Penguins Dish Bjugstad to Wild

In a move designed to help extricate the Penguins from salary-cap hell, general manager Jim Rutherford traded forward Nick Bjugstad to Minnesota yesterday for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2021 Entry Draft. As part of the deal, the Pens agreed to retain half of Bjugstad’s $4.1 salary during the coming season.

Once upon a time a 24-goal man with Florida, the Minneapolis native initially showed well with the Pens. In 32 games down the 2018-19 stretch run, the hulking 6’6” forward tallied nine goals and 14 points…roughly a 23-goal pace over a full season. He also used his frame to full advantage, dishing out 89 hits.

While there was some question as to where he belonged…center or wing…he did a decent enough job. He was particularly effective centering for Dominik Simon and Patric Hornqvist, a trio that drove possession.

Unfortunately, this past season Bjugstad morphed into a latter day version of brittle former first-round pick Beau Bennett. He played in 10 games before undergoing surgery to repair a hernia. After sitting out 48 games to recuperate, he returned to the lineup for three games, only to succumb to a neck injury.

To say it was a lost season for the blonde-haired forward was akin to calling Attila the Hun a nasty guy.

Thanks to the $2.05 million in savings, the Pens now have roughly $8.9 million left to sign RFAs Tristan Jarry, Jared McCann, Sam Lafferty and…much to my consternation…Simon. (Yes, it appears the team wants him back.) Maybe Anthony Angello, too, although that’s murky.

Say, Jarry comes in at $3 mil, McCann $2 mil and Angello, Lafferty and Simon somewhere in the $800,000 range. That chews up about $7.4 million.

Barring a high-profile move involving, say, Hornqvist or Kris Letang…perhaps even Evgeni Malkin? You’re looking at chump change to throw at a needed right-side defenseman while keeping a little in reserve for a rainy day. And that’s if the team spends up to the cap limit.

The fact that Simon and Zach Aston-Reese will start the upcoming season on IR will provide a little wiggle room. But not for long.

First-Round Pick for Murray?

Rutherford is said to be asking for a first-round pick in exchange for RFA netminder Matt Murray, a price that has already scared off one potential suitor (Edmonton).

Is it just me, or does that seem a bit steep? Yes, Murray’s won two Cups and dazzled early in his career. Since then? He’s been ordinary at best.

How ordinary you ask?

Over the past three seasons, he’s posted a bloated 2.82 goals against average and a pedestrian .909 save percentage. And that includes a hot second half in 2018-19 when his save percentage soared to .930.

About the only thing consistent about Murray has been his inconsistency, along with a penchant for giving up back-breaking goals.

But, hey, if JR can wrangle a first-round pick from someone, more power to him. Let’s just hope he’s not pricing himself out of a soon-to-be crowded goalie market.

Baby Pens Staff in Place

The Penguins announced that assistant general manager Jason Karmanos will assume the GM duties for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Karmanos, 46, also oversees the Pens’ scouting and player development staff.

J.D. Forrest, who coached the Baby Pens’ defensemen and penalty kill the past four seasons, will take over behind the bench. Forest, 39, has previous head coaching experience, albeit in Austria with the Red Bull Salzburg farm club.