Salary Cap: Salary Cap: 2016-17 roster-building part VIII | Contract chart, cap info in post #1

[Honour Over Glory]

Sundqvist. He's looked ready for 2 years.

Yeah but he hasn't. Sundqvist could still work on his skating and face offs. It wouldn't hurt his development to have him start the year in the ahl.

 

[penzweiser]

Trade Kunitz for a 2nd. Trade fluery for 2 2nds. Trade some of those 2nds for Tatar. Sign Boedker.

Boedker-Crosby-Hornqvist
Tatar-Malkin-Sprong
Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel
Kuhnhackl-Fehr-Rust

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Yeah but he hasn't. Sundqvist could still work on his skating and face offs. It wouldn't hurt his development to have him start the year in the ahl.

Looked ready? Sure he has.

He could improve some aspects of his game, but that doesn't preclude him being NHL-ready. He's been a positive every time he's been up.

 

[Penske]

Trade Kunitz for a 2nd. Trade fluery for 2 2nds. Trade some of those 2nds for Tatar. Sign Boedker.

Boedker-Crosby-Hornqvist
Tatar-Malkin-Sprong
Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel
Kuhnhackl-Fehr-Rust

Sprong probably won't play in the NHL next season because of his injury.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

Looked ready? Sure he has.

He could improve some aspects of his game, but that doesn't preclude him being NHL-ready. He's been a positive every time he's been up.

He can play right now and not be a liability, but that would still mean Sid is taking the toughest D zone draws and we won't get the offensive output of Cullen. I'd much rather OS in the A one more year getting O zone draws and PP time.

Everyone seems to be writing Cullen off, but I'm cautiously optimistic he's back, especially if Geno is out. Cullen and his family have a good situation here.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

He can play right now and not be a liability, but that would still mean Sid is taking the toughest D zone draws and we won't get the offensive output of Cullen. I'd much rather OS in the A one more year getting O zone draws and PP time.

Everyone seems to be writing Cullen off, but I'm cautiously optimistic he's back, especially if Geno is out. Cullen and his family have a good situation here.

Don't get me wrong, I want Cullen back 100% for exactly those reasons (and more). Huge fan.

I'm only saying that if he doesn't come back, Sundqvist is capable of playing well in a 4th line role. We don't need to look elsewhere.

 

[Peat]

He can play right now and not be a liability, but that would still mean Sid is taking the toughest D zone draws and we won't get the offensive output of Cullen. I'd much rather OS in the A one more year getting O zone draws and PP time.

Everyone seems to be writing Cullen off, but I'm cautiously optimistic he's back, especially if Geno is out. Cullen and his family have a good situation here.

I would love it if you were right.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

Don't get me wrong, I want Cullen back 100% for exactly those reasons (and more). Huge fan.

I'm only saying that if he doesn't come back, Sundqvist is capable of playing well in a 4th line role. We don't need to look elsewhere.

Yeah I agree in general, with the proper supporting wingers, which we have.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Sundqvist absolutely looked capable of handling 4C duty this past season. He also played in 2 playoff games and looked fine. He should be even better next season now that he has NHL experience going into this offseason and training camp.

 

[OnMyOwn]

JR said if Cullen isn't back its sundy's job just the other day.

 

[Gunnar Staal]

I think this should be an easy offseason. 2 trades, 2 signings.

Trade Flower to Calgary for a 2017 1st
Trade Pouliot to St. Louis for Elliot and a pick
Resign Lovejoy and Schultz for around 4 million per year (combined).

I cant inderstand signing Bennett. Makes no sense to me. Still trying to figure out where Wilson fits.

He could probably net you a reserve forward or a #7 defenseman who has some upside, but has underachieved (thinking along the lines of an Etem, Forbort, or Pulkkinen [idk about the last one, but Pulkkinen would be awesome in this system]).

I can see this happening (let's assume the Pens somehow get Pulkkinen), plus:

- Fleury to Calgary for Shinkaruk or Poirer/Klimchuk and 56th overall (Would love Shinkaruk on the left wing, but idk how highly Calgary values him)
- Lovejoy is signed to Scuderi money by a team like Dallas or Florida (because free agency)
- I'd love for Cullen to be back, but the more I think about it, the more I believe he will retire. The Pens grab center depth in free agency to offset this (I'm thinking Marchessault or Corban Knight, if Knight is a free agent).
- Schultz is not resigned by the Pens. I'd love to see him back, but I think he gets a better opportunity (and a little more cash) from another team.
- Pouliot either stays as the new partner for Ian Cole or shipped off for a young forward with upside (think Nichushkin or Grigorenko).
- Kunitz to Calgary for Wideman (Calgary retains salary to offset extra cap hit). - This is if Schultz is not resigned.
- Pens sign Al Montoya (2 yrs @ 2.25 million) and Raphael Diaz (1 year @ 900k) in free agency - They sign Diaz if Pouliot is traded.

This leaves this final roster (obviously a pipedream but possibly realistic, if things work out):

Sheary/Wilson - Crosby - Hornqvist
Shinkaruk/Grigorenko - Malkin - Grigorenko/Rust
Hagelin - Bonino - Kessel
Kuhnhackl - Fehr/Marchessault - Rust/Fehr

Wilson/Sheary - Pulkkinen

Letang - Maatta
Dumoulin - Daley
Schultz/Pouliot/Wideman - Cole

Pouliot/Diaz

Murray
Montoya

On paper, I like this lineup going into next year. This is obviously kinda optimistic, but most of it can be doable.

 

[Nakawick]

If last season taught us anything, it should be depth down the middle

 

[billybudd]

He can play right now and not be a liability, but that would still mean Sid is taking the toughest D zone draws and we won't get the offensive output of Cullen. I'd much rather OS in the A one more year getting O zone draws and PP time.

Everyone seems to be writing Cullen off, but I'm cautiously optimistic he's back, especially if Geno is out. Cullen and his family have a good situation here.

He skipped exit interviews the other day. That's normally not a good sign.

I agree about Sundqvist. Skating a regular shift isn't something that looks like it would be an issue for him. And RRP is right that he's looked capable of that for 2 years.

Cullen's 17 goals is a luxury that's not something you'll often see from a "4th liner," but, ideally, we'd be getting 8 or 10 goals and another 8 or 10 assists out of our 4C. Is his offensive game developed enough to be there yet? Tough to say with as sporadic as he's played, but his Wilkes #s suggest the answer is 'no.' We've seen flashes of it in camps, but the consistency to hit the low double digits is something we kind of need out of a 4C.

This is not to say I'm suggesting he needs another year in the AHL, exactly. But it also might be the best thing for him.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

If last season taught us anything, it should be depth down the middle

Are you questioning our play during our March-April run without Malkin? Because I'm certainly not.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Why are we talking about who is going to be our 4th line center next year? It's definitely going to be Fehr. The 4th line is either going to be Kuhnhackl-Fehr-Rust or Kuhnhackl-Fehr-Sundqvist if Rust is playing higher in the lineup.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

So much for seeing Sprong in the lineup this season.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Sideline]

He skipped exit interviews the other day. That's normally not a good sign.

I agree about Sundqvist. Skating a regular shift isn't something that would be an issue for him. And RRP is right that he's looked capable of that for 2 years.

Cullen's 17 goals is a luxury that's not something you'll often see from a "4th liner," but, ideally, we'd be getting 8 or 10 goals and another 8 or 10 assists out of our 4C. Is his offensive game developed enough to be there yet? Tough to say with as sporadic as he's played, but his Wilkes #s suggest the answer is 'no.' We've seen flashes of it in camps, but the consistency to hit the low double digits is something we kind of need out of a 4C.

This is not to say I'm suggesting he needs another year in the AHL, exactly. But it also might be the best thing for him.

Not too worried about Cullen skipping formal exit interviews. JR said he wasn't going to do them with everyone and that he told Cullen he has a job if he wants one. He's still got game and his boys seem to love the setup they have here. My guess is it all comes down to Mrs. Cullen.

 

[eXile59]

Isn't Boedker looking for some insane contract?

 

[Nakawick]

If last season taught us anything, it should be depth down the middle

Are you questioning our play during our March-April run without Malkin? Because I'm certainly not.

On the contrary, that is exactly what I am talking about.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

On the contrary, that is exactly what I am talking about.

Ah, gotcha.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I don't disagree with broadening our options, but I don't see how Bonino is a question mark at this point. He had 25 points in his last 25 games (that might've included some first round games, I don't recall), and more points than Crosby this postseason. HBK was immediately better than HMK. That chemistry is just not easily transferable. This line was the competitive advantage.

I think Malkin would've been better with Kunitz/Rust/Sheary etc if he wasn't injured. The top six looked worse than it should've.

There is no doubt in my mind that a Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel line would outproduce a Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel line over the course of a season. Not one bit. Even when people thought they were struggling and Kessel couldn't bury a chance, they produced as much as HBK did. The question is how does that line and the 3rd line combined do though. That's the strength of the HBK line. But no, HBK is not better than HMK. It never has been.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Yeah but he hasn't. Sundqvist could still work on his skating and face offs. It wouldn't hurt his development to have him start the year in the ahl.

ready and needs to be in the NHL are two different things. I agree he's been ready. I also agree he can still develop in the AHL. I want him to be our first call-up this year.

 

[Empoleon8771]

The only reason that HBK produced more than HMK (and the difference at ES was marginal, it was like 1.08 GPG and 2.2 PPG for HMK and 1.13 GPG and 2.4 PPG for HBK) was because of the 5 point night that the HBK line had against Detroit. HMK would almost definitely be more productive than HBK over a full season.

 

[ColePens]

The only reason that HBK produced more than HMK (and the difference at ES was marginal, it was like 1.08 GPG and 2.2 PPG for HMK and 1.13 GPG and 2.4 PPG for HBK) was because of the 5 point night that the HBK line had against Detroit. HMK would almost definitely be more productive than HBK over a full season.

I'm fine with using HBK, and throwing those guys out w/ Sid/Geno, too. Why not have the best of everything? And I don't know, Emp. I think that chemistry and how they compliment one another is special. If they came out next year doing the same thing, don't change it. Don't change it until teams figure out how to stop that depth.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Isn't Boedker looking for some insane contract?

UFAs having delusions about their worth is common, Ladd and Lucic have the same problem iirc, but it comes down to GMs giving them that. Last off season was tame and I bet this one will be as well. Maybe some desperate idiot gives it to him but I doubt it.