the same level as Rakell.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

This is 100% just me coping, but I wonder if Dubas has some sort of idea of how to clear out Carter's contract if he wants to keep Granlund while also continuing to add to the roster.

I just don't see how they have the cap space to do everything needed without clearing out more money. If you trade Petry, you're going to need to immediately replace him, so any sort of cap savings would be modest.

I'm kind of a pessimist, granted. But I'm starting to feel like they are really just talking about wanting to do things but have no real intentions of making anything but small changes.

 

[Peat]

But who is doing much besides buying out or trading bloated contracts? Every day it seems like more RFA's arent getting qualified and players are getting boat out.

The UFA market is so bloated. Janmark just got 1 yr 1mill.

That's fair. And I'm not mad he's not out there swinging deals for Hanifin or Hellebuyck when nobody else is. It would be cool if he could but I'm not surprised the kid with the least money is waiting for the sales.

But we do have two bloated contracts in Granlund and Petry (well, Petry according to management). Treating Carter as an unfortunate unmovable object. This is the time to do things about those if he's going to. And... well, not much happening on those.

Tomorrow is a brand new day for me to change my mind though. Let's see what he can do.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I'm kind of a pessimist, granted. But I'm starting to feel like they are really just talking about wanting to do things but have no real intentions of making anything but small changes.

I don't think sending Petry out is a particularly small change. He's their 2nd highest paid player after all.

He wasn't going to come in and nuke the team of course, especially not with the amount of NTCs the Penguins have. But I just don't see how he can do what he needs to do, unless UFA contracts are super cheap.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I'm kind of a pessimist, granted. But I'm starting to feel like they are really just talking about wanting to do things but have no real intentions of making anything but small changes.

Or they're realizing just how daunting of a task it's going to be.

Kind of like how I talk about clearing out my basement every single summer, but when I go down there and see just how many boxes after boxes of old stuff I'd have to get rid of, I give up and say "next year".

 

[Darren McCord]

Still can do it over the next 24 hours. But once that UFA window hits things start getting very murky.

I 100% agree with this. But I will also give him the next 24 hrs.

I know Tampa's needs are different than ours but they 100% should not be in the convo with the other 3 you listed. They still haven't even re-signed Jeannot. so they are unsure what their cap space will even be.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I don't think sending Petry out is a particularly small change. He's their 2nd highest paid player after all.

He wasn't going to come in and nuke the team of course, especially not with the amount of NTCs the Penguins have. But I just don't see how he can do what he needs to do, unless UFA contracts are super cheap.

Right. They'll be going super cheap IMO.

Wouldn't be surprised when the dust settles that Smith was their most impactful move. That's not a knock. I like Smith.

 

[BusinessGoose]

I should have found a way to become a media member. “Team and Player haven’t agreed to a contract yet because they haven’t been able to agree to a contract.”

I'm hearing rumblings that this player is indeed looking for a contract to play.

And this team is looking for players to give contracts to...

 

[Jacob]

I'd have given Janmark $1.5.

 

[BusinessGoose]

I'd have given Janmark $1.5.

Like.. A dollar fifty? The prices really ARE low

 

[Gurglesons]

I 100% agree with this. But I will also give him the next 24 hrs.

I know Tampa's needs are different than ours but they 100% should not be in the convo with the other 3 you listed. They still haven't even re-signed Jeannot. so they are unsure what their cap space will even be.

They have a goaltender an elite top six and a solid d-core. We are gaping at multiple positions.

Dubas should've been moving pieces at the draft for whatever he could've gotten. We've now locked in those assets and are likely going to have to go dumpster diving in UFA. Which is exactly what Hextall did the last three years.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Or they're realizing just how daunting of a task it's going to be.

Kind of like how I talk about clearing out my basement every single summer, but when I go down there and see just how many boxes after boxes of old stuff I'd have to get rid of, I give up and say "next year".

Haha... this is perfect.

Just like I said with Hextall... there has to be a certain level of understanding even throughout all of my negativity. This was always going to be a near-impossible job. I just wish they'd be honest. And in retrospect have let Malkin and Letang go to give them a possible shot elsewhere.

 

[Zbynek]

 

[Peat]

This is 100% just me coping, but I wonder if Dubas has some sort of idea of how to clear out Carter's contract if he wants to keep Granlund while also continuing to add to the roster.

I just don't see how they have the cap space to do everything needed without clearing out more money. If you trade Petry, you're going to need to immediately replace him, so any sort of cap savings would be modest.

Right now my guess is 8-10m on goaltending and LD, 7-5m on the bottom six, breaking a little either way depending on what bargains he finds. There might be one bottom six member coming in at 4m or so, but everything else is going to be 1m tops. ERods and Heinens and Archibalds.

And with some nuclear options on Granlund and Petry if a deal so good he has to take it and needs more cap in the back pocket.

Which, no, isn't really everything he needs to. But seemingly everything he wants to do.

 

[Darren McCord]

I'm hearing rumblings that this player is indeed looking for a contract to play.

And this team is looking for players to give contracts to...

This player only wants to play for this team forever, but he also will test the free agency market.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

So it's looking like it's gonna be more or less this lineup, huh?

Jake-Sid-Rust
Rakell-Geno-Smith
Some combination of DOC, Granlund and a FA pickup
FA-Carter-Poehling
Nylander

Petts-Letang
POJ-Petry
FA/Smith-Rutta
Ruhwedel

Jarry
CDS/???

 

[BusinessGoose]

I guess the hope, it's that we don't dumpster dive our OWN UFA crap heap

 

[OnMyOwn]

Jarry is pretty much the best goalie in FA. Maybe the trade route isn’t going well.