Maybe it’s a little late for Christmas, and a tad early for Valentine’s Day. But since we’ve been talking (writing) all around the subject in our comments, I thought I’d come right out and ask.
What would you, faithful PenguinPoop readers, do to improve our Penguins for another run at the Stanley Cup?
You can identify players you wish to trade or acquire. Or, you can address our needs in general terms (e.g., I’d like to acquire a physical defenseman).
Only one rule applies. If you suggest a specific trade, the deal must fit under the salary cap. According to capfriendly.com, the Pens have a cap hit of $77,009,264 with $0 left in cap space. So you can’t acquire Alex Ovechkin (just kidding) with a cap hit of $9.5 million for a player making $800,000.
Here’s your chance to play general manager. Don’t be shy. Let’s hear what you think!
Fleury and Maatta to the Flames for Dougie Hamilton. First round pick/prospect(s) to the Avalanche for Gabriel Landeskog. And the moves should allow the pens to stay under the cap
Hey Rick,
The only trade I can see the team making is trading MAF,I would be happy with getting his salary off the books and getting back either a decent D prospect or a solid draft pick.
Thanks
Barry Lush
Hey Barry,
Nice to hear from you.
I think Fleury for a defenseman is the consensus. Although if the Pens move Flower, they’ll need to acquire a proven backup, too.
Rick
Fleury for Shattenkirk
Hey Brian
Great idea.
If the Blues would do it, I send MAF tonight.
But probably they will demand some more talent in return. But right now, it seems others are bidding for Shattenkirk as well.
A week ago I was not 100% in favor of another 5 million d man that has trouble with larger players but I see that options are quickly closing for us.
He may be an expensive rental player but in my previous post I stated the coming economic concerns we will have in July. Heaven forbid MAF does not get moved and we lose both Sheary and Shultz because we have too much $$ committed to older players.
That could happen.
Jim,
It looks like the blues are really shopping for Bishop. I can’t see the Pens picking up a just a rental player for Fleury. People are saying we need to dump Fleury’s contract at the same time they are saying we are going to get nothing for him in the expansion draft.
Using the losing him in the expansion draft theory, maybe we should look at Fleury as a really good rental backup for Murray who seems to be having groin trouble. If he gets taken in the draft we didn’t lose any younger skill players and boom we have the money to pay for Sheary & Shultz.
BTW: Sheary had a good week for sure, but he is Warren Young reincarnated. He may want to check out what happened to Young, or history will repeat itself.
Hey Phil,
Good point. Even in a worst case event you move forward with the Team you have and let the cards fall where they may. You have me at a disadvantage in that being a long time season ticket holder with great seats behind the Pens Goalie, ( I think that is what you indicated last year), you get to watch Murray live and no matter how big your High Definition TV is, you can not see the subtle reactions of a net minder as you can in person. So when you mention that you think Murray has a nagging groin issue, I know it is a real concern because YOU know what to look for !!
If Murray is not 100% and there is possible groin injury, my 50 years watching live Hockey and playing a bit, tells me we need to either keep MAF or get a quality backup in any potential trade.
FYI, watching 2 games last night on my national feeds. Ottawa and Washington. Condon stole the game. He was incredible, The talking heads mentioned he has played 14 games straight and when Anderson returns he will have to share the net duties with Condon. Also they said it was the best 5th round draft pick up in the History of the club. Kinda like Simon Depres all over again.
On the Montreal / Calgary game, Montreal was just to deep for Calgary, but Dougie Hamilton played very well and he in the last minutes of the game took the puck and went around SHEA WEBBER like he was a pylon and sent a perfect pass to Bennett for a tap in at the other side of the net, ala Crosby.
In Boston he played in the shadow of Chara but he seems to have found his game.
Yes I too would trade Letang,MAF, and Pouliot to get him because he is a rare talent indeed.
Thanks for your feed back.
Jim
Hey Phil, Jim,
I do think the Pens could use another D man, one who is larger than what most of our D are but in all honesty I do not see much hope of them getting anything worth anything at this point. It may be a little late and teams may be already be asking fo more than players are worth, combine that with the expansion draft coming most teams will more than likely be looking for picks or prospects under 2 yrs experience so they don’t lose them in the draft or dump contracted players that may not be as good as their understudies.
Which brings me to the Pens/Fleury/Draft situation. I really do think the chances are fairly low that the Pens will lose MAF in the Draft. His stock has drop with his inconsistent play (Although I Blame his lack of playing time for that but understand completely that Murray should be getting the playing time). But more importantly, unless the Pens protect Schultz and I am Las Vegas, I risk it, and take him. Las Vegas is allowed to grab a limited number of FAs during the draft. Depending on wha tthe rest of the league does, Schultz may be the Jewel of the FAs this summer.
I am not sure the Pens will deal or if they do it will be an under the radar type trade(s)
Hey Coach,
This is what makes PP so enjoyable and useful. Phil’s comment about his possible groin injury issues of MM is something I was not fully aware of. Yes I knew he had injuries, but only reported in various media outlets. But because he watches every game live, you get to know the players from a different perspective.
So if we do not do a trade and cannot realize a 5.75 million dollar saving come July, we will be faced with a dilemma. Interesting is the idea of trading Letang ??
I do not disagree.( What Phil observed is true in the post below, but the other side of that discussion is the Pen’s are a better team with Letang in the lineup.) ??
Deep down I really think MAF will be moved before the deadline and we will have a new d man as well.
The Pen’s ownership really want and need to repeat as Cup champions.It will have a positive value on the teams net worth and to at least one owner, that is very important !
Time will tell Coach .
Cheers
Trade
Kuni 3,85 cap
Fehr 2,0 cap
Sign
Duchene 6,0 cap
Send Oleksy to Wilkes
Bonino will not resign next year we need a 3 line center!
I’ll play. Calgary is rumored to be shopping for a goaltender. How about Fleury & Letang for Dougie Hamilton and you take the extra cap money and sign Shultz for a few years? Fleury & Letang both have limited no trade contracts which has them pick 19 teams that they would allow trades to. Don’t ask me, I have no idea how they came up with that number.
This would give the Penguins an insane defensive core for years to come.
Trade Letang!!! Stupid man!!!!
Hey Street,
I appreciate your thoughts and passion. But I’d like to remind everyone to respect the other guy’s (and gal’s) opinion.
Not that we can’t disagree. But please do it in a respectful way.
I’d like this to be fun for everyone … 🙂
Rick
Wow Phil,
I’m on Board. I’ll back you on that one.
Don’t get me wrong, I like MAF and Letang both but you make lots of sense.
Your deal also gives the Pens room for a rent-a-player too.
But Rick Although I am liking this idea, give me a little time and I may have one of my own too.
Hey Phil,
I just checked Calgary’s Cap situation, they couldn’t absorb both Letang and MAF’s salary, but both Wideman and England are UFA at the end of the year so to balance the books they may be willing to toss them into the deal to secure both MAF and Letang and not simply lose them to UFA. They still would be a little short $$$$ so will need to flip Elliot too. Then the Pens could turn around and either trade any of those players or simply allow them to go UFA at the end of the year.
Hi Phil,
Really good to hear from you.
Trade Letang and MAF both at once ?? That idea coming from you !
Buker must have stolen your computer, because there is nobody more loyal
than you when it comes to the core group of Pens players. Even though we have different opinions on this issue, I have always respected you for your position.
Putting that aside, I would rather trade Maatta and Fleury, and even Derrick P. as well to get Dougie Hamilton and try to sign Justin Schultz in the off season. Also we get about 1.1 milion in Cap relief in July when the Scuderi
deal finally clears our books. So $ 5.75 million from MAF, $ 4.1 million from Maatta, the almost $ 900 K from Derrick P. and the $ 1.1 million from the Scuderi contract hold over… We have about $ 12 million in cap space and we may just get them both signed.( Get Calgary to hold a million in Cap relief and then this deal makes good sense for us.) Pay them some money on the side. That was what Toronto and New York used to do.
Final point, all my US friends, just keep praying for Edmonton and Mc David
to keep winning and Calgary will be forced to do something. These two teams have a history much like the Pen’s and the Flyer’s. If Edmonton makes the play offs finally and the Calgary does not. The Calgary fans will go nuts.
Next to Montreal, the Flames have the most obsessed fans in Canada.
So Phil, I really appreciate your change in heart.
Cheers, 🙂
Hey Jim,
Do you have a sense of how Chad Johnson’s perceived out in Calgary? In the wake of Brian Elliott’s struggles, he’s been the go-to guy for the Flames.
On the surface, Johnson appears to have done a pretty solid job in goal: 29 games, 16 wins, 3 shutouts, 2.41 goals against average, .917 save percentage. At a reasonable price ($1.7 million/year).
To your knowledge, are the Flames seeking an upgrade?
Rick
Hey Rick,
From what my buddies say is that a recent local news paper pole in Calgary has said 71 % of the respondents believe the Flames will not make the playoffs. That is a big number.
Plus the GM’s contract has NOT been renewed as of yesterday. Not a vote of confidence for sure.
So with a possible new GM in the off season,maybe changes will be made.
The one thing the Locals in Calgary are saying is that Dougie Hamilton is playing much better now and they do not believe he will be moved.
I checked a few Toronto media sites as well as Western Canadian sites and they say the same thing. Hamilton is staying put.
Problem for us is that without a large contract player in exchange for MAF, the Flames can not do the deal.
One interesting thing reported by an Edmonton source today is that the Oilers are making a serious bid for Blues defense man Shattenkirk ??
So hypothetically speaking, if Calgary is no longer an option for MAF to go to, and Edmonton removes the Blues option from the mix, then really only Dallas, Colorado and maybe Arizona remain. Brent Bishop is on the market and few other high priced goalies as well, so we will be lucky to do a deal at all this year. That is not good news for us.
I think what ever JR is going to do he had better do it now !
Sorry Rick, that was a long winded answer and I am sure I really gave you the information you were looking for.
GR 8 to see all the new and old faces !
🙂
Hey Jim,
Thanks for the extra info.
When the Doug Hamilton rumors were swirling earlier in the season, I read a quote from Flames president Brian Burke to the effect that he’d have to be nuts to trade a player with Hamilton’s size, skill and attributes.
While Burke may have been posturing for the reporters, he sure didn’t seem too anxious to move his star defenseman, who by all accounts has found his game.
I agree that, for a number of reasons, it’s going to a challenge to find a trade partner for Fleury. Shattenkirk for Fleury seemed to make sense from a cap standpoint, but there are obvious issues with the deal, such as leaving the Pens without an experienced backup for Murray.
And, as you so aptly noted, Tampa Bay may be shopping Bishop, too. Which creates unwanted competition in the trade market.
That’s why I’d previously suggested that the Pens may well wind up keeping Flower and perhaps exposing him in this summer’s Expansion Draft.
Rick
Hey Jim,
It wasn’t a change of heart. all I said at the end of last year was that I wanted to make sure Murray could play before we tossed out a quality goalie. I’m not worried about losing Fleury in the draft. I think the Rangers and Tampa Bay have way bigger worries than the Penguins. We have a solid group of young defenseman and forwards that I see getting taken way before Fleury.
When you say Burke would have to be nuts, I’m pretty sure that is the description of him on his wikipedia page. He is a wild card. Throwing Pouliot and maybe even Sunqvist to sweeten the pot would be fine if he would take it. At the same time I would do the same trade with Pouliot, Letang & Sunqvist. A big defender like 6-5 Hamilton having offensive skills would be well worth it.
I know I’m taking slack for the Letang thing, but he’s missing an average of over 30 games a year, he plays well in the playoffs the years he actually plays. But, I truly believe he is the teams biggest liability on defense (he has the 2nd worst +/- on the team) and I believe Shultz to be much better on the powerplay.
Hi Phil,
Thanks for the clarification.
Based on your above comments, if it comes down to it,
Do you keep Schultz for about $ 6.2 + million or do you keep Letang who is 3 years older and has 5 years to go on his contract at $ 7.3 million, and has health issues ? Because if I interpret you correctly, the next logical step would be to trade Letang on the off season and keep Schultz.
Is that what your saying Phil ?
If it is, now that is a conversation worth having . Montreal, Edmonton,Calgary, and Vancouver would all take a run at Letang.Like wise several US teams too. Even though you watch him every night and you have pointed out his very real short comings, the average Hockey fan would have Letang still rated in the Top 5 d men in the league. He would get a big return for us if he was part of any trade deal for sure.
The legendary Sam Pollock,GM / President of the Montreal Canadians of the 50s,60s and 70s said in a TV interview ” you trade your players when they are 1 year from the start of the decline of their career and you can never go wrong “.
I hope Phl, we and all the others can continue this discussion as the season moves on.
Mr. Krundle, you definitely surprise me with your logic and deep knowledge of the team we both love so much. Thanks for posting with us.
Cheers