Having Hayes as an RW actually does make a bit of sense, given who else we have. Adding McGroarty to LW and Hayes to RW actually does bolster depth. Better than Harkins and Nieto.
DOC-Sid-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Rakell
McGroarty-Eller-Hayes
Beauvillier-Lizotte-Acciari
Seems like a realistic expectation. Wouldn't shock me to see some swapping of Hayes and Beauvillier as well. What I would really love is for us to get a 3C that isn't Eller, Hayes, Acciari, or Lizotte. A 3C that has some speed. Could very well end up being Pono. McGroarty-Pono-Beauvillier would be a pain in the ass to play against. There's speed there for days.
Pens have 22 million in cap space next year with a cap of 92 million. They also have only a couple roster spots open as to contracts. This year will be the see what this crew can do with Rust, Karlsson, Graves, Jarry to name a few. If they miss the playoffs, Dubas will begin the purge of high coast vets who are no longer in the plan.
I think Rust is here to stay. And with that much space, Graves becomes less of an issue. I think Jarry will always be available so it more comes down to finding the right partner. If we are at risk of the playoffs come TDL, I can see:
Beauvillier
Eller
Acciari
Hayes (maybe)
Aho
Gryz
all being available as cheap rental options for teams looking to add depth. If they have 22mil going into next year, it's a great time to take that player that has the extra year and get an extra asset for doing so ala Hayes. That could easily be the difference between the 2nd and a 1st.
For example, I think Pettersson is a prime TDL target. You look at a team like Vancouver who could really use a solid Top 4 dman, you might be able to pull off something like Garland and a 1st provided guys like Sprong, Hoglander, Heinen, even Lekkerimaki do well. They would need the roster spot and the space. We get back a solid asset that can be used next year and sent back out. Could even replace a guy like Rakell if we so choose to move him like we did with Smith.
We are getting into some interesting times with guys like McGroarty, Pono, Broz, etc potentially pushing for spots. That will certainly open up a lot of cap space which helps us bring in other assets.