Salary Cap: Salary Cap & Roster Building | Monday, February 26

[Honour Over Glory]

Last free agency there were centers a lot older than who got paid (Thornton, Marleau). Younger ones who had big question marks too (Hanzal).

The FA before that, Backes was 32 and made 4.5 mil per.

4.5-5m is where I would sit with Stastny, which if you move things around, could work for us, if JR wanted to go that route.

Even if you move Sheary and let Cole walk and send Tony Harding after Hunwick, you have enough to keep Horny (with a raise of around 1m more than he makes now but longer term) and you can add Stastny and retain Sheahan with the loss of Reaves.

Next year you could roll...

Guentzel, Crosby, Simon (or Sprong)
Hagelin, Malkin, Hornqvist
ZAR, Stastny, Kessel
Kuhnhackl, Sheahan, Rust

Good luck matching up against that top 9 and that 4th line is like a silent but deadly fart, you won't see it, but when it hits you, man you'll be sorry for not being prepared.

4-Peat son, that's where my head is at.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

I'd like to see Blueger get a few games before the trade deadline.

 

[Peat]

I’m not willing to risk our playoffs to see if Sheahan is third line caliber. I want to win.

Sheahan been playing great recently, but is anyone convinced yet? So many people(including myself) jump to conclusions. I would’ve been more convinced with Sheahan if he played at this level all year ... but there’s not enough time to evaluate Sheahan now since the trade deadline is upon us.

I am not utterly confident. A form relapse could be deadly.

But I am confident that if he maintains form, he can do it.

Even so, I'd rather get another guy better than him if possible to do so at a mostly fair price.

If that does happen though, I'm comfortable with the gamble. I don't see how you win the Cup without gambling on some players; it costs too much to have a roster of sure things. We certainly gambled the last two years.

And even sure things don't always work. See Hanzal failing to fit in at Minnesota.

 

[Peat]

Still think that pairing is working out like Cole and Schultz where Schultz is carrying him. If he’s getting paid 4 mil Maatta should be able to produce 15-20 points on his own pairing. That’d help tremendously.

Maatta has 38.2pc of his ice time with Schultz and 42.8 of his production. He'd have a point less if he'd had his non-Schultz production the entire time, good for a season pace of 18.6 at ES. He has done everything you wanted, it's just you haven't noticed.

Right now my biggest beef with Sully's lines is keeping those two together instead of giving each their own line.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I'd like to see Blueger get a few games before the trade deadline.

Yeah, I really don't get calling him up and keeping him in the press box.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Why would we want Shore? The pens need a legit 3C. Not another run of the mill 4C that you can find anywhere.

Yah, I don't like Sheahan at 3C. He's played his best at 4C.

I just don't think he can be counted on as a 3C in the playoffs. I love him as our Matt Cullen, takes the hard Faceoffs, makes our 4th line good, PK staple.

what should we do if there are no deals available for a "legit 3C" that comes at a reasonable cost, fits in the cap, and is an actual upgrade over Sheahan? A guy like Shore makes us a better team than doing nothing in that case.

What "legit 3C" options are even available right now beyond Brassard? It's not like we have dozens of options here.

 

[Ugene Magic]

13 more days of this. Talk about maximizing every cap dollar.

13 days.

 

[Shaffer]

Yeah, I really don't get calling him up and keeping him in the press box.

He likes free nachos.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

what should we do if there are no deals available for a "legit 3C" that comes at a reasonable cost, fits in the cap, and is an actual upgrade over Sheahan? A guy like Shore makes us a better team than doing nothing in that case.

What "legit 3C" options are even available right now beyond Brassard? It's not like we have dozens of options here.

Add Plekanec ( and even maybe Cullen as another option in case one fails), and go after a higher caliber winger which are easier to get.

 

[HandshakeLine]

He likes free nachos.

That's a bad sign. Gary Roberts better get him on the all-hot dog diet and fast.

 

[wheelz87]

Grabner has 5 assists? Lol wow. I'm not trading a first rounder for that.

 

[HandshakeLine]

So, while we're still debating if Sheahan is a 3C or not, can we at least argue that he's reversed his statistical decline that started on the Wings? Despite his horrid start, he's actually on pace for his 2nd best career season this year.

 

[Peat]

Add Plekanec ( and even maybe Cullen as another option in case one fails), and go after a higher caliber winger which are easier to get.

Problem with that is even at 50%, Pleks kills your cap space for higher calibre wingers. Not an insurmountable problem, but a problem nevertheless.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

4.5-5m is where I would sit with Stastny, which if you move things around, could work for us, if JR wanted to go that route.

Even if you move Sheary and let Cole walk and send Tony Harding after Hunwick, you have enough to keep Horny (with a raise of around 1m more than he makes now but longer term) and you can add Stastny and retain Sheahan with the loss of Reaves.

Next year you could roll...

Guentzel, Crosby, Simon (or Sprong)
Hagelin, Malkin, Hornqvist
ZAR, Stastny, Kessel
Kuhnhackl, Sheahan, Rust

Good luck matching up against that top 9 and that 4th line is like a silent but deadly fart, you won't see it, but when it hits you, man you'll be sorry for not being prepared.

4-Peat son, that's where my head is at.

I'll put it this way: I would be shocked if Stastny only signed for 4.5-5 mil per.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Picture this.

Dumoulin-Hunwick
Maatta-Schultz
Cole-Oleksiak

Put Ruh in instead of Hunwick and I'd actually be fine with it. Move Letang and use that dough to get a defenseman with a couple brain cells to rub together plus more money to spend at forward, and I'd have an itchy trigger finger that would come down to the particulars.

But for real, Letang is a huge wildcard and I’m not sure if that’s being hopelessly optimistic. I think he’s better than any replacement they could reasonably get and there’s always a chance he gets bonked on the head and reset. His **** ups could lose them a series at his worst and can’t pretend he’s playing like a real 1D, though.

That's where we're at though. The guy has a series of WTF moments in danger areas every game, yet Sully's still playing him like he gets paid by the minute.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Last year, the question was "Can the Pens win WITHOUT Kris Letang?" This year, it's "Can the Pens win WITH Kris Letang?"

 

[Tender Rip]

Hmmm.... Just want it out there that I would much prefer paying significant assets to the Rangers for Kevin Hayes compared to doing so to Ottawa for Brassard.

Would be a pretty ideal guy for our needs, I’d say, and he doesn’t have the numbers to get a huge deal as an RFA, so he’s an asset for the long term.

1st and Sprong would likely be on the table for me on that one - more so if JR is about extending Horny as I think he will.

 

[Tender Rip]

.... and can we put a moratorium on Letang trade talk until after the season?
I get it - I doubt anyone here has been critical of Letang for as long as I have - but it obviously cannot, will not and should not happen during this season.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I'm a big backer of trading Letang or at least letting teams know he's available and seeing what you can get for him, but I also believe that if it was going to happen during the season, it would have happened before Christmas.

That said, if Letang comes anywhere close to regaining form, this team looks a lot better in a hurry, better than any trade on the blueline, IMO.

 

[mpp9]

Hmmm.... Just want it out there that I would much prefer paying significant assets to the Rangers for Kevin Hayes compared to doing so to Ottawa for Brassard.

Would be a pretty ideal guy for our needs, I’d say, and he doesn’t have the numbers to get a huge deal as an RFA, so he’s an asset for the long term.

1st and Sprong would likely be on the table for me on that one - more so if JR is about extending Horny as I think he will.

He’s not great defensively or in the circle and he’s on pace for 35 points this season.

I get him having shown he can play well with scoring wingers and adds size and youth to the center position.

But I doubt we’d be looking at him.

 

[Tom Hanks]

.... and can we put a moratorium on Letang trade talk until after the season?
I get it - I doubt anyone here has been critical of Letang for as long as I have - but it obviously cannot, will not and should not happen during this season.

I don’t think anyone has suggested any trades lately or thinks he’d be moved right now

 

[HandshakeLine]

I don’t think anyone has suggested any trades lately or thinks he’d be moved right now

I haven't and don't, and I've been one of the more vocal members of the "think about trading Letang" camp. Letang's NTC makes that too problematic, plus I'd wager that the mere possibility of Letang regaining some kind of form makes it hard to think about trading him this trade deadline, unless there's some crazy insane blockbuster trade on the horizon, the likes of which we haven't seen since the last CBA.

The possibility of him playing 75% of what he is capable of is still more valuable this season than trading for a potential fix. That said, you have to wonder if management will start thinking hard about the cost of Letang going forward vs. cap space and potential fixes in the off-season.

But man, I wish Letang was playing well enough to shut me up and make it seem crazy that we even thought about trading him earlier. Sucks that's pretty terrible this year.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Problem with that is even at 50%, Pleks kills your cap space for higher calibre wingers. Not an insurmountable problem, but a problem nevertheless.

The way Plekanec has been playing in the past 2 years he wouldn't be an upgrade on Sheahan.
If we are going to trade for a center it needs to be a major upgrade like a Bonino type of center

 

[Tom Hanks]

I haven't and don't, and I've been one of the more vocal members of the "think about trading Letang" camp. Letang's NTC makes that too problematic, plus I'd wager that the mere possibility of Letang regaining some kind of form makes it hard to think about trading him this trade deadline, unless there's some crazy insane blockbuster trade on the horizon, the likes of which we haven't seen since the last CBA.

The possibility of him playing 75% of what he is capable of is still more valuable this season than trading for a potential fix. That said, you have to wonder if management will start thinking hard about the cost of Letang going forward vs. cap space and potential fixes in the off-season.

But man, I wish Letang was playing well enough to shut me up and make it seem crazy that we even thought about trading him earlier. Sucks that's pretty terrible this year.

He doesn’t have a real strong M-NTC (he can go to 18 teams). It’s a hard move in season though, seems JR has explored that option already. Letang not missing any games for the rest of the year will put some GM’s minds at ease. That was the main issue according to the media regarding trades (other than large cap during the season). They know he’s good but will he play enough.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Last year, the question was "Can the Pens win WITHOUT Kris Letang?" This year, it's "Can the Pens win WITH Kris Letang?"

It's crazy. Hopefully he steps it up and can turn things around the way he did in the 2016 playoffs