1) we all agree that Dupuis does the same job Adams did except for .8 milion more. Move him.
2) Kunitz brings alot to that top line, but 3.725 is just too much. Move him if possible. Look for Talbot to fill his role.
now that 48.67 mil cap is down (1.4mil + 3.725) 5.125 all the way to 43.545.
Then you sign Guerin to a 1 year 3 mil contract. now your at 46.545
Then you sign Fedotenko to a 1 Year 2 mil contract. now your at 48.545
Your forward lines are looking like:
    Talbot Crosby Guerin
Fedotenko Malkin XX
   Cooke Staal Kennedy
Godard ZZ AA
ZZ= Zigomanis for the Faceoff Circle .6m and AA= Craig Adams veteran Grinder hopefully both for .6m (+1.2m)
49.745.
Assume Malsby included Goligoskis new contract Theres 5 D:
Gonchar Orpik
Letang Goligoski
Eaton

Give Scuderi a longterm frontloaded deal of no more then 3 mil per cap hit .I’d Give him 8 Years if I had to He will be one of the elite Active sticks for years to come not to mention durable and with Gonchar Retiring after 2 more seasons it won’t hurt.
That brings you to 52.745

Then you need a backup goalie and someone for malkins line some depth dmen its still close! ouff

I am new here but a lifelong Penguin fan! I enjoyed watching the cup in the comfy country of Iraq!

I’ve been thinking about the players we currently have and wondering… do you guys think Kennedy will stay on the 3rd line? Next year will be his 3rd in the league and he made a decent jump in production from his rookie year. I think he could definetely be a top 6 forward which would allow us to sign somebody a little less expensive for the 3rd line winger for Staal.

and to add on quickly. I personally like Kunitz staying on the team. His salary hit is 3.725 but I love what he brings to the table. He is an underrated goal scorer as well. I know he struggled in the play offs but he has been getting 20+ goals the last few years, and playing a full season with Crosby could see his production spike a little more. This to go with his 2-way play, ability on the forecheck, and his “I’m gonna knock your * into next week”

What happened to Personen? wasn’t he in the top 3 in WB?
I think they need Scuderi back as a solid stay at home type while Letang and Golioski are more offensive.
Sad but for the production Sykora and Satan just can’t be retained.
Billy G for the same price as he’s now a year older but still has leadership.
Zigomantis besides faceoffs is not needed nor Dupius
I also agree 5M for gogo was kinda premature. He has potential but until he shows it on an nightly basis this is too much. If he proves he’s a Gonchar replacement he’s going to want much more down the road. For the ice time Godard was mighty expensive.

With not hearing a whole lot about our free agents, is it a safe bet that Fedo, Scuderi, Guerin are waiting for free agency to hear what other teams are willing to offer? If so, that does not boast well for the home team.

If the past playoffs proved nothing, it’s that defense wins the Cup. I’d much rather have Scuds than Gonchar and his salary any day. Take a look at how many times Gonchar was out of his “point position” or just simply couldn’t keep the puck in the offensive zone on the power play – and he is a tremendous defensive liability, since he doesn’t actually play defense. Gill should go as well, since he has absolutely no idea how to play the puck. Every time Detroit dumped in the puck it seemed as if it was the first time he had ever tried to figure out what to do and he’s easily the slowest guy on the ice – not something you need from a defenseman. I’d much rather pair Scuds with Letang and let Eaton play with Orpik and have Goligoski as an alternate and give one or two of the younger guys some opportunities. For the PP, I’d have a defensive-minded forward playing one of the points – like Adams. That would be much cheaper and just as effective as the aging Gonchar.

He didn’t fail. Every team has to retrieve the puck during a powerplay. Just look at the pens PP before Gonch’s return. Keeping the puck in the zone is subtle, but you sure notice when it isn’t there: see the first 60 or so games. You can’t take a three game sample(especially an injured sample) and claim that he isn’t worth it. The regular season PP was awful before his return, and when he came back it got much better. Gonchar might get a point on every powerplay. Scuderi probably won’t. They pay him that much because he DOES make a huge difference. Look at the regular season or last year, don’t look at a single series.

Which winger would you want on the point? I promise Adams(like you suggested) wouldn’t be able to keep the puck in any better than Gonch, nor would any other winger I could name.

He is a defensemen. Of course he averages less than a point a game! How many players on last years roster were at or above a point per game?

I don’t think you can say he is consistantly responsible for giving up a goal a game. Whats that based on? An injured series against the Red Wings? He isn’t a terrible defensemen. He isn’t quite the shutdown D that Scuderi is, yes. Everybody knows that, doesn’t mean he isn’t worth keeping. The PP is a big part of the game.

Gonchar is a very valuable component to the Penguins. the way he skippers the PP is huge, after he got injured on the Ovechkin hit I’d say he was at about 60%. You can’t judge his value by what I would agree was pretty so-so defensive play vs. Detroit. Of course bbill is spot on, you don’t notice the value of a guy keeping the puck in the zone on a PP until you have the puck getting knocked out a couple of time every Power Play!