He looked like Tanner Glass in the playoffs
- Deadstar

He still had 5 goals in 12 games, which is better than almost every player on our team last year.

Anyone have access to tiops article on names pens interested in...

If it doesn't say kuli hemsky miller.. don't bother posting lol
- nh4442

TIOPS discussing that the Pens are looking at Pouliot, Vrbata, and David Moss.

Per Depaoli: "Nothing is coming out of the organization but outside of PIT, Word among a couple executives, agents I spoke with Rutherford is comfortable with Fleury but is exploring options. I know they were one of the five teams to reach out to Jonas Hiller. I'll have something up soon."

Anyone have access to tiops article on names pens interested in...

If it doesn't say kuli hemsky miller.. don't bother posting lol
- nh4442

I'll post it anyway...

Says they've reached out to Vrabata, Moss and Pouliot. (I like the interest in Pouliot. Guy was a horse for the Rags in the post season).

Says Kulemin's camp is very intrigued with an opportunity in Pittsburgh, but hasn't been able to confirm the Pens have the same interest.

Also says the interest into JJ has been tepid. Only 3 teams have reached out to his agent.

Posted this yesterday but if MAF is moved to Minny what are the thoughts on Jason Zucker coming back. He has been up and down the past two years but has the looks of a solid 3rd line contributer and could net around 30 points a year. Just a thought of shedding MAF salary and still getting back something of value.

I'll post it anyway...

Says they've reached out to Vrabata, Moss and Pouliot. (I like the interest in Pouliot. Guy was a horse for the Rags in the post season).

Says Kulemin's camp is very intrigued with an opportunity in Pittsburgh, but hasn't been able to confirm the Pens have the same interest.

Also says the interest into JJ has been tepid. Only 3 teams have reached out to his agent.
- madmike71

who's JJ?

who's JJ?
- Deadstar

Jussi

TIOPS discussing that the Pens are looking at Pouliot, Vrbata, and David Moss.

Per Depaoli: "Nothing is coming out of the organization but outside of PIT, Word among a couple executives, agents I spoke with Rutherford is comfortable with Fleury but is exploring options. I know they were one of the five teams to reach out to Jonas Hiller. I'll have something up soon."
- errey12

That makes sense. Both Moss and Pouliot would be good additions to the 3rd line, adding grit and physicality. Both should be in the 2-3M range.

Jussi
- errey12

Ahh completely forgot about him already

That makes sense. Both Moss and Pouliot would be good additions to the 3rd line, adding grit and physicality. Both should be in the 2-3M range.
- cap1681

I feel as though teams will be buying high on Pouliot. The key is to find the next Pouliot and not have to pay the premium. They exist.

It never seems like a great idea to go UFA shopping from the scraps of Stanley Cup Final teams. You never get good value, best case scenario is market value, most times above market value.

Ahh completely forgot about him already
- Deadstar

I think he's good as gone. JR already ran him out of Carolina. I doubt he admits he made a mistake and gives him a nice contract here.

I know he played pretty well here, but I'm not all that broken up that he'll be moving on.

I feel as though teams will be buying high on Pouliot. The key is to find the next Pouliot and not have to pay the premium. They exist.

It never seems like a great idea to go UFA shopping from the scraps of Stanley Cup Final teams. You never get good value, best case scenario is market value, most times above market value.
- Ryan_Wilson

Yeah, it always seems like you pay like a $1 million tax on UFA's who played well for finals teams.

$2 mil guys are now $3 mil, $3 mil guys are now $4 mil, etc...

I feel as though teams will be buying high on Pouliot. The key is to find the next Pouliot and not have to pay the premium. They exist.

It never seems like a great idea to go UFA shopping from the scraps of Stanley Cup Final teams. You never get good value, best case scenario is market value, most times above market value.
- Ryan_Wilson

In your opinion, who are some of those key players?

In your opinion, who are some of those key players?
- errey12

There will most likely be a blog about it, but not today.

GMJR told the Fan that Neal is not on the trade block, but is getting calls about him because of rumors floating around.

I'm a big fan of getting Goc and Sutter signed on before free agency hits. I think you can role a fourth line of Payerl - Goc - Gibbons and get effective play. Speed, physicality, some offensive play, but responsible defensive play and a semblance of puck possession.

I was happy with what I saw out of Payerl in WBS and I believe he has what it takes to be an effective 4th line player, almost in the mold of a Tom Wilson in Washington,but hopefully more disciplined.

There will most likely be a blog about it, but not today.
- Ryan_Wilson

Raymond, mueller, booth come to mind all should be cheap. Hell they could get all 3

Raymond, mueller, booth come to mind all should be cheap. Hell they could get all 3
- dbell646

Raymond at 3 isn't really cheap though.

Not liking the possession stats for the US right now.

Raymond, mueller, booth come to mind all should be cheap. Hell they could get all 3
- dbell646

Booth is a shadow of himself after the concussions.

Not liking the possession stats for the US right now.
- Topshelf Mountain

is 0 a stat?

A bit from Seth Rorabaugh's interview with Matt Niskanen...

You finished 11th in voting for the Norris Trophy with 36 points...

"Really?"

Yeah. You finished ahead of guys like Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall and Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban who won the award last year. If you were told a year ago, you would be in that company, what would your reaction be?

"I would have laughed. Let’s call a spade a spade. I think generally those guys are better players over a consistency of years. But I had a good year. That’s something to be proud of. I’m really happy with the year I had. But to answer your question, a year ago… no. I didn’t think it was going to go down like that. Obviously, a lot of things fell into place for me this year. The challenge for me is the repeat of that. Not just goals and assists but the level of play."

-----------

I've always like his candor, and his answer about where he see's himself as a player is really refreshing.

TIOPS discussing that the Pens are looking at Pouliot, Vrbata, and David Moss.

Per Depaoli: "Nothing is coming out of the organization but outside of PIT, Word among a couple executives, agents I spoke with Rutherford is comfortable with Fleury but is exploring options. I know they were one of the five teams to reach out to Jonas Hiller. I'll have something up soon."
- errey12

I like all three of those names, but would be warry of over-paying for Pouliet. He came up big in the Playoffs, but he is still a 15G, 36pts player. He does bring size, which is valuable, but i wouldn't pay him more than $2.5M/yr on a 3yr deal.

Pipe-dream of a roster w/ $70M Cap.

- Sign Vrbata for $3M/yr as a UFA
- Re-Sign Jokinen for $3M/yr, who didn't generate as much interest as previously thought. Kulemin as a back-up plan at $3M/yr.
- Pouliet at $2M/yr. Moss as a back-up plan.
- Sutter re-signed at $3.25M/yr and Despres at $1M/yr. Samuelsson as weel at $600K
- Gibbons and Vitale on the 4th line, but could be swapped out for anyone. Do't know enough about 4th liners around the league to make an eductaed guess as to which UFA's would fit.
-

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
CapGeek Armchair GM Roster
FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / Radim Vrbata ($3.000m)
Beau Bennett ($0.900m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Jussi Jokinen ($3.000m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.250m) / Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m)
Benoit Pouliot ($2.000m) / Joe Vitale ($0.550m) / Brian Gibbons ($0.550m)
Craig Adams ($0.700m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Kris Letang ($7.250m) / Paul Martin ($5.000m)
Simon Despres ($1.000m) / Olli Maatta ($0.894m)
Rob Scuderi ($3.375m) / Philip Samuelsson ($0.605m)
Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m) /
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Jeff Zatkoff ($0.600m)
BONUS OVERAGE
$0
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $69,074,167; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $925,833

A bit from Seth Rorabaugh's interview with Matt Niskanen...

You finished 11th in voting for the Norris Trophy with 36 points...

"Really?"

Yeah. You finished ahead of guys like Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall and Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban who won the award last year. If you were told a year ago, you would be in that company, what would your reaction be?

"I would have laughed. Let’s call a spade a spade. I think generally those guys are better players over a consistency of years. But I had a good year. That’s something to be proud of. I’m really happy with the year I had. But to answer your question, a year ago… no. I didn’t think it was going to go down like that. Obviously, a lot of things fell into place for me this year. The challenge for me is the repeat of that. Not just goals and assists but the level of play."

-----------

I've always like his candor, and his answer about where he see's himself as a player is really refreshing.
- rival22

Yes, but he still wants to be paid like one of those guys and we can't afford that. I was happy to have here though. I liked him.

Niskanen informed Pittsburgh he will test free agency. That means he is gone.

I've wanted him for a while... Good skills, decent speed, and I really like him being right handed. He's 33, so I would go like a 2 year deal, but he has been pretty durable during his career. He has a past relationship with Rutherford, and with Tocchet. Not sure if the Tocchet relationship is good or bad, as it was a short, but rough time for Vrbata in Tampa Bay.
- rival22

Vrbata would be a great replace my if jokinen leaves. He could be a little cheaper as well