Speculation: 2014-2015: Cap Goes Up... Who Do You Target?

[Jaded-Fan]

OK, you all have bored me with the thousand pages wondering how we are going to use that last $200 of cap space we have remaining, or the $1200 and some pocket lint of cap space we will have if we trade Niskanen.

Like whether we use it on tweedle dee or tweedle dumb is going to make any difference in the world next year.

So here is a much more interesting question. Next year we will have $53 million tied up in 11 players, or $48 million on ten players if we give up on Fleury. The money is spent on seven forwards (Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Dupuis, Kunitz, Bennett and Adams) and three defensemen (Letang, Scuderi and Martin).

The cap is expected to go well north of $70 million next year. Let us say $72 million to pick a number. Leaving us $19 million to spend on 12 players or $24 million to spend on 13 players. I am assuming that at least a couple of those slots will be taken by our cheap defensive prospects.

You can name specific players to perhaps go after, but how what general direction do you want the Pens to go in rebuilding the periphery of this team, as the core has been pretty much nailed down with this offseason?

Click to read more...

 

[Ogrezilla]

Use youth on D. Use the money that saves to build the best bottom 6 we can make.

The dream would be to get Dupuis to the third line, but I just don't see it happening next year.

 

[Sideline]

I go with youth on D. I want 4-7 to be Despres, Dumoulin, Harrington, and Bortuzzo.

I put the savings into Lundqvist at hopefully 7x7M.

FORWARDS
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.725m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
UFA ($2.500m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.500m) / UFA ($2.750m)
Dustin Jeffrey ($0.900m) / Joe Vitale ($0.900m) / Craig Adams ($0.700m)
Adam Payerl ($0.867m)
DEFENSEMEN
Simon Despres ($2.500m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Brian Dumoulin ($0.900m) / Paul Martin ($5.000m)
Scott Harrington ($0.897m) / Rob Scuderi ($3.375m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.800m)
GOALTENDERS
Henrik Lundqvist ($7.000m)
Eric Hartzell ($0.874m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $72,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $72,287,458; BONUSES: $632,500
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $345,042

 

[PensBandwagonerNo272*]

I go with youth on D. I want 4-7 to be Despres, Dumoulin, Harrington, and Bortuzzo.

I put the savings into Lundqvist at hopefully 7x7M.

Oh my lord that would be amazing. Imagine just waiving Fleury.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Oh my lord that would be amazing. Imagine just waiving Fleury.

They have two compliance buyouts remaining. I am sure that they will be watching Fleury closely this year to see whether to use one on him next offseason or not.

 

[Waffle Fries]

I don't think to cap will go above 70M. I think it will go up to 70M.

In the hypothetical situation that it is 70M, I think this is about what we will have to work with:

CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER
My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Beau Bennett ($0.900m)
X/Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
X/Brandon Sutter ($3.000m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
X/X/Craig Adams ($0.700m)
DEFENSEMEN
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) / Paul Martin ($5.000m)
Kris Letang ($7.250m) / Simon Despres ($2.000m)
Brian Dumoulin ($0.900m) / Scott Harrington ($0.897m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.650m) /
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
X
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $60,471,667; BONUSES: $392,500
CAP SPACE (16-man roster): $9,920,833

______________

Defense: Set

Goaltending: The ideal situation is to buy out Fleury and sign Jonas Hiller to a short term deal around his current cap hit. (Lundqvist is just a pipe dream) I really don't want to have to spend 2M on a backup goaltender, but with Fleury still in net, we might need to. In a dream world, Hartzell would be ready to take on the backup role for a cap hit of around 1M. If he's not ready for that, then the situation gets a little trickier.

Here is a list of free agent goalies in 2014:
http://www.capgeek.com/free-agents/?year_id=2014&team_id=-1&position_id=G&fa_type_id=2


Forwards: Regardless of whether Dupuis is on the first or the third line, we need 2 top 9 forwards, 2 fourth liners and an extra forward.

I'd imagine we could resign Vitale for around the cap hit Jeffrey just took and the other fourth line and extra forward spots could probably be filled out by players currently in the AHL.

After that I'd imagine we'd have 7-7.5M left to fill out the remaining two spots in the top nine. I mentioned yesterday that some players I'd like to target there are Alex Steen, Steve Ott, and Colin Greening. I actually believe that based on what they bring, all three would be a good fit for Geno's LW, and obviously Ott and Greening would both also be a good fit for the third line as well.

Steen will probably resign with St. Louis, but I think his cap hit would range from 3.75-4.75M.

Ott might resign with Buffalo, but there's definitely a chance that he won't want to stick around for their rebuild. I think he's exactly what we need. A guy who can provide scoring, gritty play, good penalty killing, and agitation while fitting anywhere in the lineup. I'd imagine his cap hit would range from 3-3.5M.

Greening might not have a place in Ottawa after this year with all of their young forwards coming up. He'd be a great fit for the third line and can move up to the top six in case of injuries. He's coming off a 816K cap hit, and I expect him to get similar offers to what Stalberg saw this year. So I think he'll ultimately sign for something in the 2-3M range.

Other options would be Vrbata, Kulemin, Setoguchi and Moss.

Something like:



CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER
My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Beau Bennett ($0.900m)
Alex Steen ($4.500m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Colin Greening ($2.000m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.000m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Adam Payerl ($0.867m) / Joe Vitale ($0.625m) / Craig Adams ($0.700m)
Harry Zolnierczyk ($0.550m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Simon Despres ($2.000m) / Paul Martin ($5.000m)
Brian Dumoulin ($0.900m) / Scott Harrington ($0.897m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.650m) /
GOALTENDERS
Jonas Hiller ($4.750m)
Eric Hartzell ($1.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $69,763,333; BONUSES: $632,500
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $869,167

Harry Z, Payerl, and Hartzell are essentially place holders.

 

[Rico Fatastic]

Oh my lord that would be amazing. Imagine just waiving Fleury.

Don't be silly. Lundqvist is being acquired as insurance in case Fleury falters in the playoffs again.

 

[PensBandwagonerNo272*]

Don't be silly. Lundqvist is being acquired as insurance in case Fleury falters in the playoffs again.

I figured he was being acquired to fill in the top-6 D because Despres isn't ready just yet.

 

[Sideline]

I figured he was being acquired to fill in the top-6 D because Despres isn't ready just yet.

After this coming season he should be.

Edit: unless that was sarcastic Bylsma hate...

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Move on from Orpik, commit to youth on d. If/when Fleury flames out then try for Lundqvist, and if that doesn't pan out, trade for a promising young back-up and/or take another short-term flier on a cheap vet.

If there's cap room left, fill out the bottom 6 with some versatile size like Kulemin, Winnik, Greening, etc.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

I think we should buy Jobu for Fleury. Fleury should sit him next to the water bottle and talk to him during the game if he needs to. Jobu can ward off bad spirits causing 5 hole and bounces off the end board goals.

Jobu and a case of rum should be about $200.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

I think we should buy Jobu for Fleury. Fleury should sit him next to the water bottle and talk to him during the game if he needs to. Jobu can ward off bad spirits causing 5 hole and bounces off the end board goals.

Jobu and a case of rum should be about $200.

Jabu Jabu?

 

[DegenX]

Props for the Gorey illustration

And, as the other's have said, youth on D. Hopefully we'll see a little bit of that this season, get a little experience now so they're not totally green the following season.

Too early to predict the FA market. King Hank would be sweet, but unlikely. I could see us signing Kulemin for Geno's left wing if we don't trade for him before then. I'd like to see Duper on the third line with Sutter, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[lastcupever75]

There's no way a team with contending aspirations is going to suit up all those young d-men at once.


I'll be surprised if even 2 of them are seeing regular minutes

 

[Ogrezilla]

There's no way a team with contending aspirations is going to suit up all those young d-men at once.


I'll be surprised if even 2 of them are seeing regular minutes

Despres will be in his 3rd year next year. The only issue will be both Dumoulin and Harrington up. I agree that likely won't be happening. But Despres, Bortuzzo and one of Harrington and Dumoulin is perfectly reasonable.

 

[Waffle Fries]

There's no way a team with contending aspirations is going to suit up all those young d-men at once.


I'll be surprised if even 2 of them are seeing regular minutes

Why not?

Despres is ready for top four time now, but will spend the year as a number 5. He's almost definitely going to be in the top four 2014-15 because we don't have the cap space for a more expensive top four dman.

Dumoulin will be the first guy they call up for injuries this year so he'll have at least a bit of NHL experience. He really shouldn't have any trouble taking on a bottom pairing role.

Harrington is really the only question mark, but the only thing he really needs to do to be NHL ready is bulk up a bit.

With the extensions kicking in, we don't have much of a choice but to go with a youth movement on defense. We'll still have Letang, Martin, and Scuderi as veterans on the blue line. Bortuzzo can take the other bottom pairing spot and we can just sign a super cheap number 7 and have Harrington spend an extra year in the AHL.

 

[mpp9]

I think you resign Martin if he proves that last season is the type of player we're getting from here on out. Move on from Orpik. And use one of Despres and Dumoulin as a trade chip for a cost controlled impact forward.

 

[Waffle Fries]

I think you resign Martin if he proves that last season is the type of player we're getting from here on out. Move on from Orpik. And use one of Despres and Dumoulin as a trade chip for a cost controlled impact forward.

I don't think you talk about an extension for Martin until at least halfway through the season his contract is up. We have to evaluate which of our prospects, if any, can step into the top four.

I definitely don't think you trade Despres any time soon. He'll be a top four defenseman who costs 2-2.5M. If we trade him we'll need to sign another top four guy, and they cost double that. We should let our young guys play on defense and use the money saved from all those ELCs to get forwards as needed.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

There's no way a team with contending aspirations is going to suit up all those young d-men at once.


I'll be surprised if even 2 of them are seeing regular minutes

The Kings did. Doughty, Voynov, Muzzin, Martinez, and Ellerby.

I think having 3 big minute munchers like Letang, Martin, and Scuderi would ease the transition too.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Changing title to reflect the year in question since that's the main difference between this and the other roster prediction / wish list thread.

 

[Jacob]

Lundqvist, by any and all means necessary.

 

[Darth Vitale]

We oughta try at least. Seems pretty unlikely but can you imagine. That would be the biggest Shero-troll of all time, folks.

 

[Ogrezilla]

We oughta try at least. Seems pretty unlikely but can you imagine. That would be the biggest Shero-troll of all time, folks.

if he goes to UFA, that will be one hell of a bidding war. It will put Parisewatch to shame. And if he goes anywhere but here this board will burn to the ground.

 

[Gwydyr]

CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER
My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Beau Bennett ($0.900m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Jamie McGinn ($2.300m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.000m) / Jussi Jokinen ($2.200m)
Colin Greening ($2.000m) / Joe Vitale ($0.550m) / Adam Payerl ($0.867m)
Craig Adams ($0.700m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Simon Despres ($2.500m) / Paul Martin ($5.000m)
Brian Dumoulin ($0.900m) / Scott Harrington ($0.897m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.650m) /
GOALTENDERS
Jonas Hiller ($5.000m)
Eric Hartzell ($0.874m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $69,862,458; BONUSES: $632,500
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $770,042


With the italicized players, I either took into consideration their new cap-hit for 2014 or I re-signed them. The only one that I feel like I have to justify is Jussi Jokinen. His re-signing assumes a solid 2013-2014 campaign where his offensive prowess adds an element to the third line that could not be replicated for the cap-hit.

Bold players, I acquired via trade or free-agency. McGinn would be a 2013-2014 addition, acquired from the trade of Niskanen or Orpik, and I re-signed him for Niskanen money. Greening would be signed out of free agency and would be a valuable asset to either the third or fourth line. Lastly, I thought that if we are going to spend 5M on a goalie, I'd much rather it be Hiller than Fleury.

This roster is extremely optimistic, as KCD is broken up in order to create balanced top-2 lines, Adams is a healthy scratch, and we rely heavily on our prospects. Now that I think about it, this roster most likely implies that Bylsma has been fired

 

[Waffle Fries]

You forgot Malkin's extension has a 800K raise.