Losing players via free agency has been nothing new for the Pittsburgh Penguins. It start just a few months after they became a "cap team" spending to the limit in 2007-08, that summer they lost Ryan Malone because they couldn't afford him, and Marian Hossa too (although that one not really for cap reasons). The trend of a lot of very good players leaving Pittsburgh via free agency has grown from there, culminating this summer with Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen and Deryk Engelland all getting healthy, healthy raises to ply their crafts elsewhere. Even lesser lights like Tanner Glass and Joe Vitale have reaped the benefits financially.
Which got me thinking about salaries and how it would be impossible to keep recent versions of the Penguins together. Let's go back down memory lane and see how expensive recent Penguin teams of the past would be.
2014: Game 4 vs New York Rangers
We'll use the playing roster for the last Penguins win of the season, because it also was the last game that Brooks Orpik ever played as a Penguin. Glass and Engelland (who will combine to make an LOL'able $4.3 million per year) were both healthy scratches, so we won't count them. Just looking at the 20 skaters dressed the Penguins that night have a 2014-15 salary cap hit of $69.085 million, making them ineligible to ice that same lineup from Game 4 next season (even before rounding out the team with depth players and healthy scratches).
This also does not count Brandon Sutter (restricted free agent) and Lee Stempniak (UFA) both of whom could add up to a combined $5 million more or so to the salaries, so the 2013-14 Penguins really couldn't be kept together- mainly due to the raises that Orpik, Niskanen and Jokinen were handed out in free agency this summer.
2013: Game 4 vs. Boston
There are 17 players that dressed that dreadful night with NHL contracts for 2014-15- with Brandon Sutter soon to cash with an expected deal with the Pens shortly too. Even figuring Sutter at his qualifying offer (he will sign for more) and Pittsburgh's lineup that night is now worth $76.5 million in 2014-15 contracts, well over the salary cap. And this amount doesn't even count Glass ($1.4m), Vitale ($1.1m) and Jussi Jokinen ($4.0m)- all healthy scratches that night- who have signed for a combined $6.5 million for next season.
If you were curious, only Douglas Murray and Tomas Vokoun do not have NHL contracts right now for next season, with Vokoun wanting to continue (but possibly not finding a team to take him on) and Murray's stock at an all-time low after a poor season in Montreal. Even if those two veterans have played their last NHL games, the team would have no problem flying past the salary cap.
2012: Game 6 vs. Philly
Going back to the final game of 2012 is just as expensive in 2014-15 contracts. A pair of players (Steve Sullivan, Brent Johnson) have retired but the Penguins lineup that night for Game 6 vs. Philadelphia still featured players that will make $75.5 million against the cap. This number does not factor in $5 million man Paul Martin, who was injured and did not play in the game.
Expensive veterans
It's only natural for a team with good players to get pay raises and exceed the salary cap when looking back at years past- but a problem the Penguins have had has been relying on a revolving door of veterans and rental type players. Since the team's core of Crosby/Malkin/Letang/Fleury eats away a large percentage of the salary cap (44% of it this year), there simply isn't enough room to re-sign good performers like Niskanen or Jokinen when their contracts expire, compared to what a hungry non-playoff team can offer. One way to combat this could be to offer longer-term contracts to these types of players, though that is not without risk to the team and sometimes the player wants to get to free agency as quickly as possible too.
If anything this exercise can show how valuable it is to get young guys on cheap entry level contracts (Beau Bennett, Olli Maatta) that can contribute at the NHL level. The more of that, the better. The Pens haven't been able to find or develop a lot of young talent quickly, and it goes without saying that they- like any NHL team in the cap world- would be better off finding as many young impact players as they can get their hands on. Otherwise the endless cycle of watching veterans skate away for bigger paydays will just endlessly continue.