Penguins Offseason

[abpk2903]

• Let's

end the endless discussion about who is better Crosby or Toews and create a thread about what each of us would do with the current roster.

Here would be my plan:

UFA's are Glass, Niskanen, Orpik, Jokinen, Vokoun, Engelland, Goc, Vitale, Stempniak, Gibbons, Connor, Kobesew, Harry Z, and Pyatt

-I would put 100% of my resources into signing Jokinen and Niskanen. I would test the market for Vitale, Gibbons and Stempniak. The rest I would help pack. I would be very careful not to overpay Niskanen. Though he had a great season, it was his 1st season of note in his career. If everyone remembers, last year he made some horrible mistakes in the playoffs and even struggled to make the lineup. The pens already have bad contracts on their blueline and they don't need another. Jokinen is able to play anywhere but I would love for the Pens to make him Sutter's winger. He played great with him in the playoffs and that would give that line more of a scoring threat. If the Pens could keep Gibbons or Stempniak it would solidify a solid 3rd line.

Which brings us to RFA's which include Sutter, Megna, and Depres

-This makes me nervous. What if a team puts a Shea Weber type offer on the table for him. He played amazing the last few months of the season and playoffs (good call Aoki) and ultimately he seems I be durable. I have a feeling the Flyers may take a run at him. They love the RFA market. Ultimately, I think the pens can keep him and he seems to have a strong desire to return. I don't see too much of a market for Depres and Megna which makes me think they will be back.

The players entering the final year of their contract are Fleury, Martin, Adams, and Bennett

-I think now is the time to decide the long term plan for Fleury. If the Pens would want to look elsewhere between the pipes, do it now while Fleury would still give you a return. I have no problem moving forward with Fleury. He has had good years and bad but I don't see an available goalie that would be anymore of a guarantee than the Flower. Adams I would place on waivers.

How I would reshape the roster:

-It's time for the pens to play with an identity and I think that should be a team that comes at the opponent in waves. They have 2 of the best probably 3 or 4 centers and a top defensive forward in Sutter to wear down these teams in the playoffs. I would also look to get some "goons" for Crosby and Malkin. Maybe a Neil or Orr to keep in the lineup. It a dangerous game to play but if it helps you keep opponents from getting under you skin, it is a necessity.

-Unleash the young talent on the blueline. Put Rob Scuderi on waivers and pray that he doesn't clear. If he does, ship him to WBS or ask him to revise his current deal. Don't allow a contract to hold the team hostage. More than likely Niskanen will move on but bring up this talent on the backend. Martin, Letang, Maata, Depres, Bortozzo should make the NHL roster out of camp and let Doumillon, Pouliot, Sammulson, Harrington fight for the final 2 roster spots.

-Get a top line winger. Neal and Kunitz are the only 2 wingers on the roster than should be playing with Sid and Geno. They can get away with Dupois and Bennett in injury situation but go get a top line winger.

[theoneandonly]

Good post as usual from you... I'm just going to piggy back a little off of somethings you brought up.

First and foremost they need to find a Coach/GM. The more I think about it the more I like the fact that DB is still on payroll for the time being. Let the new GM come in and get some blood on his hands and then move forward with his replacement. I've said it on here before but I think the Pens should do anything possible to get Mike Babcock out of Detroit. Rumors are just rumors but it's been said him and Crosby have a good relationship. He knows how to handle "superstars". He knows how to win in the playoffs. He's made it known he doesn't want to sign an extension in Detroit... I think it's a long shot but one certainly worth trying. After him I have no idea who I personally would want to see in Pittsbrugh.

I'm 100% on board with your assessment on Niskanen and thats why I feel the Pens won't be able to resign him. This past season was far and away the best he has had in the NHL which means one of two things... he is getting better and peaking at the right time for him in a contract year or he is going to ultimately regress and this year was somewhat of a fluke. Kinda scary to dump serious money into him at this point, IMO. Like abpk said... the last thing this franchise needs is another bad contract.

As far as the UFA's go outside of Niskanen I guess my number one would be Jussi... he is just the type of guy every team needs. He can play on lines 1-3 if needed and you pretty much know what you're going to get. Other than him I'd like to see Gibbons re-signed. I really like his game on the third line and on the PK. If he gets consistent PK time he is going to score a handful of shorties a year. I wouldn't mind to see Stempniak back but I don't think it's a huge loss. I don't mind Tanner Glass coming back either to play on the 4th line and be the resident goon.

UFA's I don't want to see back:

Orpik- His time is up... likable guy and appreciate what he did for all these years but it's time to free up a spot.
Vokoun- Zatkoff is a perfectly fine backup goalie for the NHL.
Engelland- Doesn't have a spot in the top 7 or 10 Dmen on roster so no need.
Goc- Decent depth guy but may have worst hands in NHL.
Pyatt- No spot for him and really no use for him.
Vitale/Harry Z/Kobasew- Guys like these are a dime a dozen in the NHL... outside of Vitale they don't really have a single NHL caliber attribute to bring to the table. Bring in new guys and see what they have.

RFA's

Sutter- I'm totally flip flopping on him. I do like what he brings and see his upside but at the same time I'd prefer to have Ryan Kesler be in a Pens uniform next year. If there is no way to get Kesler then I'm okay with tying up Sutter. If someone wants to throw a huge deal at him then so be it but no reason to over pay him with as little flexibility as the Pens have.

Despres- I think someone will offer him and he will probably leave unless the new FO guarantees him a shot at some consistent playing time. As a player I think he is better than Bortuzzo and I'm not sure why the past regime thought so little of him. He never really got a fair shake.

Megna- I wouldn't mind seeing him get a shot to play some real minutes but the spots on the top 2 lines aren't for him and the bottom 2 are going to fill up quickly. I'm just not sure where he fits.

-I'm 100% on board with doing whatever possible to get Scuderi out of there... if that means eating salary, do it. If it means sending him to WBS, do it. He is doing nothing but taking a spot from someone that will ultimately be better than him right away... I'm sure his play this season didn't help Shero much when he was meeting his maker.

-A top 6 of Martin, Letang, Maatta, Bortuzzo, Despres, and whichever young fella earns it works for me. Maybe bring in a veteran or two at league minimum in training camp to give a look just in case or to be #7 man. Maybe Engelland fits that role.. I don't know.

-I haven't done any research at all to see who is going to be available in free agency but there has to be an improvement on the top 6 wings. While I love Dupuis and he has been serviceable he did get demoted to the third line some before he went out... he's 35 and coming back from a major knee injury so I'm not sure what you can expect from him going forward. I like James Neal and think he is going to be fine but the reality is he has to play with 87/71 to have any effect long term. He is a sniper with one of the best shots in the league but can't create his own shot at all... he needs to play with one of them.

- My dream off-season is Babcock and Kesler...

[HockeyGenie]

Good post, I like all of your thoughts dealing with current pens players. These are just some top UFAs around the league, and where they stand in line with what the pens need in a top winger for Sid:

Marian Gaborik - he's sitting way out of the pens range at a pricey 7.5 million. I'm almost positive the Kings will do everything to get him back due to his playoff performance. Chances of the pens getting him: very little

Dany Heatly - again at 7.5 mil, MIN has the ability to get him back.
Chances of the pens getting: very little

Tomas Vanek - this is an interesting one because this could have happened at the trade deadline. Ray Shero just refused to give up Derek Pouliot and it all fell through.
Chances: iffy. He's very high priced at 7.1 mil but there's a possibility

Mike Cammaleri - 6 mil, almost surely Calgary will secure him
Chances: basically none

Iginla - this is a road that is all to familiar.
Chances: not going to happen

Daniel Alfredsson - RW, he's very old at 41. I don't see the reasoning of trying to get him even if they could produce the 5.5 mil to get him. Possibly retiring anyway
Chances: doubtful

Brian Gionta - MTL will be able to keep him at 5 mil
Chances: possibly

Ryan Callahan - I really like the prospect of this one. He's a right wing, coud possibly fit on sids line and is not too put of range at 4.2 mil. I feel like if the pens really made a push they could get him.
Chances: good

Olli Jokinen - something tells me WPG will do everything they can to keep him. But I don't see the possibility of this being too out of reach. It could be like a Jordan wanting to play with Eric deal. He sits at 4.5 mil which, again, isn't too bad.
Chances: decent

Jussi - I can almost guarantee he will be a pen again next year

These are all the top UFAs. Obviously there are some lower skilled and payed players put there on the market, but I just wanted to put the top out and show you how their chances stack up.

[Aoki11]

What is Keslers status? Free Agent?

Dumolin is shaping up to be the replacement for Scuds. If Scuds really loved this team he would realize how awful he was an hang up the skates. I mean honest to god, it was clear as day to me that he was the worst player on the ice every game, and I am definitely no hockey extradoninaire. I don't mean to get into the past because I know this post is meant to be a bout the future but I think this is an example of Bylsmas stubbornness, you mean there wasn't a better Dman they could have put out there? Anyways I think they are set in terms of Defenseman, no real need to go looking. This Dumolin kid is pretty highly regarded.

Good point from Genie about some of those guys. A name that really stands out to me is Callahan. He sits right in the middle, I think 4 million isn't out of this world and he is also pretty up there in skill, one could argue that hes worth a little more. I think Tampa will try really hard to secure his services but the opportunity to come to PIT could be tantalizing. If they get him that could be a steal.

But I would say right now Kesler is top priority.

[upnorth]

Concentrating on improving the D and bottom 6 should be the first priority. Callahan should would good on Crosby's right wing, but you have to remember that Sather leaked that Callahan's agent was asking for $6 million per year for 7 years. I respect the heck out of Callahan and think he is a great leader, but that is too much money in the salary cap world for what he brings to the table. I also don't understand all of the Kesler talk. I can't see him coming to town to play third line center and there's no way in the world that you move Malkin.

Let Orpik walk. Shop Letang even if it means taking a little money back. I'm afraid that there isn't anything to be done about Scuderi as nobody will want anything to do with that contract unless they need to reach the cap floor (Islanders?). I also think you have to resign Sutter (RFA) and Jokinen (UFA) if possible.

[theoneandonly]

[/quote]Olli Jokinen - something tells me WPG will do everything they can to keep him. But I don't see the possibility of this being too out of reach. It could be like a Jordan wanting to play with Eric deal. He sits at 4.5 mil which, again, isn't too bad.
Chances: decent[/quote]

No relation between Olli and Jussi.

[Aoki11]

Letang played with a broken hand and foot during the second round

[theoneandonly]

Broke his foot in Game 6 and hand in Game 7 but yeah he did. Broken bones should heal easily by the time traning camp rolls around. He has a lot to prove this season so if he is in black/gold lets hope he makes the most of it.

[HockeyGenie]

Thanks for the correction 1&only, I should have looked into that before saying it.

I agree, although I think Letangs play got progressively better throughout CBJ and New York to the point where he wasn't actually a liability I still think he has a lot to prove. Above all he needs to mature. He took some of the stupidest penalties that led to goals. He then needs to show consistency, sure he shows flashes of greatness but I don't know if anyone else thinks this but it's almost like they come in waves. This season will be make or break for letang

[KirkHerbstreit]

if I am the new GM, the first thing I do is explore options for trading Fleury. Fleury was not the main reason the Pens lost this year. In fact, he played better than he normally does in the playoffs. That said, he is a major question mark each and every playoffs. I think it wears on the team. I have heard people say 'Well, who out there is better than him?" Well, I have watched each year as Ty Conklin, Brent Johnson, and Vokoun have played better than Fleury at times and some times critical moments. If that list can outplay Fleury, I am certain a goalie can be found and for much less than the 5 million cap hit we pay now.