Winger (??M) - Crosby (8.7M) - Hörnqvist (4.25M)
Winger (??M) - Malkin (9.5M) - Perron (3.9M)
Winnik (2.0M) - Center (??M) - Bennett (1.0M)
Wilson (.6M) - Sundqvist (.925M) - Rust (.9M)
Logic: First and second lines are easy with 4 players set in the top 6 and 2 FA or trades needed. For the third line I think that Sundqvist should be able to step in right away as 3C, but I think the Pens probably see him being a 4C for now. Depending on who is brought in for the 3C role, the line has good creativity with Bennett and a physical 30 point winger in Winnik. Fourth line should be Sundqvist along with the WBS wingers that show the most promise in camp/preseason. We need to start using the plethora of energy guys that we have in the organization.
Cap Hit: $32.77M
Määttä (.9M) - Letang (7.25M)
Pouliot (.9M) - Cole (1.5M)
Doumilin (.9M) - Lovejoy (1.1M)
Harrington (.9M)
Logic: Unless a major trade or signing is made, Määttä - Letang will be the top pair. For the second pairing I think it would be a mistake if they try to bring a FA in. Cole has shown promise and we need to develop Pouliot. I’d love to see Lovejoy moved, but I can’t see them trading him after how much everyone gushed over him after the trade. On the third pair, rotating with Doumilin and Harrington he will be much more serviceable than he is now. Harrington and Doumilin both need to be on the NHL roster next season. Doumilin has played well in the playoffs and has nothing left to learn in WBS. Same with Harrington after spending two years in the AHL. The bottom five can rotate as needed based on who is playing well at the moment.
Cap Hit: $13.45M
Fleury (5.75M)
Backup (1.0M)
Logic: Fleury isn’t going anywhere after playing well in the playoffs, but I could see them spending a little bit more on a backup to try to get Fleury some more rest (he’s not getting any younger).
Cap Hit: $6.75M
Total Cap Hit: $51.97
Remaining: $16.13 (using $68.1M cap figure) or $19.73 (using $71.7M cap figure)
Filling the remaining spots:
3C: This is the role that most affects who we bring in as wingers. I think they should move on from Sutter since he quietly had a good season and they may be able to get a winger for him. There are solid options out there at 3C if the team is willing to pay. Söderberg and Vermette are available for somewhere in the $5M range probably. A tier down from them would be guys like Fleischmann, Fisher, Matthias, Fehr, Richards, and Tlusty who will probably get around $3.5-5M. Because of how overpaid these guys are going to be compared to what they should be getting paid I’d really love to see Sundqvist get a shot and maybe keep a guy like Spaling who can fill in at 3C if he doesn’t pan out.
Top 6 Wingers (2): The winger class this year pretty much blows as everyone has said. My hope would be that we can fill one of the winger spots with whoever we get in a Sutter trade. Teams like Boston and Chicago will be looking to unload salary so we can maybe sweep in and get one of their wingers. Toronto is looking like they could be heading for a shakeup and a team like Arizona could be looking to deal after missing out on McEichel. As far as FA’s go, we need to find one that will mesh with our centers. If we don’t want to land up overpaying then I could see us targeting a guy like Erat. He has gotten a lot of crap in Washington because he was traded for Forsberg and playing in Arizona hasn’t helped his value. Guys like Stewart, Beleksey, Frolik, and Stafford are young(ish) and going to get paid even though they haven’t found extended success. I’d like to see them take a risk on one of the bigger name players and then also grab a darkhorse player like Erat.