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Is There A Trade Match Between Pittsburgh and Vancouver? |
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the record stating their desire for a top six winger. You can forget about the Phil Kessels and the Ryan O’Reillys of the world because the assets needed to acquire those players would be counterproductive for the team. Pittsburgh has limited futures and trading them away for high priced items is how you get into more cap trouble with no way out. They would have the same top heavy problem they have had for years.
Pittsburgh is going to have to find a perfect match to upgrade their top six winger issue.
Are the Vancouver Canucks that perfect match? Perhaps.
According to Jim Jamieson of The Province in Vancouver the Canucks are having some salary cap issues. This stuff happens when you give out lucrative contracts to below average players like Lucas Sbisa and Derek Dorsett.
The Canucks (according to NHLnumbers.com) are already close to the $66-million mark, with just 17 players signed for next season. And that’s not taking into account the $800,000 charge against their cap from the money the Canucks agreed to keep in the Roberto Luongo trade. That continues for seven more years.
A cap for next season of, let’s say, $70 million, leaves the Canucks with about $3 million to sign three defencemen and three forwards to get to the usual 23-player roster size. Considering the NHL’s minimum salary is scheduled to increase to $575,000 next season, you can see how the math isn’t pretty.
Salary cap problems aren’t unique to Vancouver but what makes their situation appealing to Pittsburgh? They happen to have a top six winger that may be expendable by the name of Radim Vrbata. He has one year left on his deal at 5.0M. What could Vancouver want in return?
Per the accompanying chart, they have to make a call on unrestricted free agent forwards Shawn Matthias and Brad Richardson. The former, rightfully, will try for a home run in free agency, so don’t expect him back. Richardson, 30, is coming off an injury-riddled season and the Canucks have just three centres signed, though RFA Linden Vey plays the middle and is expected to be re-signed.
That last bolded part is what makes this idea intriguing. It just so happens Pittsburgh has a center that they are shopping named Brandon Sutter. Sutter’s 3.3M would free up 1.7M in cap space for Vancouver. Both players’ contracts end at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season.
Brandon Sutter alone is probably not good enough, but it might get the conversation started. There is no doubt Vrbata would look good slotted next to Evgeni Malkin. This is the type of deal that Pittsburgh can swing and will have to if they want to acquire their top six forward via trade.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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