Quoting: hockey_GoDz
pretty much knew that we would lose all the FA's going in sad to see bonino go. but all the dmen i had an eye on went pretty much dirt cheap same with the 3 players i had at 4c. pretty much junk left only avenue to improve and fill out team is thru trades. nashville really took it to next level but they have 5 rfa to sign and with the 1c numbers that are floating around johansson is going cost 8m per. was looking forward to scf rematch next year. lot of teams improved seems pens lost lot of ground so far. trade market is going be pure stupidity.. too expensive and costly to future. our prospect pool isnt exactly overflowing with blue chippers i really only see 4 maybe 5 jarry sprong simon aston-reese and maybe prow and dea are iffy. our defense is passible but we have almost no depth there i would have liked to see ryan murphy or kyle quincey grabbed both are decent fit for 5/6/7 depth dmen and didnt cost much. lets hope JR can pull off some amazing trades in next month. shultz cap hit is about the price i expected it to be but i expected more term. hopefully dumo come in at good rate and term. 4 x 3.25 would be perfect.
I find it strange they didn't address the center position AT ALL. Dominic Moore signed for 1yr at $1m ... I wonder if they even talked to him. He had nearly 30 pts last year and has the skill set we need; speed, defense, faceoffs, some scoring, and cheap. It couldn't be salary or term.
Crosby and Malkin are not getting any younger. 3-4 years might be the end of the era, especially with the improvement other teams are making. There are play off teams from last year who look to be cup contenders in the next year to 2, which is going to make it that much harder to cash in on Crsoby/Malkin.
I think Ryan Murphy is in the Pouliot's situation, no one is sure he can actually play in the league, accept Carolina who doesn't think he can. They did add some depth D for the AHL which may surprise and see NHL mins. Hunwick signing seems decent, gentle cap hit. His lack of offense doesn't worry me if Letang stays healthy and Pouliot comes along. Hunwick makes it possible to give Pouliot the shot at playing his way in or out, of the lineup. We need Pouliot to play 40ish games to see what he's got. They have a lot of back to back games this year, so rest Letang and play Pouliot every chance they get. I hope the don't plan to play Letang 25+ mins again. He'll never see the playoffs if they keep that up.
Prospect wise, you got to consider Guentzel, Archibald, Kuhnackl, and they signed DeSmith, which stacks our Gs and Ws. But we also have assets to move for what we need now. Haglen and Wilson are expendable, and IMO I don't mind adding Sheary (depending on his contract) and Maatta to that list if the return is right. Dallas is heavy at center and defense. Might be a potential trading partner.
I think Schultz signing was good. I would have like an extra year or 2. I'm Hoping the sign Dumoulin and Sheary to bridge contracts. Both in the $2.5m but definitely under $3m range, so they can save some cap to add players via trade, though we look like we got plenty to spend. I just hope Rutherford doesn't chase the stars, adding another a $6m winger. We need a true 3rd center who can PK, block shots, take faceoffs, etc. Not a guy who makes $6m to score numbers points like Bonino did.
I'm kinda hoping to see the Pens sign Mikhail Grigorenko to 2 way deal. I haven't seen him much, he's played the wing and center, is large, very good face off numbers and has scored 20+ in the NHL as a 4th liner. I've heard questions about his skating, but at 23 he should be able to turn that around if Ryan Reaves can do it at 29-30. Don't think he's the answer, but potential versatile option, who should be cheap enough to make it worth the risk and add depth to the roster to help other moves take place.