Trade ’em! Eat a few million dollars, get a better return. Done.
Easy peasy, right? The Pittsburgh Penguins’ situation is easy for all of us on the outside who are not involved, but it is far more complex for those on the inside. Long-term issues dominate smaller, more short-term matters, and the easiest solutions can have negative impacts.
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It might seem necessary, if not advantageous, to gobble up a portion of salary to trade defenseman Erik Karlsson, but that will take away one of three very valuable salary retention slots for the next two seasons. Those actual dollars are unlikely to affect the Penguins’ salary cap structure adversely, but the retention slot is meaningful.
One little-talked-about CBA rule change for 2026-27 will be the 75-day delay on double retention trades. No one knows what will happen when a team acquiring a player with salary retention cannot trade said player for two and a half months, thus leaving a potential trade flip parked until the clock runs out and the new team can trade him again.
It will make moving higher-priced players to cap-strapped contenders even more difficult.
Since the season will be the last chance for some contenders to snag players who are otherwise overpriced or unneeded by their current team, expect to see a few GMs take runs at acquiring those players. Salary retention slots will be quite valuable this season, which means every slot the Penguins save is another asset they can flip for assets later.
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Just as the Montreal Canadiens helped the Penguins land Karlsson by accepting unwanted salaried players, including Jeff Petry and Casey DeSmith, now it is general manager Kyle Dubas and the Penguins who are in a position to command a fee to help others.
Make no mistake, they will most likely have to belly up to the buffet, bib wrapped neatly around their neck, and eat a sizeable chunk of Erik Karlsson’s salary to make a deal work, but after that, it becomes precarious because the Penguins have a handful of other players who would also require salary retention to move over the next couple of years.
Ryan Graves. Tristan Jarry. Kevin Hayes. Even Kris Letang (next summer). Maybe Tommy Novak, if he doesn’t work out, either.
Eat salary, trade Graves. Eat salary, trade Jarry because some combination of Arturs Sikovs, Joel Blomqvist, and Sergei Murashov are ready. Also, eat salary to trade Hayes because that spot is otherwise needed, Letang because it’s time to move forward, or Novak because young players have pushed past him.
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However, teams only get three slots, and Dubas has been wise to keep them clear. For every veteran exit trade he makes without eating salary, that’s another slot he can sell this season.
It will not be easy because the players whom the Penguins need to move aside are damaged goods with multiple years remaining on their contracts. As we have counted down the Penguins’ prospects, there are several who are ready now, but there are not enough spots to accommodate prospects and existing veterans.
As we’ve seen the market dictate, $3.5 million is worth a second-round pick, so each slot open could net another pick. After 40 years of terrible second-round picks, the curse is over, and the Penguins have nabbed some promising prospects from the second round in the past few years: Tristan Broz, Harrison Brunicke, and Tanner Howe.
Though we understand the temptation to clear some brush from the lineup aggressively.
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2nd Wave of Trades and UFAs?
The venerable hockey journalist John Shannon believes there are more shoes to drop, more dominos to fall, and there is a coming second wave of trades.
“I still think we’re going to see a bump of trades coming, and so what we’re also going to see is a second wave of free agent signings,” Shannon said on CHED radio.
Washington Capitals GM Chris Patrick said at the outset of the off-season that he wanted a skilled player, but Washington has thus far done little in that regard.
The Detroit Red Wings got a goalie, finally, but have done little to upgrade their lineup, unless you consider 36-year-old James van Riemsdyk an upgrade.
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There are a plethora of other teams on the prowl, but even the third-tier free agents such as Jack Roslovic and Victor Olofsson remain unsigned.
So, what gives? Why is the NHL market plugged up?
Could it be that a lot of teams are waiting for the Penguins and Dubas to hedge just a little on the high prices he has set for Rickard Rakell, and especially Bryan Rust? We have no direct evidence to suggest the Penguins are the cause of the league-wide holdup, but the circumstantial evidence is fairly compelling. The Carolina Hurricanes signed Nikolaj Ehlers on July 3, leaving a fair amount of suitors without a scoring winger or an offensive boost.
Those on the inside of the game, as well as those of us who cover it, generally expected that the trades would begin almost immediately. Green flag!
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Umm, any day now.
The real question is whether Dubas holding onto his aces is increasing their value or merely delaying a move. The view here is evolving with the tightening market, and perhaps Rakell’s value will rise closer to the levels we believed he would command in March, when the market prices were like trying to buy a used car during COVID.
The rising cap did not play out the way anyone thought it would. Who knew it would get boring once more teams had money?
The post Penguins Notebook: Why Pens Can’t Eat Too Many Salaries; A Trade Block Holdup? appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.