Salary Cap: Free Agency VIII | All Pens FA News, Legit FA Rumors, Trade Ideas Here

[billybudd]

35+ contracts stay on the book no matter what. I'm pretty sure he could be in jail for the year and we'd still be stuck with that contract.


They could justly terminate the contract and not be forced to pay him, but the cap hit remains.

You can flunk him at his camp physical, but that's the only way. Flyers have been doing this to undesirable contracts for years. First time was either Rathje or Hatcher. Guy showed up for camp saying he was ready to go, Team Doctors said to take a hike, Flyers got the overage to use on someone else. I think both were +35 contracts.

 

[JTG]

I think even in his 20s he was massively overrated.

Last season he was terrible on the league's worst team, then he was terrible on one of the league's best. He got plenty of opportunity to play on both. If they're the wrong situation for him, what on earth is the right one?

I don't think he played that poorly in Buffalo when I saw him. The team just wasn't good. He did play poorly in STL. I don't know if he played poorly there because he didn't fit in or if he really is finished as a player.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I'm 99% sure that was Rathje.

And I don't get the Ott thing, either. He likes to mash people in the face. Great. He's not a very good hockey player these days (as was stated above... I don't really know that he's ever been much better than alright) and skates like he has an invisible garbage can full of cement attached to each leg. You can't be difficult to play against if you are always behind the play.

 

[JTG]

Ott may not be done, but if he were toast he'd be very crunchy.

I did not like what I saw out of him last year at all, especially not in St. Louis. He seems like he'd be a horrid fit for Johnston's system and almost certainly would cost too much anyway.

Yeah, I'm not saying that he's got a lot left in the tank, but I think we could bring him in on a short term deal for low money. He produced the same in Buffalo last year as Sutter did here. That is an immediate cost savings, even if we are taking a downgrade in player, albeit I believe Ott is more of the type of mindset the 3rd line needs.

 

[shureshot66]

You can flunk him at his camp physical, but that's the only way. Flyers have been doing this to undesirable contracts for years. First time was either Rathje or Hatcher. Guy showed up for camp saying he was ready to go, Team Doctors said to take a hike, Flyers got the overage to use on someone else. I think both were +35 contracts.

Yeah, like you said, all that does is just let you LTIR the guy and spend over the cap. And the guy does have to be legitimately screwed up -- Rathje could barely walk because of his back toward the end. The NHL has an independent doctor check the guy out first so teams can't abuse LTIR.

It's not like college football where big programs pressure underperforming players to quit playing for vague medical reasons so that the scholarship doesn't count against the limit.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Not anywhere of note, really. After the Nailers, he bounced around teams in Liiga for a bit, signed a two-way with the Sens in '09 and I think plays in the ECHL, these days.

I remember many years ago arguing with (er... well... mostly shouting at, to be accurate) fans that thought he made Fleury expendable.

Yeah, well, in the PLAYOFFS....

 

[billybudd]

Yeah, like you said, all that does is just let you LTIR the guy and spend over the cap. And the guy does have to be legitimately screwed up -- Rathje could barely walk because of his back toward the end. The NHL has an independent doctor check the guy out first so teams can't abuse LTIR.

It's not like college football where big programs pressure underperforming players to quit playing for vague medical reasons so that the scholarship doesn't count against the limit.

I'm about 90% Rathje showed up at camp and said he was fine. I'm about 80% Hatcher did the same thing one year later. And I do think it kind of is like that vague college scholarship stuff. If you're Hatcher, what do you pick--go home and collect your full salary or ride a bus for 20 hours a week with a bunch of kids half your age?

In any event, judging by the way Adams skates (lurches around like Hatcher did at the end), the Penguins doctors are probably on shakier ground clearing him than they would be flunking him.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Obviously anything a Pens fan says about the Flyers is going to be interpreted as incredibly biased. Probably for good reason. But yeah... I'm fairly confident they fudged some stuff in order to push both of those guys onto LTIR. Particularly Rathje. That whole thing just seemed like extreme buyer's remorse.

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong and he suddenly went horribly lame in the span of one season, or whatever.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but Alexei Kovalev was the last to wear #72 in his second stint as a Penguin.

Eric "Fat face" Meloche wasn't the only one or the most recent one.

I think Patric is too much of a team player to ask for his number.

 

[Your Boy Troy]

Adams' cap-hit isn't significant. Just don't dress him for any games. Whenever injuries occur, call-up players from WBS to replace them. Make him feel the useless piece of **** that he is.

 

[SEALBound]

What's JR's plans for Adams? Seriously. He all but name dropped him in ranting about what we can no longer accept on the 4th line.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Obviously anything a Pens fan says about the Flyers is going to be interpreted as incredibly biased. Probably for good reason. But yeah... I'm fairly confident they fudged some stuff in order to push both of those guys onto LTIR. Particularly Rathje. That whole thing just seemed like extreme buyer's remorse.

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong and he suddenly went horribly lame in the span of one season, or whatever.

No one who is not in the organization and involved in those decisions knows for sure.

It just has happened so often to become cliche, so the charges do have more backing than your normal tin hat brigade offerings.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I'm 99% sure that was Rathje.

And I don't get the Ott thing, either. He likes to mash people in the face. Great. He's not a very good hockey player these days (as was stated above... I don't really know that he's ever been much better than alright) and skates like he has an invisible garbage can full of cement attached to each leg. You can't be difficult to play against if you are always behind the play.

I was ecstatic when someone else traded for Ott and it wasn't the Pens. I had and will continue to have zero interest in wanting him to be a Penguin. I wanted Downie on this team because I think that's the way this team needs to go, a guy that can take a regular shift, has some skill in his game, can drop the gloves, and is a "shift disturber."

The Comeau signing is the only one I am on the fence about, absolutely hated him for the crap he pulled with the Islanders, such an idiot with his head down all the time, he even got caught while he was with the Flames. But with the Jackets, he seemed to be a solid bottom 6 guy, always wreaking havoc.

I like the quality the team has in the bottom 6, it pushes Adams out.

Ideally...

Dupuis, Crosby, Hornqvist
Kunitz, Malkin, Bennett
Spaling, Sutter, Downie
Comeau, Goc, Megna

Martin, Letang
Despres, Ehrhoff
Scuderi, Bortuzzo

Fleury
Greiss

Melon Janitors - Adams and Zatkoff.

Geno gets a guy that can shoot in Beau and someone he does work fairly well with in Kunitz while Sid gets Dupuis who can skate and Patric who is essentially a RH Kunitz. There's some good balance I think. If injuries happen, I hope guys like Archibald, Wilson, etc are playing very well.

But I would still maybe sign a guy like Mueller or Booth or whomever or rather, invite them to camp, as a 13th forward battle with Adams, a battle in which if you lose, you deserve to retire.

 

[shureshot66]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but Alexei Kovalev was the last to wear #72 in his second stint as a Penguin.

Eric "Fat face" Meloche wasn't the only one or the most recent one.

Very true. Jeff Christian wore it at one point in the mid-90s, too.

I thought Meloche was the funnier reference. Besides -- "Kovalev's corpse" wouldn't fit in the thread title.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Very true. Jeff Christian wore it at one point in the mid-90s, too.

I thought Meloche was the funnier reference. Besides -- "Kovalev's corpse" wouldn't fit in the thread title.

Ah...the glorious future wingers of:

Joe Dziedzic
Ed Patterson
Jeff Christian
Dave Roche (C/W)
Chris Wells (C/W)
Matt Murley
Marc Hussey

Glad all of them turned into regulars.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

What's JR's plans for Adams? Seriously. He all but name dropped him in ranting about what we can no longer accept on the 4th line.

I have no idea. Hope he went away? JR forgot?

Adams is on a ****ing stupid contract because it's 35+ and his cap hit is too small to put much into getting rid of him. His stupid cap hit is low so he's not the most appealing player for getting to the floor and likewise he's not worth using a remotely useful pick on to get rid of. He can't be sent to the AHL because he'll still count as 600K against the cap, I doubt anyone would pick him up off of waivers and they couldn't use a compliance buyout on him. Buying him out will be a cap hit for this season and next.

Odds are he's the 13th forward or they find something wrong with him since Shero and Bylsma are still unemployed. Maybe JR manages to have him as a part of a trade or they take the cap hit. **** Shero for signing Adams to a multi-year 35+ contract.

JR doesn't like him, though.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

No way Adams makes the team regardless of his age/contract, etc.

JR knows he sucks. He waived him 5 years ago.

Based on the locker room **** that's come out I can't see any remote chance he makes the team. If he does, what message does that send the guys he was ratting out? It'll just cause instant issues in the locker room if he's there.

**** you very much Adams. Go **** off.

 

[Burgs]

I'm about 90% Rathje showed up at camp and said he was fine. I'm about 80% Hatcher did the same thing one year later. And I do think it kind of is like that vague college scholarship stuff. If you're Hatcher, what do you pick--go home and collect your full salary or ride a bus for 20 hours a week with a bunch of kids half your age?

The whole thing seemed fishy at the time but neither Rathje nor Hatcher were on 35+ contracts when they were signed. Pronger, however, counts as one (which Holmgren didn't realize until the NHL told him). He's legitimately done but won't retire because it would cost both him and his club.

Adams' cap-hit isn't significant. Just don't dress him for any games. Whenever injuries occur, call-up players from WBS to replace them. Make him feel the useless piece of **** that he is.

Agreed. If even half of what has been said about his locker room stuff is true I don't want him in WBS. They already have Kostopolous as the grizzled vet. Send Adams home with the first round of cuts, waive him every so often and keep him in street clothes for the rest of the season. We'd still have to pay him but at least he'd be out of the way. Just as the fate of his great admirer Dan B.

 

[T1K]

Can someone fill me in on what Adams said/did in the locker room?

 

[clefty]

Can someone fill me in on what Adams said/did in the locker room?

Nobody really knows.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Nobody really knows.

But we will burn him at the stake for it. Whatever it was.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Adams reminds me of this kid on my staff, that will rat out people in a way that pisses me off and I don't want to hear about it because it makes me angry someone like that is under my employ.

The "well, unlike so and so, I..." type of comments, where you praise yourself, throw another under the bus. His face makes me think he's one of those types.

It's completely unreasonable of me but I don't care, I want to dislike him and I will.

 

[Klifton]

Maybe we can trade Sutter for the winger we need, and just stick Adams' name in the fine print of the deal. Maybe the other team will fail to notice. You know just put his name in there in real small print.

Sutter +Adams

for

X

 

[Speaking Moistly]

But we will burn him at the stake for it. Whatever it was.

Adams did it? That sounds ominous, what a monster.


I would be pretty funny if he kept feeding Bylsma info. "MJ playing SD. Send help asap. This counts as one goal."

 

[T1K]

Maybe we can trade Sutter for the winger we need, and just stick Adams' name in the fine print of the deal. Maybe the other team will fail to notice. You know just put his name in there in real small print.

Sutter +Adams

for

X

Sutter, Dupuis, Scuderi, Adams

For

E. Kane+Wheeler

It's science.