Well I proposed something like

Harrington+Wilson/Dea
for
Rychel
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I'd rather put Doumlin in the offer over Harrington because I think Harrington has a much higher ceiling and Doumlin's value might be a little higher right now because of his playoff experience this year. Doumlin+Rust/Dea would be the offer I would prefer.

I think I'd try and retain Wilson if at all possible as he's shown NHL bottom 6 potential... I'd try Harrington + Dea/Uher/ Kuhnhackl

I know you have to give to get, but in my view Harrington for Rychel is pretty close to even as is.. Both are young, but unproven players with decent potential... Potential top 4 D for a potential top 6 winger is fair value for me.. We add the touch extra because it's a former 1st rounder vs a 2nd rounded...
- Willaged

I agree on all accounts. If CBJ would do that, I'm 100% in.

Here is where I am at on player targets at the moment..

On teams stacked with young forwards/wings and need defense:

Jurco
Pulkinnen
Eberle
Yakupov
Rychel

Big time "prospects" rumored to be souring on:

Mantha
Drouin
Kassian

Bargain bin:

Semin with massive salary retention

Free agency:

J. Williams on a short term deal

That's a good data dive. Thx.

I do still see him ultimately as a complementary player and not one to overpay for.

Question, where do you stand on Alexander Semin? Just want to make sure you aren't one of those people bashing me for wanting to get Semin at 50% when Jussi is actually a close comparable in that 1.) had one bad year in a long, proven career 2.) Could be gotten for peanuts 3.) Could find similiar chemistry with Geno
- YouMeAndDupuis9

You should check back in threads here and over in Carolina.. I was in favor of Semin right away when the rumors broke of Carolina eating half of his salary.

However, he had 1 bad year, and 2, not up to par years... Granted, its in a struggling Carolina team. It would have been nice if Semin and Geno had played together some in the Olympics or Worlds for even a TINY sample size of chemistry. But they havn't to my knowledge.

Problem is, no one has any idea on what the asking price for him is.

I agree on all accounts. If CBJ would do that, I'm 100% in.

Here is where I am at on player targets at the moment..

On teams stacked with young forwards/wings and need defense:

Jurco
Pulkinnen
Eberle
Yakupov
Rychel

Big time "prospects" rumored to be souring on:

Mantha
Drouin
Kassian

Bargain bin:

Semin with massive salary retention

Free agency:

J. Williams on a short term deal
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I don't mind your list and like many of the names you mentioned but I would stay away from the prospect group, I'd rather see them get guys that are ready to help now not a player that still needs a year or 2 to develop.

A team I'd be watching closely is Nashville, both Smith & Wilson are RFAs this year and Forsberg & Jones will need new deals next year. They don't need defensive help but with their top 2 centers in Ribero & Fisher being UFAs, not to mention Fisher being 34, my 1st call would be to see if I can sell Poile on Sutter being his long term 2C and use him as the centerpiece of a deal for Wilson or Smith who are already proven young top 6 forwards that Nashville may not be able to sign anyway.

I don't mind your list and like many of the names you mentioned but I would stay away from the prospect group, I'd rather see them get guys that are ready to help now not a player that still needs a year or 2 to develop.

A team I'd be watching closely is Nashville, both Smith & Wilson are RFAs this year and Forsberg & Jones will need new deals next year. They don't need defensive help but with their top 2 centers in Ribero & Fisher being UFAs, not to mention Fisher being 34, my 1st call would be to see if I can sell Poile on Sutter being his long term 2C and use him as the centerpiece of a deal for Wilson or Smith who are already proven young top 6 forwards that Nashville may not be able to sign anyway.
- jaydogg1974

Hard to trade a guy that is a year or two away for one that is ready. I think if we can swap near equal value prospects in our D for a forward, we should do so to help replenish our stock.

I don't mind your list and like many of the names you mentioned but I would stay away from the prospect group, I'd rather see them get guys that are ready to help now not a player that still needs a year or 2 to develop.

A team I'd be watching closely is Nashville, both Smith & Wilson are RFAs this year and Forsberg & Jones will need new deals next year. They don't need defensive help but with their top 2 centers in Ribero & Fisher being UFAs, not to mention Fisher being 34, my 1st call would be to see if I can sell Poile on Sutter being his long term 2C and use him as the centerpiece of a deal for Wilson or Smith who are already proven young top 6 forwards that Nashville may not be able to sign anyway.
- jaydogg1974

I see NSH as a potential team that would overvalue Sutter, but I doubt they would be willing to trade him for one of their young wingers since they have very limited depth there already. I could see them being willing to trade Ellis or maybe Ekholm since defense is such a position of strength for them. I'd take either of them for Sutter too.

I see NSH as a potential team that would overvalue Sutter, but I doubt they would be willing to trade him for one of their young wingers since they have very limited depth there already. I could see them being willing to trade Ellis or maybe Ekholm since defense is such a position of strength for them. I'd take either of them for Sutter too.
- jfkst1

I don't think Nashville really has a choice but to part with one of the young wingers, their internal Cap will make it extremely difficult to sign them all. JR needs to strike while their backs are against the ropes.

I don't think Nashville really has a choice but to part with one of the young wingers, their internal Cap will make it extremely difficult to sign them all. JR needs to strike while their backs are against the ropes.
- jaydogg1974

Except, they won't be saving any money by bringing in Sutter, who's almost certain to get a significant raise after this season.

Except, they won't be saving any money by bringing in Sutter, who's almost certain to get a significant raise after this season.
- jfkst1

Shhhhhhh...don't tell Nashville that. I'm sure they wouldn't pick that up on their own

I agree on all accounts. If CBJ would do that, I'm 100% in.

Here is where I am at on player targets at the moment..

On teams stacked with young forwards/wings and need defense:

Jurco
Pulkinnen
Eberle
Yakupov
Rychel

Big time "prospects" rumored to be souring on:

Mantha
Drouin
Kassian

Bargain bin:

Semin with massive salary retention

Free agency:

J. Williams on a short term deal
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I like most of the names on this list. Not sure all are available but I'd be happy with most. I can't see Williams on a short term deal he will want to get a few years 3/4. Rychel seems like a perfect scenario for us but being in the same division now doesn't help.

eberle and oreilly were great with sid. If oreilly makes it to free agency, I really wouldnt be opposed to seeing JR give him a nice offer. I wonder what the oilers would want for eberle. I would have to assume it is for pouliot +.

On another note, do the pens have any chance of grabbing Reilly from U of Minn? You sign him and the option of trading pouliot in a massive deal becomes a bigger reality.

solid observation ryan...watching team canada on big ice is a more entertaining product that coyotes / oilers...pay him the big bucks

Why because he's available early each year from the Stanley Cup playoffs?
- tpd11

Because he wins at everything.

It's great for Crosby that he continues to succeed any time he's not wearing a Penguins sweater. That's not a critique against his relative rate of success in the NHL as much as an observation about the differences between the organizational competence of Team Canada vs. Pittsburgh Penguins.

Don't know if this has been posted here or how accurate it is but according to this the Pens aren't in very good shape cap wise.

http://www.generalfanager.com/teams/23

Nice to watch hockey as it should be played not the cement headed NHL style. Playing in the NHL has to be frustrating to skilled players. Letting the hacks control the game is an absolute shame. Wake up NHL, you are really missing the boat.
- holeinone

Expansion has ruined the game. Too many AHLers.

Except, they won't be saving any money by bringing in Sutter, who's almost certain to get a significant raise after this season.
- jfkst1

They won't be saving money but they'll be transferring that money to a position of greater need, Mike Fisher made 4.2M last season and I don't think it will cost much more than 4.5-4.7M to get Sutter locked up if they're willing to give him term. As of right now Paul Gaustad is the only center they have under contract next year so they would basically just be replacing Fisher's cap hit with a long term replacement for Fisher who is 34 as long as they view Sutter as a 2C.

The Sutter+ for Wlson or Smith proposal isn't about Nashville saving money, it's about Nashville filling a long term need with a player they may not be able to retain either way because of roster holes and other young players also needing raises. As it stands right now even if the cap goes up to 71M they'll have just under 25M(less depending on their internal cap) to sign 3 centers(1st, 2nd, 3rd line), Wilson, Smith & Bourque who are all RFAs and a 7th defenseman as well as allowing for raises to Jones & Forsberg after this season. I don't see them being able to accomplish all that with the room they have to work with which is why I think they'll lose 1 of the RFAs whether they want to or not.

Expansion has ruined the game. Too many AHLers.
- Fenrir

That could be true but I don't think it is. I think the relative strength of the KHL has taken a lot of the east/west away from the NHL and stylistically coaching has reached an apex of what is considered low risk hockey.

It's not as diverse a game. Which teams would you consider are East/West style teams these days? I don't think if magically the NHL were contracted by 5% or 10% that the game would be any better from the standpoint of a varied approach to building a team to play a style and still find success.

Bigger ice would help. I think probably the NHL would sooner adopt bigger nets and changes to what is considered 'even strength' (4 on 4 vs. 5 on 5) before they would approach the owners with a proposal which would eliminate some seating, which is wrong, but that's the way it works.

It's painful to admit that I don;t love the game very much right now. Watching NHL hockey is like turning on the Food Network and watching a master chef make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

What if some of the richer Canadian businesspeople and companies started a rival hockey league? Something like the W back in the day before the unified NHL. 200x100 ice, free streaming games paid for by advertisement, arenas operated as co-ops by the companies who are the vendors and perhaps the season ticket holders. A league which would emphasize three key points: Canada, skill, and Canada.

Contracting NHL teams is probably not the solution. The diversity question often cannot be answered by having less of something; this only deepens and prolongs the culture that is itself the cause of concern and action. By offering an alternative (to an outdated interpretation of the IIHF rule book, salary structure, and revenue model) we who like the game for what it is may actually like what we are looking at.

Don't know if this has been posted here or how accurate it is but according to this the Pens aren't in very good shape cap wise.

http://www.generalfanager.com/teams/23
- dbell646

I think thats pretty accurate. If Dupes cant come back it helps. Either way, they're not in a good position. They need 2 top 6 F's, 3 bottom 6 players and they need to sign a Dman.

I think thats pretty accurate. If Dupes cant come back it helps. Either way, they're not in a good position. They need 2 top 6 F's, 3 bottom 6 players and they need to sign a Dman.
- sammy87

For under 12 mil Yikes

I think thats pretty accurate. If Dupes cant come back it helps. Either way, they're not in a good position. They need 2 top 6 F's, 3 bottom 6 players and they need to sign a Dman.
- sammy87

If Dupuis comes back then I assume they'll go with that dynamite Kunitz/Crosby/Dupuis unit that was really instrumental in all of those series that Pittsburgh would have won theoretically if any of them had been healthy and/or productive.

Otherwise Pittsburgh gets a really expensive third line RW.

Honestly if Dupuis comes back and can play NHL level hockey I make him C3, play Sutter at 2C and whoever is on the fourth line doesn't matter. Unless the Penguins totally change the philosophy of how then intend to win playoff rounds, nothing matters except squeezing 4 points per game combined out of 87 and 71 and hoping Fleury plays like 2015 Fleury and not 2009-2014 Fleury.

They won't be saving money but they'll be transferring that money to a position of greater need, Mike Fisher made 4.2M last season and I don't think it will cost much more than 4.5-4.7M to get Sutter locked up if they're willing to give him term. As of right now Paul Gaustad is the only center they have under contract next year so they would basically just be replacing Fisher's cap hit with a long term replacement for Fisher who is 34 as long as they view Sutter as a 2C.

The Sutter+ for Wlson or Smith proposal isn't about Nashville saving money, it's about Nashville filling a long term need with a player they may not be able to retain either way because of roster holes and other young players also needing raises. As it stands right now even if the cap goes up to 71M they'll have just under 25M(less depending on their internal cap) to sign 3 centers(1st, 2nd, 3rd line), Wilson, Smith & Bourque who are all RFAs and a 7th defenseman as well as allowing for raises to Jones & Forsberg after this season. I don't see them being able to accomplish all that with the room they have to work with which is why I think they'll lose 1 of the RFAs whether they want to or not.
- jaydogg1974

Fair enough. I just don't think they let Mike Fisher go. Like I said, I'd still take one of their quality dmen if that were an option as well. It seems like it would be a more likely one since they have five top 4 quality dmen.

If Dupuis comes back then I assume they'll go with that dynamite Kunitz/Crosby/Dupuis unit that was really instrumental in all of those series that Pittsburgh would have won theoretically if any of them had been healthy and/or productive.

Otherwise Pittsburgh gets a really expensive third line RW.

Honestly if Dupuis comes back and can play NHL level hockey I make him C3, play Sutter at 2C and whoever is on the fourth line doesn't matter. Unless the Penguins totally change the philosophy of how then intend to win playoff rounds, nothing matters except squeezing 4 points per game combined out of 87 and 71 and hoping Fleury plays like 2015 Fleury and not 2009-2014 Fleury.
- Johnny Wrath

That line would be terrible next year.

It was such a bad move to sign them both at the term and their ages.

That line would be terrible next year.

It was such a bad move to sign them both at the term and their ages.
- sammy87

It would be better than Knuitz/Sutter/Dupuis. Everyone was glowing about what great third liners Kunitz and Dupuis would make once they lost a step. This is what cognitive dissonance looks like on ice.