Salary Cap: Salary Cap & Roster Building | Countdown to October Part 2 (Cap Details + Links in First Post)

[Jaded-Fan]

it does depend what they give up for him in terms of roster players though.

Exactly. Though even if reasonable I would put TB ahead of the Pens but not by a lot. Pens would be slight dogs in a series with them. No Karlsson and the Pens are slight favorites.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

it does depend what they give up for him in terms of roster players though.

It sounds like a package around Sergachaev. Losing Sergachaev and having to dump, say, Tyler Johnson but adding Karlsson makes them an overall better team.

 

[Ogrezilla]

It sounds like a package around Sergachaev. Losing Sergachaev and having to dump, say, Tyler Johnson but adding Karlsson makes them an overall better team.

right, but it's not quite as ridiculous as it sounds when someone says the team that took the cup champs to 7 are adding Karlsson.

 

[Coach Travis]

I don’t want Karlsson.

We are well on our way to another very deep team which we were missing arguably the past two years and more than likely any trade that could realistically get Karlsson here would gut us.

Trading Guentzel would be awful IMO, even in a package for Karlsson.

I'll say this, IF our D plays their best hockey we actually have an unreal defensive core.

• 2016 Letang @ $7.25M > 2019 Karlsson @ $11M (not saying better just much more efficient cap hit).
• Schultz was great a year ago, not as much this year.
• Maatta was great this year, not so much last year
• Dumoulin has gotten better every year. He's been our most consistent D.
• Oleksiak, I think will make great strides this season with a full season under Sully.
• Johnson, while I'm still not a fan of the signing, he'll at the very least be a steady bottom pairing D. We'll see if Gonchar can get more out of him

So the Pens have, potentially, a very good blue line. It just seems like you have a lot of things that need to go right to ensure that with Letang's play being the biggest factor.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

right, but it's not quite as ridiculous as it sounds when someone says the team that took the cup champs to 7 are adding Karlsson.

He could have been the missing element. Tampa had a helluva time breaking the Caps' neutral zone 1-4 or whatever they played. Karlsson's ability to skate the puck through the neutral zone, combined with his ridiculously accurate outlet passes, could have gone a long way toward breaking that down.

 

[Pens x]

Exactly. Though even if reasonable I would put TB ahead of the Pens but not by a lot. Pens would be slight dogs in a series with them. No Karlsson and the Pens are slight favorites.

I think Tampa would be the favorite in a series today.

They have 8 guys that can score 20 goals. Their defense is superior, we don’t a legitimate #1 dman like a Hedman. Vas was a vezina finalist.

They beat us in all 3 major facets.

Please explain how we’d be a favorite???

 

[davemess]

I think Tampa would be the favorite in a series today.

They have 8 guys that can score 20 goals. Their defense is superior, we don’t a legitimate #1 dman like a Hedman. Vas was a vezina finalist.

They beat us in all 3 major facets.

Please explain how we’d be a favorite???

Not saying we would be favourites but your argument that because they have 8 20 goal scorers doesn't automatically meant they have a better forward group than we do.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Guessing Mayor is talking about the willingness to risk injury, to go to the dirty areas and be willing to do anything to win here. In that respect, 2016 Pens certainly weren't soft.

Right, and neither was 2017 or 2018. They just had a bad defensive group 2018 and ran into injuries/exhaustion. The depth wasn't there. Heck it still isn't there even though it got marginally better. When I say depth I mean beyond the top 6. One injury puts Ruh in full time.

 

[davemess]

The depth wasn't there. Heck it still isn't there even though it got marginally better. When I say depth I mean beyond the top 6. One injury puts Ruh in full time.

Not adding a Depth Dman at the deadline last year was a mistake I think (but suspect it was more of a cap issue than a lack of desire).

 

[mpp9]

There’s nothing steady about JJ’s game. I don’t get the Ian Cole comparisons. He’s a different player.

We need him to help our breakout, add a physical dimension and limit the stupid.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Not adding a Depth Dman at the deadline last year was a mistake I think (but suspect it was more of a cap issue than a lack of desire).

I think it was a factor of going too heavy after a 3C/4C. But what can you do. Depth wasn't there period.

 

[Hottubber]

Cros

I think Tampa would be the favorite in a series today.

They have 8 guys that can score 20 goals. Their defense is superior, we don’t a legitimate #1 dman like a Hedman. Vas was a vezina finalist.

They beat us in all 3 major facets.

Please explain how we’d be a favorite???

Who are their 8? I could see roughly around the same amount of 20 goal scorers as the Pens.

Crosby, Malkin, Horny, Kessel, Brassard, Jake, and possibly Rust should all be locks for 20 if healthy

The defense is a question mark for the pens, so no argument

Ill take Murray and his playoff track record over Vas any day

 

[bambamcam4ever]

He could have been the missing element. Tampa had a helluva time breaking the Caps' neutral zone 1-4 or whatever they played. Karlsson's ability to skate the puck through the neutral zone, combined with his ridiculously accurate outlet passes, could have gone a long way toward breaking that down.

Tampa's bigger problem is that they would never accomplish anything in the OZ with their midget forwards, against both PIT and WSH.

 

[Ogrezilla]

There’s nothing steady about JJ’s game. I don’t get the Ian Cole comparisons. He’s a different player.

We need him to help our breakout, add a physical dimension and limit the stupid.

there's not much steady about Ian Cole's game either. He was incredibly up and down.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

It sounds like a package around Sergachaev. Losing Sergachaev and having to dump, say, Tyler Johnson but adding Karlsson makes them an overall better team.

I don't think it does. Tampa doesn't exactly have a guy to step in and replace Johnson. But their defense gets infinitely better without a doubt. Their forward depth turns weaker which was their problem and no, Karlsson won't be the differenc.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I think Tampa would be the favorite in a series today.

They have 8 guys that can score 20 goals. Their defense is superior, we don’t a legitimate #1 dman like a Hedman. Vas was a vezina finalist.

They beat us in all 3 major facets.

Please explain how we’d be a favorite???

Forwards are obviously very close. I'd still take ours just because I value centers more than wings.

We'll see if Letang bounces back. Letang outplayed Hedman the last time we met Tampa in the playoffs.

We'll also see how Murray responds to a disappointing season.

 

[davemess]

Having 4 working lines should be a huge boost to the defence next year.

For most of last year we were overplaying the top 2 lines and their defensive efforts suffered with having the carry the extra ice time. The bottom 2 lines were a mishmash that other teams didn't have to worry about going the other way and creating offence.

This year we have the ability to roll out 3 lines that should be offensively dynamic while limiting their minutes and allowing them to exert a strong defensive effort. And the 4th line should be solid defensively with Sheahan/Cullen & another while also being able to provide some offensive threat so teams do have to give them some thought.

 

[66-30-33]

The rumors I see all say he won’t sign an extension with the current crop of serious suitors with the exception of Tampa, and that EK is pushing for Tampa only, but I guess Tampa’s deal with the Rags to take someone to clear cap space wasn’t good enough....that was the holdup, not the return to OTT...who knows

I seriously doubt he ONLY wants to play for Tampa. I can see him picking TB over Pens though as we only have a few years left in our window.

 

[Turin]

People want to acquire Karlsson for the exact opposite reasons they wanted to trade Kessel for. Makes no sense.

What? I’m not big on dealing Kessel unless it fascilitates getting somebody like EK.

 

[USMC607]

For sure. But it would take a lot more significant roster turnover for Tampa than is generally being discussed here for Karlsson not to be a huge net positive.

It's not that he only wants to play for Tampa.

It's out of all the serious suitors which is what? LV, DAL, and TB.

That only TB would be a place he will automatically sign an extension to apparently.

The other 2 he would want to see how things go during the season before he re ups.

 

[Turin]

I seriously doubt he ONLY wants to play for Tampa. I can see him picking TB over Pens though as we only have a few years left in our window.

He’d extend that window to a comparable with Tampa.

 

[Tom Hanks]

I seriously doubt he ONLY wants to play for Tampa. I can see him picking TB over Pens though as we only have a few years left in our window.

We might only have a few years left in our window but what a view it would be.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

there's not much steady about Ian Cole's game either. He was incredibly up and down.

Ehhhhhhh. I’d say the foundation of Cole’s game is based in something steadier and he’s a steadier player than Johnson because of it. That’s what made him a good partner for defensemen they were rehabbing but neither should be counted on as a top 4 D. Aside from their size and playing grittier games there isn’t much in common with Johnson and Cole imo.

Forwards are obviously very close. I'd still take ours just because I value centers more than wings.

We'll see if Letang bounces back. Letang outplayed Hedman the last time we met Tampa in the playoffs.

We'll also see how Murray responds to a disappointing season.

Murray will bounce back like a beast and then Johnson will fall on him in practice. The dreaded day to day and board craziness.

Letang is the mystery, and if he bounces back it’s a matter of how long he stays healthy.

 

[mpp9]

there's not much steady about Ian Cole's game either. He was incredibly up and down.

He’d take some penalties because he wasn’t an awesome skater. But if you think Cole wasn’t steady, I got some bad news for you.

I’m going into this hoping JJ can replace some of Daley from a couple years ago and that we can hide him to an extent in terms of some starts and matchups.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Ehhhhhhh. I’d say the foundation of Cole’s game is based in something steadier and he’s a steadier player than Johnson because of it. That’s what made him a good partner for defensemen they were rehabbing but neither should be counted on as a top 4 D. Aside from their size and playing grittier games there isn’t much in common with Johnson and Cole imo.

He’d take some penalties because he wasn’t an awesome skater. But if you think Cole wasn’t steady, I got some bad news for you.

I’m going into this hoping JJ can replace some of Daley from a couple years ago and that we can hide him to an extent in terms of some starts and matchups.

They are different players for sure, but steady isn't a word I'd use for him. I guess it's being used to describe a guy who isn't making high risk plays, so in that sense I guess it's right. I'm just thinking of it more in terms of consistency, and Cole has never been very consistent.

I definitely agree JJ is more of a replacement for Daley, just with some physicality.