Let’s Play Penguins GM 2022: Part 2

It has been 5 years since our Pittsburgh Penguins have hoisted lord Stanley’s Cup; 5 years. Five years is a long time. Yes, in those 5 years our favorite flightless fowl have made the playoffs all 5 times, been then again, so did at least half the league, and in some cases more than half the league. With half or more of the league making the playoffs, making the playoffs is hardly accomplishment, particularly for those teams that fail to get out of the first round.

I would hope I need not remind any Penguins fans that our team has been among those 1st round losers 4 of those intervening 5 seasons, indicting this team as nothing all that special. Not only has our hockey team been ousted in the 1st round 4 times, once they were swept 4 – 0 by the New York Islanders and once they lost to the 23rd ranked Montreal Canadiens in the qualifying round, not really even the playoffs. This is the sobering reality of the morning after our Back-to-Back Cup runs.

We now sit upon the cusp of the 6th season since our Boys of Winter last tasted Champaign from that storied vessel. A lot of water has flowed beneath the bridges across the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers in the interim. There are precious few of the heroes who etched their names into Cup history. Even the ownership of the Pittsburgh hockey club has changed. The Fenway Sports Group (FSG) ponied up $900 million to buy a controlling interest in our team. Now, as we stand on the edge of the future of hockey in Pittsburgh, 2 of this teams most decorated heroes as well as many lesser winter soldiers are set to part ways with their Black-and-Gold sweaters, whether through Unrestricted Free Agency (UFA) or Restricted Free Agency (RFA). It is an unsettling time to be a Penguins fan to be sure.

Some fans want to try and hold this team together and even bring back some recently discarded pieces in the vain hopes that somehow or another, doing the same thing over and over again will lead to different results. Other fans demand that the team be blown up and start fresh. A little while back, I wrote a piece here on this blog as the first part of what I would do if I were GM. Now please allow me to finish the game I started.

Quick Recap

I do apologize for the taking so long to get back to my writing. Since it has taking so long for me to get back behind my keyboard, I suppose a quick recap is in order. (Just the highlights)

First: If I were GM, I would tender qualifying offers to all the players who are RFA. I am tired of this team losing assets outright. Our Penguins’ farm system is in shambles because of certain GMs flushing away the team’s future.

Second: It has been reported that the Ottawa Senators are willing to trade their 7th pick in the draft for a veteran Defenesmen. I have heard some people being incredulous over this report, ignoring the realities of Hockey. Yes, the 7th pick in the draft is a really great asset. However, Ottawa has been among the ignominious group of teams to consistently be in the half of the league that misses the playoffs over the last several season. With so many seasons at the bottom of the league, they have accumulated many to 10 picks, another 7th overall pick is not all that special to them. Furthermore, Ottawa has one of the worst attendance records in the league. As our friend Jim often reminds us, hockey is a business. It is time for them to start winning, not accumulating picks.

To help clear Cap space and get a quality prospect, I wrote last article that I would trade Brian Dumoulin and Jason Zucker for that pick. If need be, I would also flip 1st round picks so Ottawa would not be completely without a first pick, just later in the round, but I would want one of their 2-2nd round picks. I would clear about $10 million in Cap space and I would use that 7th pick to draft David Jiricek, a 6’-3” 190lb, Right-Handed Defensemen (RHD) who is projected to be drafted around that 7th pick. He has a cannon of a shot, something our Penguins lack – a Defenseman who can fire the puck from the point and not need to skate down into the face-off circles to become a threat. At the moment, only Mike Matheson has a shot that opponents may have to respect from the point.

Clearing More Cap Space

Since last I wrote, I have pondered more ways of clearing up the Cap space I need to move forward with my plans. I have settled on 2 more deals.

Deal 1

I trade John Marino and probably Kasperi Kapanen to the Vancouver Canucks for Vasili Podkolzin.

I think anyone reading these pages over the last several seasons knows I am no fan of our Penguins Defensive Corps. I don’t necessarily have issues with any single player, but as a Corps they are undersized not just in height but in snarl. In a perfect world, I would rather hold on to Marino, since he is so young, and trade Marcus Pettersson, but there are reports that Vancouver was interested in Marino around the trade deadline. Therefore, I trade Marino.

I throw Kapanen into the trade for a couple of reasons. Mainly because of last season I think the kid’s mojo was damaged and he needs a change of scenery. In a perfect world, I keep him too. Also, Jim Rutherford is in Vancouver. Rutherford isn’t the GM over there, but he loves to keep returning to the same guys. Furthermore, since I am grabbing one of their young scoring Forwards, I realize I will have to give them one in return. If it turns out Vancouver would prefer Danton Heinen instead, I make that deal. In the end, I save another $4.4 million in Cap.

Deal 2

Deal 2 is a 2-part deal. I will be dealing with 2 teams. In phase 1, I will be dealing with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Knights are doing a bit of Spring cleaning. They are not happy with their team’s performance and are way over the Cap. The Knights have already changed Coaches. Pete DeBoer is out, and Bruce Cassidy is in. DeBoer was the main proponent of Goalie Robin Lehner. The team is none to happy with Lehner either. I trade them Tristan Jarry for Nicolas Hague and Lehner.

Am I crazy? No, wait and hear me out. I don’t want Lehner and with Jarry one year removed from his UFA season and hot prospects, Filip Lindberg, Taylor Gauthier, and Joel Blomqvist in the minors, long term, as good as I think he is, Jarry will not be the answer. All I need is a bridge to the next generation of Penguins.

In phase 2 I trade with the Edmonton Oilers. Mikko Koskinen just signed a 2-year deal to play in the SHL, Mike Smith is 40 years old and may retire and the Oilers failed to reach the Finals with both of their Goalies anyway. I trade them the much younger Lehner for Smith and prospect Raphael Lavoie.

What I get in return for these deals is another $1.3 million in Cap space, a Left-Handed Defenseman (LHD), Hague and a prospect, Lavoie. I wanted the Penguins to draft Hague several years back. He is a 6’-6”, 215, Left-Handed Defenseman (LHD) and like the aforementioned RHD I want the team to draft, Jiricek, he has a cannon of a shot. Lavoie is another player I wanted the Penguins to draft. However, unlike Hague, the luster has seemed to have worn off. He is a 6’-4” 196lb Forward who can play Center or Right Wing. I am under no delusions. He may never develop but the main point of this trade was for Cap space for both our Penguins and Vegas.

The UFAs

Now comes the fun part. How do I spend the money I have just saved? I offer/sign,

• Evgeni Malkin
• Kris Letang
• Marc-Andre Fleury
• Vincent Trocheck
• Ilya Mikheyev
• Nikita Zadorov
• Anthony Angello
• Niko Ojamäki
• Jake Livingstone

WHAT? Malkin, Letang, Fleury, are you crazy the Other Rick? Are you a hypocrite – crying move on then resigning fossils?

No, none of the above; I am neither crazy, nor a hypocrite. Once again, let me remind everyone what our friend Jim always points out, hockey is a business and the FSG just dropped $900 million to buy into this team. They want a return on their investment.

As the Toronto Maple Leafs can attest, having a great team on paper means nothing. No team, no matter how many talented young players are on the team are guaranteed a deep playoff run to garner extra gate receipts, concessions, et al. However, short term, bringing fan favorite Fleury back as well as Pittsburgh kid Trocheck, the team can immediately get a bump in merchandising as well as attendance. Every kid will be wearing either Fleury or Trocheck jerseys and maybe, just maybe, the team will start another sellout streak.

Longer term, I sign Malkin, Letang, and Fleury to 3-year contracts so that when Sidney Crosby’s contract is up, I can market that the Farewell Tour to end all Farewell Tours. Crosby and Letang may want to still play a couple of seasons, but that will be the last time people will be able to see those 4 players play together as teammates, short of an old-timer’s game, some time off in the future.

To get Malkin, Letang, and Fleury to sign, I offer Malkin and Letang $6.5 – 7 million per year for those 3 seasons and Fleury $4.5 million. More importantly, I offer them full blown No Movement Clauses (NMC), like Malkin had on his just passed contract. That way they need not worry about uprooting their families, they will have stability over the next 3 seasons and Fleury will not have to worry about someone taking his starting role. Moreover, the four Penguins’ stars will be reunited for 3 more seasons.

To get Trocheck, I offer him roughly the same as Malkin and Letang in money but longer term, between 4 – 6 years and only a modified No Trade Clause (m-NTC). What Trocheck gets is a raise of $2+ million and a chance to play in his hometown with 4 future Hall of Fame players. What I get is a marketing boon and an elite Forward who can play Wing for either Crosby or Malkin and then slip in and play Center when either Malkin or Crosby misses a game, in the short term, and long term, I still have a top Center 3 seasons from now when Crosby’s and Malkin’s contract is up.

I offer Mikheyev $2.5 – $3.5 million, effectively doubling his salary and giving him the chance to not only leave Toronto (there are many reports that he wants out) and a chance to play with Malkin. What I get is a player that I wanted several seasons back; a player who can either play Wing for Malkin or Carter. He scored 21 Goals (G) and 32 Points (Pnts) in 53 Games Played (GP) last season. In Mikheyev I also get a player who not only help kill Penalties but score Short Handed Goals (SHG). Although not a bruiser, I get a bigger player, Mikheyev is 6’-3”, 196 lbs and he is still under 30 at 27 years of age.

I offer Zadorov $4 – $4.5 million, giving him a slight raise. Maybe he takes it, maybe he doesn’t but I am working on the hope that he sees what I am doing and how long the Penguins have been a good organization and chooses to get on board. What I get out of it is another big LHD but who also has played the right side of the blue line. Zadarov is 6’-6”, 235lbs and just now entering his prime as a defender (age 27).

Ojamäki is a Finnish Right Wing (RW) who is 5’-11”, 185lbs and has been plying his trade in the KHL. He scored 29 G and had 43 Pnts in 48 GP for Vityaz Podolsk last season. He is smaller than I would like but I should be able to get him on a cheap contract. If he produces in North America like he did in the KHL then I have tons of options. I can either trade him for draft picks or prospects or keep him for my own future. He is only 26, so he could have several years in him. At worse I have another Oula Palve.

Livingstone is a 23-year-old 6’-3”, 205lb, Canadian RHD who has been playing in the NCAA at Minnesota State University. The young D-man scored 9 G and had 31 Pnts in 44 GP and was +27 last season. At 23 years of age, I highly doubt he will make the club, but he looks like a good prospect to add to the system.

My Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Jake Guentzel	Sidney Crosby	Bryan Rust
Radim Zohorna	Evgeni Malkin	Vincent Trocheck
Ilya Mikheyev	Jeff Carter	TBD
Brock McGinn	Teddy Blueger	TBD
TBD	TBD

Left-Handed Defense	Right-Handed Defense
Mike Matheson	Kris Letang
Nicolas Hague	Nikita Zadorov
Marcus Pettersson	Mark Friedman
	Chad Ruhwedel

Goalie

Marc-Andre Fleury

Mike Smith

Filip Lindberg

Conclusions

I admit that I weakened the Goaltending position a little for the coming season. I don’t think I weakened it that much though, not when I consider the marketing schemes I set up, plus I do think I improved the defense drastically. I would have preferred to find an exit strategy for Pettersson now, but that can still happen during the season. I doubt Jiricek is ready to play at the NHL level, but Mark Friedman and/or Chad Ruhwedel should be able to hold the 3^rd pairing RHD for a season to allow the kid to develop.  In the end, Matheson and Letang showed a lot of upside last season and Hague and Zadarov should help insulate Fleury and whoever else tends the cage, backing him up.

At forward, I do have several TBD slots for which our home-grown prospects as well as some of my newer acquisitions can compete. With Carter capable of playing Wing and Blueger showing some maturation in his scoring ability, I wouldn’t limit competition to just Wings. If Jordan Frasca, Ty Glover, or Lukáš Švejkovský, or even Jordy Bellerive can wow in Camp, I could easily move Carter to Wing and bump Blueger up to 3^rd line or depending on how good they look let a Frasca play 3^rd line if he can earn it.

With the addition of Ojamäki and Podkolzin to the list of prospects the team already has at Wing and the fact that Zohorna can play Center and Brock McGinn as well as several of our prospects can play both Wings, the Wing competition can be really interesting to watch, and odds are that at least 1 of those prospects should step up and take a spot.

I still need to address the true power forward slot that many of us here on Penguin Poop covet, possibly even if Angello steps up. However, let’s remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and I still have the rights to Danton Heinen and Pierre-Olivier Joseph as bargaining chips. After his career season last year, I should still be able to find a tough forward to complete my roster at some point.

Understand, other than marketing a Farewell Tour and some commitment to the Pittsburgh Kid, Trocheck for marketing purposes, I am not wedded to any other player on my proposed roster, I would not be afraid to trade up.