Proposal: 2013-2014 Trade Deadline Talk - Part Deux - Kane, Wheeler & Patches

[MrBurghundy]

I'm excited to see team USA's lineup.

 

[Tender Rip]

I think the Pens "problem" is very simple: outside of a small handful of players (Sid, Malkin, Letang, and perhaps one day Bennett), we really do not have anyone who is a "gamebreaker".

There are a lot of teams who may be weaker than us overall, but have better offensive ability, or ability to adapt to defending teams. Our ability to come back when we're trailing, or to generate offense against teams playing well defensively, has really tailed off of late. I attribute this to the notion that not only could Crosby benefit from a better winger to take some of the pressure off him (i.e. if he's getting double-teamed defensively), but also our complete lack of offense on our 3rd & 4th lines, which was previously a strength when we had the Cooke--Staal--Kennedy line together.

In short: we SERIOUSLY need one or two more NHL ready talented forwards.

A lot of guys come to look capable if you play good, structured hockey as a team. Offensively, we do not.

As for game breaking talent, if we cannot include guys like Neal, Kunitz, Jokinen and... arguably... Bennett in that category, very few teams have multiple such players. Except for genuine super stars, most quality players have this or that weakness you have to cover for by making sure that they are compatible with their line mates - ie. making sure that the right complementarity is there so they can function as lines.
Jokinen might not look it on Malkin's left wing, because his offensive quality and IQ is a secondary need on that line compared to bringing what Malkin needs - which he does not. With line mates bringing what Jokinen needs, covering for his relative weaknesses, suddenly he is a game breaker.

This is probably the biggest criticism one can have against Bylsma and Shero alike, that they either don't see this at all or are utter ass at acting towards getting these complementarity issues sorted.

 

[jmelm]

I would definitely consider trading Sutter if the right deal came along. He's extremely overrated IMO.

I agree with this to a large extent, but I also believe that Sutter has not peaked and CAN be much better (but as you said, he now has to go out and do it). The silver lining is: because he's not producing a ton, we can hopefully extend him for a reasonable $$ figure, which would increase his trade value considerably, and then really push him to improve his game going forward. It wouldn't surprise me if Sutter turns out to be one of those guys who doesn't peak for another 3-4 years, and then becomes a REALLY good player.

That said, I think there are a lot of teams who would value him more than we do. For a team like Edmonton, Calgary and others who could use some help and/or some size up the middle, he could be a great fit. So I'm all for selling high on Sutter if we can get the right offer, and I'm all for keeping him if we don't; and I think Jeffrey could replace him adequately. But our primary focus should be on getting an asset by trading from an area of strength (defense) for a winger -- and not one who is north of 30 or who is not a legit top-6 scoring forward.

Yakupov is the last guy pens should be going after, hes not going to help any team win a cup this year, he needs to be on a rebuilding team that can afford to let him play through all his mistakes.

Disagree with this. We won't get him now without paying through the moon for him, so he might not be the right target, but he is exactly the TYPE of player that the Pens could use: speed, creativity, finishing ability, and a guy who could legitimately take away the defensive attention from Crosby/Malkin.

A lot of guys come to look capable if you play good, structured hockey as a team. Offensively, we do not.

As for game breaking talent, if we cannot include guys like Neal, Kunitz, Jokinen and... arguably... Bennett in that category, very few teams have multiple such players. Except for genuine super stars, most quality players have this or that weakness you have to cover for by making sure that they are compatible with their line mates - ie. making sure that the right complementarity is there so they can function as lines.
Jokinen might not look it on Malkin's left wing, because his offensive quality and IQ is a secondary need on that line compared to bringing what Malkin needs - which he does not. With line mates bringing what Jokinen needs, covering for his relative weaknesses, suddenly he is a game breaker.

I don't entirely disagree with you, but we're sort of splitting hairs here and picking from the bottom of the barrel. I don't care if we add a legit threat to the 3rd line to make that more of a scoring line, or get that winger for Sid and move Dupers down. Either way, I think we need one more elite forward. We have FIVE elite Dmen prospects, 2 solid veteran Dmen in Orpik and Niskanen, and perhaps as Jules & I metioned above, even Sutter could be on the table. So I believe if we are patient and judicious, we could find that player by trade. But trading away 3 second picks in 4 years (D. Murray & Leopold), and trading away a former first rounder in Morrow for a veteran rental, does not help the situation AT ALL -- especially when we're giving up two 2nds for Murray when defense is our strong suit. I LOVE our depth at defense, but now I think because we have that depth, it's time to adopt the philosophy that "the best defense is offense", and go find just that one extra guy who can put us over the top.

Bottom line is this though: again, like Jules said, we've got our core locked up, and great talent in goal and on D. And so I just think that while our window to compete will never close, I think we really do need to take 1 step backwards to put ourselves in the right position to succeed: trade Orpik and give the minutes to Despres or Dumoulin (or if everyone is healthy, roll with Maatta and Bortuzzo ALWAYS in the line-up); try to find a good trade for ONE of those 2 Dmen for an equal quality forward, and we can boost that package with some draft picks if needed to get that special player; and possibly even consider trading Sutter, if we think Jeffrey can fill in adequately in the short (and possibly long) term, and if we really see upside for guys like Sundqvist or Blueger.

We always said we'd trade Staal for Ryan, and while we won't get that type of player for Sutter alone, the premise should still apply. Just think what the team would look like if we added an all-star level winger, replaced Sutter with Jeffrey, and replaced Dumo or Despres for Orpik/Nisky, if we put together a package of Orpik/Nisky + Suter ++. A step backwards or sideways? Maybe, but a step that I ultimately believe will allow us to take a bigger (and faster) step forward then if we just stick to drafting guys who are 3-4 years away, or trading those picks altogether.

Or we could just stand pat and let Nisky AND Orpik walk in the offseason for nothing. It's time to be bold, IMO. Paitient and judicious, yes, but bold.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I am on board with the Sutter to Canucks for Kassian talk, but I think the Canucks would need to add to get Sutter, Sutter has proven to belong in the NHL, Kassian hasn't, as of yet. Only reason he isn't in the AHL is because the Canucks gifted the Sabres a top 6 center in the trade.

I would be happy with Sutter for Kassian and the Canucks 2nd or could Shero get more? Maybe throw in Jeffrey as well and get Jensen + Kassian and a later pick, like a 3rd or 4th. Or a different prospect in addition to Kassian, not many of the Canucks forward prospects are impressive, the one that is, is likely untouchable in Horvat.

I mean, isn't that kind of winger we need? Maybe Bylsma can take Kassian aside and talk some sense into him, make him realize that he can be a solid player in this league, still punish players with hits and use his size more effectively.

I'm not sure if this team is any better or worse with Sutter as the 3rd line C or someone like Jeffrey or Jokinen there. I mean, size wise, Sutter isn't one to use his size all that effectively besides the occasional poke. He's 24, turning 25 in February, he's not as young as we all like to believe him to be. I'm not sure if this is it for him potential wise or if he can still get better. I watch him and I keep hoping for it, but I am never left impressed.

Or am I wrong here?

 

[MrBurghundy]

Lol @ Bylsma talking sense into anything.

 

[theicebox]

Lol @ Bylsma talking sense into anything.

You stay classy.

 

[#66]

I've been hoping for a Sutter/ Kulemin trade since the summer. With Bolland going down it might be easy to pull off now.

Then try to pull off...

Depres and Kobasew
for
Chipchura and H Samuelsson

Kunitz-Crosby-Bennett/ Dupuis
Kulemin-Malkin-Neal
Vitale/ Megna-Jokinen-Dupuis/ Bennett
Glass/Megna-Chipchura-Adams

Kulemin gives Malkins line a puck getter with a sense for a skilled game.

Bennett and Dupuis switch on and off Sids line until BB is fully groomed for the role.

The third line is more of a 2 way line more than a checking line. Megs and Vitale, even Glass, compete for the LW role on the bottom 2 lines. In a few years Samuelsson is groomed for the role of 3rd line C.

Chipchura adds some size down the middle and skates well for a bigger dude. I also like his defensive ability at C more than Vitale's.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I think the Pens "problem" is very simple: outside of a small handful of players (Sid, Malkin, Letang, and perhaps one day Bennett), we really do not have anyone who is a "gamebreaker".

There are a lot of teams who may be weaker than us overall, but have better offensive ability, or ability to adapt to defending teams. Our ability to come back when we're trailing, or to generate offense against teams playing well defensively, has really tailed off of late. I attribute this to the notion that not only could Crosby benefit from a better winger to take some of the pressure off him (i.e. if he's getting double-teamed defensively), but also our complete lack of offense on our 3rd & 4th lines, which was previously a strength when we had the Cooke--Staal--Kennedy line together.

In short: we SERIOUSLY need one or two more NHL ready talented forwards. Not D'Aggostini, and not Kobasew. I am hopeful that we may have a couple of guys who can contribute in Archibald & Kuhnhackl, but that is 1-2 years away. We really need a player or two who can generate offense for us right now. I know cap space is an issue, but hey: we can solve that by getting a talented youngster who doesn't make a lot of $ for one of multitude of D prospects, or trade an Orpik or Niskanen.

And on that latter note: I'm just thinking: that opportunity that Orpik had in the slot late in the game, if that was Dumoulin or Despres or Maatta, that would have probably been a goal.

Change here will ONLY occur when we hire someone new to run the team, and then a new coach. THIS regime is not interested in what you're saying, jmelm. This regime needs to find enough minutes for the likes of Brandon Sutter, Tanner Glass, Craig Adams, and MAJOR minutes for Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz...two complementary players turned into CORE forwards by this regime.

It doesn't matter if our coach doesn't play those players with our centers.

Let's acquire a future HoF winger and play him out of position with Malkin. He's been a beast with Boston this year in the games I've seen.

Let's take one of the few talented wings we have in Bennett and play him on the 3rd line.

I swear we could have Ovechkin, Perry, St. Louis, and Kessel and Bylsma would find a way to play them on the 3rd and 4th line to **** it all up.

Word.

I am on board with the Sutter to Canucks for Kassian talk, but I think the Canucks would need to add to get Sutter, Sutter has proven to belong in the NHL, Kassian hasn't, as of yet. Only reason he isn't in the AHL is because the Canucks gifted the Sabres a top 6 center in the trade.

I would be happy with Sutter for Kassian and the Canucks 2nd or could Shero get more? Maybe throw in Jeffrey as well and get Jensen + Kassian and a later pick, like a 3rd or 4th. Or a different prospect in addition to Kassian, not many of the Canucks forward prospects are impressive, the one that is, is likely untouchable in Horvat.

I mean, isn't that kind of winger we need? Maybe Bylsma can take Kassian aside and talk some sense into him, make him realize that he can be a solid player in this league, still punish players with hits and use his size more effectively.

I'm not sure if this team is any better or worse with Sutter as the 3rd line C or someone like Jeffrey or Jokinen there. I mean, size wise, Sutter isn't one to use his size all that effectively besides the occasional poke. He's 24, turning 25 in February, he's not as young as we all like to believe him to be. I'm not sure if this is it for him potential wise or if he can still get better. I watch him and I keep hoping for it, but I am never left impressed.

Or am I wrong here?

I've been hoping for a Sutter/ Kulemin trade since the summer. With Bolland going down it might be easy to pull off now.

Then try to pull off...

Depres and Kobasew
for
Chipchura and H Samuelsson

Kunitz-Crosby-Bennett/ Dupuis
Kulemin-Malkin-Neal
Vitale/ Megna-Jokinen-Dupuis/ Bennett
Glass/Megna-Chipchura-Adams

Kulemin gives Malkins line a puck getter with a sense for a skilled game.

Bennett and Dupuis switch on and off Sids line until BB is fully groomed for the role.

The third line is more of a 2 way line more than a checking line. Megs and Vitale, even Glass, compete for the LW role on the bottom 2 lines. In a few years Samuelsson is groomed for the role of 3rd line C.

Chipchura adds some size down the middle and skates well for a bigger dude. I also like his defensive ability at C more than Vitale's.

I don't care where we send him, or for what, I want Brandon Sutter gone A S A P. He's the least significant player in this organization. He's quite literally a ghost out there. He IS the Brooks Orpik cardboard cutout!

 

[mpp9]

I think if you threw Dupuis with Sutter and Beau with Sid, we're one trade away from having a contending roster.

The idiot behind the bench won't do it unfortunately.

 

[Phil68]

Talent we could work with is a young prospect like Yakupov.. Despite Yak being called lazy, but him playing with Malkin or Crosby, there is no way Yak would not develop.. Our defense is pretty solid except for Letang in my opinion.. Marc Andre is pretty good this year, so the ultimate issue here is our offense.. Actually having a talented offensive players other then Malkin Crosby and Neal..

 

[Crafton]

Adam Portzline seems to be shopping Gáborík on behalf of the Blue Jackets...

Aaron Portzline ‏@Aportzline 2h
Barring a dramatic change, I see no chance #CBJ even attempt to re-sign Marian Gaborik, will look to move him at trade deadline or sooner.

https://twitter.com/Aportzline/status/400982915695144961

 

[Phil68]

Gaborik is too high of a price for the Pens.. Please no more rentals

 

[Black Label]

We need to get bigger and tougher, not smaller and more injury prone. No thanks to Gaborik.

 

[TheBeardofJustice]

We need to get bigger and tougher, not smaller and more injury prone. No thanks to Gaborik.

Yeah, Gaborik was known to shy away from working in the corners.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Despite Yak being called lazy, but him playing with Malkin or Crosby, there is no way Yak would not develop.

There most definitely is a way Yakupov wouldn't develop if traded here...and he's behind the team's bench.

There's really no point in discussing adding players like Yakupov or even Gaborik for that matter, as long as Dan Bylsma is coaching this team. Which ultimately means as long as Ray Shero is the GM.

 

[ImporterExporter]

We screwed ourselves when we extended Bylsma, backed Fleury (even though he's been pretty good so far) and then extended Letang at 7+M per. Signing Dupuis and Kunitz to multi year deals were quite bad as well.

We have FAR to much money tied up in 3 players. Sid is the only guy i would riot about if he ended up in another city. He is the franchise. I'd HATE to lose Malkin but if we got a king's ransom of young elite player(s) picks why not consider it? Malkin costs a ton, can disappear for long stretches and quite frankly makes to man dumb decisions in the offensive zone anymore. Again, i love the guy, he is an elite player but not a guy who mark untouchable. Same thing with Letang, although i've always thought he was overrated.

You can talk all you want about slumps but Malkin is simply not playing anywhere near a 9M per year player. Letang hasn't come close to looking like a 7+M player.

We have zero prospects of note at W and that is a major problem considering we have next to no W's worth a damn long term outside of Neal and Bennett.

You simply can't tie up the money we have in 3 players with the cap like it is and have the depth across 4 lines and 7 or 8 deep on D to succeed.

Malkin would net a massive return and Letang slightly less. You could fortify this team for years with the right players/picks coming back our way. Not to mention you'd likely be clearing a ton of cap space at least in the short term (think 3-4 years).

Call up Toronto and work out a package involing Kadri, JVR and somebody like Rielly, Reimer, or Gauthier thrown into the mix

Move Letang+Bennett+pick for Yak, Eberle and say Klefbom or Nurse

Could you imagine Bylsma gone and having the following top 9?

JVR-Crosby-Yak
Neal-Kadri-Eberle
Kunitz-Sutter-Dupuis

Then you let Orpik walk (replaced by Dumo), move Nisky and let Despres log serious minutes. Dupuis and Kunitz are where they should be. You could switch Eberle and Yak until Yak gained more experience but i think he'd score 50 a year with Sid personally.

Let's say you got Reimer with Kadri and JVR in a Malkin deal.....you'd have a legit person to outright take over for MAF or at least push him if he's not sent packing.

Plus you'd have one of Klefbom or Nurse, Maatta, Pouliout, Despres, Dumo along with a few vets like Martin and Scuderi as rocks going forward on D.

Just some thoughts out loud. Pipe dreams i know.

 

[DegenX]

CapGeek says I can be an armchair GM ... so just for ***** and giggles:

JJ for Kulemin - As mentioned in another thread, TOR gets a guy who an fill in at center until players come back, then move to wing. Both pending UFA's with similar cap hits.

Sutter + Nisky for Ott - I'm not really ready to give up on Sutter, nor am I convinced that Ott is what we're lacking, but since this will never happen, why not, eh? Ott is pending UFA, as is Nisky. They take Nisky to make up for the fact that they're getting Sutter as an RFA, and hey, maybe he'll work out for their defense.

Duper + Jeffrey for Matthias - Possibly an over payment on our part. I'm not proposing to trade Duper because I think he sucks. I think he has value on a third line, but we know he won't be on our third line as long as Bylsma is here, and it doesn't look like he's going anywhere. And Jeffrey needs to be playing somewhere.

Call up Despres or whomever from W-B/S until Scuderi is back. Demote D'Ags. I'd move Glass, too, if possible, but that would still give us almost $3M with him in the line up to acquire a back up if TV isn't coming back or Zatkoff doesn't improve.

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER

FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.725m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Beau Bennett ($0.900m)
Nikolai Kulemin ($2.800m) / Evgeni Malkin ($8.700m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Shawn Matthias ($1.750m) / Steve Ott ($2.950m) / Jayson Megna ($0.925m)
Tanner Glass ($1.100m) / Joe Vitale ($0.550m) / Craig Adams ($0.700m)
Chuck Kobasew ($0.550m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) / Kris Letang ($3.500m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Brooks Orpik ($3.750m)
Olli Maatta ($0.894m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
Deryk Engelland ($0.567m) /

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Jeff Zatkoff ($0.538m)

LTIR
Tomas Vokoun ($2.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2013-14 crunched using simulation date of 2013-11-14)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (24-man roster): $2,726,667

 

[AjaxTelamon]

I think if you threw Dupuis with Sutter and Beau with Sid, we're one trade away from having a contending roster.

The idiot behind the bench won't do it unfortunately.

This. We are not far from a very good top 9. One top 6 wing makes everyone else slot into place very well. Glencross is injured, buy low.

CapGeek says I can be an armchair GM ... so just for ***** and giggles:

JJ for Kulemin - As mentioned in another thread, TOR gets a guy who an fill in at center until players come back, then move to wing. Both pending UFA's with similar cap hits.

Sutter + Nisky for Ott - I'm not really ready to give up on Sutter, nor am I convinced that Ott is what we're lacking, but since this will never happen, why not, eh? Ott is pending UFA, as is Nisky. They take Nisky to make up for the fact that they're getting Sutter as an RFA, and hey, maybe he'll work out for their defense.

Duper + Jeffrey for Matthias - Possibly an over payment on our part. I'm not proposing to trade Duper because I think he sucks. I think he has value on a third line, but we know he won't be on our third line as long as Bylsma is here, and it doesn't look like he's going anywhere. And Jeffrey needs to be playing somewhere.

Call up Despres or whomever from W-B/S until Scuderi is back. Demote D'Ags. I'd move Glass, too, if possible, but that would still give us almost $3M with him in the line up to acquire a back up if TV isn't coming back or Zatkoff doesn't improve.

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER

FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.725m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Beau Bennett ($0.900m)
Nikolai Kulemin ($2.800m) / Evgeni Malkin ($8.700m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Shawn Matthias ($1.750m) / Steve Ott ($2.950m) / Jayson Megna ($0.925m)
Tanner Glass ($1.100m) / Joe Vitale ($0.550m) / Craig Adams ($0.700m)
Chuck Kobasew ($0.550m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) / Kris Letang ($3.500m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Brooks Orpik ($3.750m)
Olli Maatta ($0.894m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
Deryk Engelland ($0.567m) /

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Jeff Zatkoff ($0.538m)

LTIR
Tomas Vokoun ($2.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2013-14 crunched using simulation date of 2013-11-14)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (24-man roster): $2,726,667

I'm with you in general, but you've created a lot of cap issues next year and thereafter by taking one of the capable young cost-controlled quantities we have at forward, Sutter, and dumping him for a rental we probably can't afford to re-sign. He's going to get paid. Do you want him to be our big free agent addition next year, and for a long term?

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I'm with you in general, but you've created a lot of cap issues next year and thereafter by taking one of the capable young cost-controlled quantities we have at forward, Sutter, and dumping him for a rental we probably can't afford to re-sign. He's going to get paid. Do you want him to be our big free agent addition next year, and for a long term?

Sutter isn't anything more than a completely replaceable part at this point. In fact, I think we'd be crazy to make him a qualifying offer this summer.

 

[DegenX]

I'm with you in general, but you've created a lot of cap issues next year and thereafter by taking one of the capable young cost-controlled quantities we have at forward, Sutter, and dumping him for a rental we probably can't afford to re-sign. He's going to get paid. Do you want him to be our big free agent addition next year, and for a long term?

Potentially.
Orpik and Glass coming off the books would cover Letang, Kunitz and Geno's raises.

We'd be replacing Orpik with Despres, most likely, who wouldn't be getting that much of a raise having spent most of this season with W-B/S. Megna and Vitale wouldn't be getting huge raises either. Budget around $2M for a back-up goalie.

It should be doable unless Ott or Kulemin wanted an obscene amount.

As to whether I want Ott long term, I'm not even sure I want him now But you do make a valid point about an expensive rental.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Potentially.
Orpik and Glass coming off the books would cover Letang, Kunitz and Geno's raises.

That's an assumption we probably shouldn't be making at this time. Two of this coach's most trusted players (Orpik and Glass), why would Shero not re-sign them both at this point?

We're setting ourselves up for even further disappointment.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

The really lucky / sad part of all of this trade talk, is we don't really need to be doing all that many transactions over the next few years.

We need one big, semi-skilled net front guy with toughness who can skate. I know that's not that easy to find. But we can put most if not all of our trade chips into acquiring it. A Clarkson or a Bickell, with a more Bickell-like contract. If we add that to our top 9, we're suddenly pretty good.

After that, the best deals will be the ones we don't make. For lord sake, don't re-sign Orpik. Don't sign Nisky. Don't give JJ a contract. Heck, Depres is looking pretty darn good nowadays from the limited WBS youtubing I've checked out. All we need is a Glencross, and we can even overpay somewhat, and then be done with the transactions for a while. Re-sign Martin if possible at the same cap hit if possible. If not, then fine. Live and die with these young guys on D + Scuds and Letang, but don't live and die with crap players with no upside in the top 9 like Kobe and Dags, and Dupuis on Sid's wing.

CAPGEEK.COM ROSTER 2014-2015

FORWARDS
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Curtis Glencross ($2.550m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Jayson Megna ($0.874m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.100m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Zach Sill ($0.605m) / Joe Vitale ($0.750m) / Craig Adams ($0.700m)
Adam Payerl ($0.627m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Simon Despres ($1.500m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m) / Olli Maatta ($0.894m)
Brian Dumoulin ($0.832m) /

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Eric Hartzell ($0.550m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(cap space ignores bonus cushion excess of $303,271)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $67,500; CAP PAYROLL: $65,906,625; BONUSES: $308,333
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): -$65,839,125

 

[Fire Shero*]

How does Shero still have a job. We acquired Iginla because jarome wanted to come here and nixed the Boston trade. He wasted an entire off season waiting around for Parise and Doan to sign elsewhere. He passed on Semin after he failed with the other 2. He have no respectable forward prospects. He overpaid drastically for Dupuis. He extended Bylsma. We now have the oldest team in the NHL. Should I continue? How is this guy still employed? Because we won a cup 5 year ago? Great...

Seriously, he has to go. Shero doesn't have the balls to go after yak because he knows disco would ruin his career.

This team is so stale, id love to see drastic changes starting with Shero fired.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

The really lucky / sad part of all of this trade talk, is we don't really need to be doing all that many transactions over the next few years.

We need one big, semi-skilled net front guy with toughness who can skate. I know that's not that easy to find. But we can put most if not all of our trade chips into acquiring it. A Clarkson or a Bickell, with a more Bickell-like contract. If we add that to our top 9, we're suddenly pretty good.

After that, the best deals will be the ones we don't make. For lord sake, don't re-sign Orpik. Don't sign Nisky. Don't give JJ a contract. Heck, Depres is looking pretty darn good nowadays from the limited WBS youtubing I've checked out. All we need is a Glencross, and we can even overpay somewhat, and then be done with the transactions for a while. Re-sign Martin if possible at the same cap hit if possible. If not, then fine. Live and die with these young guys on D + Scuds and Letang, but don't live and die with crap players with no upside in the top 9 like Kobe and Dags, and Dupuis on Sid's wing.

CAPGEEK.COM ROSTER 2014-2015

FORWARDS
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Curtis Glencross ($2.550m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Jayson Megna ($0.874m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.100m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Zach Sill ($0.605m) / Joe Vitale ($0.750m) / Craig Adams ($0.700m)
Adam Payerl ($0.627m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Simon Despres ($1.500m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m) / Olli Maatta ($0.894m)
Brian Dumoulin ($0.832m) /

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Eric Hartzell ($0.550m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(cap space ignores bonus cushion excess of $303,271)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $67,500; CAP PAYROLL: $65,906,625; BONUSES: $308,333
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): -$65,839,125

Isn't the problem with Glencross the fact that he wants to stay in Calgary and won't waive to get traded or has he changed his mind. If we could find cap space some way, Cammalleri would be a great fit. Guy can snipe

 

[Fire Shero*]

Plus Shero can't piggyback off of Shero's draftees anymore. We don't have a Goligoski or Whitney that would fetch us a nice return. We have Matt Niskanen and a bunch of unknowns with little value. That's the problem with his stupid drafting philosophy. These dmen need 5-7 years to become valuable commodities.

Sid and Geno are wasting the prime of their careers here. I think so highly of them for not demanding a trade.