Salary Cap: Pens Salary Cap: Free Agency, everyone panic!!! Geno talk to the Geno thread only please

[Zirakzigil]

Off season time. New thread time apparently cause @Ugene Magic doesn’t like high page counts.

So how about them Malkin and Letang UFAs? Maybe we should sign one or both.

Geno thread. Keep Geno talk here:

Rumor: - Geno where art thou?

With all the Geno rumors and news, time for its own thread. Keep the Geno talk here please.

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[Empoleon8771]

I don't know why he should care. I'd be really surprised if Hextall is still the GM in 4-5 years.

His bosses probably care though

Yeah this is totally right. He shouldn't be operating like JR and basically be saying "who cares how this looks in the long run, I won't be here anyway".

I think he was willing to give extra term to Rust because Rust was only 30 and the last 2 years are very tradeable (low money and no trade protection) if Rust ends up regressing. But I imagine Letang would demand full trade protection over the entirety of a 5 year deal, or at least pretty heavy trade protection.

 

[jmelm]

His bosses probably care though

Fair enough. But I don't see a lot of risk with Letang giving him a 4th year though, assuming it brings the AAV down. I don't have any concerns with Letang suddenly falling off a cliff.

 

[Andy99]

Again, why though? At that point, any Pens team FSG can ice is in full rebuild, unless they've huffed enough of their own farts to convince themselves that they'll be perpetual contenders.

I understand trying to get the best deal and all, but it seems kind of dumb to worry about term for Letang.

yep, dumb to worry about term since the team will collapse in 3 years and that seems to be their plan…again, there’s no problem paying Geno and Letang up to $15 mil combined…to sign some other players, just get out there at the draft and trade Petts or Dumo for a pick!

 

[Peat]

Again, why though? At that point, any Pens team FSG can ice is in full rebuild, unless they've huffed enough of their own farts to convince themselves that they'll be perpetual contenders.

I understand trying to get the best deal and all, but it seems kind of dumb to worry about term for Letang.

My guess is they're trying to avoid it. I mean, most ownerships in the NHL try to avoid it. We can talk the practicality of that but it seems to be a common goal and, lets be fair, it might be hard to do but the entire raison d'etre of he league is trying to do something very hard.


I also doubt Hextall's thinking like he won't be around for the tail end of Letang's contract either fwiw, because if he isn't that's probably him done as an NHL GM, and I'd also point out that the scary part of long contracts isn't "the last two years suck", it's "he sucks by the end of year two and we can't move him".

 

[Tom Hanks]

Again, why though? At that point, any Pens team FSG can ice is in full rebuild, unless they've huffed enough of their own farts to convince themselves that they'll be perpetual contenders.

I understand trying to get the best deal and all, but it seems kind of dumb to worry about term for Letang.

I guess you don’t want contracts that are difficult to move especially when they come with a high AAV.

FSG don’t want to be down for very long. Doesn’t seem like they are interested in a long rebuild. It doesn’t guarantee success and isn’t the only way either.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Any update for an outside fan on both Letang and Malkin.

What would be a knowledgeable best guess

 

[Pens x]

I don't know why he should care. I'd be really surprised if Hextall is still the GM in 4-5 years.

Why not? He survived getting axed this summer despite doing almost nothing for two years.

It takes fans and owners longer to realize he’s an idiot compared to more aggressive GMs. When you do almost nothing, it’s harder to criticize him for making poor decisions.

 

[ThosePuckingPenguins]

Any update for an outside fan on both Letang and Malkin.

What would be a knowledgeable best guess

It’s looking more and more like Letang will be re-signed. From the sounds of it, it could come very soon.

Malkin? Who knows. Management has publicly stated they’re prioritizing Letang over Malkin and will get to Malkin once they sign Letang. Seems like that could go either way.

 

[dogthateats]

"who cares how this looks in the long run, I won't be here anyway".

This seems to be a common theme with JR’s generation

 

[HandshakeLine]

Doesn’t seem like they are interested in a long rebuild

Well, I hope they're prepared for one, because otherwise, we're going to be the Canucks 2.0

 

[Andy99]

Any update for an outside fan on both Letang and Malkin.

What would be a knowledgeable best guess

Looks like the front office is going to cave on some of Letang’s demands but are still lowballing Malkin and taking a hard line with him…we’ll see if anything changes before July 13 with him…

 

[dogthateats]

12. Marcus Pettersson, LD - Pittsburgh Penguins​

The Pittsburgh Penguins want to create extra cap flexibility and moving Pettersson and his $4,025,175 million cap hit would help. The problem seems to be his contract (cap hit at three more years), but if the Pens lower their price or a team loses out on a player via free agency, they could circle back.

LINKED TO:​

Los Angeles

Also has us linked to JT Miller and Garland

 

[Peat]

If there is truly a price on Pettersson other than "buyer pays postage" I will be quite perplexed at this juncture. Shame there's no way of knowing for sure.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Pettersson+ to LA for Iaffalo makes a ton of sense to me if the Penguins end up trading Zucker as well.

Iaffalo-Malkin-Rakell isn't a worldbeater of a line, but it's a hell of a lot better than what Malkin has had in a good while.

 

[Sideline]

If there is truly a price on Pettersson other than "buyer pays postage" I will be quite perplexed at this juncture. Shame there's no way of knowing for sure.

Defensemen take longer to mature and he's shown enough stretches of solid play I think viewing him as a longer term top 4 option is totally reasonable. Then you look at what Darrell Nurse or Seth Jones gets paid and start to think maybe 4MM isn't THAT bad for a younger guy that could be a longer term fit.

 

[Peat]

Defensemen take longer to mature and he's shown enough stretches of solid play I think viewing him as a longer term top 4 option is totally reasonable. Then you look at what Darrell Nurse or Seth Jones gets paid and start to think maybe 4MM isn't THAT bad for a younger guy that could be a longer term fit.

I don't hate Pettersson and think he can hold down a top 4 spot 5v5 in the NHL long term. But as long as he's nowhere near special teams, he'll struggle to be worth 4m here, and we really need that 4m and have in house replacements.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Defensemen take longer to mature and he's shown enough stretches of solid play I think viewing him as a longer term top 4 option is totally reasonable. Then you look at what Darrell Nurse or Seth Jones gets paid and start to think maybe 4MM isn't THAT bad for a younger guy that could be a longer term fit.

The thing is, outside of the Riikola/Friedman depth guys, Pettersson has the lowest on-ice responsibility of any blueliner on the team. He doesn't PK, he's not on the PP, he gets around 13-15 minutes a night. So, clearly the coaches don't think he's had that much solid play either.

It's very possible that he'll still put it all together, but I don't think the coaching staff is going to be patient much longer with him.

Edit: What @Peat said.

 

[Andy99]

If there is truly a price on Pettersson other than "buyer pays postage" I will be quite perplexed at this juncture. Shame there's no way of knowing for sure.

yep, just dump Petts for nothing at this point, that’s a win…cap space

 

[Empoleon8771]

Pettersson is 26 already, he's not really "young" anymore. The only tangible improvement I can see him making is being more consistent.

 

[Peat]

I would add that even when playing consistently well, Pettersson is about as vanilla as NHL dmen come apart from the part where you wish he was 20lbs heavier. That's not a player you chuck for no reason, but it's not one you pine after. This isn't like Matheson or Schultz having notable offensive skill if they can just be consistent, or Ceci bringing good size, where you think it might be worth persisting.

Being able to walk out on his 4m cap hit for nothing and replace him with a POJ vs Friedman death match, or a guy with some sort of meaningful physicality... I mean, honestly, I've just assumed that isn't possible.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

If front office is prioritizing Letang…they are dumber than I thought.

How many games did he cost us with his trademark boneheaded penalties last year?? I seem to recall quite a few “f*** You Letang” (and rightfully so) postgame threads this past season.

He won’t have his skating ability forever. We have enough passengers as it is, we don’t need to overpay long term for that dolt.

 

[Sideline]

The thing is, outside of the Riikola/Friedman depth guys, Pettersson has the lowest on-ice responsibility of any blueliner on the team. He doesn't PK, he's not on the PP, he gets around 13-15 minutes a night. So, clearly the coaches don't think he's had that much solid play either.

It's very possible that he'll still put it all together, but I don't think the coaching staff is going to be patient much longer with him.

Edit: What @Peat said.

I get what you and @Peat are saying. I agree the staff here doesn't seem to trust him so as a matter of who is most likely to be shipped out he makes sense. I just look at his size and mobility and see a guy that should be able to kill penalties without being an offensive black hole.

I won't cry if he's gone for a pick, but lowkey think there's a good chance he outperforms Dumo over the next 3 years.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I get what you and @Peat are saying. I agree the staff here doesn't seem to trust him so as a matter of who is most likely to be shipped out he makes sense. I just look at his size and mobility and see a guy that should be able to kill penalties without being an offensive black hole.

I won't cry if he's gone for a pick, but lowkey think there's a good chance he outperforms Dumo over the next 3 years.

Oh I totally agree. I just look at their usage and see how the coaches view them. Dumo should be the first to go, but I doubt he will.

Honestly, I think you could trade both of them and we'll still be fine.

 

[Peat]

I get what you and @Peat are saying. I agree the staff here doesn't seem to trust him so as a matter of who is most likely to be shipped out he makes sense. I just look at his size and mobility and see a guy that should be able to kill penalties without being an offensive black hole.

I won't cry if he's gone for a pick, but lowkey think there's a good chance he outperforms Dumo over the next 3 years.

Not a guy you want wrestling with a Kreider or Hornqvist in front of the goalie though. Granted neither is just about anyone else we have, but definitely not him. Which limits his PK usefulness.

As for him outperforming Dumo... maybe, maybe even probably, but that says a lot more about Dumo's decline than Pettersson's rise. I would rather gamble on Dumo turning back the years over Pettersson finding an extra gear, and I'd rather have his one year to expiry than Pettersson's three, all things being even.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I know Dumoulin had a rough year last year but I think people are writing him off way too quickly. Paul Martin's best seasons with the Penguins were his age 31-33 years, and Dumoulin turns 31 this year. I also think it's kinda crazy to write him off when he was still a +24 last year. Sure, +/- is generally a bad stat, but I do think it says something for the extreme outliers (meaning very good or very bad).

In the last 4 years, Dumoulin has been a +90 while playing 21:33 a night against tough competition with Letang. His offensive game has completely evapporated, but he's still strong defensively and on the PK while playing those tough minutes:

I would much rather trade Pettersson, a guy that's never been used in the usage that Dumoulin has in the first place, and see if Dumoulin can rebound back to 2020-2021 levels, which are strong top-4 DFD results.