Offseason Business for the Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009 and then followed their championship season with three straight early round exits. Of those missed opportunities, none hurt quite as much as the first-round drubbing by the archrival Philadelphia Flyers this season.

After winning 11 straight games in mid-March, even the most measured Pittsburgh fan would have told you that the playoffs were merely a formality to the coronation of Sir Sid and his court.

Barely a month later, those same fans were wondering how the 1983 edition of the team got past security and onto the ice for four games of the stomach-sickening six-game train wreck that was the Pens' 2012 Stanley Cup playoff experience.

We will examine the Penguins roster and what moves could help them return to glory.

Evaluation

Nearly a month after their elimination, GM Ray Shero was still hurting, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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"It's basically, 'Take a few weeks to get over the first-round loss,' " Shero said Tuesday. "And that hasn't happened yet."

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As if what moves need to be made to bring his team back into championship form wasn't enough to worry about, Shero has the NHL's next collective bargaining agreement sitting outside his office window... dangling from a tree, heckling him like an over-served patron at a comedy club.

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"It's business as usual, for right now," Shero said. "We have to operate [as if] there will be a new season [in the fall]."

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A few days prior, commissioner Gary Bettman publicly assured those in Shero's position that they can expect more of the current trend, despite the looming September 15 expiration of the current CBA.

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“Revenues continue to grow so you know how the system works," Bettman explained. "Revenues grow, the cap grows.”

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Shero's busy summer won't be due to the fact that he has to fix what causes his team's playoff woes, plus the impact of the new CBA, while at the same time working feverishly to retain impending free agents.

It's a more daunting task that awaits the Pittsburgh GM. It's that he has to fix what causes his team's playoff woes, plus the impact of the new CBA, while he works a long-term plan to retain Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal.

Forwards

Under Contract for 2012-2013

Craig Adams, Matt Cooke, Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, Dustin Jeffrey, Tyler Kennedy, Chris Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Jordan Staal, Joe Vitale

Restricted Free Agents

Eric Tangradi

Unrestricted Free Agents

Arron Asham, Steve MacIntyre, Richard Park, Steve Sullivan

Unfinished Business

Eric Tangradi is likely to return due to the fact that, if for no other reason, he's a RFA.  Once considered an ace power forward in waiting, opinions on Tangradi vary greatly.  Based on his limited use at the NHL level, he may have fallen out of favor with management, but they won't let him walk away for nothing.

Steve Sullivan was astonishingly healthy and was a solid contributor at even strength and a real asset on the power play...all at a bargain price.  He seems like a great candidate for at least one more season in Pittsburgh.

Arron Asham provides an element that no other Penguins forward can.  He's an excellent fighter and has the skill set to play effectively in coach Dan Bylsma's system.  However, his recent injury history and a very ugly cheap shot incident with Brayden Schenn in the playoffs give him only a 50/50 chance at returning.

MacIntyre and Park are likely two-way deal candidates at best.

Aside from the current pending free agents, some sensationalized local reporting by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review gave way to runaway trade rumors that seemed to sweep through the hockey world.

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Myriad reasons exist for Jordan Staal’s name continuing to surface in trade speculation, and postseason comments by himself and the organization did nothing to squash such rumors.

When asked about the Penguins’ “three-center model” following a first-round playoff exit against Philadelphia, general manager Ray Shero said, “It has worked in the past. Whether it works in the future remains to be seen.”

Staal, whose contract expires next summer, recently was asked whether he, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin could enjoy long-term happiness in Pittsburgh.

“Good question,” he said.

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Message boards and rumor pages all over the net loaded up with Jordan Staal trade rumors.  Staal to be traded at the draft for the first selection, imaginary package deals with multiple suitors, playing with his brother in Carolina...blah, blah, blah.

Ray Shero quashed all the silly talk, and the Penguins can't even talk new contract until after July 1.  Barring an overwhelming offer, you can forget about the Penguins trading Staal.

Legitimate trade candidates from this group include young fellas Dustin Jeffrey and the aforementioned Eric Tangradi.  Both forwards have shown breakout flashes but have not been able to find regular spots where they likely feel they belong: in the top six.

Another trade candidate could be Tyler Kennedy.  After filling in admirably in a scorers role a year prior, Kennedy's 2011-12 production was down.  His price is now a seemingly inflated $2 million for one more season, but his energy, youth and potential production will attract more than a few teams should he be made available.

Unless Jordan Staal's agent attempts to sell the Penguins that he is the second coming of Mark Messier, forcing him out of the team's future plans, this group will look essentially the same in the coming season.  The forward group is a real strength.  Shero may tinker, but he won't tamper with a unit that is so effective.

Defense

Under Contract for 2012-2013

Deryk Engelland, Kris Letang, Ben Lovejoy, Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek, Brooks Orpik

Restricted Free Agents

Matt Niskanen, Brian Strait

Unrestricted Free Agents

None

Unfinished Business

Matt Niskanen became one of coach Dan Bylsma's most trusted defenders.  Having shown at lot of improvement in the defensive zone, Niskanen's confidence soared, earning him time on special teams.  As a RFA, he will most certainly be counted on to return. 

Brian Strait received a few chances at the NHL level, and he likely will be brought back as well. 

The pressing question on defense is what to do with Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek.  Prized free agent acquisitions two years ago, Martin and Michalek have not fit as well as expected in Dan Bylsma's uptempo system.  They represent a $9 million, cap-haunting error for the team. 

Let it be stressed that these are two premium level blueliners that have not been able to adjust to a different system.  If and when Ray Shero looks to move either or both of these players, there will be significant interest from multiple teams.

There are other complications concerning trading the pair, however. Martin has a limited no-movement clause, and Michalek has a limited no-trade clause.  Therefore, just shipping them off to the highest bidder is not a likely option. 

Considering how this squad was continually shredded by the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs, it's very difficult to believe that the unit will stay intact.  Add in emerging talents like Simon Despres and Joe Morrow, who made an excellent case to play in the NHL as an 18-year-old, and one can see that changes are on the horizon.

Goaltending

Under Contract for 2012-2013

Marc-Andre Fleury, **Tomas Vokoun

Restricted Free Agents

None

Unrestricted Free Agents

Brent Johnson, Brad Thiessen

Unfinished Business:

Despite a tragically poor performance this past postseason, Marc-Andre Fleury returns as the unquestioned No. 1 franchise-type goaltender.

It is a widely held opinion that the correlation between Fleury's very heavy workload and early round playoff exits is very high. It should be noted that Fleury's two Cup runs were after his two lightest regular season workloads (35 and 62 games respectively) over the past six seasons.

Brent Johnson just could not be counted on this season.  Fleury played for extended stretches between rests, and it seems to have cost him and the team dearly.

The Penguins will likely look to add a veteran backup that can be counted on to share the load and keep MAF fresh for the postseason. That vet will not be Brent Johnson.

**UPDATE:

The Penguins traded a seventh-round draft choice to the Washington Capitals for the rights to pending UFA Tomas Vokoun then promptly signed him to a two-year, $4 million contract.

By acquiring and signing Vokoun, Pittsburgh paid quite a bit more than they have in the past for a backup.  But they address a true need for the team, snatch the best veteran netminder off the upcoming free-agency market and give Fleury the chance to be at his absolute best when it matters most.

At the very worst, if Fleury should falter again like he did in the 2012 playoffs, Vokoun is good enough to step in for an extended period. Business finished.

2012 NHL Entry Draft

The 2012 NHL Entry Draft gets underway on June 22 in Pittsburgh.

The host team is slated to select 22nd overall.  The Penguins' approach has been, at least in recent practice, to select the best player available regardless of anticipated needs.

As pointed out by Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, need will not dictate who Pittsburgh and the Penguins’ director of amateur scouting, Jay Heinbuck, selects in this draft.

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...In other words, expect the Penguins to select the best remaining player with the 22nd pick June 22 at Consol Energy Center. Even though the Penguins possess a lack of quality forwards and a surplus of defensemen in their system, Heinbuck and general manager Ray Shero selected defensemen with the first two picks in the 2011 draft and may again later this month.

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Expect the Penguins to follow that plan and draft who it believes will be the best player at the NHL level.

Regardless of its dearth of prospects at forward, the team's NHL core of forwards are still very young. Note that defensemen, should they have a surplus of NHL-caliber players, do fetch substantial returns, as witnessed by the James Neal and Matt Niskanen reward for blueliner Alex Goligoski just a short while ago.

Free Agency and Beyond

As mentioned earlier, the Penguins are more concerned with the next few years than just next season.  The true core of the organization hangs in the balance as Crosby, Malkin, Staal and Letang will need to be re-signed in that span, and there is no guarantee what the league's next CBA will do to the salary cap during that period.

Despite the uncertainty, it is understood that GMs have been told to operate this summer with the expectation that the cap will rise to the $70.3 million range.

At that figure, Pittsburgh will be working with a little under $9 million in cap space with 19 players signed to the NHL roster.

At first glance it may seem like the team could go out and add impact players at will. But consider that the cap could likely go down after the new CBA is finalized, and they have those franchise-shaping players pending free agency, AND every other team in the league will have more money to spend than Pittsburgh...something will have to give.

Regardless of the current and future cap situation, there are a few areas the team may look to address.

During the Cup run, the team was effective utilizing Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi in the shutdown role.  Since then, there have been nothing but failures, most notably the Martin and Michalek pairing.

The team may kick the tires of players like Bryan Allen, Barret Jackman and Brett Clark.  None of them would break the bank, and all of them block a lot of shots, can clear a crease and throw their fair share of hits. Bryce Salvador, Brad Stuart and Shane O'Brien could also merit some consideration under the right circumstances.

A secondary need would be a depth forward. Tom Kostopoulos, Brandon Prust and Zenon Konopka could be looked at, particularly if Asham is not re-signed, as they have enough speed and skill for the system and can also punch-a-cize a face or two.

Fans looking for a cap-clearing trade fest in order to make a splash signing like Suter or Parise will find disappointment. They should instead look for some trimming of the fat and conservative tinkering in order to keep the core together long term.