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Penguins lose Tanev week to week, what can they do with cap space?

April 5, 2021, 2:36 PM ET [185 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Penguins had been getting some promising injury news about Teddy Blueger and Tristan Jarry which means somebody else is going to fall victim to some bad news. The player receiving bad news is Brandon Tanev. Tanev had just returned from an extended break due to an upper-body injury and it looks like he will be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future again.






Week to week is not great news this late in the year. The Stanley Cup Playoffs will start on May 11th and a week to week diagnosis can stretch into that time frame.

Could the Penguins hypothetically gain 3.5M in cap space if Tanev doesn't return until the playoffs begin? Yes, they could. However, it still does not solve the Penguins bigger issue of not having many quality assets to trade. If Tanev were to miss the remainder of the regular season (and no reports say he is) the Penguins could weaponize the cap space in exchange for assets. Something along the lines of what Vegas did for them in the Derick Brassard trade from a few years ago where Vegas ate 40% of the salary in return for some assets. Three-way trades are not commonplace in the NHL, but if Tanev were to miss the remainder of the season it might not be a terrible idea to use the situation to buy some sorely needed draft picks. Like I said though, we aren't there yet. Tanev could return before then.

Tanev's absence when coupled with Kasper Kapanen is problematic for the Penguins. It leaves Bryan Rust as the only reliable right wing option on the team. Evan Rodrigues' role will be elevated past where it should be and this also opens the door for Colton Sceviour to get consistent ice time. None of this is ideal.

The good news is the Penguins are in a good place in the standings. If not this news could have been worse.

Thanks for reading!
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