We have a few things to discuss. First up is the fact Ian Cole was wisely re-upped by the Pittsburgh Penguins for 3 years. He has an AAV of 2.1M which is totally reasonable.
Ian Cole's predicted range was 1.5MM-2.0MM so probably a bit of a bonus for not entering the free agency pool.
— Matt Cane (@Cane_Matt) June 29, 2015
The Penguins basically bought two years of Cole's UFA time so that is why the cap hit rose slightly. This is the kind of deal they should have made with Matt Niskanen. Good on the Penguins to get it right this time.
PIT's spread chart after signing Cole. Still in decent shape cap-wise. http://t.co/npLFovIban
— WAR On Ice (@war_on_ice) June 29, 2015
Ian Cole drove play wonderfully in Pittsburgh this year, and decently in Saint Louis too. pic.twitter.com/z4tlaS2Hig
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) June 29, 2015
So happy to be married to the best girl in the world & to head back to Pitt for the next 3 years. We're excited for what the future holds!
— Ian Cole (@ICole28) June 29, 2015
The last time the Penguins did something good with Ian Cole (acquiring him for Bortuzzo). They then followed it up with the collosal mistake of the Despres/Lovejoy trade.
*Cough* Gonchar rumors *Cough*
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There are rumors that Toronto is willing to retain 2M of Kessel's salary in a trade. My response to that is it will increase the amount of teams that are interested and it also jacks up the asking price. For Pittsburgh that means something like Olli Maatta, Kasperi Kapanen, and 2016 first round pick. While Phil Kessel does have an extensive no-trade clause it doesn't mean he can't waive it. Some things to keep in mind as the rumors continue to swirl about Kessel/Pittsburgh.
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Looks like Vladimir Sobotka will be staying in Russia another year.
NBC Sports - ProHockeyTalk: Blues make it official: Sobotka to stay in KHL next season http://t.co/Bv7KxyFpmH
— Spector's Hockey (@SpectorsHockey) June 29, 2015
According to the STL post-dispatch Sobotka just never contacted them about his KHL decision? Seems like a crummy relationship right there.
— Stephen Burtch (@SteveBurtch) June 29, 2015
Does this impact Pittsburgh at all? Remains to be seen but it could improve Sutter's value if the Blues want to move on from Patrik Berglund and don't land somebody like Eric Fehr as a replacement.
#Pens RFAs Bennett, Farnham, Payerl, Uher, Cole, D'Agostino, Dumoulin, McNeill and Hartzell must be qualified (or signed) by 5 pm today.
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PSN) June 29, 2015
Last but certainly not least we have Viktor Stalberg hitting free agency after being put on unconditional waivers for a buyout. *Penguins have until tomorrow to buy out Scuderi (not likely)*
Stalberg is still a decent player for the bottom six, he was just making too much for Nashville.
Here are the standard charts for Stalberg
But here is the chart that is very interesting, at least to me. There have been reports trying Pittsburgh to Joel Ward. Ward is going to be a semi-popular guy on the market who will demand both decent term and a cap hit. How does he compare to the presumed to be much cheaper Viktor Stalberg?
Quite favorably! This is another example of how the numbers can cut through certain perceptions and help you land the best deal possible on the open market. Viktor Stalberg could be what Daniel Winnik was last year for the Leafs. The signing you make in the offseason on the cheap that can help you avoid giving up 2nd round picks at the deadline while you chase better forward depth.
Stalberg is just another name in a bevy of options available this summer for the bottom six. Something to think about.
Thanks for reading!
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