Trade Rumors and Free Agent TalkTrade rumors, transactions, and free agent talk. Rumors must contain the word RUMOR in post title. Proposals must contain the word PROPOSAL in post title.
I never got the impression that Gogo was lazy. He could be awesome and he could be bad. In both zones. It was frustrating at times. But I always liked him and never thought of him as a lazy player.
Neal is a perfect fit in Pittsburgh. Hard to gauge value when a player fits this well. Malkin and Neal are so much fun to watch, it's awesome.
Difference in the trade...Dallas wanted a PMD more than the Penguins needed a winger.
Want someone? Gotta pay. A player's trade value is what a GM is willing to give up to get him. Not always about points, money, value, draft order...its about the needs of the club and who you think can best fit it.
Ain't gonna happen. At this point I'll gladly take Neal over Ryan. Geno and Neal have really brought out the best in each other, we will re-sign him, I'm sure at this point, Ray thinks of Neal a a core piece. I wouldn't want to try to fit Ryan in on Geno's wing and try to start new line chemistry when Geno is on pace to win the Art Ross and possibly the Hart. Keep those 2 together no matter what.
It seems ridiculous to think of trading him, but if he keeps lighting it up, negotiations aren't going to be easy.
If Neal's RFA rights+top prospect brings us Bobby Ryan, I'd be cool with it.
Right, so the message Shero would be sending is...
"We want you, but if you do well and earn a raise, we sort of don't want you anymore because we don't like to pay players that perform beyond our expecations and continue to show their potential to be very good."
About Goligoski, he's not physical and most people hate that about him. He shadows players well and is very much like a Paul Martin lite, in that sense, that's where the comparison ends (skating and style of defense). Offensively, it's not even close. Goligoski showed he had the potential to be a 40+ guy from the 40+ he played back when he was 23ish, the potential was definitely there. He's had an up and down year with injuries, people seem to stare at stats only.
I still think he finishes with around 35-40pts. He's on pace for 30 right now but if he as a few hot streaks, that changes right away and at 26, he's still going to get better overall.
Ain't gonna happen. At this point I'll gladly take Neal over Ryan. Geno and Neal have really brought out the best in each other, we will re-sign him, I'm sure at this point, Ray thinks of Neal a a core piece. I wouldn't want to try to fit Ryan in on Geno's wing and try to start new line chemistry when Geno is on pace to win the Art Ross and possibly the Hart. Keep those 2 together no matter what.
Would Malkin be in the race for the Masterton too if he's playing well enough to be in the race for the Art Ross and Hart? Selanne won one after coming back from his major knee injury, I think his 40 goal season after the lockout.
I don't know of any other player that has bounced back the way he has after a serious injury. I would say the runner-up would be someone like Lupul unless I am forgetting someone.
If I'm Shero I move extra salary if I have to to accommodate him. That includes moving Martin or Michalek, especially with Despres and Morrow waiting in the wings.
I like James Neal a lot, but I don't think he'll be as effective anywhere else. He's a perfect with the best player in the game and they are fun to watch.
I like James Neal a lot, but I don't think he'll be as effective anywhere else. He's a perfect with the best player in the game and they are fun to watch.
It's not like Neal is a scrub who couldn't put up good numbers without Malkin. He's never scored less than 20 goals and a season. Sure, Malkin helps, but at Neal's age he should only continue to get better -- since he's only 24, his spike in goal production this year has a lot to do with him developing as a player as well (along with chemistry with Malkin).
Playing with one of the best players in the world helps a lot. Can a Pens fan answer how much of his success has been because of Malkin? I don't watch many Pens games. From the few I've watched, Malkin has just dominated.
they showed a stat a few games ago that read something like...
Malkin has scored the goal on neals assists or assisted on neals goals like 86% of neals points. And Neal has scored the goal or assisted on like 83% of malkins points. So they're both helping each other a great deal.
they showed a stat a few games ago that read something like...
Malkin has scored the goal on neals assists or assisted on neals goals like 86% of neals points. And Neal has scored the goal or assisted on like 83% of malkins points. So they're both helping each other a great deal.
Not surprising. They have basically been joined at the hip this season since they play together both at ES and on the PP. Very rare to see one on the ice without the other.
Neal has 5 goals in the 7 games Geno missed. They're not exactly pretty ones, but he's firing the puck from everywhere and it's working for him. He's certainly capable without an elite center. His play away from the puck is on par with his shot imo. But he's a whole different animal with a talent like Geno.
Not surprising. They have basically been joined at the hip this season since they play together both at ES and on the PP. Very rare to see one on the ice without the other.
Watch Sid come back and Neal is moved off of Malkin's line. Pens fans will be none too happy.
they showed a stat a few games ago that read something like...
Malkin has scored the goal on neals assists or assisted on neals goals like 86% of neals points. And Neal has scored the goal or assisted on like 83% of malkins points. So they're both helping each other a great deal.
If I'm Shero I move extra salary if I have to to accommodate him. That includes moving Martin or Michalek, especially with Despres and Morrow waiting in the wings.
Morrow isn't even in the AHL yet, having a good camp doesn't mean he'll do it again and suddenly replace 2 veterans. Despres could have a spot on the 3rd pairing but then again, it's something I would rather let players battle out in camp next year (Strait & Bortuzzo say hi). Losing Martin or Michalek would hurt the blue-line. People don't understand it yet because they just want that cap space back but having them in the line-up makes the Penguins stronger. Could Morrow and Despres be better? Eventually, but that's not the situation right now. 1 making the team would be fine, 2 rookies making the team wouldn't, this is a contender team still.
Let's say James Neal signs for 4.5m/yr for 5yrs, that fits under the cap, even 5m does.
Quote:
CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR
FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.725m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Pascal Dupuis ($1.500m)
Dustin Jeffrey ($0.575m) / Evgeni Malkin ($8.700m) / James Neal ($4.500m)
Matt Cooke ($1.800m) / Jordan Staal ($4.000m) / Tyler Kennedy ($2.000m)
/ Joe Vitale ($0.530m) / Craig Adams ($0.675m)
DEFENSEMEN
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Zbynek Michalek ($4.000m)
Brooks Orpik ($3.750m) / Kristopher Letang ($3.500m)
Simon Despres ($0.840m) / Deryk Engelland ($0.566m)
Ben Lovejoy ($0.525m)
GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $59,887,167; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (19-man roster): $4,412,833
Just toyed around on Capgeek, if anything, the Pens have some cap to spend if the cap doesn't go up. About 600-700k for a back-up, another 600-750k to either re-sign Asham or bring in another 4th line grinder and that leaves the team something around 2m and some change (leaving some space under the cap) to sign a project winger for the top 6 instead of keeping Asham and just shuffling things around, or whatever. Those lines mean nothing by the way, it's just how I had it after getting Sid, Geno, Staal and Vitale down the middle.
Yes this means good bye to Niskanen (RFA) and Johnson (UFA). I like Niskanen, but with the cap situation, I don't see a way to keep the guy which really sucks because I think he's back on track with his development.
Grabner signed a 5 year $15 million dollar deal coming off a 34 goal year. That's pretty close
Grabner is irrelevant when compared to Neal.
Neal is a guy that has scored 20+ goals three times in his career already, before joining the Penguins. In his 4 seasons in the NHL, Neal has score 20+ 4 times (24, 27, 22, 27*). He's a legit 20+ goal scorer, something you can bank on. I think 4.5m-5m is the range he falls in, if he was a UFA then I would say more, but I am sure he and his agent know the Penguins situation and his situation on the team, that he is a good fit and signing for a little under market value for a long term deal would benefit both sides. It's not completely uncommon in the NHL so for people to act like it is, is mildly amusing.
