The Pittsburgh Penguins have made quite a few roster moves this year, as just 10 of the current players were on the opening night roster last October. The sweeping changes in the lineup have brought with them an entirely unfamiliar salary cap situation.
Forwards: The Penguins currently have 10 forwards on one-way NHL contracts that are expected to begin the season in the NHL: Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Patrick Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz, David Perron, Pascal Dupuis, Eric Fehr, Nick Bonino and Beau Bennett. In addition, Sergei Plotnikov is also anticipated to stay in the NHL because he has a clause in his contract that allows him to return to Europe if he is demoted.
That gives the Penguins 11 forwards, leaving two or three spots left to be filled. There are a number of internal options that are expected to be given an opportunity to fill those holes in training camp.
Defensemen: The Penguins currently have six defensemen on one-way NHL contracts: Kris Letang, Rob Scuderi, Ian Cole, Ben Lovejoy, Brian Dumoulin and Tim Erixon. In addition, Derrick Pouliot and Olli Maatta are expected to stick with the big club despite the fact that their waiver exempt status still allows them to be freely moved down to the AHL.
That gives the Penguins eight defensemen, although chances are one of them, probably Erixon or Dumoulin, will be placed on waivers with the intention of sending him down to Wilkes-Barre. There are also a few more players who will be pushing for a chance to push somebody out of a roster spot.
Goaltenders: The Penguins currently have two goaltenders on one-way NHL contracts: Marc-Andre Fleury and Jeff Zatkoff.
The Penguins are likely to stick with that combination to start the season, as Zatkoff is quite affordable and has proven himself capable of serving as an NHL backup. Matt Murray will be given a chance to take his job, however considering contracting concerns and player development, it would be in their best interest to let him return to the AHL for now.
Salary Cap: Taking into account the 11 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders listed above the Penguins would be at $72.895 million with two forward roles left to fill. The 2015-16 NHL salary cap is only $71.4 million, so they would already be over the cap before even filling in the final slots.
There are a few things to keep in mind, though.
First is that while the Penguins injury history does make it tempting to have extra depth on the blue line, chances are they will stick with the usual seven defensemen configuration. This can free up a little or a lot, depending on who gets moved.
Second is that Fehr will still be recovering from surgery and isn’t expected to return until November or December. That means the team will be able to take advantage of the long-term injured reserve exemption and exceed the salary cap by up to Fehr’s $2 million cap hit. They will, however, need to clear that again by the time he is ready to return.
Last is that they can also take advantage of the performance bonus cushion exemption to exceed the cap by the amount of potential bonuses the players may earn, up to a maximum of 7.5 percent. Between Plotnikov and Pouliot, this gives the Penguins an additional $3.275 million over the salary cap. This could come back to hurt them if the players earn their bonuses, as any amount a team exceeds the cap by at the end of the year is rolled over into the following season.
The cap inflation from the bonus cushion leaves the Penguins with $1.78 million to spend on the final two forwards. This would actually be enough to fit Oskar Sundqvist on the fourth line and fan favorite Bobby Farnham as the 13th forward, although that would leave just $280 thousand of free space.
As mentioned though this free space may be augmented by moving the eight defensemen, whether by sending one to the AHL or making another trade. They also potentially have an additional $2 million in temporary relief to find a fill-in until Fehr is ready to return.
For now, the Penguins look like they have the potential to once again be a true playoff contender. They don’t have a lot of wiggle room to work with if they start to get hit by serious injuries again, but there are options there for finding temporary cap relief.
