For our Pittsburgh Penguins, the first day of free agency was a far cry from last summer. Remember? When GM Jim Rutherford sent shock waves through the NHL by acquiring Phil Kessel from Toronto as the centerpiece of a stunning six-player swap?
Of course, the team’s situation is as different as night and day, too. Last year the locals were reeling from a disappointing opening-round playoff exit. This year…Stanley Cup champs!
While news wires fairly crackled with big signings by their NHL brethren, the Pens kept a low profile as expected. Salary-cap constraints played a big part. As of July 1, the black and gold was thought to have about $1 million of available cap space.
Accordingly, Rutherford and his staff focused on reinforcing a defensive corps depleted by the loss of Ben Lovejoy, who signed a three-year pact with New Jersey.
The Pens also lost the services of goalie Jeff Zatkoff. The ultra-popular backup heads west to rejoin his original team, Los Angeles. Minor-league defenseman Will O’Neill agreed to terms with Philadelphia.
Here’s a quick peek at the additions:
| Player | Last NHL Team | Age | Pos | NHL Totals | |||||
| GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- | ||||
| Cameron Gaunce | Dallas | 26 | D | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 23 | -2 |
| Stuart Percy | Toronto | 23 | D | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | -6 |
| Chad Ruhwedel | Buffalo | 26 | D | 33 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| David Warsofsky | New Jersey | 26 | D | 32 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | -7 |
Percy, a former first-round pick of Toronto in 2011, figures to be an intriguing addition. The 6’1″ 187-pounder handles the puck well and plays a solid all-around game.
Tipping the scales at 203 pounds, Gaunce employs a physical style and isn’t shy about dropping the gloves. Ruhwedel and Warsofsky—who played a dozen games for the Pens last season before being claimed on waivers by the Devils—are mobile and skilled.
The Penguins also inked heavyweight Tom Sestito and rugged defenseman Steve Oleksy to new one-year deals. Defenseman Tim Erixon—part of the Kessel trade—spurned an offer from the KHL to re-sign with the Pens on June 27.
Barring a trade to free up cap space, the Penguins aren’t likely to make a big splash in the coming weeks. However, Rutherford still hopes to re-sign Justin Schultz and center Matt Cullen, the 39-year-old wonder who played a crucial two-way role in the team’s march to the Cup.
New Deal for Rutherford
The Penguins signed Rutherford to a three-year extension. The new contract runs through the 2018-19 season.
A recent recipient of the NHL’s General Manager of the Year award, the 67-year-old Beeton, Ontario native is one of five active general managers to win multiple Stanley Cups.
The Pens also signed assistant coach Jacques Martin to a two-year extension. An invaluable member of the staff, Martin worked with the defense after replacing Gary Agnew on December 12.
Ex-Pens on the Move
Several former Penguins found new homes on the first day of free agency.
David Perron returned to his NHL roots, signing a two-year contract with St. Louis. Lee Stempniak agreed to a two-year deal with Carolina. Pens draftees Chad Johnson (Calgary) and Brian Strait (Winnipeg) moved north of the border, as did Jayson Megna (Vancouver).
Much travelled Adam Clendening signed with the Rangers. Enforcer Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond—cleverly nicknamed PL3—flew south to Tampa Bay.
Earlier this summer, 2009 Cup hero Max Talbot defected to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL.
Hi Rick,Phil,Coach,
Got a quick question for you. We were discussing the Pen’s Cap situation and my buddy had this suggestion,and I do not know if it would be possible or not. Hoping one of you guys would know the answer.
Here is his idea. If Chris Kunitz has 1 year left on his contract at $ 3.85 million
dollars,and you knew for sure he was going to RETIRE at the end of the year, could you give him 1 year contract extension for the CBA minimum of say $ 550,000 for his second year, that would give Kunitz a 2 year contract worth $ 4.4 million and that would drop his annual Cap Hit to $ 2.2 million for this year and next. Then next year you “trade” Kunitz to a salary cap floor level team at the end of this season,(who would easily pay $ 550,000 to buy out a player that has a $ 2.2 million dollar Cap Hit for 2017 ).
Of course Kunitz, does not move but retires as planned in 2017 and picks up $ 550,000 for his troubles and the Pen’s and we get an extra $ 3,850,000 – $ 2,200,000 = $ 1,650,000 in extra Cap space to use this year. $ 1.65 Million !
On paper it makes sense, but there has to be a reason why Teams do not do this.
Is this even possible???
Cheers
Hi Guys,
To take this idea one step further. If you did the same with MAF and he agreed to retire in 3 years,( he would be 35 ), 3 years at $ 5,750,000 is $17,250,000 total contract value for 3 years.Add one more year at $550,000 and the New total contract value for 4 years is $ 17,800,000. Now the new annual cap hit for MAF is $ 4,450,000. You just saved another $ 1,300,000 in Cap space which can be used this year. Between MAF and Chris Kunitz that would save $ 2,965,000 in Cap space which we could sign a serious player for this amount of money.Maybe throw in Eric F. in a trade and now you have $ 5 million in salary cap space to use.???
Is this possible ??
Please advise.
Cheers
Hey Jim, I think the NHL put a rule in to stop contracts like that, but I’m really not sure how it works.
I would be great if they did, but I doubt that either Kunitz or Fleury would go for that anyway. Fleury has been playing great since he got the new goaltender coach. Kunitz had a decent year, and started putting up numbers again as soon as Johnston was ousted. Kunitz is a great player to have on Malkin’s line to back up Malkin’s sporadic defensive play. #1 on Pens in plus minus #3 in the league is pretty good.
https://www.nhl.com/video/kunitzs-great-diving-poke/t-277350912/c-44200803
IT’s funny how different people have different ideas. Drinking in the parking lot after a game with my hockey team a week or so ago the consensus was to try to trade Murray while people thought he was good to Calgary for their #1 draft pick.
My thought is all the Pens need is one more solid defenseman. Paying Fehr 2 mil a year as a fourth liner 10 minutes a game guy is too much. Trade him, pick up a solid defenseman and maybe Cullen if there is some money left. Then call it a day. Do they need to make crazy moves? It would be NHL’s #1 team taking a run at the Cup again. Worry about the rest after the playoffs.
The Pens only lose 1 player in the expansion draft. Fleury has a no move clause and can block the move I believe. We could lose Murray, but there are way better proven goaltenders available.
Thanks for the info Phil.
I knew it sounded to good to be true.
I agree with you about 1 more defense man and trading Fehr.
Another discussion locally was why not trade D.Pouliot and Tristan Jarry to Edmonton for Nail Yakapov ? To make it work you would have to add Fehr and his 2 million Cap hit because Yakapov ‘s Cap hit is 2,8 million. I think he has 1 year left on his contract. The reason I say that is because he has been a fish out of water in Edmonton. Beside Malkin and with Gonchar he may become the super star everybody said he would be. Yes he is 5’11”, but he weighs 220 +. Built like a tank and can skate very well. I would go after that trade because both Jarry and Pouliot are local boys who would have an attraction to the fan base in Edmonton and they need depth in Goal and defense..
Just a thought.??
Thanks again…
That’s a tough one. I have believed for years that Edmonton’s problem has been coaching. Yakupov would be an incredible addition. Our problem would be that we would be short two defensemen. I’m a fan of having a quality backup D. Even though Rutherford has reloaded WBS with mediocre D, I think the Pens are in need of a Lovejoy quality defenseman.
That being said if I was GM, I know everyone is throwing Kunitz around, I do believe Yakupov would be a suitable replacement for him and the upside is ridiculous.
Kunitz/Fehr/Pouliott for Yakupov. Sign Cullen, Shultz (2.25 mil a year for 2 years) and go after another solid defenseman.
Hey Phil
Total agreement. 100 % !!
For the record, I am a big Chris Kunitz fan and I wish we had 3 more like him.
His compete level everyday,game in and game out is always the same.Total effort.
Case in point Phil, at the last Olympics in Sochi, both Crosby and CK were there representing Canada.Most of my Canadian hockey friends do not follow the Pen’s the way I do, so they said ” The only reason CK was on the team was because Crosby wanted him there.” The way CK played in Sochi, just like in Burgh, was outstanding and they moved him to other lines for Penalty killing,a bit of PK,defensive shut down role, played with other great Centers as well. Probably one of the top 10-12 players on the ice, on a team of 25 Super stars. That is what I think of CK.
Even Don Cherry praised him for his “lunch pail ” hockey style. So it is with a sad heart I say to trade CK,but everybody has a time when it just makes sense to do it.
Thanks.
cheers.
Hey Jim,
Unfortunately, salary cap issues are not my strong suit. If I remember correctly, they did change some rules a couple of years back to curb some of the creative contract stuff that some teams were playing with to get around the cap, particularly Chicago, when they were signing players like Hossa. Exactly what loop holes they tried closing, I don’t know.
I keep promising myself to sit down and read the rules, but something always comes up.
Thanks Coach
Hope you are having a good summer.
Just a little update.
Four more ex-Pens found new homes on July 2. Nate Guenin moved to Anaheim. Philip Samuelsson went to Montreal. Trevor Smith and Harry Zolnierczyk signed with Nashville.
Hi Rick,
I too am hoping that Cullen can be signed for a reasonable, 1 year deal that also allows us to sign Justin Schultz if the numbers make sense. Probably the biggest signing yesterday for me was the 3 year new contract for JR. To me,that tells us that he knows something we don’t in the future of the Pen’s ownership group. If there was uncertainty, he probably would not have resigned for 3 years. I know it is pure speculation on my part, but again to me he knows, or was given assurances on the future ownership make up of our team for at least the next 3 years. Same idea with the Jacques Martin signing as well. That is good news for our team moving forward.
With the signing of Stuart Percy from Toronto, it was simply a numbers game for the Leafs. Much like Beau Bennett, Percy was hampered with injuries through out his career and never got to reach his full potential.( two concussions,a leg injury and a few minor injuries). But by all reports this guy is cool under pressure,moves the puck very well,great first pass out of the zone,mobile and quick with a high hockey IQ. Two and half years ago he was Toronto’s second rated d man in their prospect system and they had him projected to be a 1-2 Top pairing d man. Now the ratings as of today, have dropped him to a possible 4-5 d man on the right type of team. So I think JR
may have stolen another one away. Time will tell.
Also the dramatic change in Toronto’s organization ,( New President, new GM, new Coach, new everything really in the last 30 month’s, may have had a lot to do with this as well.) Coach Mike Babcock and GM Lou A. are not real big fans of one dimensional players.
Great article as always Rick.
Cheers
Hey Jim,
Nice to hear from you, as always … 🙂
You’re a lot more familiar with Percy than I am. But I had the same sense as you when reading the reports on him. Provided he’s able to fully recover from those injuries and concussions (always a concern), he sounds like a guy who might fit well with the Pens.
Perhaps not as skilled as Schultz, but good with the puck. Maybe not as good as Lovejoy in his own end, but reasonably sound. Kind of the “all-arounder” I think the Pens could use.
Hope you’re having a good summer … 🙂
Hi Rick
One other question.
What was your take on the Taylor Hall trade?
To me it was like trading Crosby for Dion Pheonuf or a Marc Stall.
Crazy.
Good to hear from you as well.☺
Hey Jim,
While it certainly took me by surprise (the Weber-Subban deal, too) I hadn’t given it a lot of thought.
A couple of things come to mind. With players like McDavid, Draisatil and Eberle (and now Lucic) Edmonton has a wealth of riches up front. However, their defensive corps has been a flat-out disaster. Perhaps Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli felt he needed to overpay to get someone back there (Larsson) who could defend a little.
Maybe, too, there were internal issues over whose team it was—McDavid’s or Hall’s. I can remember way back when the Pens drafted Mario Lemieux. There was some tension between him and the team’s reigning star, Mike Bullard.
Bullard, initially, chafed at taking a backseat to Mario and accepting a secondary role. He was eventually traded to Calgary for Dan Quinn.
Just guessing. But perhaps that was the case with McDavid and Hall.
In any event, leave it to Ray Shero to take full advantage. He has a history of fleecing his front-office brethren. Armstrong and Christensen for Hossa and Dupuis. Goligoski for Neal and Niskanen. Whitney for Kunitz.
He’s very quietly (or not-so-quietly in this case) transforming the Devils.
Hey Rick,
Amen, the team is night and day different from last year. Last year they were foundering and appeared directionless. Even as late as November last year they couldn’t score a goal to save their lives. They did their part to prove the axiom, “it is not where you are in October that counts, but where you are in April.”
You and I have talked ad nauseum about Lovejoy. He really responded to his benching and came on to have a very strong play-offs. And he really didn’t sign a ridiculous contract either. A little more than I think he is worth but considering he is coming off of a Cup winner, it really wasn’t all that out of line.
With the drafting of Gustavsson, and with Jarry already in the system and tons of talk about trading MAF, JZ’s defection is very understandable. I do think he was lucky to get the money he did though.
I do hope that they can come to terms with Sargent Schultz and Cullen. If they do sign Schultz, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is only a 1-year deal. In Cullen’s case I can’t either side really pushing for anything but a 1-yr deal.
Having only seen what Warsofsky could do under MJ really means nothing but I am not really all that excited about seeing them resign him. As I have written in several places, I do like Sullivan’s fast puck moving D, but it requires 8 or 9 D -men to get through the season. Those little D who move the puck well start to wear down a little under the pounding of heavy fore-checkers.
Did anyone get a chance to see or hear anything out of Prospects Camp? Just curious about Prow particularly. Maybe it is just me but it seems that College D spend less time in the minors than those coming up through the Jrs. (Orpik + Whitney)
Hey Other Rick,
Good to hear from you. I, too, hope the Pens can somehow come to terms with Schultz and Cullen. Although, in all honesty, I don’t see how they’ll do it unless JR swings a trade.
Not to keep pushing a Fleury deal, but trading Flower would be the most direct way to free up cash. Apparently, the Islanders aren’t sold on Jaroslav Halak as their go-to guy (nor ex-Pen Thomas Greiss), so they might be a possible trade partner.
As with an earlier deal I’d suggested (Fleury to Dallas), it gets a little murky in terms of how much the Pens stand to gain, cap-wise. Assuming we take Halak ($4.75M) as part of the return package to back up Matt Murray, we’re only saving about $1M.
Anyway…enough rambling. I agree with your assessment of Warsofsky. There’s small and then there’s too small. And I just feel that—mobility and puck skills aside—he’s too small (5’9″ 170) to be effective in the NHL in anything but a short-term, pinch-hit role.
Having said that, Rutherford stressed when he announced the signing that Sullivan likes the guy. I’ve found “Sully” to be almost spot-on in his player evaluations. So who am I to argue?
Agree that we need at least 8 or 9 d-men who can play at the NHL level. Rutherford hinted that Erixon could be a candidate, along with Oleksy. I wouldn’t mind the latter. Right-handed shot, NHL experience, leader, plays with an edge. Good penalty killer.
I do think we’ll miss Lovejoy’s mobility, all-around play and adaptability. Good guy in the locker room, too.