Lockout

[tfrizz]

James Mirtle tweeted that players could lose as much as 20% of their salaries in escrow next season. On my phone otherwise I'd copy/paste the tweet.

[pressure=9Pa]

I think under the assumptions of salary posted before, Kunitz is a player quickly on the move.

[Pitt87]

To put the cap difference in perspective, $5mil is practically each team's entire share of the NBC contract.

[shmenguin]

I think under the assumptions of salary posted before, Kunitz is a player quickly on the move.

kunitz has a good contract. he's safe. it's going to be a question of whether shero wants to roll the dice on D with young guys or have a crappy, crappy collection of forwards.

[Tim Thomasen]

I think under the assumptions of salary posted before, Kunitz is a player quickly on the move.

kunitz has a good contract. he's safe. it's going to be a question of whether shero wants to roll the dice on D with young guys or have a crappy, crappy collection of forwards.

So we suck is what your trying to tell us?

[Defence21]

I think under the assumptions of salary posted before, Kunitz is a player quickly on the move.

kunitz has a good contract. he's safe. it's going to be a question of whether shero wants to roll the dice on D with young guys or have a crappy, crappy collection of forwards.

So we suck is what your trying to tell us?

Yeah. I can't imagine a way a team with Crosby, Malkin and Neal could be any good offensively...

[Tim Thomasen]

I think under the assumptions of salary posted before, Kunitz is a player quickly on the move.

kunitz has a good contract. he's safe. it's going to be a question of whether shero wants to roll the dice on D with young guys or have a crappy, crappy collection of forwards.

So we suck is what your trying to tell us?

Yeah. I can't imagine a way a team with Crosby, Malkin and Neal could be any good offensively...

Well that's what he's trying to tell us. Funny I thought we had a good collection of forwards based off of the name you just listed. Guess having TK, Duper and Kunitz automatically make the forwards crappy.

[shmenguin]

Tk and dupuis are gone in this scenario. So is Cooke FWIW.

We'll have bad depth. That doesn't mean we'll suck. That's why it's a tough choice between saving money on offense or defense. But feel free to take those leaps. I'm not trying to push some agenda here. I would just worry about Tangradi and Bennet in the top 6 and Sutter, Vitale and Glass on the 3rd line.

[BurghersAndDogsSports]

I think under the assumptions of salary posted before, Kunitz is a player quickly on the move.

kunitz has a good contract. he's safe. it's going to be a question of whether shero wants to roll the dice on D with young guys or have a crappy, crappy collection of forwards.

So we suck is what your trying to tell us?

Yeah. I can't imagine a way a team with Crosby, Malkin and Neal could be any good offensively...

Well that's what he's trying to tell us. Funny I thought we had a good collection of forwards based off of the name you just listed. Guess having TK, Duper and Kunitz automatically make the forwards crappy.

I don't think he is referring to our top 4 guys, but yes the rest of our forwards are nothing to brag about.

Sheri at some point will have a choice, roll the dice with young cheap dmen on early contracts to use cash to fill out our forwards roster.

Just not sure why anyone gets offended when our lineup is questioned, our depth and bottom lines up front have the potential to be awful.

I know I know Kennedy will step up, so will Tangradi and Jeffrey.

[Tim Thomasen]

I was impressed with Vitales performance last year. Glass has the ability to replace Asham and I think were underestimating Sutter. I think he's going to impress us. Don't get me wrong, he's not Staal but I think he's an adequate replacement for him. Tangradi on the other hand is a bust in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong it's not perfect and there can be room for improvement but I don't think there as terrible as both of you make them out to be. If you want to worry about something on this team, worry about the defense. To me that's a big question mark going forward.

[shmenguin]

Well I'm not a fan of the defense either. But that's not going to improve by keeping Martin on the roster. If anything, I'd rather buy him out and bring in a new 2nd pairing guy making 3.5-4 mill.

[PensFanInDC]

I...I...I just want penguin hockey. I mean...is that too much to ask?

[JeffDFD]

This is why I love hockey....

If the Pens are terrible in any given year and not competing...I am still emotionally involved. Instead of love for the Pens, it will be hate for the Flyers and Caps.

[offsides]

Isn't all this guessing about lines and pairings kinda like putting the cart before the horse? Let's get an agreement first, than we can argue about lines all day. Man do I miss hockey.

[FreeCandy44]

I...I...I just want penguin hockey. I mean...is that too much to ask?

Donald Fehr thinks so...

[Great58]

Why has the concept of big spenders developed this stigma? The amount of money being spent isn't on trial. Locking down players to long term deals and spending at the cap ceiling is Successful GM 101.

Buyouts would be necessary even if every contract ever handed out was a good one. You drop the cap, this is what happens.

The owners need to think long and hard what the impact of setting a cap so low that it forces previously prudent GM's to dismantle teams. As a STH, I don't want to pay NHL ticket prices to see so many AHL caliper players and league minimum guys.

I understand they want to stop losing money, but if the product suffers as a result will they keep their fan base beyond the enthusiasm of the first month?

[Pitt87]

Why has the concept of big spenders developed this stigma? The amount of money being spent isn't on trial. Locking down players to long term deals and spending at the cap ceiling is Successful GM 101.

Buyouts would be necessary even if every contract ever handed out was a good one. You drop the cap, this is what happens.

The owners need to think long and hard what the impact of setting a cap so low that it forces previously prudent GM's to dismantle teams. As a STH, I don't want to pay NHL ticket prices to see so many AHL caliper players and league minimum guys.

I understand they want to stop losing money, but if the product suffers as a result will they keep their fan base beyond the enthusiasm of the first month?

How would that be any different than it is now? Are you suggesting the pool of players would change?

[BurghersAndDogsSports]

Why has the concept of big spenders developed this stigma? The amount of money being spent isn't on trial. Locking down players to long term deals and spending at the cap ceiling is Successful GM 101.

Buyouts would be necessary even if every contract ever handed out was a good one. You drop the cap, this is what happens.

The owners need to think long and hard what the impact of setting a cap so low that it forces previously prudent GM's to dismantle teams. As a STH, I don't want to pay NHL ticket prices to see so many AHL caliper players and league minimum guys.

I understand they want to stop losing money, but if the product suffers as a result will they keep their fan base beyond the enthusiasm of the first month?

Not sure that would be a result of a lower cap? The result will be lower average salaries. The point is to keep a team from cornering the market on top talent, doesn't mean every team will draft or build a team well, but they have a fighting chance.

[KG]

I agree. Nothing wrong with questioning our forward depth if this cap ceiling gets reduced. I question the forward depth as presently constituted. It's hard to have quality depth when you have that much set aside for 2 great players (which I'm fine with). I don't love paying our goalies $7mill though. Also Letang is going to be in for a huge raise soon. Martin will have to go and the rookie d men will have to play decent minutes here while they are on their rookie contracts.

[Gaucho]

I can see a lot of teams having way more problems than we do if the cap ceiling is lowered.

[ExPatriatePen]

Wasn't that winter classic amazing this year?

[joopen]

Wasn't that winter classic amazing this year?

I watched just as much of this year's as I did last year's

[ExPatriatePen]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/20 ... s/1810295/

[BurghersAndDogsSports]

I agree. Nothing wrong with questioning our forward depth if this cap ceiling gets reduced. I question the forward depth as presently constituted. It's hard to have quality depth when you have that much set aside for 2 great players (which I'm fine with). I don't love paying our goalies $7mill though. Also Letang is going to be in for a huge raise soon. Martin will have to go and the rookie d men will have to play decent minutes here while they are on their rookie contracts.

Sure, lowered cap or no lowered cap we are gonna have some depth issues. But for the sake of this thread and a lowered cap due to lockout I think we need to look at our team with an injury or two.

Not necessarily to Sid or Geno, but Kunitz, Neal, Suter. Start looking at our lineup missing our 2nd tier guys we have nobody at all to step up a line or two.

[columbia]

re: disclaimer vote

So if a deal isn't reached by the 11th, that sets the NHLPA to immediately file their anti-trust lawsuit?