The Pittsburgh Penguins made a big splash on the first day of NHL free agency, landing star right-winger Phil Kessel in a six-player trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Since then, the Penguins have been mostly quiet, singing Russian winger Sergei Plotnikov and a host of depth players that may or may not see time in Pittsburgh this season.
One of the reasons that the Penguins have fallen silent is that their roster has largely filled: they have two goaltenders, eight defensemen and 10 forwards either qualified or under contract that will form the bulk of their lineup.
The other reason that news has been quiet is that the Penguins are largely out of money. Those 20 players will take up $69.3 million of the $71.4 million in salary cap space that the team has been allotted. $2.1 million to add three forwards is not a lot of money. The NHL’s minimum salary is $575,000.
The fact that they’re out of money wouldn’t be a huge problem, but the Penguins roster as it stands is far from complete.
The Kessel trade, while a huge win, was not a panacea, and it is has created a few problems of its own.
With Kessel in the fold, the Penguins have a deep group of wingers that will push talented players such as Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis and Beau Bennett into the bottom six.
What they don’t have in the bottom six is a center capable of working with that type of player.
Brandon Sutter had a productive 2014-15 season, scoring 21 goals, but his biggest downfall is lack of puck possession and passing ability.
He’s never had 20 assists in a season and his 12 helpers last year put him in a tie for 125th amongst NHL centers. When put in the context of time on ice, the numbers are even more damning. Sutter’s .52 assists per 60 minutes of ice time was 176th out the 210 centers that played at least 10 NHL games last season.
While the thought of such talented wingers pushed down to the third line may be tantalizing, expectations should be tempered as long as Sutter remains the Penguins’ third pivot.
On defense, the Penguins also have unresolved issues. Derrick Pouliot and Ian Cole figure to be the team’s second pairing, which will be a step up in role and ice time for both players from 2014-15.
There also appears to be no fallback plan if the promotion doesn’t work out for either player.
On the third pairing, the Penguins have veterans Rob Scuderi and Ben Lovejoy, who should be serviceable 5th and 6th defensemen, but will occupy a combined $4.475 million of salary cap space, and are liabilities when asked to play in an expanded role, as was the case down the stretch last season.
The Penguins have two other bottom-pair options: Tim Erixon, who was acquired in the Kessel trade, and restricted free agent Brian Dumoulin. Neither of those players can be sent to the AHL without being exposed to waivers, meaning that the Penguins will have four roster spots invested in bottom-pairing defensemen with little upside.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Penguins’ hands are tied. Short of finding a trade partner to unload some salary, significant upgrades are unlikely. When they acquired Kessel, they committed themselves to a top-heavy cap structure. That’s not what’s preventing the team from making a move, though. It’s the overpriced contracts on the bottom half of the roster that are preventing Jim Rutherford from improving the team’s depth.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
