Why would we move valuable assets for a player who's no better than what we have already?
This board's become awful picky with who they want brought in. And given our history at landing quality wingers, I hope JR has an open mind.
Marleau is still a star player. And will remain a top 6 talent for the remainder of his contract. It's guessing on your part to assume he won't b/c he's shown no signs of slowing down and hasn't missed more than a handful of games in years.
I'm all for acquiring a younger player. But I don't see many teams giving them up for the same package as Kesler and MSL went for. And unless we're moving Maatta or DP, I don't see how we're landing one without some warts. Whether it be injury history, lack of proven top 6 talent or age.
Who are we getting that'd be a better player for a package based around Sutter+D-man not named Maatta or DP+1st?
And yet it's also guessing on your part that he won't slow down as he ages. 34/35 (last 2 seasons) isn't all that old in the grande scheme of things... so him slowing down previously might not be a big issue... but age does catch up to everyone... and it affects everyone in different ways. So he could easily hit a wall over the next couple of years...
No, getting someone for the same cost Kesler went for would require someone who either has flaws (age, contract, etc) or who specifically wants to come here and controls their fate. But we do not need someone of Marleau's caliber. I mean he'd be nice to have.. but we can get away with lesser guy until (like the Neal trade) find the right moves (either in FA or trade) that make sense. But there's no reason why we must make a move now... especially if it's a high risk one that isn't cheap. Getting Marleau could easily handcuff this team going forward the moment he's not a top 6 option. McGinn on the other hand had 19g, 38 pts while playing 13:42 ES icetime, 1:45 on the PP. There's room for some improvement there depending on who he plays with, and how he's used.
For 2014/15
Sutter+ for McGinn (or something around that). Trade Scuderi, retain 675k (2.725m cp hit). Add in a prospect if need be.
FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / Patric Hornqvist ($4.250m)
Jamie McGinn ($2.950m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Beau Bennett ($0.900m)
Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m) / Nick Spaling ($2.500m) / Steve Downie ($1.000m)
Blake Comeau ($0.700m) / Marcel Goc ($1.200m) / Jayson Megna ($0.874m)
Zach Sill ($0.550m) / Craig Adams ($0.700m)
DEFENSEMEN
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Simon Despres ($1.300m) / Christian Ehrhoff ($4.000m)
Olli Maatta ($0.894m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
Philip Samuelsson ($0.550m) /
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Thomas Greiss ($1.000m)
RETAINED SALARIES (0.98% of upper limit)
Rob Scuderi ($0.675m—20.00%)
BONUS OVERAGE
$0
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CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $69,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $67,693,292; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $1,306,708
Then for 2015/16 you have something like this.
Sign Ryan (or whatever), sign a goalie. Resign Ehrhoff. Resign Goc. Point is you'd have a TON of options going forward. Maybe McGinn shows he can be a great 3rd wheel, and BB shows he can be a good top 6 option. Then even without Ryan, we could have a half decent top 6. And money for great depth up front.
FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / Patric Hornqvist ($4.250m)
Beau Bennett ($2.500m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Bobby Ryan ($7.500m)
Jamie McGinn ($2.950m) / Nick Spaling ($2.500m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Blake Comeau ($0.700m) / Marcel Goc ($2.500m) /
Zach Sill ($0.550m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Olli Maatta ($0.894m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Simon Despres ($1.300m) / Christian Ehrhoff ($6.000m)
Brian Dumoulin ($0.832m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
Philip Samuelsson ($0.550m) /
GOALTENDERS
Craig Anderson ($3.500m)
Thomas Greiss ($1.000m)
RETAINED SALARIES (0.98% of upper limit)
Rob Scuderi ($0.675m—20.00%)
BONUS OVERAGE
$0
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CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $74,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $71,850,833; BONUSES: $68,333
CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $2,149,167