GDT: Free Agent Frenzy Day 1

[Jules Winnfield]

I pray that we re-sign Cullen.

People on the Sundqvist train aren't having flashbacks yet to the Craig Adams level of offensive production and defensive zone time. Kid needs to work on faceoffs too. Cullen is top 15 in the NHL in faceoffs. Going to be a big dropoff. No way that kid could step in for a hurt Malkin to not look out of place if we needed him to.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

I think the other thing fans need to realize is this.

The deals that help you win the cup don't necessarily happen on July 1st. Yeah, we got Kessel on July 1. We dumped sucky ass Sutter for Boniiiiiiinoooooooo right before that. But we looked like **** for half a season. The things that turned the team around happened in the middle of the season. Canning Johnston and trading Scuderi and Perron were huge.

Look at the history of the Pens winning cups.

In 91', blockbuster trade at the trade deadline.

In 92', blockbuster trade at the trade deadline.

in 09', Pens were looking like dog **** and Therrien got canned late in the year. We made deals to bring in Kunitz and Guerin.

16', Pens were looking like dog **** again and Johnston got canned in December. Pens dealt snail on skates Scuderi for Daley and no hustle Perron for Hagelin.

How the team looks on July 1 doesn't mean that's how it's going to look going into the playoffs next year.

 

[66-30-33]

The Jacques Martin extension was probably the Pens best move today.

That and getting Gonchar back (?)

You mean Rutherford extension? not seen one for Martin yet.

 

[Zen Arcade]

You mean Rutherford extension? not seen one for Martin yet.

Martin signed a two year extension.

 

[deakka]

We really could use some forwards to battle for spots in the lineup and fill out the WBS roster.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I hope in the next few days...

Pens trade Kunitz and Fehr, sign Cullen and Hudler and call it a day.

Sheary/Wilson, Crosby, Hornqvist
Hudler, Malkin, Rust
Hagelin, Bonino, Kessel
Kuhnhackl, Cullen, Wilson/Sheary

 

[Doogle]

Also worth pointing out that every single player on the Coyotes saw a production bump and their goals against drop when Boedker was off the ice. The ancient, now-retired Alex Tanguay outscored him after they switched roster spots and teams, to boot.

Not to mention that an expiring, sub-20 goal $4 million player (Kunitz) doesn't complicate the process of resigning our own players (Bonino, Sheary, Murray, Dumoulin, maybe Pouliot and Daley) over the next two seasons, whereas a retained one does.

4x4 isn't terrible for a guy who scored in the high teens in goals last season (it's certainly better than what the "give him David Clarkson's exact contract" faction around here was clamoring for a month ago), but Boedker does still have more warning signs associated with him than any forward who signed today except Perron, who got half as many years.

Thank you. While yes, we would all prefer a younger, better top six left wing, and Kunitz has certainly fallen off a lot, he still contributes, and is still our fourth best winger. But the more important thing is his term. Boedker is going to make resigning both Bonino and Dumoulin much more difficult. He's not worth that. We don't have the depth or ability to replace Kunitz in our top six unless we overpaid mediocre third liners in free agency after trading him. I'd rather let him play out his deal, and reevaluate our options next year, unless of course the right deal comes along.

 

[Doogle]

I think that we should see what our internal options can do before bringing in expensive free agents. Maybe Simon, Wilson, Guentzel, or Sundqvist takes a big step forward. Between McNeil, Bengston, Prow, and all of the two way D we signed today, you would hope one or two can have some success at the NHL level this season. We also should be giving Pouliot as much of a chance as possible to take a full time roster spot; this is kind of a make or break year for him.

We won the cup, and didn't have to lose much from our roster. There's not really too much to complain about. I'm glad we didn't make some of the deals that other teams got themselves into today. A full year under Sullivan as opposed to half, plus a few promising young players makes me think that we have a great chance to repeat.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I am only mentioning Hudler if Kunitz is gone, for 3.5m/yr Hudler would be worth it for 2-3yrs. Malkin deserves a guy that is at least adept at making plays and able to score as well, Kunitz is basically a grinder that occasionally chips in at this point.

Hudler had a bit of a down year with 46pts in 72 games, but he's a year removed from a 70+ and a 50+ season the year before that as well. Oh and he's a W/C. I feel like that's very important especially for Malkin, if he is booted out of the draw or needs a guy that can take a draw for him, Hudler is able to step in and having that depth comes in handy. If Malkin is hurt, Hudler slots into that C spot and isn't out of place there.

Also, I like the look of a line of...

Rust, Malkin, Hudler - Hudler is a RW and Rust likes the LW, it makes it tougher for goalies to defend seeing 2 wingers shooting LH and RH on opposite wings.


He's not afraid of playing near or in front of the net - https://www.nhl.com/video/hudlers-two-goals/t-277350912/c-42277903
That corner tho....https://www.nhl.com/video/hudler-opens-the-scoring/t-277350912/c-41832103

I think there is a market for Chris Kunitz given that teams are signing most of the grittier wingers first - Brouwer, Backes, Martin, Lucic, Okposo, etc are all locked up.

I would send Kunitz to the Avs, they're incredibly weak on the Left side and the Pens could probably get a 2nd rounder and a throw in prospect out of them for him.

 

[deakka]

I feel there is no way we can get by with Kunitz, Sheary and Rust in the top 6.
Yeah, we won the cup. But i really think it had to do with other things than those guys in the top 6.
We really should try to upgrade the team instead of feeling good about ourselves. Just because we won the cup doesnt mean we shouldnt try to get better.

Who knows if Bonino will keep playing out if his mind? Maybe sheary and Rust will cool off now when they know their spot is safe (happens a lot with ahl call ups). Kunitz will still be Kunitz, only even worse at a year older...

Maybe other teams will figure our system out?
The way we played in the playoffs is very demanding, and i dont see us keeping the furious forechack and shot blocking up over a full season. So it sure wouldnt hurt to get at least a forward with sole skill for Geno. No Wonder the rumours are even out there that he maybe were to be traded, when he gets to play with Kunitz and Rust from the get go. Name another top 10 player in the league with those kind of linemates

 

[HuskerTornado]

This is apropos with all of the trading Kunitz and Fleury for cap space and other wishlist talk

 

[SherogoesHAM]

If DAL cannot land Bishop.

Niemi
Nuke
Honka or a 1st

for

Fleury
Kunitz
Cole

No salaries retained.

Stars get their goalie, veteran leadership, depth at defense, and 6 cups between three players.

 

[canadianguy77]

You clearly don't know what "possession" means in the world of analytics.

You can't score if you don't have the puck..right? Well Chris Kunitz is the worst player on the team with the puck among the forwards. It really isn't close. I don't need analytics to know this. It comes from watching all of the games. His favorable Corsi and Fenwick mostly come from who he plays with. It probably helps that he has a tendency to take shots from everywhere on the ice even when the better option would be a pass to a wide open line-mate. (Why he decided to pass to Malkin in game 6 I'll never know, because it doesn't fit with how he played all season.) He also times his shifts really well. It's like he has a nose for getting off the ice when he knows the play is going the other way.

But please, keep telling me why Chris Kunitz is a good possession player, when it wasn't uncommon for him to give up the puck in the offensive zone 6 or 7 times in single periods during the season. And that isn't hyperbole...I actually counted.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Even if I love Cullen, we honestly don't need him too much. Fehr and Sundqvist can play 4C.

If we are replacing Kunitz I'm slightly salty that we didn't steal Stempniak. I don't care for Boedker. However now I'm just hoping that Hudler signs for cheap like Boedker did.

If we really want a bargain we should look at Versteeg (considering to go to Switzerland) or Pirri.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

If DAL cannot land Bishop.

Niemi
Nuke
Honka or a 1st

for

Fleury
Kunitz
Cole

No salaries retained.

Stars get their goalie, veteran leadership, depth at defense, and 6 cups between three players.

Humongous no from Dallas.

 

[Penske]

I feel there is no way we can get by with Kunitz, Sheary and Rust in the top 6.
Yeah, we won the cup. But i really think it had to do with other things than those guys in the top 6.
We really should try to upgrade the team instead of feeling good about ourselves. Just because we won the cup doesnt mean we shouldnt try to get better.

Who knows if Bonino will keep playing out if his mind? Maybe sheary and Rust will cool off now when they know their spot is safe (happens a lot with ahl call ups). Kunitz will still be Kunitz, only even worse at a year older...

Maybe other teams will figure our system out?
The way we played in the playoffs is very demanding, and i dont see us keeping the furious forechack and shot blocking up over a full season. So it sure wouldnt hurt to get at least a forward with sole skill for Geno. No Wonder the rumours are even out there that he maybe were to be traded, when he gets to play with Kunitz and Rust from the get go. Name another top 10 player in the league with those kind of linemates

Of course we should try to get better. Don't look at those guys in terms of top 6, bottom 6 though. We win because everyone played a role throughout the line up. With Crosby, Malkin and Kessel on different lines someone is going to get an easy match up and that's where we take advantage.

Rust and Sheary never played way above their talents or anything. So we aren't relying on them to be top end wingers. As long as they play their role and hopefully improve a little from last season. I'm confident Rust won't look out of place. Sheary might battle with Wilson for a spot next to Sid.

Kunitz is here to stay and hopefully they can manage him so he peaks during the playoffs (and then retires a 4 time Stanley cup champ )

If it's not working during the season JR can work on it.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

It kinda annoys me that we keep referencing it as the Top 6. If we are trying to run three balanced lines which in my mind is the reason to why we won, we should be calling it the Top 9. Rust and Sheary are useful in the Top 9 because they balance them out with a minimal cap hit.

 

[JTG]

Boedker was ripe for the picking.

 

[OnMyOwn]

So is Shane Doan gonna retire? Just saw he was listed as an FA.....never mind just saw a tweet he's getting close to a 1 year deal to stay in Arizona.

Also seeing Tanguay brings back memories of wanting him here a few years ago.

There are a lot of names out there that I completely forgot about until I read through the list.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Boedker was ripe for the picking.

The only aspect he has that interested me is his speed. He scores nearly 50% of his points on the powerplay and is a liability in ES. I'd rather not.

 

[Shrimper]

Boedker was ripe for the picking.

Cost too much though.

Vanek at $2.6m is a great signing

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Maybe we should merge all the offseason activity to 1 thread. Doesn't look like this offseason will be too eventful, and that's probably a good thing.

 

[Jacob]

We really could use some forwards to battle for spots in the lineup and fill out the WBS roster.

Yeah, not sure what the hold up is there. I figured they'd sign 2 forwards and 2 d-men to two way deals, instead it was 4 d-men and no forwards. The AHL has a veteran limit of 6 per team (and they already have Kostopoulos, Porter, Oleksy, Gaunce, Sestito) so they need to make sure any forward signings are youngish UFAs with less than 280 games of pro experience.

 

[SprootsMasterFlex]

I am hoping we can get Pulkkinen from Detroit in exchange for Cole. They are looking for a D and it would address our need for a cheap sharp shooting LW and create just enough space to resign Schultz just under 2m and free up an extra couple of hundred thousand dollars to resign Cullen.

 

[Nakawick]

I feel there is no way we can get by with Kunitz, Sheary and Rust in the top 6.
Yeah, we won the cup. But i really think it had to do with other things than those guys in the top 6.
We really should try to upgrade the team instead of feeling good about ourselves. Just because we won the cup doesnt mean we shouldnt try to get better.

Who knows if Bonino will keep playing out if his mind? Maybe sheary and Rust will cool off now when they know their spot is safe (happens a lot with ahl call ups). Kunitz will still be Kunitz, only even worse at a year older...

Maybe other teams will figure our system out?
The way we played in the playoffs is very demanding, and i dont see us keeping the furious forechack and shot blocking up over a full season. So it sure wouldnt hurt to get at least a forward with sole skill for Geno. No Wonder the rumours are even out there that he maybe were to be traded, when he gets to play with Kunitz and Rust from the get go. Name another top 10 player in the league with those kind of linemates

Sidney Crosby

Overall I agree that complacency will not get us back the finals. Tampa Bay and Washington will be better and we will have to go through one or both again. Sid and Geno (and MM too) are going to get minimal rest this year. Kunitz and Cullen will be a year older and could very well burn out after the deadline. There is something to be said for keeping the team fresh and hungry. It looks like it will have to be dealt with via trade if it will be addressed.