Ryan Wilson: Saturday Links and Notes Saturday Links and Notes

first! suck it

Well that seals it. We basically have to move on from MAF now.

I want clarity when it comes to protection rules involving players who have two years professional experience. Is it players who have to years or less pro experience are exempt from the expansion draft all together, or are players with two years pro XP exposed? Mainly asking for Sprong, but this could affect Simon and Subdqvist as well if they come out and have great seasons next year.

@Victoro311
Obviously Sprong will be protected if he's on NHL roster next season, but I think they might send him to juniors after his 9 game NHL "tryout" UNLESS he shows he can be a fairly major contributor to the team( i.e. top 9 winger role.) Either way gonna be some tough decisions. Of the seven forwards protected SId, Geno, and Phil have to be protected after that I'd keep Hagelin for sure, so that's four locks for me. If Bonino is on team I protect him, so that makes five. That leaves two spots for our "younger guys" that fall in the more than two years experience to protect. Prob Rust and Sheary for me unless Sprong has to be protected. I'd prob let Hornqvist walk at that point.

I read a lot of Ryans blogs and comments sections but I have yet to see anyone talk about who the pens will take at 29 or 30. Any comments?

@Victoro311
Obviously Sprong will be protected if he's on NHL roster next season, but I think they might send him to juniors after his 9 game NHL "tryout" UNLESS he shows he can be a fairly major contributor to the team( i.e. top 9 winger role.) Either way gonna be some tough decisions. Of the seven forwards protected SId, Geno, and Phil have to be protected after that I'd keep Hagelin for sure, so that's four locks for me. If Bonino is on team I protect him, so that makes five. That leaves two spots for our "younger guys" that fall in the more than two years experience to protect. Prob Rust and Sheary for me unless Sprong has to be protected. I'd prob let Hornqvist walk at that point.
- tpcg402

Well...Bones will be an UFA..perhaps they can wait till after the draft to resign him? That means PK, Geno, Sid, Sprong, Hags for sure. The defense is where the questions will come into play I think. Doums, Letang, Maatta and DP?

Well...Bones will be an UFA..perhaps they can wait till after the draft to resign him? That means PK, Geno, Sid, Sprong, Hags for sure. The defense is where the questions will come into play I think. Doums, Letang, Maatta and DP?
- Thorny

They can only protect seven forwards, three defenseman, and a goalie or I believe eight skaters and a goalie. I'd protect Letang, Dumo, and Maatta unless DP can pass up one of the three which right now looks very unlikely.

They can only protect seven forwards, three defenseman, and a goalie or I believe eight skaters and a goalie. I'd protect Letang, Dumo, and Maatta unless DP can pass up one of the three which right now looks very unlikely.
- tpcg402

well...if its 8 skaters and DP proves he should be protected, I have no issues with PK, Sid, Geno, Hags with Letang, DP, Doums and Maatta...with Murray. That gives you 8, perhaps Sprong doesnt make the big club next year for exactly that reason.
Leaving MAF exposed doesnt mean someone will take him. I would rather they trade him, but having him exposed as part of the % of cap I am ok with too. Will suck losing one of the younger forwards, because of their small cap hit.

well...if its 8 skaters and DP proves he should be protected, I have no issues with PK, Sid, Geno, Hags with Letang, DP, Doums and Maatta...with Murray. That gives you 8, perhaps Sprong doesnt make the big club next year for exactly that reason.
Leaving MAF exposed doesnt mean someone will take him. I would rather they trade him, but having him exposed as part of the % of cap I am ok with too. Will suck losing one of the younger forwards, because of their small cap hit.
- Thorny

Don't quote me on the eight plus one, but yea a lot can/will change in next year. It's def sink or swim for DP next year no matter what the format is.

well...if its 8 skaters and DP proves he should be protected, I have no issues with PK, Sid, Geno, Hags with Letang, DP, Doums and Maatta...with Murray. That gives you 8, perhaps Sprong doesnt make the big club next year for exactly that reason.
Leaving MAF exposed doesnt mean someone will take him. I would rather they trade him, but having him exposed as part of the % of cap I am ok with too. Will suck losing one of the younger forwards, because of their small cap hit.
- Thorny

If you are permitted to leave MAF exposed you do it, there are better, younger goalies who will be available. Reading the article Fluery must be protected.

If you are permitted to leave MAF exposed you do it, there are better, younger goalies who will be available. Reading the article Fluery must be protected.
- Thunderbolt

I read it wrong, as he didnt have to be. Yeah, you have to move MAF for pennies on the dollar now, I guess unless you get an unreal offer for MM. Then I would listen.

I read it wrong, as he didnt have to be. Yeah, you have to move MAF for pennies on the dollar now, I guess unless you get an unreal offer for MM. Then I would listen.
- Thorny

Well they could have FLeury be starter next season and send Murray to WBS to leave Murray protected and keep Zatkoff or sign an NHL backup for Fleury. I don't think that will or should happen. Just spitballing. I feel like Fleury and his agent will want out regardless as the writing seems to be on the wall, unless they assure him of the starter role for next season(and why would they do that?)
Edit: I'm dumb, don't read this

Well they could have FLeury be starter next season and send Murray to WBS to leave Murray protected and keep Zatkoff or sign an NHL backup for Fleury. I don't think that will or should happen. Just spitballing. I feel like Fleury and his agent will want out regardless as the writing seems to be on the wall, unless they assure him of the starter role for next season(and why would they do that?)
- tpcg402

No, AHL years count as Professional years

Murray already has two

What if Murray was signed to a deal with a full "No Move" clause???

What then?

No, AHL years count as Professional years

Murray already has two

What if Murray was signed to a deal with a full "No Move" clause???

What then?
- RoloTahmasee

Derp. You're right. I don't know what I was thinking. I knew that too. Big oversight on my part. He will be in need of a new deal, so they might be able to do that. I'm not sure though. I'm convinced Fleury will be gone no matter what. Can RFA's get NMC's?

To me, this expansion draft seems rigged

Basically Las Vagas will get the "pick of the litter" of every teams, youth, depth and "value talent"

No elite players, but they will surely leave themselves enough capsace to sign a few big names, they'll inevitably have a first year high draft pick, and they can fill out the rest of their roster with the best depth the league has to offer

Keep in mind they only need 18 players and can poach from 30 teams


RYAN WILSON!!!!

Do a mock of what players from each team you think Vegas could draft

@Victoro311
Obviously Sprong will be protected if he's on NHL roster next season, but I think they might send him to juniors after his 9 game NHL "tryout" UNLESS he shows he can be a fairly major contributor to the team( i.e. top 9 winger role.) Either way gonna be some tough decisions. Of the seven forwards protected SId, Geno, and Phil have to be protected after that I'd keep Hagelin for sure, so that's four locks for me. If Bonino is on team I protect him, so that makes five. That leaves two spots for our "younger guys" that fall in the more than two years experience to protect. Prob Rust and Sheary for me unless Sprong has to be protected. I'd prob let Hornqvist walk at that point.
- tpcg402

Well Bones is a UFA and honestly I'd probably move on from Bonino especially if a guy like Guentzel can step in and find chemestry between Kessel and Hagelin. If Bonino builds off this season he'll be making substantial money that we can't afford. Worse case scenario Kessel and ahagelin get bumped back up to Sid/Geno units and we go back to having a traditional top and bottom sixes.

Honestly it sucks but I probably wouldn't protect Hornqvist. He'd only have one more year of term left. If Sprong makes the team id go:

Crosby
Malkin
Kessel
Hagelin
Sprong
Rust
Letang
Dumoulin
Maatta

That leaves one spot for leway. If Schultz is resigned a spot can go to him. If DP finally impresses a spot can go to him. Maybe protect Sheary or Sundqvist. Maybe protect an offseason aquasition. We're not in a terrible spot.

Murray has been phenomenal for the Pens throughout this playoffs. The Pens likely would not have made it past the NYR with Zatkoff and definitely wouldn't have made it past the Capitals. Murray made lots of amazing saves in both series, including some against Ovechkin. However, he has been been fading a little (not much) recently and has been letting in a few softer goals in the TB and SJ series. This isn't surprising and I can't imagine any goalies as young as Murray not doing so.

I definitely agree that Murray is the long term solution for the Pens starting goalie. However, he has yet to play a full NHL season and I think it is important to see him in a "heavy used backup" role over 82 games first before totally committing to him. The best possibly scenario for the Pens is to figure out a way to keep both Fleury and Murray for the next three years, while slowly moving Murray into a starter role and Fleury into a backup role. I can't see Fleury retiring a Penguin but I think he is too valuable to allow to leave right now.

If the Pens do end up hoisting the Cup, Fleury deserves to have his name on it every bit as much as Murray. Had it not been for his play early in the season the Pens would have likely have not even made the playoffs. All other things being equal, I still think that Fleury is the better goalie. Most of the times in the past when Fleury has looked bad it was primarily due to being hung out to dry by his team. However, he probably only has a few "peak years" left and the team needs to think of its future and that future should include Murray as the starter. Making him a starter next season, without having yet played a full regular NHL season, would be a mistake though.

To me, this expansion draft seems rigged

Basically Las Vagas will get the "pick of the litter" of every teams, youth, depth and "value talent"

No elite players, but they will surely leave themselves enough capsace to sign a few big names, they'll inevitably have a first year high draft pick, and they can fill out the rest of their roster with the best depth the league has to offer

Keep in mind they only need 18 players and can poach from 30 teams


RYAN WILSON!!!!

Do a mock of what players from each team you think Vegas could draft
- TheGame316

I feel the same.

Honestly we have a lot to gain from keeping fleury. I think a stagnant cap makes this essentially impossible but I just don't see a better goalie entering the expansion draft the Flower. The closest think is probably gonna be a guy like Halak. The best case scenario for us is to figure out a way to work around the cap so that we keep Fleury this year and then figure out some trade with Vegas next season that would send Flower to Vegas and allow us to keep Murray it Murray doesn't regress. But I think that's putting a lot of pressure on our GM to make a very specific move and I don't think the cap's gonna let us do that anyways.

Well Bones is a UFA and honestly I'd probably move on from Bonino especially if a guy like Guentzel can step in and find chemestry between Kessel and Hagelin. If Bonino builds off this season he'll be making substantial money that we can't afford. Worse case scenario Kessel and ahagelin get bumped back up to Sid/Geno units and we go back to having a traditional top and bottom sixes.

Honestly it sucks but I probably wouldn't protect Hornqvist. He'd only have one more year of term left. If Sprong makes the team id go:

Crosby
Malkin
Kessel
Hagelin
Sprong
Rust
Letang
Dumoulin
Maatta

That leaves one spot for leway. If Schultz is resigned a spot can go to him. If DP finally impresses a spot can go to him. Maybe protect Sheary or Sundqvist. Maybe protect an offseason aquasition. We're not in a terrible spot.
- Victoro311

If Pens could sign Bonino for 4X4 or less, then I'd def re sign him. If Pens do come to terms with Bonino, then I'd fully expect him to be protected.

I'd LOVE for Guentzel to seize that opportunity as he played college hockey here in Omaha and I got to see him play a handful of games in person and quite a few on TV. He's very slick, but he's only played a handful of AHL games and has no experience in NHL, so I'm not sure what we truly have in him yet. I do think he could be like Sheary and make a quick impact at the NHL level with a much higher ceiling. He's a good playmaker. I def think he'll at least get a cup of coffee next season after injuries occur. He could make Bonino expendable and that would be a great problem to have.

I feel the same.
- Panthers88

Yeah you guys are in a super poopty spot. There's no way you don't end up losing an important young piece to the draft. Too many people you need to protect.

If Pens could sign Bonino for 4X4 or less, then I'd def re sign him. If Pens do come to terms with Bonino, then I'd fully expect him to be protected.
I'd LOVE for Guentzel to seize that opportunity as he played college hockey here in Omaha and I got to see him play a handful of games in person and quite a few on TV. He's very slick, but he's only played a handful of AHL games and has no experience in NHL, so I'm not sure what we truly have in him yet. I do think he could be like Sheary and make a quick impact at the NHL level with a much higher ceiling. He's a good playmaker. I def think he'll at least get a cup of coffee next season after injuries occur. He could make Bonino expendable and that would be a great problem to have.
- tpcg402

You lost me at your first sentence. We can't afford Bones at 4 mil AAV especially since the cap doesn't look to be rising significantly any time soon. We're gonna need to find value elsewhere whether its internal, a trade, or a cost effective signing. The absolute highest I'd go on Bonino is 2.7 mil and I think he's gonna get paid after next season.

I havent done much reading about the expansion draft...just curious, is there a limit on how many players you can select from one team?

A lot of people worried about losing good players from the Pens but you have to keep in mind the other 29 teams will have really good players exposed too.

I havent done much reading about the expansion draft...just curious, is there a limit on how many players you can select from one team?

A lot of people worried about losing good players from the Pens but you have to keep in mind the other 29 teams will have really good players exposed too.
- MattStrat

One player per team.

You lost me at your first sentence. We can't afford Bones at 4 mil AAV especially since the cap doesn't look to be rising significantly any time soon. We're gonna need to find value elsewhere whether its internal, a trade, or a cost effective signing. The absolute highest I'd go on Bonino is 2.7 mil and I think he's gonna get paid after next season.
- Victoro311

That's a 2.1 mil increase of what he makes now. Daley, Kunitz, Scuderi will all be off the books. That's ~8.3 mil in cap relief. We'll have Dumo and Murray who will have to re up for sure. If Fleury is traded that's even more savings depending on what we take back. I don't think you make Bonino walk unless there is an obvious in house replacement. If he wants more than 4 mil per, then yeah let him walk.