No thanks. Imagine that 3rd line in their own zone.. that would be bad. If the Pens don't resign bonino they don't need to do anything crazy like this.

Johnson is better than Bonino... in pretty much every facet of the game of hockey. Except for beard growing ability.

The Penguins signing Tyler Johnson to $5.5M per would be reminiscent of what would have happened had they decided to keep Brandon Sutter and give him the extension the Canucks gave him (i.e. a bad idea).

Sundqvist could play 3C for less than $1M if his offensive production in the AHL translates to competency in the NHL. Or they could play Guentzel at 3C. Either way, they don't have to give up significant assets for a player they can't afford to pay.

lol no. Johnson is far superior to Bonino, Sundqvist, Guentzel, etc. He'd be a 2C on most teams, Pens adding him would stack their forwards so damn much. They have the assets to give up and the cap space to make it work as long as they don't overpay other players.

But it would put them right against the cap. Less than 350K remaining with only a 20 man roster? Better pray no one gets injured, because there is 0 space for call ups or running a 7th D/13th F as an insurance policy.

Personally I think I was being generous with Johnson, Schultz, and Sheary... I think their contracts are are closer to 5mil, 3.5mil, and 2.75 mil, which would give them an extra 1.25 mil off the cap. (also I think Fleury gets moved so no buyout is needed). I was just making this based on a conversation with someone else.

Players that play like star players get paid like star players. And the Penguins are already doing that with enough players. They can't afford to pay Tyler Johnson the money that he deserves. Guenzel as 3C would be good because he's still on his ELC and a cost-controlled asset. The Penguins would have less leverage with Tyler Johnson in RFA negotiations because his production merits a ginormous contract.
They may *have* the assets to give up to get Tyler Johnson. Doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Nah his production isn't meritting a "ginormous" contract. He had one 72 point season, the rest are around 40-50 points. Dude's not a superstar, he's good, but is more a passenger (like when he road Kuch's tails to 72 points.)

Well, then, don't pay him $5.5M (or even $5M) per. That's a ginormous contract relative to the Penguins' cap situation.
Also, you just contradicted yourself, saying "he'll stack the Penguins' forward corps sooooo much" and then saying "oh, well, he's not *that* good."

Not at all, you said he's a star, I said he's a good player. 50 Point players are good players, and if the Pens could add 50 points to their 3rd line with Kessel, that is stacking the Pens forward corp, as opposed to Bones' 30 points. People wanted to pay Bones 4mil+ to be 3C. I'm saying find an extra million and give it to a younger, better player, on the right side of 30.

Alright. Tyler Johnson's a good player. That he is.
The Penguins still shouldn't be paying whoever they plan to pencil in at 3C anything north of $4M per with their salary cap structure. I don't think any team should do that. Tyler Johnson plays well enough to get $5M+ per, but the Penguins will hamstring themselves if they do that. Bryan Rust won't make <$1M forever. Considering Patric Hörnqvist's value to the team, he deserves more than $4.25M on his next contract, which is coming around season after next. Matt Murray, if he is a bona fide franchise goalie, will earn more than $3.75M on his next contract, which is up in 3 years. Daniel Sprong and Jake Guentzel will ask for (and likely deserve) more money when their ELCs are up. With all of these players that are making less money than they deserve that *will* eventually get their money, Tyler Johnson appears to be a luxury for the Penguins that they can't afford. The long term needs to be considered here, and factoring Tyler Johnson into their long-term plans at such a high price will cost them down the road (much like how the Blackhawks keep jettisoning players).

When Bryan Rust needs a raise, you let him walk and replace him. He's not good enough to commmit to long term. When Murray's deal is up, evaluate Jarry and see if he can play number 1 (Pens proved last year you don't need elite goaltending in the playoffs. Murray was good, not amazing). By that time, Hags and Cole free up money, bottom 6 players get replaced with cheap contracts. Worst decisions Shero made was loyalty to players (like Rust'ish players, who are replaceable). It's cyclical. That's how teams stay competitive, that's how the blackhawks stayed competitive. Keep the core, the rest are expendable.

Pens don't need another offensively minded player. Bonino is perfect for that 3rd line role. Plus the Pens are gonna run into cap problems later on just like Chicago.

Good points. My biggest issue, though, is still with giving a player of Tyler Johnson's caliber that kind of money only to give him 3rd-line minutes. The salary cap is ultimately an optimization problem, and if your 3C is being paid like a 2C to play 3rd-line minutes, that's sub-optimal.
I don't think the Penguins should pay whoever they play at 3C, whether it be Bonino, Johnson, Guentzel, or whoever, more than $3M or $3.5M. Said player will get fewer minutes than Crosby or Malkin. Cost per point is important to consider, but cost per time on ice is as well. Having a good player that doesn't get used very much isn't taking full advantage of that player. Crosby and Malkin are being paid lots of money because they're capable point producers, so they need lots of playing time for that salary to be worthwhile. I think Tyler Johnson wouldn't get enough ice time for that $5M+ salary to be worth it.

loool @ "When Murray's deal is up, evaluate Jarry and see if he can play number 1 (Pens proved last year you don't need elite goaltending in the playoffs. Murray was good, not amazing)"

Do you even watch the Pens? Replace Murray?
No. Period.
Murray is their franchise goaltender. You're not gonna replace him in any way shape or form. And yes I agree that you don't need "elite" goaltending in the playoffs, but Murray was outstanding most times.

Yes, I watch every Pens game. Murray played outstanding vs. WSH, played well vs. NYR, but was rarely tested vs. TBL and SJS. The penguins were outshooting the opposition in most games and destroying in quality scoring chances. Murray made the saves when he needed to, but lets not act like he carried them to the Cup.

Kinda like paying Kessel 6.8 mil to play 3rd line? Johnson would be on the 2nd PP and do well. Also, having that 3rd line means you can lean on them for more minutes that your lesser skilled 4th line. They showed last year that 3 scoring lines is ridiculous, imagine 3 elite lines (when combining Sid+whoever, Geno+whoever, and Kessel+Johnson+hagelin) Matchup NIGHTMARES for teams.

Gotta agree here. It's not that the Pens with TJ wouldn't be absolutely stacked. Of course they would. But the Pens can't afford to pay a 3rd line center in the 5 million range. The cost paid isn't going to match the ice time we can give, etc.

Also, I would argue that the Pens offense as it stands now is fine and doesn't need changes. Considering we are one of the highest scoring teams in the league currently, it doesn't make much sense to invest that much heavier into forwards, and makes more sense to take that cap space and push it towards a 1st/2nd pair DMan.

Also, I see you mentioned $4 million for Bones. Absolutely no way the Pens should pay that. Bones should make more than $3 mill top in my opinion.

Oh I agree on the Bones part, but some fans said 4mil was fair for Bones. I'm like nooo way. Also, I don't buy that. Johnson can play PK, PP2, and 3C ice time. Don't buy the not enough ice time stuff.

Paying your 3rd line a combined total of $16.3M (which is more than 20% of the salary cap), along with the money that Crosby and Malkin get, is less than optimal. I would argue that Kessel was, in large part, the heavy lifter of HBK, and that he can work with a lesser-skilled center to produce acceptable results. The combination you present provides superior performance but would be unrealistic given salary cap constraints.
To better illustrate what I mean, here's a graph of a production possibilities frontier:
Anything inside or on the blue line is possible, given the constraints of the problem, whereas anything outside of the blue line cannot be achieved. My argument is that the Penguins having Johnson would be akin to being at point 'X' (where the blue line indicates the salary cap). They would need more money to field a roster with Johnson than they're allowed to spend.

I'll agree to disagree.

Ok true (except for the "rarely tested part" against TBL, because he was tested and played under immense pressure especially in the final games) but still disagree with your Johnson deal because it wouldn't be good long-term, although they would be stacked.

AKA Bonino fits in perfectly at 3C (IMO).