There’s certainly been plenty of questions, and a good bit of change when it comes to the Pittsburgh Penguins since they were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With the firing of Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma, the Penguins sent a message that change was needed. Now, new GM Jim Rutherford will be asked to reshape a roster that will very likely look quite different than it did a year ago.
According to Ryan Wilson from Hockeybuzz.com, the Penguins will enter the free agency signing period tomorrow with $14.63 million in cap space to work with. With qualifying offers made to six restricted free agents including Brandon Sutter, that money total will take somewhat of a hit, but it should give the Pens some options, and flexibility going into today’s free agency period.
Rutherford will have some difficult decisions to make. With the trade of James Neal to the Nashville Predators for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling, Rutherford accomplished two important things. One, he cleared just under $1 million in cap space that can be used to make roster improvements. Two, he likely added Neal’s replacement in Hornqvist, or certainly at least a viable top-six forward capable of playing on a line with Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby. Additionally, Spaling should be more than capable of provide bottom six forward depth, something the Penguins are desperate for.
Now that the rumors of Neal being dealt became a reality, whats next for the Penguins as they head into free agency today at 12 p.m.?
First, when looking at the list of forwards who head into unrestricted free agency, it’s fair to say most of them will not be back with the Penguins. Here’s a quick list of Pens UFA forwards:
Jussi Jokinen
Lee Stempniak
Marcel Goc
Brian Gibbons
Taylor Pyatt
Tanner Glass
Joe Vitale
Among that group, it’s already been reported that Glass will not be back with the Penguins. You can more than likely add Pyatt to that list also. Though Vitale showed signs of being a serviceable fourth liner, his time with the Pens is probably over also. Gibbons may be an interesting guy to look at, as he did some nice things for the Pens utilizing his speed last season playing on a line with Crosby and Chris Kunitz. The question becomes, does he fit in the new regimes plans?
Goc might be a player who at the right price, could make sense for the Penguins to re-sign. Goc’s unfortunate ankle injury shortly after he was acquired at the trade deadline made it tough for him to be the contributor the Penguins hoped he could be. He is a versatile two-way forward, however, and with guys like Glass, Vitale and Pyatt almost certain to be gone, bringing back Goc could make sense.
Stempniak is another versatile forward capable of playing on various lines and adds a veteran presence to the roster. If he could be brought back at an affordable price ($2-3 million range) he might be worth keeping in Pittsburgh.
It’s ironic the same GM that essentially threw Jokinen away from a bag of pucks is now responsible for making an effort to convince him to stay with the Penguins. Jokinen’s play last year may have priced himself out of town. Sadly, Jokinen is likely to command a salary in the 4 million dollar range, potentially more. A cost that might not work for the cash strapped Pens.
If the Pens do choose to look at the free agent market to fill needs at forward, there are a number of options available. Two of the better options that the Pens could look at if they are looking for top-six forwards are the Edmonton Oilers Ales Hemsky and the Calgary Flames Mike Cammelleri. Both Hemsky and Cammelleri have played on poor teams that struggle to consistently score, and either could flourish playing on a line with Crosby or Malkin.
Looking for a potential sleeper? Look no further than the Toronto Maple Leafs Nikolai Kulemin. Not only has Kulemin been a 30-goal scorer in his career, he’s close friends with Malkin. Recent comments by Rutherford indicate that finding help for Malkin is a high priority, so don’t be surprised if Kulemin is on the Penguins free agency radar.
Defensively, the Penguins have three UFA’s in Brooks Orpik, Deryk Engelland and Matt Niskanen.
Orpik has been the longest tenured Penguin currently on the roster, and he’s been a mainstay of the Penguins blue line for over a decade. Unfortunately, it looks like Orpik’s time in Pittsburgh is coming to an end. The same will go for Engelland, who will almost certainly be replaced by a younger, cheaper option.
Niskanen is much like Jokinen, a player who simply performed at a level that may make it impossible financially for the Pens to bring back next season and beyond. It also can’t be ignored that with Kris Letang’s massive contract ($7.25 million) kicking in this season, along with Rob Scuderi and Paul Martin on the books for $3.375 and $5 million, respectively, the Penguins will have to be frugal when it comes to filling out the remainder of their blue line.
Losing Niskanen is going to be tough, but it’s likely a team will overpay for him; something the Pens simply can’t afford to do after the painful lessons they are learning with the Scuderi and Letang contracts.
Don’t look for the Pens to do anything overwhelming when it comes to defense. Instead, the Pens will look to young defensemen such as Simon Despres, Brian Demoulin, Scott Harrington, Derrick Pouliot and Philip Samuelsson to vie for the spots vacated by Orpik, Engelland and Niskanen.
As for goaltending, rumors have swirled that Marc-Andre Fleury could be dealt but nothing has materialized. Jeff Zatkoff is clearly a backup, but his cap number of $600K makes him an affordable option. There is some talk of bringing in ageless wonder Martin Brodeur, but what will it cost and how would it impact the psyche of Fleury?
If the Penguins did decide to deal Fleury, the top FA options include Ryan Miller, Jonas Hiller and Thomas Greiss. Some will argue if any of those options would be an upgrade over Fleury, and that is certainly up for debate.
Rutherford will have a lot of options, whether its signing free agents or continuing to make trades. It certainly looks like the Penguins will have a much different look going into next season, and today will say a lot about the vision Rutherford has for the future.
