RIP Olli Maatta

Team: 2019-20 Pittsburgh Penguins

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 16, 2019

Published: Jun. 17, 2019

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

He died for our sins of signing Jack Johnson, but was able to reincarnate some youth and a potential McCann clone. Excited to see how Kahun plays in the lineup.

After all of the trades/signings, Penguins would still have about $4mil cap space available. Could go out there and make an offer for a UFA, but I think this team looks solid and would be fine starting the year wit a buffer. Especially since 6 RFA contracts would be up next year.

Let me know what you think!


TRADES
1) Might get some flack for this one because of the change in salary (+2.25mil for Van) but I think the value isn't bad. Rust has game and I think he would play well with fellow midwesterner Brock Boeser. Hate to trade him after all he has done here, but with McCann, Guentzel and Kahun I think he will be forced to play in the bottom six and that just doesn't work unfortunately. I also read an article on the Athletic that stated Vancouver would like to add some muscle to their blueline. Gudbranson already played there and Jack Johnson with retention is a lot better than Jack Johnson. Also offered 3rd round pick for cap compensation. Can be swapped for a prospect if they would prefer another player rather than the pick.

Stecher is a 2 way defensman, which fits Pens system flawlessly. His play was better when he was in a sheltered role, but he is young and I think he looked good for Van. Motte has played mostly bottom 6 minutes, but can hit and is strong defensively which I think could benefit Pens bottom six.

2) Pens might be able to start next season with 3 goalies, but no team prefers to do that (unless you are the Flyers). I think it's too tricky to gauge goalie value when they haven't played an entire season yet, but Jarry is poised to be an NHL starter in my eyes. Saw him play in WBS and Pittsburgh and he has great reflexes and is good positionally, even for his size. I figured he is worth a 3rd rounder for teams with shallow goalie depth.

UFA/RFA Singings
1) Pettersson gets a 2 year, 3.6mil contract. Solid bridge for a player we are still learning about.
2) ZAR gets another chance. I have been hyped for him ever since he signed after his Hobey Baker year. Has shown flashes of solid play, but injuries and inconsistencies are still there. Good, cheap bottom 6 player
3) Blueger gets 4C job duties all season. We all saw how he looked at the end of last year, and I am sure he will be fine locking down 4C for the entire season.
5) Motte signs for what I would expect him too. Don't see him making a huge impact, but would be a good fit on the 4th line. Still young, too.