Off Season

In order to make sense of the offseason issues it is important to consider a couple of things. The biggest issue is health. IF Crosby fully recovers over the summer, along with Malkin , and the Penguins can open the season with with both of them plus Staal, they are instantly a better team than they were all of last season, a year in which the three of them were on the ice in the same game for a total of 4 PERIODS. I also think Neal will thrive in a contract year flanking either Crosby or Malkin. The next thing that is important to understand on a team short of scoring depth from the wings, and full of free agents is to see where the scoring has come from. The team is loaded with blood and guts players, and short of goal scoring, so those players who can put the puck in then net are critical. First, lets look at the players who are free agents in the offseason:

Alex Kovalav-UFA-currently making 5M per year-the answer is simple here. Do not let the door hit you where the good lord split you;

Pascal Dupuis-UFA-currently making 1.4M-the negative for Dupuis may be that he is making more than 1M on a cap strapped team, and they may want to save money for another "scoring" winger-I think that if they can sign Duper to a two year 2.5-2.75 total contract you have to keep him-he has scored 18 and 17 goals each of the past two years all at even strength, he fits in on the top line with Crosby from a chemistry standpoint, but can play on any of the four lines and contribute-he kills penalties and is a team guy-his versatility and desire to keep his family here make him a very possible candidate to be retained;

Max Talbot-UFA-currently making 1.05M per year-a guy everyone loves-who can forget the two goals to win Game 7 of the 2009 finals or the SSSHHHHHH moment that seemed to turn Game 6 of that years Eastern Conference quarterfinals?-Talbot is a gamer come playoff time, but does not do enough for this team to warrant paying him what he is likely to get from a team short on character guys-despite the fact that everyone loves Mad Max, it will likely be a sad day when he gets his "Randle El" contract that makes it impossible for him to say no and for the Pens to say yes;

Mike Rupp-UFA-currnently making 825K per yer-Rupper is another character guy who shows up in big moments-I think they keep Mike the Rupper due to his affordability, his size and character, If they can keep Rupp for around the same money, he along with Engelland and hopefully Asham can handle the tough guy duties while playing regular shifts in the NHL; I think Rupp is one of three they think they really have to sign if possible, along with Adams and Kennedy;

Eric Godard-UFA-currently making 750K per year-Godard is one of the league's better heavyweights. a team guy who is loved by his teammates, and a fan favorite-he fulfills the role he plays with all of his heart-however, he played in 19 games last season total, and his 750K cap hit may come in handy as far as keeping other more valuable players-like the Talbot day, the day Godard leaves the Penguins will be a sad one for me, but I think a necessary one IF they keep Asham and Rupp to complement Engo in the toughness department;

Tyler Kennedy-RFA-currently making 725K per year-Kennedy after a poor year last season, stepped up big time and netted career highs in goals with 21 and points with 45-more important he did it down the stretch in the abscence of the big guns-once TK simplified his game and went to the blue paint he became a very valuable commodity-this one will depend on a lot-if the Penguins let this go to arbitration, Kennedy may be priced out of the market, but if they give him some term and double his salary into the 1.5 to 1.75M per year area, he may be retainable-even if they have to hit 2M, 20 plus goal from the wing on this team is hard to let go out the door on this team, unless they think they can replace it with say a Curtis Glencross, a name that has come up since this past trade deadline;

Arron Asham-UFA-currently making 700K per year-after an injury prone regular season in which Asham scored only 3 goals, he played very well down the stretch, and was the Pens leading scorer in the playoffs with 3 G and 1 A in seven games-I like Asham and hope he signs here but this one is 50/50 to me as to what I think the Pens will do-he seemed to be in the dog house at times during the season, but just like last year with Philly, Asham was a factor in the playoffs, and though not a true heavyweight, he will contribute in the toughness area as well;

Craig Fucking Adams-UFA-currently making 550K per year-I think and surely hope that the Pens sign CFA again for similar money-Adams is the consummate 4th line grinder, character guy that every team wants/needs on the 4th line-he is a 2 time Stanley Cup Champion with the heart of a lion for basically league minimum, making him a no-brainer to keep if you ask me;

Chris Connor-UFA-currently making 550K per year-I like Connor's grit and "want to," I do. But I don't think the Pens should sign him given their wealth of grinders-Connor is a smurf at 5'8" and 180 lbs, and his 7 goals in 60 games will not be missed in comparison to other areas of need-good kid, coachable kid who hustles, but I think they need to pass here;

Dustin Jeffery-RFA-currently making 509K per year-Jeffrey only played in 25 games this season, but looked pretty solid when he played-he netted 7 goals during those 25 games and looked liked an NHL player-his ability to play both center and wing will help him too, as well as his size at 6'1" tall and 205 lbs, though he does not play tough-If they can get him to sign again in this range, he is worth looking at again, as he did not look at all out of place this season;

Mike Comrie-UFA-currently making 500K per year-Comrie was hurt most of the year so it is tough to evaluate him-he looked good with Geno in the preseason, then he looked bad in the regular season due to his injury-despite his pedigree as a 20 goal scorer in the past, and his willingness to play for league minimum money, I think the Penguins will pass on this player in favor of some of their young guns in the system, who fit better in the Byslma plan, and I cannot argue that much;

Nick Johnson-UFA-currently makng 500K-I don't know much about him other than he was one of the WBS Scranton Penguins leading scorers before being called up to Pittsburgh-he was hurt in the debacle on the Island and has not played since-Bylsma likes him and they say Geno likes playing with him-I have no opinion here personally;

It is tough to know what the Penguins think they need to do with the above players. I would assume that Rupp and Adams fit the bill for both FIT/DESIRE to be Penguins, and they will likely fit financially. I assume that Kennedy is a definite player they WANT to keep, but I don't know if they can afford him or what the market is for him. I would think the same of Duper, and again versatility helps Pascal and he wants to be here for sure. What I don't know yet, is who is available from other teams that the Penguins may want. One name to look out for is Calgary's Curtis Glencross who is a UFA making 1.2M. The Penguins were linked to trying to obtain him from Calgary at the trade deadline, and his name keeps coming up. I have no idea what the market is for him, but I do know this. He plays a hard forechecking game, has speed and desire, and is an excellent PK guy. Prior to this year, he was a guy like Cooke, 15 goals all at even strength, great PK, and forechecker. This year he got more minutes and a look on the second line and he finished with 24 goals, third most goals for Calgary. As I noted, I will look closely at the UFA market as we get closer to July 1, but Glencross is intriguing, as he is a good sized player who has all of the Bylsma characteristics, and could fill a second or third line role quite well. Not signing Godard and somehow getting rid of Niskanen's 1.5M contract could free up up to 2.25M in cap space to work with for other players. I like Engo and Lovejoy as the third pairing with Bortuzzo or Despres as the 7th defenseman. They could even look at a veteran free agent looking for one year in the 750K range to shore up the blue line if they are not sure Bortuzzo is ready. Or you can start with Bortuzzo on the team as your 7th and if you think you need to make a move later in the year for a veteran you can do so. My point is that you have Bortuzzo, Stait, Despres, and Sneep on the blueline, all of whom you think could be ready for the big club. Why not save some money and see what one or two of them bring to the table?

In summary, the Penguins have 7 NHL experienced defenseman under contract, the top 2 pairings amongt the best in the league, and the other 3 all YOUNG. Engo has the dual role of tough guy and the only other really physical blue liner besides Orpik, and he makes under 600K. Lovejoy is also in that range, and really came on as the year drew to an end. He also plays well with Engelland. With 4 other younger defensemen ready for the NHL, or VERY close to it, to me that makes Niskanen expendable. The forward situation is this. Out of their top 7 scoring forwards last year (using full season projections), in order Crosby, Malkin, Kuntiz, Neal, Staal, Kennedy, and Dupuis, the top 5 are signed. Also, numbers 8 and 9 in goal scoring, Letestu and Cooke, are also signed. So in effect, there are 7 forwards signed out of the 12 roster spots available. That means there are 5 spots on the big team open, and some depth roles on WBS. Competing for those 5 spots in my opinion will be another guy who is signed, Eric Tangradi, and then a number of free agents, including Rupp, Adams, Asham, Kennedy, Dupuis, Johnson, Jeffrey. Add to that, any possible free agents they could sign. Assuming that they sign Kennedy, their top 9 forwards will be a pretty formidable looking group, and would allow them to either load up with Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Kunitz, and Staal on the top two lines with a winger to be named later, either Kennedy, Johnson, Tangradi or a UFA, and have a third line of Letestu, with Cooke and Kennedy, or they could have a balanced 3 line attack with Crosby between Kunitz and Duper or Jeffrey or a FA, and a second line of Malkin between Neal and either Johnson or Tangradi, along with a third line, that could be most team's second line of Staal, between Kennedy and Cooke. Adding a Glencross and retaining Duper would add other options. As noted, a 4th line of Adams, Rupp, and Asham would be a grinder's delight. So the offseason figures to be very interesting for the Penguins, but the core of the forward group is in intact, the goaltenders are intact, the defense is intact. The group of role players is deep, now it is up to Shero and Bylsma to decide how they want to play their hand! This should make for an interesting summer. In the meantime, pull for the WBS Penguins in their run to the Calder Cup!