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

[Empoleon8771]

What lol. Shane Wright isn't going to Europe. He will start next year in the AHL and slowly get a bigger role.

15pts in his first 32 AHL games is a fine start for an 18 yr old.

He is not allowed to play in the AHL because he is under 20 and coming from the CHL.

 

[3ladesof5teel]

I’m intrigued by what Dubas’ approach will be to paying free agents. We have a ton of space even with Granlund still here.

I’m guessing he has a very specific target or two he’s really gonna go after.

Problem is the crop is pretty weak outside of Tarasenko, Bertuzzi etc

Dont get me wrong there's some guys out there but those are 2 of the bigger standouts IMO and will get paid.

 

[3ladesof5teel]

Really? There were people here saying they didn't want Bertuzzi because he refused a vaccine?

He is exactly the type of player we need. Him and Max Domi would be a perfect fit here.

Yes

And as funny as it sounds I would welcome them both here as they both would be filling positions of need

 

[Darren McCord]

He is not allowed to play in the AHL because he is under 20 and coming from the CHL.

ooooooooo i forgot that is a pretty garbage rule.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

I want to see what Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Guentzel can do with a good goalie behind them. The Penguins would have gone on deep runs in both 2021 and 2022 had they gotten good goaltending in the playoffs.

Maybe with someone other than Sullsma at the helm…

 

[66-30-33]

With seemingly half of CGY's roster wanting out and teams like LA/Boston needing to dump cap, feels like it will be a buyers market. With how much cap space the team has, Dubas has an incredible opportunity to really set the team up

J-C-R
??-M-R
Laughton-Backlund-??
??-??-Janmark
Archibald

Pretend Carter is gone and Granlund is part of the Backlund trade and Flyers trade Laughton to the Pens.

 

[Empoleon8771]

You want to get even older this off-season? Staal is allegedly walking from the Canes according to Dreger.

Outside of ROR, he may actually be the best option for the 3C spot in UFA. Just shows how awful the UFA market is. Dude is still a monster defensively:

 

[66-30-33]

You want to get even older this off-season? Staal is allegedly walking from the Canes according to Dreger.

Outside of ROR, he may actually be the best option for the 3C spot in UFA. Just shows how awful the UFA market is. Dude is still a monster defensively:

Staal will re-sign with Canes probably or i'd go after him.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Staal will re-sign with Canes probably or i'd go after him.

This is what I saw on reddit, this post from the Canes subreddit was recommended to me for some reason.

Honestly I think he probably goes to Florida to play with his brothers if he leaves. All 3 are UFAs but I can totally see all 3 trying to go to 1 team.

 

[66-30-33]

This is what I saw on reddit, this post from the Canes subreddit was recommended to me for some reason.

Honestly I think he probably goes to Florida to play with his brothers if he leaves. All 3 are UFAs but I can totally see all 3 trying to go to 1 team.

They got a little room, I can see him wanting to retire in Florida with how nice it is there.

 

[Peat]

If you look at Carolina's cap situation they have a hurricane of piss heading their way after next season.

Aho, Teravainen, Necas and Seth Jarvis are all up. Those are four forwards you're probably going to see scoring some big numbers, and Aho is the only one anywhere nearly fair paid as of today. They've also got Pesce and Skjei up, and a few other inexpensive depth pieces that have a good chance of being able to demand an extra million more in Martinook, Drury, Noesen and Chatfield.

If they give Staal good money and term, they will be cursing doing so within a year. I'm surprised anyone expected him to return.

I'm also real intrigued to see how they approach this. There's already talk that if they can't agree an extension with Pesce they'll trade him, and if you extrapolate that through all their UFAs, they could be Calgary South pretty quick unless they have a negotiating masterclass.

edit: Not sure why Florida need Staal when they run Barkov-Bennett-Lundell down the gut either.

 

[Malkinstheman]

J-C-R
??-M-R
Laughton-Backlund-??
??-??-Janmark
Archibald

Pretend Carter is gone and Granlund is part of the Backlund trade and Flyers trade Laughton to the Pens.

Flyers want 2 1st + for Laughton so hard pass on that. Feels like Bunting for the L2 LW is pretty likely

 

[Empoleon8771]

If they give Staal good money and term, they will be cursing doing so within a year. I'm surprised anyone expected him to return.

Yeah I think the situation is that Staal is willing to take a cheap multi-year deal, but he specifically wants a multi-year deal and the Canes just have no interest in giving it to him.

I imagine he'd want something like $3.5 million a year over 3 years, which isn't a problem (it's not a 35+ contract, which would make it a problem) but it's also not something they want to sign only to deal with a year later.

I wouldn't give Staal much term but I'd go as high as $4 million AAV for him to be the 3C. He's pretty much tailor made to work as the Penguins 3C, you just have to surround him with some speedy wingers.

 

[Gurglesons]

If you look at Carolina's cap situation they have a hurricane of piss heading their way after next season.

Aho, Teravainen, Necas and Seth Jarvis are all up. Those are four forwards you're probably going to see scoring some big numbers, and Aho is the only one anywhere nearly fair paid as of today. They've also got Pesce and Skjei up, and a few other inexpensive depth pieces that have a good chance of being able to demand an extra million more in Martinook, Drury, Noesen and Chatfield.

If they give Staal good money and term, they will be cursing doing so within a year. I'm surprised anyone expected him to return.

I'm also real intrigued to see how they approach this. There's already talk that if they can't agree an extension with Pesce they'll trade him, and if you extrapolate that through all their UFAs, they could be Calgary South pretty quick unless they have a negotiating masterclass.

edit: Not sure why Florida need Staal when they run Barkov-Bennett-Lundell down the gut either.

Their window is over.

Yeah I think the situation is that Staal is willing to take a cheap multi-year deal, but he specifically wants a multi-year deal and the Canes just have no interest in giving it to him.

I imagine he'd want something like $3.5 million a year over 3 years, which isn't a problem (it's not a 35+ contract, which would make it a problem) but it's also not something they want to sign only to deal with a year later.

I wouldn't give Staal much term but I'd go as high as $4 million AAV for him to be the 3C. He's pretty much tailor made to work as the Penguins 3C, you just have to surround him with some speedy wingers.

I'll take Staal back just to piss off @BlindWillyMcHurt

 

[66-30-33]

Flyers want 2 1st + for Laughton so hard pass on that. Feels like Bunting for the L2 LW is pretty likely

So basically they want to keep him like Preds and Saros.

 

[Empoleon8771]

And just to be clear, there are going to be inevitable Staal and Carter comparisons but I think the major difference is:

1. Staal has been elite defensively basically his entire career. Award voting doesn't mean much but he has gotten Selke votes in 7 straight years. In 2021-2022, he was 11th in voting with 4 3rd place votes, 11 4th place votes and 5 5th place votes. He still clearly has the defense to succeed with the Penguins. Carter was always just decent defensively and it got worse and worse as he aged. I feel like an aging Staal would still continue to be strong defensively, if nothing else.

2. Staal doesn't turn 35 until September, so his extension will not be a 35+ extension. What makes Carter's deal hurt so much is that his cap hit would still be on the books if he retired. Staal's deal at least wouldn't have that.

I don't think Staal will likely want to sign here anyway, but I feel like it's actually a decent option if you're only looking at UFAs. The idea of Staal and Connor Brown as 2/3 of their 3rd line makes me feel funny things in special places.

 

[Turin]

You want to get even older this off-season? Staal is allegedly walking from the Canes according to Dreger.

Outside of ROR, he may actually be the best option for the 3C spot in UFA. Just shows how awful the UFA market is. Dude is still a monster defensively:

I always want Jordan Staal

 

[Andy99]

Jesus, we’re at the Staal portion of the evening…we have to discuss bringing back every former player and every player that hails from Pittsburgh lol…if there’s one thing I hope Dubas does, it’s avoid anyone who meets the criteria of 1) being over 30, and 2) either being a former Pen, or having dated a former Pen, or being from Pittsburgh lol

 

[Empoleon8771]

Jesus, we’re at the Staal portion of the evening…we have to discuss bringing back every former player and every player that hails from Pittsburgh lol…if there’s one thing I hope Dubas does, it’s avoid anyone who meets the criteria of 1) being over 30, and 2) either being a former Pen, or having dated a former Pen, or being from Pittsburgh lol

The appeal of Staal has nothing to do with the fact that he played for the Penguins. It's that he's a monster defensively and the Penguins need a strong defensive 3C, plus the UFA market sucks outside of him.

The fact that he played for the Penguins is completely irrelevant. The benefit is that he's an amazing defensive center and the downside is that he's super old. The fact that he played for Pittsburgh over a decade ago doesn't matter at all.

 

[Peat]

I wouldn't give Staal much term but I'd go as high as $4 million AAV for him to be the 3C. He's pretty much tailor made to work as the Penguins 3C, you just have to surround him with some speedy wingers.

I mean

I want to try this thing where we get a player who's good *and* has a future

I've heard it's real fun

But given the lack of other good options, sure, why not



Also apropos of nothing but stat watching but I'd be interested in Lane Pederson as a spare forward. 25 year old hitting group 6 UFA, C/W versatility, kills penalties, had good faceoff numbers with Columbus, good possession stats, hasn't produced much but AHL numbers suggest he could. Kinda corn to Iowa when we've got DOC and Poehling, but always interesting to take gambles on young players starting to break through.

 

[Andy99]

This is from a poster on another site:

“There's some talk going around the Twitter-verse thinking that Dubas is going to make a hard run at Hanifin. The reasoning is pointing back to Sullivan's request for Chychrun. They aren't the same style player, but Hanifin would definitely be a big upgrade to the Penguins defense on the left side.”

I hope so…he only one year left so he better want to sign here longer term, but if so, I’m guessing it would cost our first this year or next and probably POJ…

 

[Empoleon8771]

I mean

I want to try this thing where we get a player who's good *and* has a future

I've heard it's real fun

But given the lack of other good options, sure, why not

I agree, but if the cost is just money, why not?

I'd rather trade for a 25 year old 3C that can anchor the Penguins 3rd line for the rest of their contending years. But if you can't trade for that and instead have a 35 year old 3C that can do that for the next 2 years and it costs you no assets, why not?

I think a 3rd line of something like Comtois-Staal-Brown would be a really strong 3rd line that fits exactly what Sullivan wants out of his 3rd line.

 

[Andy99]

The appeal of Staal has nothing to do with the fact that he played for the Penguins. It's that he's a monster defensively and the Penguins need a strong defensive 3C, plus the UFA market sucks outside of him.

The fact that he played for the Penguins is completely irrelevant. The benefit is that he's an amazing defensive center and the downside is that he's super old. The fact that he played for Pittsburgh over a decade ago doesn't matter at all.

Yeah, hard pass for me lol…he is a monster defensively against us for sure but I don’t see him interested in returning here anyway and we’re too old in our forward group as it is

 

[ZorkEnchanter]

Man, Staal with Granlund will be like having two #1 lines...

All we need is a Flower platoon... Do it Dubas.

 

[Gurglesons]

This is from a poster on another site:

“There's some talk going around the Twitter-verse thinking that Dubas is going to make a hard run at Hanifin. The reasoning is pointing back to Sullivan's request for Chychrun. They aren't the same style player, but Hanifin would definitely be a big upgrade to the Penguins defense on the left side.”

I hope so…he only one year left so he better want to sign here longer term, but if so, I’m guessing it would cost our first this year or next and probably POJ…

Hanifin and Chychrun are light years different in terms of players.