Salary Cap: 2014-15 Roster Thread VI | ALL TRADE & FA SPECULATION HERE

[Night Shift]

Letang, Despres, Maatta, Bort, Pouliot, Roupp, Samuelsson, D'Agostino. Not to mention the fact that we have Scuderi for another two years. The kind of player we want is only going to be available if we package up a player like Letang or if we are willing to trade some futures. I would easily trade Harrington + 2nd or Despres + 2nd for a player in a similar situation. Hopefully we could get a 3rd back as well.

Dumo when called up last year was extremely solid defensively. Harrington is NHL ready and I'm excited to see him play and what he can add. I agree with you that the Pens need to make some tough choices sooner or later but not without seeing how they fit in first to further assess the balance of the type dman needed or how many of the same type of defenseman we have too much excess of.

For example: Orpik had lost a step his last couple years here but he used to be our main shutdown guy many years ago. We need atleast one guy to fit that role again.. Maybe that is Bortuzzo but I'd like to see if Harrington or Dumo can out do Bort and/or take that place

 

[Night Shift]

im not sure how to feel about the pens success early this season.

no matter how they perform, i still feel like this team is perfect embodiment of a team built for the regular season and not the playoffs, more so than any other team in the league.

the team is just assembled all wrong, imo, at least for the playoffs.

bad playoff goalie, blueline composed largely of soft puckmovers, two great players up front but otherwise a generic forward corps-- not particularly skilled, not particularly physical, not big or difficult to play against.

early in their careers crosby and malkin were playoff beasts who could carry this team through series and even cups, but i think theyve lost something.

this team still seems like a paper tiger to me. just the wrong collection of players imo.

This is exactly why I don't want Dumo or Harrington moved (as others suggest), They provide an element that is lacking which is a shut down dman

 

[mpp9]

Where did this narrative that GMJR makes more in-season trades come from?

GMJR's trades - not all of these are for roster players. It includes cap dumps like (Jokinen) and minor trades for AHL players.

Time of Year | No. of Trades | Percentage
Off-season | 53 | 44.92%
TDL | 36 | 30.51%
In-season | 29 | 24.58%
Total | 118 | 100%

Out of 118 trades, the majority of them (75%) were made in the off-season and at the trade deadline.

Maybe GMJR makes more in-season trades than other GM's. (I am not calculating it.) But the majority of his trading has happened at the same time other GM's are trading - the off-season and TDL.

(Sources: Trades, Other Numbers, and I used Wikipedia for TDL dates and starts of the season)

Did I say he made a majority of his trades before the deadline? Nope. I said he has a history of making them. More so than our previous GM. That's b/c players aren't usually traded for picks/prospects before the deadline, which is really all Shero did outside of the Neal+Kunitz trades. JR is far more willing to deal from his roster.

 

[cassius]

Crazy stat of the day... Kunitz has the same amount of goals as Stamkos

 

[Gurglesons]

Dumo when called up last year was extremely solid defensively. Harrington is NHL ready and I'm excited to see him play and what he can add. I agree with you that the Pens need to make some tough choices sooner or later but not without seeing how they fit in first to further assess the balance of the type dman needed or how many of the same type of defenseman we have too much excess of.

For example: Orpik had lost a step his last couple years here but he used to be our main shutdown guy many years ago. We need atleast one guy to fit that role again.. Maybe that is Bortuzzo but I'd like to see if Harrington or Dumo can out do Bort and/or take that place

I think it would be smarter to deal from our position and sign one of Martin or Ehrhoff. Our time to win a cup is in the next three or four years, we can develop defensemen, but ultimately Crosby and Malkin are going to start declining. We need to take advantage of this roster within the next two years, why do you think JR is only GMing for two years?

 

[DearDiary]

I've been paying close attention to Kunitz since the season began to see how his role would change with a player like Hornqvist on his line.

2 seasons ago, you'd see Kunitz vigorously chasing after every puck and forechecking hard. Last season he started floating more and going into a shooting role, likely do to the RW situation.

This season, it seems to me that Kunitz is purposely floating because he wants Hornqvist to end up with his old role. He isn't just being lazy, he is staring at pucks and waiting for a line mate to get it. He doesn't seem happy at all to see Crosby deferring to a winger other than himself. In short, it seems to me that Kunitz isn't happy that he needs to go back to the dirty roles while Hornqvist makes out like a bandit. Kunitz is likely aiming to have Hornqvist be the primary puck chaser on the line. So how is this different than when Kunitz was with Neal and Malkin? I think Kunitz knew it was only temporary, and there was no chance of Neal being able to do much without the puck

Anyways, I think its time to move Kunitz onto Malkin's wing. While KCH seems like a good line, Kunitz has not looked happy at all this season and I'm sure Malkin would love to have him by his side

 

[Phil68]

I think Malkin will spend the entire year playing with no one on his wing. I just don't see who we can get and who would want what we have... Just to tell you how pretty Amazing Malkin is, and he will end up probably producing over 100 points with terrible wingers. Crosby has had Kunitz ever since he came to the Pens.. Just had a more stable wingers... Oh well it is what it is

 

[penguins2946*]

With Fleury under contract now, we currently have this for next year:

FORWARDS
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / Beau Bennett ($1.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Patric Hornqvist ($4.250m)
Kasperi Kapanen ($0.925m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.300m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Nick Spaling ($2.200m) / Oskar Sundqvist ($0.701m) / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
DEFENSEMEN
Olli Maatta ($0.894m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Simon Despres ($0.900m) / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Scott Harrington ($0.589m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($1.000m)
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) /
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.750m)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
BONUS OVERAGE
$0
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2015-16)
SALARY CAP: $74,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $57,934,167; BONUSES: $531,667
CAP SPACE (17-man roster): $16,065,833

I'm guessing Ehrhoff will re-sign for about $5.5 million and Scuderi will be moved, which would leave us with $13.9 million in cap space to get a backup goalie, 7th D, 13th and 14th F, a 4th line RW and a top line LW. I'm not too concerned. Even if BB somehow gets more than what I have (he's been too injury prone to get more IMO), we would still have ample cap space to bring in a fit for Geno. So, even with the Fleury contract, I'm not concerned.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I've been paying close attention to Kunitz since the season began to see how his role would change with a player like Hornqvist on his line.

2 seasons ago, you'd see Kunitz vigorously chasing after every puck and forechecking hard. Last season he started floating more and going into a shooting role, likely do to the RW situation.

This season, it seems to me that Kunitz is purposely floating because he wants Hornqvist to end up with his old role. He isn't just being lazy, he is staring at pucks and waiting for a line mate to get it. He doesn't seem happy at all to see Crosby deferring to a winger other than himself. In short, it seems to me that Kunitz isn't happy that he needs to go back to the dirty roles while Hornqvist makes out like a bandit. Kunitz is likely aiming to have Hornqvist be the primary puck chaser on the line. So how is this different than when Kunitz was with Neal and Malkin? I think Kunitz knew it was only temporary, and there was no chance of Neal being able to do much without the puck

Anyways, I think its time to move Kunitz onto Malkin's wing. While KCH seems like a good line, Kunitz has not looked happy at all this season and I'm sure Malkin would love to have him by his side

Maybe it's this virus I am battling but this made sense.

I need a new Doctor.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

With Fleury under contract now, we currently have this for next year:

FORWARDS
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / Beau Bennett ($1.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Patric Hornqvist ($4.250m)
Kasperi Kapanen ($0.925m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.300m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Nick Spaling ($2.200m) / Oskar Sundqvist ($0.701m) / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
DEFENSEMEN
Olli Maatta ($0.894m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Simon Despres ($0.900m) / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Scott Harrington ($0.589m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($1.000m)
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) /
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.750m)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
BONUS OVERAGE
$0
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2015-16)
SALARY CAP: $74,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $57,934,167; BONUSES: $531,667
CAP SPACE (17-man roster): $16,065,833

I'm guessing Ehrhoff will re-sign for about $5.5 million and Scuderi will be moved, which would leave us with $13.9 million in cap space to get a backup goalie, 7th D, 13th and 14th F, a 4th line RW and a top line LW. I'm not too concerned. Even if BB somehow gets more than what I have (he's been too injury prone to get more IMO), we would still have ample cap space to bring in a fit for Geno. So, even with the Fleury contract, I'm not concerned.

I would love to get Ehrhoff retained at the same cap hit he is at right now, he's still getting money from the Sabres in the buyout (I think around 900k) so maybe it doesn't matter to him to keep the same salary for say another 2-3yrs just to stay with a good team this time (maybe he's learned his lesson after leaving the Canucks for money).

I don't know if I like Sundqvist as a 4th line C. Also, Kapanen should be in the top 6 after a damn good year in Europe and getting more seasoning in that regard as well as bulking up.

Kunitz, Crosby, Hornqvist
Kapanen, Malkin, Bennett
Spaling, Sutter, Dupuis
Comeau, Sundqvist, Downie

Maatta, Letang
Ehrhoff, Harrington
Despres, Bortuzzo

Yes, I would still retain those 2, at least OS has some decent wingers and that's some damn good depth. I have faith in Beau and Kap. Beau has more to his game than people realize. It's so spotty because of Bylsma being Bylsma and his injury woes. But he's shown the ability to play gritty, hit, and be a guy that has a sick shot and playmaking abilities.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

With Fleury under contract now, we currently have this for next year:

FORWARDS
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / Beau Bennett ($1.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Patric Hornqvist ($4.250m)
Kasperi Kapanen ($0.925m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.300m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Nick Spaling ($2.200m) / Oskar Sundqvist ($0.701m) / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
DEFENSEMEN
Olli Maatta ($0.894m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Simon Despres ($0.900m) / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Scott Harrington ($0.589m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($1.000m)
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) /
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.750m)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
BONUS OVERAGE
$0
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2015-16)
SALARY CAP: $74,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $57,934,167; BONUSES: $531,667
CAP SPACE (17-man roster): $16,065,833

I'm guessing Ehrhoff will re-sign for about $5.5 million and Scuderi will be moved, which would leave us with $13.9 million in cap space to get a backup goalie, 7th D, 13th and 14th F, a 4th line RW and a top line LW. I'm not too concerned. Even if BB somehow gets more than what I have (he's been too injury prone to get more IMO), we would still have ample cap space to bring in a fit for Geno. So, even with the Fleury contract, I'm not concerned.

If we can snag that one legit top 6 winger and sign Ehrhoff, we're pretty stacked next year. Having Horns here through his prime at 4.25m is an amazing contract for us.

 

[penguins2946*]

If we can snag that one legit top 6 winger and sign Ehrhoff, we're pretty stacked next year. Having Horns here through his prime at 4.25m is an amazing contract for us.

Yeah, I'm not really concerned at all. The ELCs and cheap contracts with Despres, Bennett, Kapanen, Harrington, Sundqvist and Maatta will help out a ton. We have our goaltending figured out for at least the next 4 years, so we can focus on fixing the top-6 forwards.

I would love to get Ehrhoff retained at the same cap hit he is at right now, he's still getting money from the Sabres in the buyout (I think around 900k) so maybe it doesn't matter to him to keep the same salary for say another 2-3yrs just to stay with a good team this time (maybe he's learned his lesson after leaving the Canucks for money).

I think we will re-sign Ehrhoff to a 3 year deal, but it will certainly be for more than he's making now. I would guess $5.5 million as the low end, but that would still work pretty well for us.

Hell, in all honesty, we can sign Ehrhoff for $5.5 million and keep Scuderi and have absolutely no problem bringing in a legit upgrade for Malkin. We're in an excellent position right now.

 

[Riptide]

Kunitz, Crosby, Hornqvist
Kapanen, Malkin, Bennett
Spaling, Sutter, Dupuis
Comeau, Sundqvist, Downie

I don't see Downie sticking around to be a 4th line winger. I'm also not going to bank on KK being a top 6 winger. Find a top 6 guy in FA, and put KK on the 3rd line and let him battle for top 6 icetime. I'm also not really a fan of Spaling, Sutter and Dupuis all on the 3rd line. Not one of those players is really suited to move up to the top 6 when injuries hit.

 

[mpp9]

I don't see Downie sticking around to be a 4th line winger. I'm also not going to bank on KK being a top 6 winger. Find a top 6 guy in FA, and put KK on the 3rd line and let him battle for top 6 icetime. I'm also not really a fan of Spaling, Sutter and Dupuis all on the 3rd line. Not one of those players is really suited to move up to the top 6 when injuries hit.

Downie's health is the biggest issue. From what I've read and heard, MJ wants him on the third line with BB and Sutter. In that role, he'd absolutely stick around. Especially if we're back to contending.

 

[Riptide]

Downie's health is the biggest issue. From what I've read and heard, MJ wants him on the third line with BB and Sutter. In that role, he'd absolutely stick around. Especially if we're back to contending.

Which is why he signed a 1 yr 1m contract with a limited NTC. But assuming he plays half decently this season and he proves his ear issue isn't a long term issue, he'll make a lot more this summer. And the lineup I quoted had him on the 4th line.

 

[mpp9]

Which is why he signed a 1 yr 1m contract with a limited NTC. But assuming he plays half decently this season and he proves his ear issue isn't a long term issue, he'll make a lot more this summer. And the lineup I quoted had him on the 4th line.

He'll be getting a raise if he plays to his potential. I don't think that'll come until the playoffs. He was a monster for Tampa and that's really been his only taste of playoff hockey.

I could see him filling a niche on our 3rd line for a long time.

 

[IcedCapp]

Which is why he signed a 1 yr 1m contract with a limited NTC. But assuming he plays half decently this season and he proves his ear issue isn't a long term issue, he'll make a lot more this summer. And the lineup I quoted had him on the 4th line.

That's how all of these 1-year contracts end up working out.

The team who signs them is taking a calculated risk, likely because they have cap issues and are hoping for a cheap home run. But at the end of the year either 1) the player didn't prove himself and doesn't get an extension or 2) he had that home run year and moves on to a team who will overpay him.

See: Raymond, Mason.

 

[billybudd]

I like what Downie brings, but he's not really doing anything that's going to get him a lot of interest in free agency thus far. His play isn't screaming "this guy can be on your second line" like it did in Tampa.

It's shaping up for him that the money he might be hoping for won't really be there. In which case, he'll probably choose Tocchet again, at a small pay increase and a more secure sort of term.

 

[IcedCapp]

I like what Downie brings, but he's not really doing anything that's going to get him a lot of interest in free agency thus far. His play isn't screaming "this guy can be on your second line" like it did in Tampa.

It's shaping up for him that the money he might be hoping for won't really be there. In which case, he'll probably choose Tocchet again, at a small pay increase and a more secure sort of term.

Downie is quickly, like, alarmingly-quick, vaulting into "2minutes for being Matt Cooke" territory. Officials are already tired of his act and he's getting calls because he's Downie and nothing more.

I'm actually okay with that, because the Pens' special teams units are able to back it up, but I'm not really getting the feel that he's the answer to the Pens problems in the long term. He'll have to tone it down eventually.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I think he's just eager to make his mark, to show the team that he is there to make sure no one messes with the big stars. I expect him to settle down as the season wears on. Because teams aren't going to want to mess with the Pens and try to battle that powerplay.

 

[Michael8771*]

Crazy stat of the day... Kunitz has the same amount of goals as Stamkos

TBH I haven't had much issue with CK's play this season. I think as he gets older he's picking his spots more. I'm fine with that as long as he ramps it up come playoff time.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

So you want to overpay? Because if you're not waiting for other teams thats usually what you have to do.

A hockey trade? Martin/Dupuis is a not a good pair for a hockey trade... Martin needs to go to a contender UFA; Dupuis is more likely to be coveted by a ****** team. Your only hope is a contender with an expensive winger (for cap reasons), thats willing to slot duper in that wingers spot in exchange for the upgrade at D. So there's like 2 teams that MAY fit that criteria.... and if they say uhh no? What do you want them to do.

Thomas Vanek wasn't traded to a contender early last season. If you trade Martin sooner rather than later, more teams will be interested because they're acquiring him for THIS season. And there's only one Buffalo out there. Everybody else could be in on hockey trades.

Yes I realize Martin can't be traded to a few teams.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I don't understand the notion that only a crap team would want Dupuis, because I am sure there are a lot of teams that would want a guy that can put up 40pts like Dupuis on their 3rd line now that he's shown that his knee injury hasn't changed anything. The guy produced with and without Crosby.

As for Martin, I am in the boat that wants to move him sooner rather than later because the team needs to adjust to it before the playoffs, the longer you wait, the harder it will be for the team heading into the playoffs.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

You're missing my point. He's probably trying, and will try... but just because it doesn't happen doesn't mean its a mistake.

Trading harrington, dumo, and a 1st to buffalo for stewart would be a mistake; but you could make that deal right now!!!! Which is what you want right? Obviously there's middle ground, but you shouldnt make a trade unless it makes sense... and my point is its very unlikely you're going to get one of those until closer to the deadline. IF it happens great!, if not it's probably not from a lack of trying.

You are overstating the effect the TDL has on trades. Yes, many teams hold offf until closer to Feb/March, but trades do happen earlier on and this year especially, there will be multiple teams willing to give up roster players for futures. By the time Maatta gets back there will be a few teams who will already have given up, so to speak.

My hope is that both EDM and WPG join Buffalo on that list.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

If Rutherford moved a 1st, Dumoulin, and Harrington for Stewart and no one stopped him in head office, I would probably lose interest in this team because that would signal an epic amount of stupidity.

I would only give up Dumoulin for Stewart, never a 1st, never Harrington, never all 3 for that clown.