Free Agent Roundup: Should Pittsburgh keep Hal Gill?

by FrankD on Jun 20, 2009 8:00 AM EDT in Pittsburgh Penguins free agents

Hal Gill

#2 / Defenseman / Pittsburgh Penguins

Height: 6-7

Weight: 250

Born: Apr 06, 1975

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2008 - Hal Gill	2	8	10	11	53

Watch any Penguins broadcast and you'll likely hear about the "6'7", 250-pound tower Hal Gill." I mean, how could you not? It's not like the guy doesn't stand out on the ice.

Yet in this day and age of the new NHL (maybe one day we'll get to a point where we can stop prefacing that and just call it the NHL), the emphasis on size is somewhat unnecessary. Speed tends to be the name of the game in all capacities. Able-bodied defensemen who once made a living by bullying forwards out of the crease now have to worry about refs calling obstruction calls. Speedy forwards careening around corners now more or less have the rite of passage to the net, unless the defenseman chooses to attempt contact and risk a holding/charging/hooking call.

Hal Gill had his big moments this past season that won't show up on the stat sheet. Guys like him often go down as unsung heroes because of textbook plays that lead to transition opportunities on the other end. However a guy like Gill is easily exposed when a forward edges around him only to get tripped up by a long reach, or his elbows/hands, inconveniently located at the head to upper-shoulder range of the average player, send him to the box.

When Gill came on board at the 2008 trade deadline, the addition of a big-framed defenseman was somewhat out of the ordinary but offered at a bargain price that Pitt just couldn't turn down - a second-round pick in 08 and a fifth-round pick in 09. For what Gill has contributed to the Pens since then, I'd say it was a move executed by Pitt's front office to fill a void at the time.

The Penguins recently re-signed Alex Goligoski to a three-year deal. Although he is nowhere near the size or physicality of Gill, it's hard to argue that he will pose as the future of the blue line. Gill made a little over $2 million last season and can test the market on July 1. Given the tight salary cap that Pittsburgh has to work with, how do you see this one panning out?

Poll

Will the Penguins re-sign Hal Gill?

Yes, the Pens need the help on defense

176 votes

No, his days in Pitt are numbered

405 votes

Maybe, but he's not atop the to-do list

539 votes

1120 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

no

So long…farewell…auf weidersehen goodbye…

thanks for the memories.

by AronV on Jun 20, 2009 8:07 AM EDT reply actions

too big, too slow. sorry gill, your kids are cute, but you’re gone my friend.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are your Stanley Cup Champions!!

by jetpen89 on Jun 20, 2009 10:44 AM EDT reply actions

I was thinkin the same – too big, too slow. Doesn’t fit in with Pitt’s speedy system. Thanks for playing hurt and playing hard but this is where we part ways.

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by FrankD on Jun 20, 2009 11:58 AM EDT reply actions

I say no

I think we can replace him with an equal talent but better speed. He’s so noticeably slow.

by BDON911 on Jun 20, 2009 12:53 PM EDT reply actions

No Scuderi means sign Gill

He is slow as shit, but he’s excellent at getting in the right position, and once he is, his reach is awesome and he can kill a hell of a penalty. He is a Jerk to play against down low, just ask jaromir Jagr who deems him the hardest guy to play against. If I could get him for 2 million I would sign him, but not if we can get Scuderi Back. I would also rather have Gill over Eaton, Ideally I would trade Eaton and resign Scuds and Gill. I mean there are guys I’d rather have instead of him like Beauchemin Komisarek Ohlund but they aren’t 2 million dollar guys.

Phili B

by ColeHarbour on Jun 20, 2009 1:29 PM EDT reply actions

not that you put it in that perspective, i agree with you. if we cant keep scuds, we should sign gill to a 1-2 year deal.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are your Stanley Cup Champions!!

by jetpen89 on Jun 20, 2009 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Wilkes Barre and otherwise

With the way the NHL calls penalties I don’t see Gill as such a benefit that would be something that the Pens can’t replace with an AHL guy like Ben Lovejoy or by getting a guy in free agency or the draft. Maybe you sign him in the short-term like you say but I think the Pens would greatly benefit by trying to find a replacement (a large dman with speed preferably) for Gill ASAP.

by playmkr278 on Jun 21, 2009 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions

Lovejoy will play 50 games even if he isn’t in the top 6. You need quality in the Ahl for depth if you don’t remember Gonchar Whitney and I think one other guy were injured at the same time last year. If you move up Lovejoy you’re screwed for depth. and your depth guys stay in the AHL and don’t count against the cap until they are called up.

Phili B

by ColeHarbour on Jun 21, 2009 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Jagr circa 90s

The question though is who Gill tormented (or was a jerk to) this past season.

And the other thing is whether saving a little money would benefit the team more than spending slightly more to get more speed.

What’s the deal with $558,251? http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/ from http://www.nhlscap.com/ ?

That type of payroll room is way less than what’s been being thrown around in the media.

by playmkr278 on Jun 21, 2009 1:06 AM EDT up reply actions

I say Maybe

Depends on what happens with other priority signings. Would really like to keep Scuderi but looking at the large cap space available for some of the also-ran teams it will be hard to keep him. If that’s the case, keep Gill he’s been a solid prescence and done well on the PK.

by Dutch71 on Jun 20, 2009 3:12 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks for the effort, but Gill should go

Nothing personal against the guy, but he is as slow as molasses up-hill in the winter.. if it wasn’t for his height (and reach) his sloth-paced skating would be a glaring negative. With all that being said, he will still have a place in my fond memories of this year’s cup run… he was a Penguin when they won their 3rd Cup and that I will never forget, but the Pens would be better served spending ‘his money’ on either Scuderi, a rookie, or a FA d-man.

by Joe Z on Jun 20, 2009 5:38 PM EDT reply actions

He was + 9 in the playoffs he was doing something right.

Phili B

by ColeHarbour on Jun 21, 2009 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Love Gill... if he had more speed

You can afford to keep a guy like LaRaque for reasons of size because he’s a forward. Lack of speed at defense is quicker to be exploited (just like lack of checking from former #19).

I wish Gill had speed because I love the way he plays the game as far as positioning, decision making, and of course he is huge.

However, slow of foot is just to big of a liability in this league.

And my biggest fear is having Kjell Samuelsson post 1992.

by playmkr278 on Jun 21, 2009 12:58 AM EDT reply actions

http://www.nhlscap.com/

Do sites like http://www.nhlscap.com/ assume a players current salary (even though that player is a UFA) toward the payroll room?

by playmkr278 on Jun 21, 2009 1:08 AM EDT reply actions

i'm not sure what they're doing

but we have more room than that. They might be calculating some other things on that page. Click on the Penguins logo, to see a more accurate figure. Also note they haven’t added GoGo to the main roster yet, so don’t pay too much attention to those numbers just yet. We still have a hair over $8 mil under the cap if it stays at 56.7mil this year, and that includes GoGo’s 1.833 cap hit.

by AronV on Jun 21, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

you have to click on a certain team they have the details of who’s signed for the next 8 seasons. 46.835 m is taken to date for 09-10, but that doesn’t include Goligoskis new contract 1.8m cap hit. the cap hit is the average pay over the duration not the actual money paid per year.

Phili B

by ColeHarbour on Jun 21, 2009 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions

If the price is right I say yes. He probably won’t command a bunch of money, but if he does… “Thanks for everything Hal. You’ll never have to buy a drink in the Burgh again.”

by PensFan024 on Jun 21, 2009 1:13 AM EDT reply actions