Salary Cap: Pittsburgh Penguins Salad Thread - ED of Concern

[Turin]

Bruh. Get him.

 

[Tom Hanks]

Didn’t he say they would be 50/50 on big roster decisions?

 

[Tom Hanks]

I wonder what the value from us would be.

Probably just a DVD

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I wonder what the value from us would be.

Hextall better do everything he can to find out.

 

[DeadPuckEra]

I wonder what the value from us would be.

Probably nothing short of Jake Guentzel. Which is a big fat no. I like MT’s overall game more, but what’s the point - Jake is proven with Sid, and that’s exactly where Tkachuk would need to slot in.

 

[Gurglesons]

Hextall better do everything he can to find out.

meh. Could see it being a big fat disappointment if he comes here tbh. Dude is going to want 9 mil next year and is just as terrible as the rest of our wingers in the playoffs lately.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

meh. Could see it being a big fat disappointment if he comes here tbh. Dude is going to want 9 mil next year and is just as terrible as the rest of our wingers in the playoffs lately.

I'd love to see what he could do here.

 

[Gurglesons]

I'd love to see what he could do here.

Sure. But say we move Guentzel for him. I could easily see that blowing up in our face.

especially with how I see the NHL moving after this playoffs

 

[Pens x]

Probably nothing short of Jake Guentzel. Which is a big fat no. I like MT’s overall game more, but what’s the point - Jake is proven with Sid, and that’s exactly where Tkachuk would need to slot in.

Jake is a ghost in the playoffs though. The Jake from 2027 is gone.

 

[Gurglesons]

Jake is a ghost in the playoffs though. The Jake from 2027 is gone.

Tkachuk has 5 points in his 15 playoff games including 3 goals.

Guentzel in his last 14 has 6 points including 3 goals.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Sure. But say we move Guentzel for him. I could easily see that blowing up in our face.

especially with how I see the NHL moving after this playoffs

There are always risks, but I'd bet on Tkachuk.

6'2", physical, always stirring shit up, nice mitts, can score and pass, and he's 23 years old.

Yeah I would not be passing on that. I'm tired of this team being the dumb retaliator that always gets the extra penalty but never gets his pound of flesh.

 

[Gurglesons]

There are always risks, but I'd bet on Tkachuk.

6'2", physical, always stirring shit up, nice mitts, can score and pass, and he's 23 years old.

Yeah I would not be passing on that.

Then you end up with him pulling a Kadri or something. And he’s been a big time no show in the playoffs despite this idea that he’s the perfect playoff weapon.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Then you end up with him pulling a Kadri or something. And he’s been a big time no show in the playoffs despite this idea that he’s the perfect playoff weapon.

Who exactly in Calgary has?

Again, I'll take Tkachuk on this team all day. Put him with Crosby or Malkin instead of Calgary's centers, and watch what happens.

 

[Gurglesons]

Who exactly in Calgary has?

Again, I'll take Tkachuk on this team all day. Put him with Crosby or Malkin instead of Calgary's centers, and watch what happens.

Isn’t the whole point of us acquiring big cost wingers to bring in a player that doesn’t need Crosby or Malkin?

I can agree with the Calgary is a team of no shows, but that actually concerns me more. He’s being given every chance to succeed and he isn’t. What happens when he is just another guy ala Zucker or Brassard?

I probably still pull the trigger, but could see him being a huge bust here. Especially at 9mil.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Isn’t the whole point of us acquiring big cost wingers to bring in a player that doesn’t need Crosby or Malkin?

I don't think it was ever that reductive. There would be a lot of reasons to bring in a big cost winger. A big young physical presence who specializes in putting the other team on the back foot and still scores at an elite level, for instance. We need that. And we have Crosby and Malkin.

Guentzel isn't even doing much with Crosby in the playoffs the last couple years, so...

 

[66-30-33]

Probably nothing short of Jake Guentzel. Which is a big fat no. I like MT’s overall game more, but what’s the point - Jake is proven with Sid, and that’s exactly where Tkachuk would need to slot in.

I'd easily do Jake for Tkachuk. After that do Rust for JT.Miller.

 

[Gurglesons]

I don't think it was ever that reductive. There would be a lot of reasons to bring in a big cost winger. A big young physical presence who specializes in putting the other team on the back foot and still scores at an elite level, for instance. We need that. And we have Crosby and Malkin.

Guentzel isn't even doing much with Crosby in the playoffs the last couple years, so...

Tkachuk doesn’t score at an elite level though?

 

[mpp9]

If I'm Calgary, I'm moving Tkachuk for the best center possible. But if it's a case of getting what you can for him this summer regardless, they could do worse than Guentzel.

From our POV, I think we did a better job this playoffs of getting quality chances in high danger areas. But I still think we were too one and done in those areas. Jake is a prime example of it. Ton of skill and will to take punishment, but lacks the size to be truly effective around the net. Tkachuk would a huge upgrade in areas we lack.

A Guentzel/Tkachuk swap doesn't take us back to being a contender, but like the PH/Neal deal, I think it's a start.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Looks serious, might be out until the playoffs. We hope he can be back by the 2nd round.

Crosby is also out for the season with a torn glute.

 

[66-30-33]

Crosby is also out for the season with a torn glute.

Crosby/Malkin/Letang but we keep on winning! and get them back for round 1 and like 30M or whatever over the cap and win the cup.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I'd hope Hextall's at least kicking the tires on Tkachuk.

Not sure he's a Sullivan type player, though. Sullivan seems to want the team to play like robots and ignore all instigator/retaliatory stuff. Tkachuk's a guy that's going to start a whole lot of scrums.

 

[Headshot77]

I'm personally fine with a few half-assed seasons of going for it. I think this FO doesn't have the testicular fortitude to make any real big splash moves (like getting Kessel was) that would put us over the top. Plus we don't really have the assets for it.

But also, can you imagine if we somehow swung for the fences and landed a big name like Tkachuk? Or get Eichel and make him a third line center? A boy can dream!

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I wasn’t aware that I suggested that they trade Sid or Geno. If you want to sell tickets, maybe get rid of the goalie or coach that can’t get out of the first round?

I know dude, I know. "Do something Sleepy" It's not as simple as going and signing Ullmark or Raanta or whoever else. We'd have to find a taker for a goalie who just embarrassed himself and torpedoed his team's 1st round first. We'd have to find a trade partner who wants our scraps for a starting goalie, or tandem goalie--or we'd have to find a way to sign one of the FAs in a summer where we have almost no real cap room to work with and teams will be looking for goalies based on how important the position has been this playoffs.

It's been explained ad nauseum that this team's content where it's at; forwards, blueline, goalies and coach. Don't expect or hope for any significant moves, at least nothing significant enough to alter the downward trajectory this team's been on for years. Ownership got their Cups, they want to milk the era for as much cash as they can before we got a roster full of nobodies and people stop buying jerseys and showing up to games. Especially after a handful of Covid-affected years revenue-wise. That doesn't have anything to do with winning, it has everything to do with keeping the usual suspects together and rocking the boat as little as possible so as not to anger a fickle fanbase and potentially hurt revenue.

(For the record, I don't disagree. I'd like the team to pick a lane and commit to it; either blow it up and rebuild, or make changes to sort this boring, stale, predictable shitshow out. It's just not gonna happen. Minimal or lateral changes from here on out while we wait and see what the situation with Geno's knee is.)

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Tkachuk doesn’t score at an elite level though?

I'm not interested in semantics games.

Over the last 3 years, he's 7th in points among LWs. Guentzel's 9th. Whatever you want to call that, he's already among the most productive players at his position over a large sample size at age 23.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I don't see anything exciting or important enough to note happening until next summer. Even then, it's either gonna be Geno's knee ending his run or him being all good, so the team can continue to stay the course and coast it out until Sid/Geno/Letang all retire in 2025.

We all want to see stuff changed. I'd kill to swap guys like Jake, Rust, McCann and Zucker out for a forward corps something like this by next post-season;

Tkachuk - Sid - Kap
JT Miller - Geno - Bennett
Poulin - Carter - Tanev
Zoho - TB - Gaudreau

But, we're probably gonna see the absolute minimum done. Lateral changes at best, tweaks to the slightest degree. Rust will play his contract out and walk. Jake will continue to put up the most snoozefest of PPG seasons before unraveling in the playoffs. McCann will continue to be a poor man's James Neal, with less of the flash and the same disappearing act. Sid will continue to struggle to do anything offensively, and people will ignore his inadequacies in that regard and pretend he's the best 200ft player in history or somethin'. We'll overpay to keep ZAR-TB-Tanev as the 4th line. We'll keep rocking the Petts-Marino ~$8.5 million bottom pairing unless Seattle takes Petts, though I kind of expect Zucker to be taken. We'll ride or die with our dipshit, egomaniac coach and Student Driver goalie who needs to learn on the job as the last few grains of sand in this era's hourglass fall.