2 Questions for the Hoffmans; Possible Penguins Trade Target

The NHL Board of Governors will soon vote and most likely approve the Pittsburgh Penguins’ sale from the almost existentially corporate Fenway Sports Group to the mom-and-pop conglomerate Hoffman Family of Companies.

To come this far and not have the sale approved would be embarrassing for too many people, so even if it were a close call, it will be approved.

However, the questions that Pittsburgh Hockey Now raised back in August, when their name first came to prominence, will soon need to be answered.

After watching the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise be derailed for two decades by an owner who has steadfastly used annual projections instead of rising valuations to run a profitable business, eventually joining the world of billionaires as the value created by the league inflated his net worth by more than tenfold, Penguins fans have every right to ask the hard questions.

Can the Hoffmans, who are worth about $2 billion, truly afford a hockey franchise worth just about the same?

On his Substack, colleague Dave Molinari was quick to reinsert the quotes of former Penguins owner Edward DeBartolo, himself a real estate mogul and successful NFL franchise owner, who termed his Penguins ownership thusly:

“As an investment, owning a hockey team stinks,” Debartolo said in the late 1980s.

**The big question begets an even bigger question: Specifically, can a company worth about $2 billion through the acquisition of dozens of small and regional companies, including newspapers and candy companies, absorb the losses of owning an NHL team that does not make the playoffs?

**The first question then raises the most important question to fans: Will the Hoffmans spend to the salary cap, even after it rises to $113.5 million in 2027?

NHL owners are already talking about the haves and have-nots when the cap hits nine figures.

Regardless of the Hoffmans’ character or focus on the community, if they can’t spend the big bucks, the Penguins’ losses will accumulate fast, both in fans and dollars.

**The equally important subset to the second question is: Will they commit to spending to the salary cap ceiling regardless of past revenue or projected revenue?

“It’s a real question (for all owners),” Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer told reporters during the most recent Board of Governors meetings in mid-December. “It depends on what the ownership really wants.”

The last sentence is what has Penguins fans on alert. Are the new folks hungry for a Stanley Cup, and will they sacrifice to chase it?

Of course, there were a few little nuggets buried in the recent press releases, too. Such as the phrases: “purchase controlling interest,” and FSG will remain a minority owner “for a period of time.”

Those words most likely mean FSG or someone else holding debt through FSG will need to be paid in that period of time.

Would new owners chop payroll for a rebuild to pay off outstanding balances?

Fact and myth are yet to be separated, but the truth is, no matter what words are used, the only answers that will matter will be in the form of action.

Penguins fans have multiplied over the last 30 years in part because of the failures of the cross-town boys of summer. The Penguins are the anti-Pirates because there was always a chance and real ownership pride in the complete product.

Pittsburgh fans have had their fill of hearing the small-market blues. Anything less than full-go now will be met with anger and derision that no political spin doctor could deflect.

Possible Penguins Trade Target

The Vancouver Canucks reportedly rejected an offer for Quinn Hughes made by the Carolina Hurricanes that involved Carolina center Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Kotkaniemi was once the centerpiece of the Montreal Canadiens’ rebuild. But in an act of retaliation for Montreal submitting a strong offer sheet to Carolina’s then-restricted free agent Sebastian Aho the year before, Carolina threw down an eight-year offer to Kotkaniemi, which he accepted … and Montreal declined to match.

Kotkaniemi had a strong start to his NHL career as a brilliant two-way centerman, including his stellar performance against the Penguins in the wild-card round of the 2020 Bubble Playoffs.

He was a rising 20-year-old star who had 20 points (5-15-20) in the 56-game COVID season of 2020-21, but after signing with Carolina in 2021, his career progression flatlined.

Carolina has been stuck with a third-line center, sometimes fourth, carrying a $4.8 million salary cap hit. Kotkaniemi has four more years after this current season, and has posted a mere six points (2-4-6) in 20 games.

Yet, he would seem to be a solid Penguins trade target.

More than a few reports indicate he is available. Clearly, the Carolina system under coach Rod Brind’Amour, which has potentially turned off a few star players, including Mikko Rantanen and Jake Guentzel, is not for everyone.

While Kotkaniemi is a tad expensive, he’s only 25 years old.

Oh, and the Penguins have a couple of older veterans’ expensive contracts, too.

Carolina was in hot pursuit of Erik Karlsson before Penguins GM Kyle Dubas snared him in August 2023. Karlsson has been quite good this season, even as public frustrations earnestly built over a mediocre first couple of seasons linger.

It would not be a shocker for Dubas to strike while the Karlsson iron is hot, just as he did in the Tristan Jarry to Edmonton trade two weeks ago. Carolina has employed a few offensively minded, free-skating right-side defensemen over the last several years, including Dougie Hamilton and Brent Burns.

They would seem to fit the Karlsson bill quite nicely.

There are other Penguins veterans who also have unwieldy contracts, such as Kris Letang, or wingers who could improve Carolina, such as Rickard Rakell.

Kotkaniemi’s salary and decreased value would not permit any GM to take a pure gamble on him in exchange for an established player. That would be insanity. Still, it isn’t hard to see the foundations for a deal between the Penguins and Carolina that would include him, either.

And getting a younger player who needs a second chance would check two of Dubas’s boxes, while also acquiring a potentially dynamic third-line center for the near future when Ben Kindel likely becomes the No. 2.

The post 2 Questions for the Hoffmans; Possible Penguins Trade Target appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.

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2 Questions for the Hoffmans; Possible Penguins Trade Target

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