Salary Cap: Pittsburgh Penguins Salary Cap Thread - It's the dog days

[Gurglesons]

Prelims:

1 assist against Sweden in a 5-2 win
1 assist against Norway in a 7-2 win
o points against Russia in a 3-0 loss
1 goal, 2 assist against Latvia in a 6-3 win
1 goal, 1 assist against Italy in an 8-0 win
1 goal against Austria in an 8-0 win
1 goal, 2 assists against Switzerland in a 5-4 win

Important games:
1 assist against Germany in a 5-1 win
0 points against Canada in a 5-1 loss
0 points against Russia in a 3-2 loss

He scored against Latvia, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. ...eeeeeehhhhh....

Quit disparaging the HFboard Cali brothers with your hot takes.

 

[EightyOne]

Quit disparaging the HFboard Cali brothers with your hot takes.

 

[Burn]

Simon once scored 25 goals in the AHL. I think that was his first full season down there. And then his goal totals went down. Anyone know what happened?

I think he was there as a skilled player but then knew that wasn't his path to the NHL so he worked on rounding out his game.

I like him as a 3rd wheel on a skilled line. His IQ is good and the WCs showed he has skill.

 

[EightyOne]

I think he was there as a skilled player but then knew that wasn't his path to the NHL so he worked on rounding out his game.

I like him as a 3rd wheel on a skilled line. His IQ is good and the WCs showed he has skill.

Is his game rounded??


He's like the Southwest Airlines of players. Not Allegiant terrible, but you're not impressed either by their rattling interiors. Just like..It's okay....for the cost.

 

[Riptide]

Is his game rounded??


He's like the Southwest Airlines of players. Not Allegiant terrible, but you're not impressed either by their rattling interiors. Just like..It's okay....for the cost.

Simon's? Yes pretty well rounded. Doesn't have a great shot (really the main area he should be working on), but he's strong on the boards, can make plays and hang onto the puck, is good on the OZ and isn't bad defensively.

 

[BrookswasHere44]

He had a shooting % of 1.8% over that 31 game span. His shooting % over the first half was 10.8%. Odds are good that he would be a lot closer to that then the 1.8% he shot over the latter half of the season.

I was being snarky. I isn't no idea what these numbers mean

 

[Peat]

Idle question - if there's a scenario where Bjugstad is traded without a C coming back, when do people want to see/expect to see as the answer?

Prelims:

1 assist against Sweden in a 5-2 win
1 assist against Norway in a 7-2 win
o points against Russia in a 3-0 loss
1 goal, 2 assist against Latvia in a 6-3 win
1 goal, 1 assist against Italy in an 8-0 win
1 goal against Austria in an 8-0 win
1 goal, 2 assists against Switzerland in a 5-4 win

Important games:

1 assist against Germany in a 5-1 win
0 points against Canada in a 5-1 loss
0 points against Russia in a 3-2 loss

He scored against Latvia, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. ...eeeeeehhhhh....

I did wonder if something like that was the case, then decided I didn't care - goals are goals, and most of the time a player is either scoring them when they're on offer or they're not. He wasn't scoring them when they were on offer during that incredible dry run, but he did before and he did after.

Still, he will have to keep up scoring ways if he is going to get more love its true, although I do tongue in cheek think that surely the people putting little stock in advanced stats should be relying on eye test anyway, not his ordinary stats.

 

[Andy99]

Idle question - if there's a scenario where Bjugstad is traded without a C coming back, when do people want to see/expect to see as the answer?
.

I expect if they’re trading Bjug that they have one of two plans in mind: either 1) they want McCann there and maybe have Kahun in mind as a backup if that doesn’t work out or 2) they plan to sign Boyle (since there was some talk of additional vet presence desired by I think Jules) and play Blueger/Boyle at 3C and 4C...

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

Simon's? Yes pretty well rounded. Doesn't have a great shot (really the main area he should be working on), but he's strong on the boards, can make plays and hang onto the puck, is good on the OZ and isn't bad defensively.

Dumb question, but can a player at this level/age ever increase his shot power?

 

[Beauner]

Dumb question, but can a player at this level/age ever increase his shot power?

if he plays around enough with his curve/flex then it's possible. No idea what he's using now but that's probably the easiest way to improving his shot

 

[Riptide]

if he plays around enough with his curve/flex then it's possible. No idea what he's using now but that's probably the easiest way to improving his shot

@ZeroPucksGiven
That and/or building some significant muscle in his forearms/arms. I forget who and when, but was reading/listening to a story 5-10 years ago about a Canuck I believe (Burrows?) who was talking about how his shot sucked, so he attached a weight to a piece of string and tied that to a chunk of a hockey stick, and then proceeded to role up/unrole this all the time over the course of a summer... his shot the next season was significantly better than the year before.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

@ZeroPucksGiven
That and/or building some significant muscle in his forearms/arms. I forget who and when, but was reading/listening to a story 5-10 years ago about a Canuck I believe (Burrows?) who was talking about how his shot sucked, so he attached a weight to a piece of string and tied that to a chunk of a hockey stick, and then proceeded to role up/unrole this all the time over the course of a summer... his shot the next season was significantly better than the year before.

I remember Don Cherry did a segment on that exact exercise about 15 years ago

 

[Empoleon8771]

I feel like Simon's only noticeably positive quality is his hockey IQ. His playmaking and hands are both solid, but I wouldn't characterize it as being on par with his hockey IQ. His bread and butter is being able to read the play extremely well and being able to find soft spots in the offensive zone. He's similar to Sheary in that, but Sheary had a much better shot and was faster.

 

[Will Hunting]

I feel like Simon's only noticeably positive quality is his hockey IQ. His playmaking and hands are both solid, but I wouldn't characterize it as being on par with his hockey IQ. His bread and butter is being able to read the play extremely well and being able to find soft spots in the offensive zone. He's similar to Sheary in that, but Sheary had a much better shot and was faster.

Sheary was also noticeably worse defensively. Overall, they are probably comparable players imo.

 

[Andy99]

Jim Rutherford: Marcus Pettersson will have contract before Penguins' camp opens

Already acknowledging implicitly that he put the team in a bind...even if they get him under contract to start the season without trading anyone, his contract is just another one they’ll have to deal with next summer, when the cap isn’t going to increase again and we will have a lot of important RFAs and UFAs

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

That's really a shame. I think getting Pettersson under a multi-year contract at a reasonable number should have been one of this offseason's biggest priorities. Maybe they don't have as much belief in him as I do but I think they make that gamble at their peril.

Hopefully they still have the time and want to make a move that isn't too damaging in order to accommodate something like that. But it sure sounds like they are basically looking to kick the can down the road. Honestly I'm not surprised. They've put themselves in a pretty dumb spot.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Jim Rutherford: Marcus Pettersson will have contract before Penguins' camp opens

Already acknowledging implicitly that he put the team in a bind...even if they get him under contract to start the season without trading anyone, his contract is just another one they’ll have to deal with next summer, when the cap isn’t going to increase again and we will have a lot of important RFAs and UFAs

Based on what? The cap is going to skyrocket in 2 years when the NHL gets a new TV deal and Seattle gets into the league. Even if you ignore that the cap is going to blow up in a couple of years, the cap hasn't not increased since the 2013 lockout.

 

[K Fleur]

Create problems for a future that you won’t be around to deal with.

Emblematic of more than one aspect of JR

 

[Peat]

This feels like Rutherford saying he's happy keeping Kessel. I don't think he's lying, but I'll believe that's how it turns out when I see it.

 

[Empoleon8771]

The read I'm getting on this Pettersson contract situation is that the deal is essentially finalized, but they're waiting for the Penguins to clear up cap space before signing it. The Penguins can really easily clear cap space right now, the problem is that they don't want to just "clear cap space". And at this point, why should they just want to clear cap space? Getting Pettersson under contract on August 12th vs getting him under contract on September 3rd doesn't make a difference.

They probably want to trade Johnson without adding anything or they want to get good value for Bjugstad, while other teams are waiting on them making Rust available. They don't need to jump to the extreme of dumping Rust for nothing (which is the extreme in my eyes) in August. To me, this is just JR being patient, which I don't see why anyone would complain about.

The complaint I have more with this situation is that they're seemingly unwilling to trade Rust when Rust is the super obvious guy they should be trading.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

This feels like Rutherford saying he's happy keeping Kessel. I don't think he's lying, but I'll believe that's how it turns out when I see it.

Well it's certainly true that JR, like more or less every GM, is essentially a giant load of walking bullshit in a suit.

 

[Shady Machine]

I don't have a problem with JR being patient. I have a problem with him being impatient on July 1 (last year and this year) which is forcing this patience.

 

[Riptide]

That's really a shame. I think getting Pettersson under a multi-year contract at a reasonable number should have been one of this offseason's biggest priorities. Maybe they don't have as much belief in him as I do but I think they make that gamble at their peril.

Hopefully they still have the time and want to make a move that isn't too damaging in order to accommodate something like that. But it sure sounds like they are basically looking to kick the can down the road. Honestly I'm not surprised. They've put themselves in a pretty dumb spot.

I don't think the issue is one of a lack of believe in him, vs not being willing to pay the price asked to clear the cap needed to make such a deal possible. I think it would also point to an unwillingness to move either Bjugs or Rust at this point in time - because either of those guys are easily moveable players who would bring back a legitimately decent return.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

That's really a shame. I think getting Pettersson under a multi-year contract at a reasonable number should have been one of this offseason's biggest priorities. Maybe they don't have as much belief in him as I do but I think they make that gamble at their peril.

.

Why take care of a critical PMD in Petts when you can sign a guy to a big FA deal who throws magical unicorn hitz and bid against yourself?

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I don't think the issue is one of a lack of believe in him, vs not being willing to pay the price asked to clear the cap needed to make such a deal possible. I think it would also point to an unwillingness to move either Bjugs or Rust at this point in time - because either of those guys are easily moveable players who would bring back a legitimately decent return.

I get that I just personally think this was all easily avoidable but some people just can't help but play with their putter, I guess.