Penguins General Manager Ray Shero has begun the process of negotiations by initiating dialogue with Pascal Dupuis and his agent.
This has been reported by Pittsburgh Tribune columnist Rob Rossi. It is expected that Dupuis would like to have his next contract take him close to retirement, if not all the way. One could interpret that to mean any potential contract with Dupuis would be for at least 4 years. Ray Shero has yet to commit to a player of Dupuis’ age for that long during his tenure as Penguins GM.
The General Managers meetings will be taking place in Boston, which also happens to be the city that Kris Letang’s agent Ken Hughes is based out of.
According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun Shero will be meeting with Hughes today before the General Manager meetings to start discussing any potential extension for the talented blue liner.
The result of today’s meeting could very well provide Ray Shero with clarity on the Letang front. If Letang does not fall back from the assumed extension demands of at least 7M/year that includes a no movement clause, it could start the process of his exit from Pittsburgh. Considering all the General Managers are in the same city right now, it might not take long for the wheels to start turning on a potential Letang trade.
Given that there is a real possibility that neither Dupuis nor Letang will be in a Penguins sweater next season, Shero will have to start deriving some backup plans. One fallback option on the Dupuis front could be Jarome Iginla. Although given how Iginla was used in Pittsburgh, combined with the fact he would most likely be looking for a similar contract to Dupuis’, I find that scenario doubtful.
One interesting option for the Penguins would be to monitor the Danny Briere situation. Briere is going to be bought out by the Flyers, given that he will be receiving a large sum of money all at once it could potentially decrease his contract demands much like it has in the past with players that have been bought out IE: Wade Redden, Scott Gomez, Jay McKee.
Briere plays better at the center position but would be able to succeed on a line with Crosby or Malkin playing wing. A concern to be raised with Briere is the quality of his defensive play and propensity to take offensive zone stick penalties. However, one huge positive about Danny Briere is that he saves his best for the playoffs. His 48 playoff goals since the lockout are only bested by Henrik Zetterberg’s 52 goals. He has a flare for the dramatic when his team needs a goal.
Is Danny Briere the most ideal option? No, but given the quality of this year’s free agent crop and the high costs that come with acquiring players on that UFA market, Briere is not worth ignoring if Dupuis talks fall through.
More of a long shot than any potential Briere signing by Pittsburgh would be the Penguins reacquiring the services of Rob Scuderi. Scuderi is a pending UFA and has started his contract negotiations with the Kings. I see no reason why the Kings would want to part ways with their top pairing defenseman but if they were unable to reach an agreement, Shero would be wise to inquire.
With Letang’s pending departure (one that cannot be replaced in the short term) perhaps it would be best for the Penguins to acquire a Scuderi style defenseman to pair with a young Simon Despres instead of rushing to replace Letang's offense. Scuderi’s solid conservative play is the reason Drew Doughty was/is able to be as aggressive as he is with his dynamic skill set. Having that calming presence for a player like Despres would be such a benefit, given that it would be his first year with top 4 defense minutes.
That is all for right now, thanks for reading!
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