7.5 million tied up in garbage!!!! I LOVE GMJR

explain ?

His bonuses will not affect the cap. Teams can spend up to 7.5% of the cap on bonuses without it taking up space. That's about 5 or 6 mil in bonus space. He is the only player that can hit bonuses and at most it will be 2.5 mil or something. Not an issue. Even if they did go over the bonus allowance, the overages get rolled to the following season.

I know you are referring to Johnson, but who are the others you refer to? Gudbranson? I think he has been far from garbage for the pens. I bit to high of a cap hit for a 3rd pair dman, yes? But he brings something that very few other pens players do. Seeing as the NHL is very much a copycat league, and the blues just won it all with a heavier team, it isn't hard to Invision other teams going that route. Without players like gudbranson in the roster the pens could very easily be pushed around.

I’d be fine with Gubranson making between 2-2.5 million. He’s making too much. I get he was solid for us in the playoffs and he adds physicality but he’s a slow skater and doesn’t move the puck well. He’s definitely not worth the 4 million price tag. Pens were so close on adding Nicholas Jensen from the Detroit redwings until Washington came in. That would’ve been a WAYYYYYY better addition. Would’ve costed more but I’m okay with that.

I understand the overpaid argument. But it's not like the pens added salary in his deal. Pearson did nothing for them. Traded his salary for a salary that does provide them something they need.

We also had a pending UFA in hagalin. As for the Pearson argument. He didn’t fit. It happens. I think it was the right idea to trade for a young, struggling winger with top 6 upside and acquire him for cheap. He’s doing great on Vancouver

before we all start laughing. Does anyone even know what his performance bonus actually is? I mean what kind of achievements are we talking about here.
Your cap hit is a bit low too. Last I heard it was roughly 82-82.5 expected cap.
Not sure where you got 81.5 from. That's only a 2 million raise.

Believe me, those annoying final 5 commercials probably got them more than a 2 million cap raise. Yet alone those dumb in game commercials from drunkin junk food. Did I mention how much I hate that commercial. Pasta has no business in commercials. He's horrible at them, and it's not funny at all.

Nicholas Jensen was not the guy there were looking for or needed. They were looking for 6'5 bash your head in. Not 6' run and duck for cover.

Pens played their best hockey when they were a speed team. 2016 and 2017. Pittsburgh lead the leauge in hits this past year. Last thing they needed was another slow, immobile defensemen who hit a lot. They need puck movers. Pens changed their identify after the Niskanen cross check on Crosby back in 2017. Since then they’ve been so focused on getting bigger, stronger, more physical. While in return they’ve been getting slower, and less skilled. Pens core of Crosby/Malkin/Guzental/Letang/Dumo/Murray and to a certain extent kessel is the best core they’ve ever had to start a season. They need to do a better job at surrounding their stars with fast, skilled, depth

I believe they weren't trading for a defenseman until Gudbranson came up on the trade block.

The penguins got a 6'5 guy because they are sick of watching their star player get hit in the head with a stick, and their best defense man with neck issues bulldogged into the ice.
There isn't much more to it than that.

His bonuses have no affect on the cap.

And how did that work for them?

You say gudbranson is garbage, yet you also say that he performed well for the pens. The issue you have is his contract. Yes the pens could have kept hagelin and been out from under that cap hit. But you say the hagelin for Pearson trade was worth the try and you liked it. But Pearson did not work out so know the pens are stuck with his contract. So they trade Pearson for gudbranson who has almost the same contract and gudbranson has been good for the pens. So what is the issue?

I understand the angst against the Jack Johnson signing. Some of it is warranted, but most of it is a little overblown. Don't allow that anger to bleed over to other contracts that definitely don't deserve it.

That's not the reason they got swept in the first round. You think if they had Nick Jenson they would have won the cup? How did that work out for the capitals?

How about the team that did win the cup this year? What did they have? They had big, slow, hard hitting dmen. And two or three dmen that were fast puck movers.

Gubranson historically is garbage. He did perform well for the pens but will he repeat that performance next season? I really hope I’m wrong lol I’d love for Gubranson to play that solid again. But even still, he’s overpaid by about 1.5 million. Contracts like those are killers. The Pearson deal was a good attempt/ idea but I’m pretty sure Rutherford could’ve unloaded Pearson without taking term back. Pearson for Ceci would’ve been better.

I think it’s a combination between mike Sullivan being obsessed with this hard hitting game, picking his coaches pets, and having a hard time adjusting on the fly. As well as Rutherford loading the team with slower, bigger, harder hitting players. Yeah sure St. Louis won the cup playing a physical game but that’s not Pittsburgh’s style and Pittsburgh HAS NEVER been successful playing that way. Pens win playing an up tempo game. There’s multiple ways to win a championship

Until he is garbage for the pens you can't say he is. You are admitting that he played well. So go with that until he shows you otherwise. You are acting like a troll here. That is my job.

uh yeah it does, maybe not this year but it does indeed effect the cap. And I see a lot of people here posting on it, but the truth is, he didn't hit it last year really by looking at his career earnings. So My point is they are probably something absurd.

I'd say when Wilson was trying to goon up the penguins 40 goal winger it worked out pretty well for them when he grabbed wilson by the head and slammed it into the ice.
I'm sure their season would have possibly gone better too if someone would have been there before Letang screwed his neck up again before the playoffs.
But I do know one thing. He's not the reason they lost.

Agreed pens way is speed and skill and either way can win. I don't think Sullivan is obsessed with hard hitting as much as he is with playing a speed game. However the team is getting older, which means slower. When you say Rutherford loaded the team with slower bigger players you are referring to two guys. TWO. On a 23an roster. That's less than 10 percent of the team. In no way is that why this team struggled. It struggled because it's top players had below the bar years. Malkins year was terrible. Kessel's year was terrible. Hornqvist had a bad year. Justin Schultz had an injury which cost him too much time and wasn't good enough after returning from it. Letang had a poor playoffs. Murry had a slow start to the season. When all of your top players under perform, your team under performs. It's not on the 5th and 6th defenseman. All you need from them is to be okay. Gudbranson was more than okay. Johnson was a little below okay. They average out as okay.

Teams have a bonus cushion. It is 7.5% of the cap. As long as the bonuses they give out are under that number they have no affect on the cap.

7.5% if 80 million is 6 million.
The most Kahun can make in bonuses is 2.85 million. Even if he hits every bonus the pens will still be under that cushion and therefore the bonuses will have no impact on the cap.

Wish I could like this twice.