Salary Cap: Be the GM Thread | 2013 offseason and beyond

[Fuzzy Bunny]

Would the penguins be interested in Khudobin, probably the best FA Goalie, and this guy is just always in compete mode. I don't see his name go around alot, and i think he would be a good match in pittsburgh

I'm a Blades fan and attended a lot of games during the Khudobin area. He is not a starting NHL goalie. He maxes out as a half-decent backup in the NHL or an AHL all-star. He gets rattled and has had mental problems when he coughs up a softy after standing on his head.

I think the bogged changes we will see this off-season is a possible coach and change in the supporting cast for the core. Some of the supporting cast played well but it might be time for a changing of the guard. Bring up some young guys and let them contribute.

Time for Craig Adams to go. Give a young character guy the role. Trade Kennedy, a team on the up will be interested in his RFA rights. Retain Cooke as a bottom-6.

Could look at trading Kunitz, I would not give Dupuis the $ he will fetch on the open market.

 

[66-30-33]

Dupuis is a must-sign. I'm cool with keeping Cooke, and maybe even Kennedy as well. His regular season was awful but I think he redeemed himself in the playoffs, and I think he can be a 35-45 point guy in the regular season again. Move Niskanen, Fleury and Glass. I like Jokinen's versatility, I'm leaning towards keeping him.

Overall this team needs to get younger. Despres, Bennett, Dumoulin/Bortuzzo should be in the lineup every night. Vitale needs to be a fixture on the 4th line and the PK. I think that all has the additional advantage of making us bigger and faster and more skilled.

Oh and get a new coaching staff for the love of christ.

Shero would be keeping Jokinen regardless, he still has a year left on his contract and is at a pretty good price for us at 2.1M and is pretty good on the dot.

 

[Fogel]

Well, that was disappointing. Priorities for me:
1 - Coach - I don't think Bylsma is retained nor do I want him to. I think whoever is brought in will help determine some of the other moves based on what they want to do systemwise. I dislike the available options right now, but at least someone who is competent enough to adapt at least a little.
2 - Resign Malkin - Dream would be 8 @8.7, but I guess 8 @ 10 is more realistic
3 - Letang - I think the key is determining if coaching or experience can help curb some of the more wildly risks that he takes. If not, explore the market a little. If so, try to get a good deal (I would only go up to <=6.5, love <6, expect 7).
4 - Fleury - I don't think he stays. He is at best an average goalie and fringy/well below average in the playoffs for the past 4. It is a shame, but the Pens did him a disservice where he has not improved technically at all. Maybe a draft day deal or assets in trade.
5 - Dupuis - Try to resign at a reasonable rate, but I don't think I would go above 2-2.5M. He can produce at the regular season, but playoffs more suited to L3 duty.
6 - Cooke - Ave in season, plus in the playoffs. Should resign him, but for a discount 1.5 or so for L3 purposes.
7 - Kennedy - I'm torn since he is RFA and might ask for a raise, but he is expensive @2M for L3 duties. I don't think he is worth it, maybe a draft day thing for rights.
8 - Iginla - He looked pretty bad in the playoffs and at his best, looked pretty average with good PP qualities. I don't see him being brought back except at a large discount, ~3M.
9 - Morrow - I would probably not retain unless at a steep discount, 1.5-2M. Seems like a fringe L3/4, physical with a touch of skill but slow.
10 - Murray - I wouldn't retain unless at a discount, <2M . He is too slow to be top 4 and 2+ is way too much for a 3rd pair D. Physicality is nice, but glacial slow.
11 - Adams - Maybe at near vet minimal, increases if Glass is able to disappear in some fashion. Nice in L4.
12 - Eaton - Maybe another AHL deal? Too many D in AHL so probably not.
13 - Despres/Bennett - Whoever comes next absolutely needs to get them more time and allow them to grow with the mistakes. Bennett seems like a 2 way top 6 forward, top 9 at worst. Despres still needs to get better with his reads and positioning, but seems at worst a below average 2nd pair D.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Get rid of the coaching staff.

Re-sign Malkin.

Re-sign Letang if he wants $6.5M or less. If not, trade him.

Re-sign Sutter and Cooke.

Re-sign Dupuis if the price works out. If not, trade for some picks.

Re-sign Iginla if he does $4M or less for 2 years max.

Trade Orpik and Niskanen.

Promote Bennett, Despres, Bortuzzo, and Sill.

And how did I forget the most important part?:

Get rid of Fleury whatever way you can.

 

[chethejet]

Sutter has another year plus he is a RFA after that I believe. Before any decisions are made, a new coach and direction are in order.

 

[necessaryroughness]

I'd love a run at david clarkson or a nathan horton. Let's see who gets amnestied (if Lecavalier does, definitely take a run at him)

Shero will need to find physical stay at home d-men.....Scuds is a free agent, wouldn't mind seeing him back here.......dangle Letang and whoever else for Shea Weber (pray that he can get here)

Trade Fleury for a bag of pucks.....sign Luongo for a yr or two and try to develop a goalie.

Btw anyone opposed to bringing back Vokoun as a starter? I'd like to give the guy another shot if a guy like Luongo or another legit option can't be had. Find another young backup and give him 30 starts and have Vokoun for 50 starts next year???

 

[Waffle Fries]

CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER
My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Jarome Iginla ($4.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.725m) / Evgeni Malkin ($8.700m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Viktor Stalberg ($1.750m)/ Brandon Sutter ($2.067m) / Pascal Dupuis ($2.500m)
Zach Sill ($0.578m) / Maxim Lapierre ($1.000m) /Joe Vitale ($0.550m) /
Dustin Jeffrey ($0.688m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Brooks Orpik ($3.750m)
Kris Letang ($3.500m) / Simon Despres ($0.840m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.578m) / Brian Dumoulin ($0.900m)
Deryk Engelland ($0.567m) /
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Tomas Vokoun ($2.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $62,290,833; BONUSES: $85,000
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $2,094,167


I have no idea what to do with Fleury so I just left him there. I'd like him to go though.

 

[necessaryroughness]

We also need to bring back Jagr, I don't give a damn if he doesn't score a goal next year...just for karma purposes....can't take anymore chances with him...lol

 

[necessaryroughness]

CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER
My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.725m) / Evgeni Malkin ($8.700m) / Jarome Iginla ($4.000m)
Zach Sill ($0.578m) / Brandon Sutter ($2.067m) / Pascal Dupuis ($2.500m)
Viktor Stalberg ($1.750m) / Maxim Lapierre ($1.000m) /Joe Vitale ($0.550m) /
Dustin Jeffrey ($0.688m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Brooks Orpik ($3.750m)
Kris Letang ($3.500m) / Simon Despres ($0.840m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.578m) / Brian Dumoulin ($0.900m)
Deryk Engelland ($0.567m) /
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Tomas Vokoun ($2.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $62,290,833; BONUSES: $85,000
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $2,094,167


I have no idea what to do with Fleury so I just left him there. I'd like him to go though.

I like Stahlberg's talent and I'd slot him with Malkin and move Kunitz on the 3rd with Sutter for more scoring balance.

 

[Waffle Fries]

I like Stahlberg's talent and I'd slot him with Malkin and move Kunitz on the 3rd with Sutter for more scoring balance.

Not sure what happened there because those weren't the lines I had, somehow it got jumbled. I fixed it now but it would be:

Bennett-Crosby-Iginla
Kunitz-Malkin-Neal
Stalberg-Sutter-Dupuis
Sill-Lapierre-Vitale

 

[IcedCapp]

I'd work from this skeleton:

Bennett - Crosby -
Kunitz - Malkin - Neal
Jokinen - Sutter -
Glass - Vitale

Note hard to separate what I want and what will happen. Obviously Glass should be gone.

Despres - Letang
Martin -
- Bortuzzo

Vokoun
Fleury

As with Glass, I'd like Fleury gone. But I just don't think you can turn the keys over to Vokoun long term. Maybe you can. I dunno. Have to have a backup who can play 30games. He's not in the system.

Getting rid of Niskanen and Orpik saves 5.8MM.

That gives you 13.6 to fill out 1st-line RW, 3rd-line wingers, 4th line wingers, #4, #5 D.

What I'd do:

Bennett - Crosby - X
Kunitz - Malkin - Neal
Cooke - Sutter - X
Jokinen - Vitale - X

Despres - Letang
Martin - X
Murray - Bortuzzo
Engelland

Vokoun
Fleury

(again, I just can't see ditching Fleury with no replacement in sight)

Cooke loves Pittsburgh. I truly believe he feels insulated there. There is the question of, "Is he worth the distraction." I'm totally fine if the answer is NO and they let him go. But if they want him back, he played well enough to earn that spot. Between 2.0 - 2.5MM for me.

Jokinen on the 4th line won't bring the grit the current coaching staff wants, but it's insane depth, as he can slide up and down the lineup, and provide key face-offs.

Murray was at 2.5 this year. He's 33. I think he'll be between 2 and 2.5, and totally worth it.

I don't know what you do with Glass. Not worth an amnesty buyout, but you can't just bury him. If you can give him away, with the Cooke and Murray re-signings and the Glass termination, you're now at ~8.6 to fill out 4th line, 3rd line, 1st line and #4D.

Can one of the kids play #4D? Can Bort be that guy? ALready have Letang on the top pairing, so... Can Dumoulin? Lots of question marks there. Adams back for the 4th line? So now we're at 8.1. Jeffrey as the #13. Now we're down to 7.5. Actually, maybe 8.1 again, looks like we get a 625k rebate from McIntyre going to the AHL.

8.1 to fill out 3 spots.

I don't want Kennedy back.

can Iginla go for 4MM after these playoffs? Would Dupuis stay and play on the 3rd line? It's a razor-thin amount of space for Shero to work with.

 

[Malkinstheman]

Everything becomes extremely tight if fleury isnt move. Id sign bickel for 2.5, horton for 5. That would leave 5.5 in cap for a 4d, 4th liner and goalie. Honestly i think putting a guy like jokinen on the 4th line is not something we can afford.

 

[Crafton]

i'd like to see a third line of Jokinen-Sutter-Bennett. i think it could become a great puck possession line with plenty of defensive responsibility. Bennett has probably earned his way into the top-six, but i'd still rather ease him into things.

Cooke-Vitale-WBS guy (Sill, Payerl?)
Adams

seems solid and cheap enough in terms of the fourth-line.

Jeffrey will be an interesting case.

 

[Zen Arcade]

i'd like to see a third line of Jokinen-Sutter-Bennett. i think it could become a great puck possession line with plenty of defensive responsibility. Bennett has probably earned his way into the top-six, but i'd still rather ease him into things.

Cooke-Vitale-WBS guy (Sill, Payerl?)
Adams

seems solid and cheap enough in terms of the fourth-line.

Jeffrey will be an interesting case.

Farnham-Vitale-Anyone

 

[Sweech]

There's no way Stalberg signs for 1.75 mil. Chicago would just keep him then.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I'd work from this skeleton:

Bennett - Crosby -
Kunitz - Malkin - Neal
Jokinen - Sutter -
Glass - Vitale

Note hard to separate what I want and what will happen. Obviously Glass should be gone.

Despres - Letang
Martin -
- Bortuzzo

Vokoun
Fleury

As with Glass, I'd like Fleury gone. But I just don't think you can turn the keys over to Vokoun long term. Maybe you can. I dunno. Have to have a backup who can play 30games. He's not in the system.

Getting rid of Niskanen and Orpik saves 5.8MM.

That gives you 13.6 to fill out 1st-line RW, 3rd-line wingers, 4th line wingers, #4, #5 D.

What I'd do:

Bennett - Crosby - X
Kunitz - Malkin - Neal
Cooke - Sutter - X
Jokinen - Vitale - X

Despres - Letang
Martin - X
Murray - Bortuzzo
Engelland

Vokoun
Fleury

(again, I just can't see ditching Fleury with no replacement in sight)

Cooke loves Pittsburgh. I truly believe he feels insulated there. There is the question of, "Is he worth the distraction." I'm totally fine if the answer is NO and they let him go. But if they want him back, he played well enough to earn that spot. Between 2.0 - 2.5MM for me.

Jokinen on the 4th line won't bring the grit the current coaching staff wants, but it's insane depth, as he can slide up and down the lineup, and provide key face-offs.

Murray was at 2.5 this year. He's 33. I think he'll be between 2 and 2.5, and totally worth it.

I don't know what you do with Glass. Not worth an amnesty buyout, but you can't just bury him. If you can give him away, with the Cooke and Murray re-signings and the Glass termination, you're now at ~8.6 to fill out 4th line, 3rd line, 1st line and #4D.

Can one of the kids play #4D? Can Bort be that guy? ALready have Letang on the top pairing, so... Can Dumoulin? Lots of question marks there. Adams back for the 4th line? So now we're at 8.1. Jeffrey as the #13. Now we're down to 7.5. Actually, maybe 8.1 again, looks like we get a 625k rebate from McIntyre going to the AHL.

8.1 to fill out 3 spots.

I don't want Kennedy back.

can Iginla go for 4MM after these playoffs? Would Dupuis stay and play on the 3rd line? It's a razor-thin amount of space for Shero to work with.

I like the basic framework there, but I don't know if Jussi should be brought back to play in the bottom 6. At least not the 4th line. He needs some talent with him. I don't know where he fits though. Bennett - sid - Jussi could be the best playmaking line in the world

 

[Jacob]

CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER
My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Jarome Iginla ($4.000m)
Chris Kunitz ($3.725m) / Evgeni Malkin ($8.700m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Viktor Stalberg ($1.750m)/ Brandon Sutter ($2.067m) / Pascal Dupuis ($2.500m)
Zach Sill ($0.578m) / Maxim Lapierre ($1.000m) /Joe Vitale ($0.550m) /
Dustin Jeffrey ($0.688m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Brooks Orpik ($3.750m)
Kris Letang ($3.500m) / Simon Despres ($0.840m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.578m) / Brian Dumoulin ($0.900m)
Deryk Engelland ($0.567m) /
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Tomas Vokoun ($2.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $62,290,833; BONUSES: $85,000
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $2,094,167


I have no idea what to do with Fleury so I just left him there. I'd like him to go though.

Completely impractical contract numbers. And Zack Sill, a guy that wasn't even an everyday player for the baby Pens, is suddenly an everyday player in the NHL? Don't think so.

 

[eXile59]

Our top 6 should be

Bennett-Crosby-Dupuis
Kunitz-Malkin-Neal

Or at least some combination of those players. No Iginla, no big name free agents. If we have injuries Jokinen can fill in, maybe bring in another tweener in case but that's the way it should look.

 

[IcedCapp]

i'd like to see a third line of Jokinen-Sutter-Bennett. i think it could become a great puck possession line with plenty of defensive responsibility. Bennett has probably earned his way into the top-six, but i'd still rather ease him into things.

Cooke-Vitale-WBS guy (Sill, Payerl?)
Adams

seems solid and cheap enough in terms of the fourth-line.

Jeffrey will be an interesting case.

If you go JSB and KMN, who is playing with C??!?!

 

[Ogrezilla]

If you go JSB and KMN, who is playing with C??!?!

some UFA and Dupuis?

 

[IcedCapp]

some UFA and Dupuis?

NO. No. No No. NO NO NO NO NO. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[IcedCapp]

I like the basic framework there, but I don't know if Jussi should be brought back to play in the bottom 6. At least not the 4th line. He needs some talent with him. I don't know where he fits though. Bennett - sid - Jussi could be the best playmaking line in the world

I really like Jussi, but f you don't want him back for the bottom-6, I'm okay with that. I'm just trying to put together the best-possible skeleton with the players under contract. I hope Vitale is an everyday player next year.

 

[Jacob]

I kinda would like to try Jokinen with Malkin. He can take faceoffs so Malkin's line doesn't have to be shuffled or only put out on the fly and he can also take some of Malkin's defensive responsibilities should he and Neal get caught deep in the offensive zone. And he's hit the 50 point mark three times in his career so he's as much a top-6 forward as Dupuis is.

Kunitz - Crosby - Bennett
Jokinen - Malkin - Neal
Cooke - Sutter - Dupuis
XXXX - Vitale - XXXX

 

[IcedCapp]

I kinda would like to try Jokinen with Malkin. He can take faceoffs so Malkin's line doesn't have to be shuffled or only put out on the fly and he can also take some of Malkin's defensive responsibilities should he and Neal get caught deep in the offensive zone. And he's hit the 50 point mark three times in his career so he's as much a top-6 forward as Dupuis is.

I would also like Malkin to have a bit of a "Sid Off-season" and dedicate himself to getting better at face-offs.

Assuming he has 2 arms, etc

 

[SherogoesHAM]

Can’t keep doing the same old stuff. We need bigger bodies that can win board battles and better role players:

Cya later: Byslma, Fleury, Orpik, Iginla, Morrow, Jokinen, Niskanen, Glass, Kennedy, Cooke, Eaton. Would love to keep Cooke but a three year contract and it hurts when his penalties are five minutes instead of two.

Maybe list: Murray, Dupuis, and Kunitz. Bennett and Neal are locks for the top six. Now you only have two more spots. We need size. We need role players. With Kunitz’s good year if he could net us a younger top four D or a younger bigger top six forward; why not? Dupuis is going to get paid and he is too reliant on Crosby to score especially in the playoffs to justify big dollars. I cannot foresee going back to the playoffs with basically the same top six besides Bennett getting more playing time. This top six had two goals in four games and I would hate to watch the same thing over again.