Salary Cap: Pittsburgh Penguins Salary Cap Thread: Stirring The Pot Edition

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Ryder71

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Nov 24, 2017
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No. They were happy to sign with a team perceived as a contender.
Yeah, uh no. lol

They got minimum contracts and minimum term because they're trash. Unfortunately JR knows all too well about trash. At least he didn't pay a premium for this trash though. See Jack Johnson.
 

CrosbyMalkin

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Aug 7, 2005
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If Ceci is a regular in this line up. I’ll make a bet it does.

All take that bet. Finished 7th in the whole league with best players out for more than half the season such as Crosby, Guentzel, and Dumoulin. Add in the double digit missed games from Malkin, Rust, and so many others and a full year of Zucker with the addition of Kapanen and this team. Should be drastically improved. Ceci is not worse than either JJ or Schultz since his knee injury. We had two worse defenseman in the lineup and we improved big time at forward. Last years starting top 6 forwards had Simon and Galchenyk in it and now replaced with Zucker and Kapanen. Jankowski takes the spot of the non factor Bjugstad who only managed to play 10 games. This team is drastically improved in every area but goal.
 
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Pens x

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Oct 8, 2016
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No. They were happy to sign with a team perceived as a contender.
That same team that sat him out for the entire playoffs and threw him in on the Kap trade. The fact that he signed with team is kind of sad considering how he was treated.
 
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CrosbyMalkin

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Aug 7, 2005
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My hopeful lineup.

Guentzel-Crosby-Kapanen
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Poulin-Jankowski-Tanev
McCann-Blueger-Rodriguez/Sceviour

Dumoulin-Letang
Matheson-Marino
Pettersson-Ceci

Jarry
DeSmith

That is a much better team than last years older and slower version. Zucker and Guentzel can be switched if that fits better. I think McCann is on that 3rd line but that is what I would like to see. I think Poulin should make this team if he has a good camp. If not then maybe put O'Connor on that 4th line with Blueger. I would just like to have a little scoring on all lines to go along with a burner.
 
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SEALBound

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My hopeful lineup.

Guentzel-Crosby-Kapanen
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Poulin-Jankowski-Tanev
McCann-Blueger-Rodriguez/Sceviour

Dumoulin-Letang
Matheson-Marino
Pettersson-Ceci

Jarry
DeSmith

That is a much better team than last years older and slower version. Zucker and Guentzel can be switched if that fits better. I think McCann is on that 3rd line but that is what I would like to see. I think Poulin should make this team if he has a good camp. If not then maybe put O'Connor on that 4th line with Blueger. I would just like to have a little scoring on all lines to go along with a burner.

I'm more curious to see who ends up on Sid's RW. I gotta think it's Rust due to familarity but I do think they try Kapanen there to start with. Who knows, it may even be McCann!

McCann-Sid-Jake
Zucker-Malkin-Kapenen
Poulin-Jankowski-Rust
Scevy-Bleugs-Tanev

Jankowski is the big wildcard to me.

On defense, I think it's interesting that JR has snagged two former top pairing dmen from last season to be on the 2nd and 3rd pairings, presumably. Or just the 3rd pairing. Both have capabilities that allowed them to play those top minutes...but they stunk at it. I'm actually really interested to see how they do in a major role reduction.
 
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Big Friggin Dummy

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Feb 22, 2019
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Hope for Poulin to kill it in camp/pre-season and run with this;

Jake/Zucker-Sid-Rust
Jake/Zucker-Geno-Poulin/Kapanen
McCann-TB-Poulin/Kapanen
Tanev-Jankowski-Sceviour
Lafferty/ZAR/E-Rod
 

Giant Yankee Pens

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May 17, 2010
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What flavor is the Pens’ kool aid? We don’t have a 25 year old Sid or Geno to carry a hockey team. You are also assuming they will be healthy. We have a very good top 6, but the bottom six is laughable, and that’s a serious problem.

Now I know the key to playoff success is winning OT games. I guess I blamed it on them playing uninspired and uninterested hockey for two years as the reason they’ve been terrible.

Why not wait and keep the cap room to see what happens later in the off season? Teams still need to get under the cap and there are still decent free agents. We don’t need another damn reclamation project, half of this team is coming off horrible seasons.

Also, why start the season with an incomplete bottom six? What assets do we even have to land a respectable player? JR has been reckless and negligent with picks and the few good prospects we have.
No one is saying they couldnt have done things differently that would have been better. This post was just in response to the fact that, if this team gets in and is hot, they can make a run because they have top level talent still.

Ps. When Sid was 25, 2012-2013 happened...
 

Dipsy Doodle

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May 28, 2006
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What a shit offseason outside of getting rid of JJ and Bjugstad.

JR overpays for a top 6 question mark in Kapanen then fills out the roster with 4 guys he picked off the trash pile and crosses his fingers that they'll all rebound.

Sounds like a recipe for success!
 
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Jacob

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Feb 27, 2002
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Lafferty should be ahead of Rodrigues depth-wise. Probably Jankowski too until he proves otherwise.
 
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3ladesof5teel

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Feb 20, 2012
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Im ok with CC on a bottom pairing role. Just seems like we have alot of options with bottom pairing guys (which i guess isnt a terrible thing depth wise) but I really would have liked to see a Granlund type here with that money spent.

If one of out top 2 C's go down for any amount of time ( and this goes for the majority of teams in the NHL) we are in ttrouble and that can be the difference of making the playoffs or not. Our situation is different then most as our window is closing.
 

CrosbyMalkin

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Aug 7, 2005
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Lafferty should be ahead of Rodrigues depth-wise. Probably Jankowski too until he proves otherwise.

Maybe Rodriguez but that will be a camp battles for sure. Obviously camp will always have battles open to make the team but Jankowski will have a leg up on Lafferty. Jankowski has already been a proven 17 and 14 goal scorer and has had 30+ points before in the NHL. Lafferty can win a job in camp with an impressive showing but he certainly does not come in as a favorite to do so.

I much rather Jankowski given a chance to be the 3C and see if he can get back to his numbers he had before last year's debacle than someone like Lafferty who hasn't even proven to be an NHL 4th liner yet. I hope it is Jankowski's line to lose and they give him some decent talent to work with. My goal for each line is to have a fast forecheck forward and someone on the other side to finish. So a 3rd line of something like McCann-Jankowski-Tanev is what I would start with. If Poulin proves ready I would put him on that 3rd line and bump McCann down to make another 3rd line with McCann-Blueger-Rodriguez/Lafferty. I think it is important in Sullivan's system to have the first forward in to create space for his linemates and to create turnovers. If you use those lines to go along with Kapanen on the top line and Rust on the 2nd line you have that blazing speedy winger to give Sullivan the perfect blend of forwards to enact his system. If Sullivan can't do it with this group then he and his system needs to go.
 

Andy99

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Jun 26, 2017
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What a shit offseason outside of getting rid of JJ and Bjugstad.

JR overpays for a top 6 question mark in Kapanen then fills out the roster with 4 guys he picked off the trash pile and crosses his fingers that they'll all rebound.

Sounds like a recipe for success!

the entire team is built on a house of cards...if only hopes and wishes made for good hockey players...
 
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The Greatest 101

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Dec 10, 2013
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What a shit offseason outside of getting rid of JJ and Bjugstad.

JR overpays for a top 6 question mark in Kapanen then fills out the roster with 4 guys he picked off the trash pile and crosses his fingers that they'll all rebound.

Sounds like a recipe for success!
Another wasted season and we don’t even have a 1st round pick next year.
 

Night Shift

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Nov 3, 2014
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CC can be sent to WBS to only count $175k against the cap. I don't think that'll happen, but I also didn't think JJ would be bought out.

It won't be necessary. As long as Ceci stays on the bottom 6, he should do well there. I think he played top 4 min on other teams and got burned against tough matchups. I don't think he'll see that here. We should be more worried about Matheson performing well and fitting in the top 4 than Ceci on the bottom 6. Again I'm optimistic about Matheson fitting. Outside Letang this is a young D-core
 

CrosbyMalkin

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Aug 7, 2005
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What a shit offseason outside of getting rid of JJ and Bjugstad.

JR overpays for a top 6 question mark in Kapanen then fills out the roster with 4 guys he picked off the trash pile and crosses his fingers that they'll all rebound.

Sounds like a recipe for success!

What was your expectations? They certainly must not of been realistic. Rutherford was told to bring the actual payroll down to under $75 million. I think Rutherford did an A+ job considering that restriction. Most GM's are building weaker teams just to get under the cap and would be crushed with the same directive Rutherford had of real dollar cap under $75 million.

Rutherford built a great team even with that drastic cut in real money spent. Look at this team compared to what we started with last season. Simon and Galchenyk in our top 6 compared to Zucker and Kapanen now. That is a huge upgrade in speed and talent. Bjugstad was our 3C going into last year and only played 10 games total and was terrible in the ones he played. Jankowski has a chance to be what Bjugstad was supposed to be last year and at the league minimum which was needed to get under that $75 million. I think Jankowski is the perfect player to try and fill that spot under these price constraints.

Matheson takes JJ's spot in the lineup and he is younger, faster, more skilled, win's 90% of his puck battles and has a better shot. Yes he has to do some major work on his turnovers but if he didn't have that wart you wouldn't get him for a 34 year old winger that cost $5.3 million a year. Matheson is a huge upgrade over JJ. I know people hate Ceci but all take him over last year's version of Schultz any day. Schultz has been terrible since his major knee injury back in 2018 and has been by far the teams worst defenseman since then. I think Ceci can flourish in a reduced role behind Letang and Marino. Ceci has played in the top 4 defense for half a decade now and is only 26. Playing 14-15 sheltered minutes should be a much easier task for him. JJ-Schultz even with those sheltered minutes gave up 5 of the 9 goals this playoffs. I think Matheson has top 4 talent and I would put him with Marino and use Pettersson-Ceci for those sheltered 14-15 minutes a night including PK.

So for having to cut real money to under $75 million I think Rutherford did magic to build a better team than last year's version. Compared to the other teams that are being gutted even without the same restrictions your expectations aren't realistic. All open with this fast, young, skilled team any day over what we had last season.
 
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chethejet

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Feb 4, 2012
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How the caps signed Schultz for that cap hit was just head shaking. Fortunately for the Pens his 5.5 million hit ended as his play went south. Ceci is fine as a 3rd pairing RD. In fact he is a upgrade to the bottom pairing. Dumo has to come back to form as well. Letang Dumo is key to the TOI and pairing. This is not a bad D if they are healthy and ready to go. Marino and whoever is his partner need to give a solid 20 minutes or so as well. Petts has to get stronger and he simply is vulnerable to hits. Teams know they can run him he will give up the puck. Didn't like the extension for a 175 pound LD with a average shot and limited speed. Betting on the come with the window closing was just stupid.
 

CrosbyMalkin

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Aug 7, 2005
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How the caps signed Schultz for that cap hit was just head shaking. Fortunately for the Pens his 5.5 million hit ended as his play went south. Ceci is fine as a 3rd pairing RD. In fact he is a upgrade to the bottom pairing. Dumo has to come back to form as well. Letang Dumo is key to the TOI and pairing. This is not a bad D if they are healthy and ready to go. Marino and whoever is his partner need to give a solid 20 minutes or so as well. Petts has to get stronger and he simply is vulnerable to hits. Teams know they can run him he will give up the puck. Didn't like the extension for a 175 pound LD with a average shot and limited speed. Betting on the come with the window closing was just stupid.

Pettersson is young and certainly his contract has nothing to do with the window closing. I hope Matheson works out and takes his spot with Marino. When POJ is ready I then want Rutherford to trade Pettersson for another place of need. The length of the contract was not bad for Pettersson's age. I just thought it was a little high but the bet was he would keep improving which he might but as of now he is an okay number 4.
 

ziggyjoe212

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Oct 2, 2017
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What a shit offseason outside of getting rid of JJ and Bjugstad.

JR overpays for a top 6 question mark in Kapanen then fills out the roster with 4 guys he picked off the trash pile and crosses his fingers that they'll all rebound.

Sounds like a recipe for success!
This is a narrow minded way of looking at the off season. I think JR has done a solid job.

Got rid of the crap 3rd D pairing (Johnson and Schultz) and replaced them with younger and cheaper Matheson and Ceci.
Replaced Marleau with Kapanen for the top 9.
Added Jankowski to the 3rd line
Got rid of MM's contract and allowed Jarry to become full time starter.
Got rid of Bjugstad's albotross of a contract.

I think every single move JR made this off season made the team better.
 
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Tom Hanks

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Nov 10, 2017
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This is a narrow minded way of looking at the off season. I think JR has done a solid job.

Got rid of the crap 3rd D pairing (Johnson and Schultz) and replaced them with younger and cheaper Matheson and Ceci.
Replaced Marleau with Kapanen for the top 9.
Added Jankowski to the 3rd line
Got rid of MM's contract and allowed Jarry to become full time starter.
Got rid of Bjugstad's albotross of a contract.

I think every single move JR made this off season made the team better.

We had to buyout JJ because he was signed to a terrible contract (by JR!) so we lose that cap space. I doubt Schultz was signing here with our cap space we had to fill out the roster so I’m not going to give JR credit for any of that. Matheson has a red flag of a contract but I see the potential positives there but Ceci is terrible and if he’s with Matheson that’s going to put enormous strain on him. Signing Ceci made us worse not better.

Kapanen more replaced Hornqvist’s spot in the side. I think they are pretty close in who is the better player but I get he’s younger with more upside. Kapanen was a good move but he overpaid given the circumstances of this off season.

Jankowski is a 4th liner and that’s fine but not some outstanding move. His career stats aren’t great against the East and really bad against the Metro (12 points per 82 over his career)

Murray didn’t have a contract to get rid of. He got some value in a trade which is good but we were never stuck with Murray.

While good to move Bjugstad he had to retain 50% and JR brought him in the first place.
 

SEALBound

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Lafferty should be ahead of Rodrigues depth-wise. Probably Jankowski too until he proves otherwise.

Unless Lafferty blows us away in camp (which is very much possible), I would rather he start the year in WBS. We will have a full roster and he is waiver exempt. It makes a lot of sense to start him there. I would rather him dominate (hopefully) the AHL and come up with confidence that mimics the first 10 games or so. I think it was a detriment to his development to have kept him in the NHL so long last year. He needed some time back in the AHL but with injuries, we didn't have much of a choice.

Maybe Rodriguez but that will be a camp battles for sure. Obviously camp will always have battles open to make the team but Jankowski will have a leg up on Lafferty. Jankowski has already been a proven 17 and 14 goal scorer and has had 30+ points before in the NHL. Lafferty can win a job in camp with an impressive showing but he certainly does not come in as a favorite to do so.

I much rather Jankowski given a chance to be the 3C and see if he can get back to his numbers he had before last year's debacle than someone like Lafferty who hasn't even proven to be an NHL 4th liner yet. I hope it is Jankowski's line to lose and they give him some decent talent to work with. My goal for each line is to have a fast forecheck forward and someone on the other side to finish. So a 3rd line of something like McCann-Jankowski-Tanev is what I would start with. If Poulin proves ready I would put him on that 3rd line and bump McCann down to make another 3rd line with McCann-Blueger-Rodriguez/Lafferty. I think it is important in Sullivan's system to have the first forward in to create space for his linemates and to create turnovers. If you use those lines to go along with Kapanen on the top line and Rust on the 2nd line you have that blazing speedy winger to give Sullivan the perfect blend of forwards to enact his system. If Sullivan can't do it with this group then he and his system needs to go.

McCann
Jankowski
ERod
Sceviour
Bleuger
Tanev
ZAR
Lafferty
Poulin
Legare

There's a list of 10 guys that will be vying for 6 spots. Given the contracts they've been given, I don't think JR or Sully and Co. will have many qualms about sitting or sending someone down. I think this year, perhaps much more so than in years past, we will have a shit ton of competition for the bottom 6. And not just the bottom 6, but also 3rd line vs 4th line. All of them can fit on either. It's not like having Horny or Marleau where there is an unspoken pecking order or the perception that you don't put high cost players on the 4th line. This year, every one of them will need to be at their best every game. This goes double, triple, quadruple if Lafferty and/or Poulin are pushing for time.
 

Dipsy Doodle

Rent A Barn
May 28, 2006
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This is a narrow minded way of looking at the off season. I think JR has done a solid job.

Got rid of the crap 3rd D pairing (Johnson and Schultz) and replaced them with younger and cheaper Matheson and Ceci.
Replaced Marleau with Kapanen for the top 9.
Added Jankowski to the 3rd line
Got rid of MM's contract and allowed Jarry to become full time starter.
Got rid of Bjugstad's albotross of a contract.

I think every single move JR made this off season made the team better.

All JR had to do with Marleau and Schultz is not re-sign them. They didn't need to be replaced because they didn't play valuable roles last year, they just needed to not be resigned. It took no effort to let them go and deserves no credit.

JJ was JR's own stupid decision from Day One, and he paid handsomely for it. Great to see him go, but that was cleaning up his own indefensible mess and LOOOOOONG overdue.

Matheson, Ceci, and Jankowski are all crapshoots coming off of garbage years. The fact that they're young doesn't mean that they're good. "Adding" Jankowski - a forward who produced worse than Ruhwedel - as our 3C isn't cause for celebration because a) he's playing above his head and b) there were better options that signed for comparable money.

JR didn't "get rid of" MM's contract. MM didn't have a contract this summer until JR QO'd him.

The only player we added with any positive value is Kapanen, and we overpaid hugely for him because he's unproven in the role we a) need him for and b) paid a high price for him to play.
 
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