Salary Cap: Salary Cap + Roster Building | Every time I refresh, I panic.

[Honour Over Glory]

The Johnson signing stinks even more now because everyone knows he won't move him and now the option is to move Maatta to find a defenseman (by people here) that can babysit the guys this team is stuck with. I mean I am all for moving Maatta for other reasons, but I also want Johnson gone. You upgrade on those two, then you allow Oleksiak and Riikola to stay and learn. I'm ok with that.

What a time to be alive.

Where people also blame a kid (that should still be in the AHL to grow) that didn't ask to play past his 9 game tryout to burn a year of ELC and waiver eligibility.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Where people also blame a kid (that should still be in the AHL to grow) that didn't ask to play past his 9 game tryout to burn a year of ELC and waiver eligibility.

is anybody actually blaming Sprong? I mean, beyond giving him his share of blame for his own play.

And let's be serious right now. If Sprong was in the AHL the same people upset about his current playing time would be upset that he's not being called up.

 

[KIRK]

The Johnson signing stinks even more now because everyone knows he won't move him and now the option is to move Maatta to find a defenseman (by people here) that can babysit the guys this team is stuck with. I mean I am all for moving Maatta for other reasons, but I also want Johnson gone. You upgrade on those two, then you allow Oleksiak and Riikola to stay and learn. I'm ok with that.

What a time to be alive.

Where people also blame a kid (that should still be in the AHL to grow) that didn't ask to play past his 9 game tryout to burn a year of ELC and waiver eligibility.

I'd love Johnson to go, but it's not going to happen for obvious reasons.

I'd also love to see Oleksiak gone because frankly you can't teach or turn around dumb (which ultimately is the difference between turning around Oleksiak versus turning around Cole or Schultz or teaching Riikola).

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Who said to add a first to Maatta for an older D?

I said I'd move Maatta for a defenseman who was an impending UFA or had a year left. I think that is what @Riptide was replying to. Or, did I miss something?

Only time I'd consider adding a 1st to Maatta is (a) if it were top 10 protected and (b) were for a legit higher end 2/3 with some term and a good cap hit who could help Letang drive the offense (rushing the puck, smart and quick decisions with the puck) AND play a good 200 foot game

Salary wise if we can figure out a way to make Goligoski back here work with sending Maatta + Sprong + Rust there for Goligoski + Panik + a pick, I'd probably make that happen. It drops Rust from the cap next year, we get Goose back and when Schultz comes back we finally have a solid 4 and Panik is a UFA at the end of the year and well, hopefully they don't squander the pick (maybe a 2nd rounder?).

Maybe get the Coyotes to retain on Panik to make it a wash cap hit wise for us.

Edit: I wish we had Grabner, but I can just imagine people freaking out at the suggestion of it.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

is anybody actually blaming Sprong? I mean, beyond giving him his share of blame for his own play.

And let's be serious right now. If Sprong was in the AHL the same people upset about his current playing time would be upset that he's not being called up.

Nah, the thing is this, if you still have Sprong with waiver eligibility and you saw what he's done this year and its clear he's not NHL ready right now and NEEDS more time in the AHL, then you know he needs to be there to grow and that's exactly the issue. He spent 1 season in the AHL. He needed more than that. People are speaking so matter-of-fact-ly that he's just garbage and has no future. That's pathetic. Those people are pathetic.

 

[KIRK]

Salary wise if we can figure out a way to make Goligoski back here work with sending Maatta + Sprong + Rust there for Goligoski + Panik + a pick, I'd probably make that happen. It drops Rust from the cap next year, we get Goose back and when Schultz comes back we finally have a solid 4 and Panik is a UFA at the end of the year and well, hopefully they don't squander the pick (maybe a 2nd rounder?).

That's definitely an example that doesn't involve the Pens 1st.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Nah, the thing is this, if you still have Sprong with waiver eligibility and you saw what he's done this year and its clear he's not NHL ready right now and NEEDS more time in the AHL, then you know he needs to be there to grow and that's exactly the issue. He spent 1 season in the AHL. He needed more than that. People are speaking so matter-of-fact-ly that he's just garbage and has no future. That's pathetic. Those people are pathetic.

I wish he could be in the AHL too.

You know who are also pathetic? The people who are just as blindly blaming everyone but Sprong for Sprong's play. And there's no way those same people would be anything but upset about Sprong in the AHL right now.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

That's definitely an example that doesn't involve the Pens 1st.

I love Rust, but he's just not working on this roster, Sullivan doesn't want to keep him in the bottom 6 and the bottom 6 is an abomination mostly being the 4th line that's the problem. Even to start the season the idea was Simon-Brassard-Rust and that was abandoned to make Brass a winger for whatever reason, because apparently an 82 game schedule isn't hard enough, the team should try stupid shit too.

I think the deal works out for both sides to be honest, I'd rather have Grabner, but not at that cap hit and term. Panik is 1yr, gives JR some flexibility next summer to figure out how to retool this roster with more cap space and hopefully less of his rejects from his Carolina days.

I wish he could be in the AHL too.

You know who are also pathetic? The people who are just as blindly blaming everyone but Sprong for Sprong's play. And there's no way those same people would be anything but upset about Sprong in the AHL right now.

The guy is not confident, he needs to work on his game away from the puck, he needs to know what his bread and butter is and he hasn't been doing that, inversely, the coach isn't putting him in a spot to break out of the slump and likely never will because of how he is and he can't be in the AHL.

That's what most have maintained in the Sprong argument for those that don't think he's just some bust.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I'd love Johnson to go, but it's not going to happen for obvious reasons.

I'd also love to see Oleksiak gone because frankly you can't teach or turn around dumb (which ultimately is the difference between turning around Oleksiak versus turning around Cole or Schultz or teaching Riikola).

I'm just thinking who would take Oleksiak. He's producing, so I think a team with a deeper defense that likes that he is able to handle the puck might take a risk and he would probably thrive in a deeper defense type of environment where his role is more simplified to just being a pmd type. Pens are trying to round out his game, but they also keep flopping him from LD to RD and the defense is generally a mess. You can't fix and bring along players when your defense is a nightmare already.

Could you imagine a guy like Schultz being traded to us in the state this team is right now? People would call him crap too because he likely would be with the way this team is handling players at the moment. Especially ones that require more development. Riikola has so much promise but man, if they don't upgrade on Johnson and Maatta to solidify that top 4, yikes.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Even the current roster...good lord, why Garrett Wilson?

I would have called up Lafferty or Angello. Big, skates, is a right handed shot. It's a no brainer, well for some.

Guentzel, Crosby, Laffery/Angello
Pearson, Malkin, Kessel
Simon, Brassard, Rust
Aston-Reese, Sheahan, DiPauli or Grant, Sheahan, Aston-Reese

Roll with that.

 

[Ogrezilla]

The guy is not confident, he needs to work on his game away from the puck, he needs to know what his bread and butter is and he hasn't been doing that, inversely, the coach isn't putting him in a spot to break out of the slump and likely never will because of how he is and he can't be in the AHL.

That's what most have maintained in the Sprong argument for those that don't think he's just some bust.

Agreed on where he's at. I just don't see anybody actually blaming him to some ridiculous degree, and I don't think I've seen anyone call him a bust. I've seen plenty of people deflect every bit of criticism at him as the coaches and linemates fault though. Or maybe it's just warm cookies doing it enough that it feels like a bunch of people