A predictably meh opening to NHL free agency.
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34 Comments
Bring back Mario dubis needs to go somewhere does fenway
DK, the offer sheets make sense up to $4.6M using the Pens 2026 2nd and 3rd which they have multiples of. Holtz from Vegas is another name to watch.
The Pens need to move out every bottom 6 player over 30 if they can. They have enough veteran leadership. Heinen and Accari you mentioned. Add in Hayes. I would also move Lizotte for a pick. We need to bring in 3 more young RFAs with some pedigree. 4 of the 5 we signed should be in WBS. There is no upside other than experienced players that can clear waivers.
The Pens should use $5M of the cap space to retain $5m on Karlsson. He has to be traded for the betterment of the team.
Man, I wish they got rid of Jarry. Counting on Jarry as a starter for another season is a textbook example of insanity.
Penguins fans are mad that the Penguins traded away picks and prospects for a decade AND mad that Dubas has stockpiled picks and prospects.
I'd use the cap space this year to have teams pay me to take their bad contracts.
Great to meet you with the Quads yesterday at the mecca of your shop! Now a proud owner of an "Original Lunatic 3x" shirt and a DK-mug! Loved chatting with the boss about our shared hopes that one day you write a book about your life! Here's my question: There are so many moving pieces in this Dubas-era rebuild – even including the willingness of FSG to spend big money – given all of that – can you envision any perfect-case scenario – and I know you do not have a crystal ball – where Sid is happy and this team makes the playoffs next year? It seems like this might be the hardest year ahead for the balancing act of "helping-Sid-go-out-a-winner" stated objective meets the stated objective – much more visible – of getting back into contention once the juggernaut Panthers finally run out of steam.
So, what are they doing with the cap they have available? It doesnt roll over the way the NFL does right?
GET RID of Jarry !!!!!!!!!!
It was a whole lotta Meh
Tank for McKenna
Thanks for the live shot last night. We Penguins fans have the best beat coverage in the league, thanks to Taylor and DK! ❤️🔥🍻
Is there still some Chris Pronger cap hit out there rotting to trade for?
I enjoy your daily shot of Pens hockey!
I think it means…we are tanking this season for a chance at someone named Gavin?
I'm going to disagree on one of the UFAs, Justin Brazeau. I actually the Pens potentially have something there. He played 76 games last year, put up 22 points (11G/11A) and he's a big body who can hit. The previous season he put up 20 points in 57 games for the Bruins. I'm not saying I think he's going to be something crazy, but I think they potentially have a good 3rd line winger on their hands in the mold of what Dubas has been looking for. Yes, he's 27, but he's only played three seasons in the NHL and could be a late bloomer.
hate to see Ned go but like you said this is all the more reason to get Blom or Murashov up here.
Dubas said yesterday he is not interested in singing anyone over 30. The reset is official, Sid's here to play along
I'm very much no expert on contracts, but Puckpedia says Samoskevich doesn't meet the experience requirements for an offer sheet. Can anyone chime in on that?
Rackell for a 2047 2nd and a 2086 3rd.
Madge is doing a great job
If you've got to bring in guys to motivate your starters, who make millions of dollars per year, to actually play, then you signed the wrong starters. Also, when are we going to talk about getting rid of Dubas, who has destroyed two teams in a row now, and stop pretending like he some kind of hockey genius?
On one of the Steelers moves, no one thought the Deshaun Elliot move was exciting either. Time always tells the tale.
Man can we start the 25-26 season already
Meh, mediocre talent in to compete with mediocre prospects. The team has years of work ahead of them before we can even begin to entertain the idea of playoff success.
I wholeheartedly disagree about spending to the cap right now. This free agent class was very weak. People were super overpaid. Keep the cap space and be flexible in a rebuild year. They can be nimble then for trades or other maneuvers. Dubas is used to spending to the cap. Im glad he is not wasting our cap.
Which means that they'll be well under the cap before and during the 25-26 season, leaving plenty of room to take advantage of needy buyers at the deadline to broker deals that include expiring contracts. It would also allow them to add salary/contracts in exchange for picks to potentially draft McKenna. The cap space is a future weapon that starts to shoot in early 2026, prior to the trade deadline. This is a soft tank that Dubas downplayed until…now. Now we know, as do the other teams. You want to do a deadline deal? Call the Pens.
If we aren't going to try to win. What's the point of keeping Crosby?
Cap space is a trade chip—smart to keep some open. Also frees up cash to use on biz ops, analytics, or development
No sense in offer sheeting, magine missing on McKenna because Morgan Frost won you an extra game. We just saw what ±4 points can mean for a draft
They have all year to use that cap space. Use it strategically. Why are you spending 7 million on a Provorov or a Gavrikov at this stage?
Teams looking to dump later can give the Pens more assets.
Fair warning … don't be surprised if the opening night forward lines look like this:
Mantha-Crosby-Rust
Rakell-Malkin-Tomasino
Heinen-Hayes-Novak
Lizotte-Acciari-Brazeau
Dewar
All 13 of those forwards are under NHL contracts, and the Acciari's and Heinen's and Hayes of the world aren't going to be easy to move … unless they want to give away some of the draft picks they've been accumulating with them. Remember … Nashville had to give away two picks to get Pittsburgh to take Hayes last summer, and he isn't any younger or any better now.
Who cares aboot that little cap space. We're MUCH further away than a few signings. I dont necessarily trust Dubas yet but im fully on board w the plan of not trying to limp into playoffs to get stomped out every year. Build a contender. Don't have to tank but don't try too hard until next off-season. We got some prospect depth, now we need young stars. Start spending next year.
Thank you DK, Great listen today, It's time to get excited. I sure hope it all works out. Best show on the planet.
Please trade Karlsson for something; he is a huge defensive liability