Salary Cap: 2014-15 Roster building thread - Part VI

[Ogrezilla]

So. Ryan Callahan for on and off ice leadership?

For Kunitz money? Sure. I might even overpay him a bit for his leadership and give him close to Neal money, but that's a stretch.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Here's my armchair attempt. Feel free to criticize:

(Maatta to LTIR)

Trade Adams to wherever Bylsma goes for a random prospect
Trade Scuderi to a team with young defense (Buffalo?) for a mid-round pick
Trade Niskanen's rights to COL/TBL/ANA for rights to McGinn/Connolly/Smith-Pelley

Re-sign our RFAs (Despres, Megna, Samuelsson, Sutter)
Re-sign Vitale, Sill, and Gibbons

Sign Ryan Callahan

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
CapGeek Armchair GM Roster

FORWARDS
Jamie McGinn ($2.300m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Ryan Callahan ($5.500m)
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.000m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Jayson Megna ($0.850m) / Joe Vitale ($0.925m) / Brian Gibbons ($0.750m)
Zach Sill ($0.600m) / Adam Payerl ($0.627m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Simon Despres ($0.900m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
Philip Samuelsson ($0.605m) / Brian Dumoulin ($0.832m)
Scott Harrington ($0.589m) /

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Jeff Zatkoff ($0.600m)

LTIR
Olli Maatta ($0.894m)

------

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $67,627,500; BONUSES: $615,833
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $2,372,500


That defense...

 

[Human]

Here's my armchair attempt. Feel free to criticize:

(Maatta to LTIR)

Trade Adams to wherever Bylsma goes for a random prospect
Trade Scuderi to a team with young defense (Buffalo?) for a mid-round pick
Trade Niskanen's rights to COL/TBL/ANA for rights to McGinn/Connolly/Smith-Pelley

Re-sign our RFAs (Despres, Megna, Samuelsson, Sutter)
Re-sign Vitale, Sill, and Gibbons

Sign Ryan Callahan

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
CapGeek Armchair GM Roster

FORWARDS
Jamie McGinn ($2.300m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Ryan Callahan ($5.500m)
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.000m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Jayson Megna ($0.850m) / Joe Vitale ($0.925m) / Brian Gibbons ($0.750m)
Zach Sill ($0.600m) / Adam Payerl ($0.627m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Simon Despres ($0.900m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
Philip Samuelsson ($0.605m) / Brian Dumoulin ($0.832m)
Scott Harrington ($0.589m) /

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Jeff Zatkoff ($0.600m)

LTIR
Olli Maatta ($0.894m)

------

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $67,627,500; BONUSES: $615,833
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $2,372,500


That defense...

that defense is exactly what I would like for now. make a move at the deadline if needed.

 

[Vujtek]

So. Ryan Callahan for on and off ice leadership?

Isn't Callahan also a quiet leader? A player who leads by the example on the ice. A hard worker. You know, similar to Sid (except much, much less skilled of course). I remember Brad Richards saying after the trade that Callahan wasn't a big talker in the room and they have guys who can replace his leadership. Don't think he's the type of presence Pens need on the room (on the ice he certainly would be great addition) necessarily, but like JR said in the press conference they need to bring in more vocal guys to the room.

 

[Epic Neal Time]

Here's my armchair attempt. Feel free to criticize:

(Maatta to LTIR)

Trade Adams to wherever Bylsma goes for a random prospect
Trade Scuderi to a team with young defense (Buffalo?) for a mid-round pick
Trade Niskanen's rights to COL/TBL/ANA for rights to McGinn/Connolly/Smith-Pelley

Re-sign our RFAs (Despres, Megna, Samuelsson, Sutter)
Re-sign Vitale, Sill, and Gibbons

Sign Ryan Callahan

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
CapGeek Armchair GM Roster

FORWARDS
Jamie McGinn ($2.300m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Ryan Callahan ($5.500m)
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.000m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Jayson Megna ($0.850m) / Joe Vitale ($0.925m) / Brian Gibbons ($0.750m)
Zach Sill ($0.600m) / Adam Payerl ($0.627m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Simon Despres ($0.900m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
Philip Samuelsson ($0.605m) / Brian Dumoulin ($0.832m)
Scott Harrington ($0.589m) /

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Jeff Zatkoff ($0.600m)

LTIR
Olli Maatta ($0.894m)

------

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $67,627,500; BONUSES: $615,833
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $2,372,500


That defense...

Use the cap space to sign a cheap, solid defenseman. Niskanen's rights won't come CLOSE to getting McGinn, DSP, or Connolly. We're looking at a 4th, 3rd at best if we trade his rights.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Isn't Callahan also a quiet leader? A player who leads by the example on the ice. A hard worker. You know, similar to Sid (except much, much less skilled of course). I remember Brad Richards saying after the trade that Callahan wasn't a big talker in the room and they have guys who can replace his leadership. Don't think he's the type of presence Pens need on the room (on the ice he certainly would be great addition) necessarily, but like JR said in the press conference they need to bring in more vocal guys to the room.

Oh.

Callahan was for the most part a lead-by-example captain rather than a master orator, so it’s not as if the Blueshirts must confront a void in their time of need.

“Things that have to be said will still get said,†Richards said. “I’m not taking anything away from Cally, but he was pretty young and not that vocal.

http://nypost.com/2014/03/12/rangers-no-leadership-void-minus-callahan/

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Use the cap space to sign a cheap, solid defenseman. Niskanen's rights won't come CLOSE to getting McGinn, DSP, or Connolly. We're looking at a 4th, 3rd at best if we trade his rights.

You're right. Maybe we could do a sign and trade.

 

[penguins2946*]

My optimal realistic lineup looks like:

Kunitz-Crosby-Hemsky
Kulemin-Malkin-Neal
Bennett-Sutter-Dupuis
Zolnierczyk-Vitale-Megna

Martin-Letang
Maatta-Niskanen
Despres-Bortuzzo

Niemi-Zatkoff

Hemsky at $4.25 million per, Kulemin at $3.25 million per, Sutter at $3.5 million per, Megna at $800,000, Despres at $900,000, Niskanen at $4.5 million per, Vitale at $1 million per and Zolnierczyk at $600,000 per. That's around a $68.5 million payroll, and we would need 2 depth F and a depth D.

 

[eXile59]

No man, describing what Neal does in the regular season to create room for Malkin is not an accurate account of what happens come playoff time. Malkin started to catch fire AFTER he stopped playing with Neal. Aside from a couple of games in these playoffs, any line Neal was on, was ass.

Neal has never been a money guy for this team in the playoffs. I looked at the stats before this years playoffs and pointed that out, then Yohe, I believe, pointed out the same thing after the playoffs with updated stats: He has scored all of his goals in 7 games. That means he has gone 31 playoff games without a goal. That's disturbing, albeit an accurate representation of his failure to show up come playoff time.

He isn't a playoff performer. Period. Some may not want to hear it, but it's the truth.

I find it comical many of the same people who want to hold onto Neal because he scores a lot in the regular season, want to deal Letang instead. Letang, including this years playoffs, has been a big game player and was an integral part of their cup run. He has proven he can step up his game in the playoffs, Neal never has. Yet people who want this team to stop collapsing in the playoffs want a playoff no show like Neal, over a proven playoff performer like Letang.

Where is the logic?

Neal has yet to step up in the playoffs, but all I hear is they need to keep him because he is a 40 goal regular season scorer. Again, when has this team ever struggled to score goals in the regular season in the Malkin and Crosby era?

Yes lets just build a team based entirely on playoff scoring. Bring on Fedotenko!!!

I would like to know who are you going to bring in that is going to score more in the playoffs & score half of what Neal does in the regular season?

The Neal hate really defies logic.

 

[Jacob]

Jokinen scores in the playoffs but I don't see anyone clamoring to re-sign him.

 

[Owtahear]

Here's my armchair attempt. Feel free to criticize:

(Maatta to LTIR)

Trade Adams to wherever Bylsma goes for a random prospect
Trade Scuderi to a team with young defense (Buffalo?) for a mid-round pick
Trade Niskanen's rights to COL/TBL/ANA for rights to McGinn/Connolly/Smith-Pelley

Re-sign our RFAs (Despres, Megna, Samuelsson, Sutter)
Re-sign Vitale, Sill, and Gibbons

Sign Ryan Callahan

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
CapGeek Armchair GM Roster

FORWARDS
Jamie McGinn ($2.300m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Ryan Callahan ($5.500m)
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.000m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Jayson Megna ($0.850m) / Joe Vitale ($0.925m) / Brian Gibbons ($0.750m)
Zach Sill ($0.600m) / Adam Payerl ($0.627m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Simon Despres ($0.900m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
Philip Samuelsson ($0.605m) / Brian Dumoulin ($0.832m)
Scott Harrington ($0.589m) /

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Jeff Zatkoff ($0.600m)

LTIR
Olli Maatta ($0.894m)

------

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $67,627,500; BONUSES: $615,833
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $2,372,500


That defense...

I don't like that 4th line. Need some toughness and bangers there

 

[mpp9]

I have no clue how people can watch these playoffs and not see that our supporting cast is ****ing terrible. Neal, our highest paid winger, hasn't done anything approaching the level of play of Williams or Saad. Brown and Bickell play their roles far better than Kunitz.

To execute the type of change this team needs up front, you need to move valuable pieces.

How about having an argument that isn't totally based off regular season stats. For me, Neal doesn't go to the net nearly enough. He doesn't play with intensity consistently. And he doesn't raise his game when Sid and/or Geno are struggling. That's what we need out of our 3rd highest paid forward.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

I don't like that 4th line. Need some toughness and bangers there

Sill-Vitale-Payerl

 

[Human]

I have no clue how people can watch these playoffs and not see that our supporting cast is ****ing terrible. Neal, our highest paid winger, hasn't done anything approaching the level of play of Williams or Saad. Brown and Bickell play their roles far better than Kunitz.

To execute the type of change this team needs up front, you need to move valuable pieces.

like I said before, I'd wait for another playoff under a new coach before moving guys like Neal or Letang.

I agree that Kunitz changed his game for the worse, but that happened because he's old and banged up, and that contract already looks bad anyway. if they could somehow unload it I'd be all for it.

 

[Uncle Machete]

Do we know of any "vocal" leaders we could acquire?

 

[mpp9]

like I said before, I'd wait for another playoff under a new coach before moving guys like Neal or Letang.

I agree that Kunitz changed his game for the worse, but that happened because he's old and banged up, and that contract already looks bad anyway. if they could somehow unload it I'd be all for it.

You're not getting much of anything for Kunitz. You're not getting anything for Dupuis. Bennett is worth more to us. Letang's value is a question mark. So that leaves Martin, Neal and Sutter along with some D prospects to trade. Martin is pretty important to our blue line with Orpik and Nisky likely moving on. And Maatta off to a bad start to his sophmore year.

I said before, I'd move Sutter+D prospect+1st to bring in a forward for Sid. But I also don't think posters should be calling others stupid for wanting to explore the value Neal has around the league. Plenty of teams would love to have him on their PP and help get them into the playoffs. Teams like Anaheim and Tampa could be looking for an established scorer, and have the type of depth at forward they can afford to trade for it to benefit us.

And as was mentioned, a new coach can get Letang to play a shutdown role. A new coach can develop Sid and Geno's two way games via expanded roles on the PK and treating the regular season as preparation for playoff hockey. But Neal isn't going to ever be that dynamic guy. His skating and overall skillset limit him. Maybe a coach would get him to be more physically engaged and hang around the net. We shall see.

 

[ObsessedCreative*]

Do we know of any "vocal" leaders we could acquire?

Kessler is the most vocal / borderline ******-like when it comes to locker room vocals.

 

[mpp9]

Do we know of any "vocal" leaders we could acquire?

Kesler is the first guy who comes to mind. I could see him being someone who calls out any number of players if they're actively hurting our team's chances at a Cup.

But a 4th line player who can still play can fill a similar role as well. Someone who is respected and can back up what he's saying by scoring a big goal or providing a momentum changing shift.

 

[OilerPensfan97]

Part VII is up.

 

[The Underboss]

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1685595


Take it to Part VII.