id want him to go get Dzingel for 3c

Dzingel hasn't been C much, but when he has, he's been pretty bad. 33 face-off wins and 51 face-off losses, for a 39.3%. He wouldn't be the ideal 3C and he's on an expiring deal.

aight true. i guess then we could keep Bjugstad at center tho and have Dzingel play wing?

If anything, I think a natural 3C would be the target. Just my opinion!

I like Mccann and Bjugstad a lot, if Mccann was better at Faceoffs he would be perfect for 3C but he isnt great. I guess they can use Cullen and their 4th for big D zone draws and utilize Mccann mostly in the O-zone

Thats the only issue with McCann. Im really excited and curious to see the lineup once Malkin is back.

Nobody is talking about us improving our D. We need to trade Maatta and upgrade to a bonafide shutdown defensemen for the 2nd pair.

That could be an option, but do you have any potential players they can target. A team that would actually make that move?

At some point they are going to have to start shedding salary and bad contracts. They have roughly $78.5m in committed salary and have to fill 3 NHL roster spots next season. The cap is supposedly going to be $83m next year. Rutherford has a long history of irresponsible spending and it will eventually catch up with the team and could be the reason to take the Penguins out of the contention window long before declining skill does so it might be a good idea to save the #1 pick this year unless you can get a good player on a friendly contract with term. Penguins #1 picks are always later in the round so it's really like a 2nd round pick so I don't see that happening unless you can pair that with another roster player. Combining Jarry and the #1 might be their only option in making that happen but they likely don't have the value to bring a substantial return.

In terms of moving players with cap, I can see it being Maatta, Pearson, JJ or even Hornqvist. I don't really think they wanna give up Pearson yet. A JJ move seems impossible and a Hornqvist seems unlikely, especially in the middle of the season. Like I said, I see a Maatta for 3C, but a Maatta for defensive LHD makes sense too. You'd have to think the player coming back has a cheaper AAV than Maatta.

They need a 2nd pairing defenseman who is good a moving the puck. It cripples the forwards when they're hemmed in their own zone. Penguins have the offense but need defensemen to get them the puck. Pettersson and Riikola are good puck movers but aren't all that strong on the defensive side of their game just yet. We all know Johnson won't be traded and It would make sense to trade Maatta. I wish the Pens would have got Muzzin but they don't have the assets. So what could the Pens honestly get if they packaged Maatta with Jarry and that 1st?

Don't think they wanna move the 1st. Nonetheless, finding a really good defenseman who is making less than Maatta is highly unlikely. Deal would be really hard to make.

Pearson played fine with Malkin and once Shultz comes back, they should be fine. Mccann, Bleuger and Simon would be a perfect 4th line imo. JJ is only worth keeping around so they can leave him exposed in the next expansion draft lol.

They might not have a choice. Maatta is no head turner and Jarrys stock isn't what it was.

I think Tierney for Määttä would be a good start. Maybe JR can get Lahore too.

If anything, they'll wait till the offseason. Some cheaper LHD are McNabb (VGK) or Nurse (EDM), Gustafsson (CHI), Zadorov (COL), Hutton (VAN). Don't know if all would be better than Maatta, but they are cheaper.

Id love Tierney for Maatta. Idk who Lahore is, but if you're referring to Lajoie, can't see him being moved.

I really think we can get Alex Pietrangelo from STL. They would have to take Pearson or Maatta and we'd have to send some 1st's and 2nd's. Putting him with Letang is liek TBL having Hedman and McDonagh or SJS having Burns and Karlsson. Puts our D up there with the top.

I think a lefty would benefit us more.