A GM's Blueprint

[longtimefan]

A GM has a tough job. They have to oversee the whole operation. Often, they have to rely on others. Understanding that they're the one who is going to take the brunt of any mistakes. You have to bring the players in. Trades, free agents, draft picks. You also have to find the right guy to coach them. Their failure is on you. Every move you make will be scrutinized for years to come. In the Pens organization, you're judged on Cups. Period. JR is still 2 for 6. Still, the Cups are ancient history, and your so called window is quickly shutting. If it's still open. The past tends not to be appreciated for at least a decade. Then the memory grows fonder as time goes on. For those who want Malkin and Letang traded, they'll point to JR. When each has to be signed off on by reluctant owners. That all goes with it.

I'm a big JR proponent. I try to look at the big picture. What's he done in the past, what's he doing now, does he have a plan for the future. A future that won't include him one day. I also think his experience is invaluable for what is likely to be some very uncertain times. I appreciate that JR does things. He doesn't just talk about it. When you make as many moves as he has, you're going to win some and lose some. Don't forget the expansion draft lends another layer of uncertainly. I'm pretty sure the Pens aren't going to win again during this era without making changes. JR's well respected among his peers, and has built up a ton of relationships. He's tuned in to what's going on. That's going to be important.

He acted quick with the assistants, but I think it had more to do with the contracts having expired and then extended. The constitution of the new staff will tell us a little bit about what they thought they were lacking, and might give a glimpse of how safe Sully's job is. I'm a bit shaky with this, fearing JR may be attaching himself to Sully the way Shero did to Bylsma. If push comes to shove, I think JR would pull the trigger. He's done so before. I believe Sully has to adapt. The team was lacking in several areas.

So how do you try to salvage what looks like a mess? One of the reasons I still believe in JR is that his responsibility is player procurement. And I read a lot about how this was the deepest team in the Crosby era. The coaches are charged with finding the right chemistry. That didn't happen. But they were deep. Still are. Which is useful for my blueprint.

With the upcoming cap issues, my first priority is to rid myself of potential problem contracts. Of which I see four. Bjugstad, Letang, Hornqvist, JJ. It's a task. But I suspect JR will leave no stone unturned. There's been a few popular themes on here, so I'll lean to them. But also add some of my own.

Bjugstad may well take care of himself. Has anybody heard a timeframe of when he'll be healthy? Backs are scary things, especially when they call it spine surgery. I have a hunch he'll end up on LTIR legitimately. If not, his deal isn't bad enough where you're going to have to pay to move him. You just will be disappointed with the 6th or 7th he'd likely bring. The contract's expiring. Someone would take a flyer.

Letang has the most value, although the market is limited. Toronto has been tossed around, and makes sense. But I have no interest in retaining salary. The cap isn't going up. The most important goal is to clear cap space so you can maneuver. A deal involving Kapanen would be fine with me, but TO has to figure out their own cap problems. Another team who may be interested is Edmonton, where the urgency grows greater every season. They could definitely use a Letang. They tried to fill the bridge with Mike Green at the deadline. He also would add the veteran experience of a 3 time Cup winner.

To EDM: Letang
To PGH: Larsson, Bouchard, 3rd rd

From the Pens POV, they've eliminated a $7.25M cap hit for two seasons, acquired Larsson on an expiring contract, and bring in his replacement for the following season in Evan Bouchard. He was close to making the jump this season, but spent it in the AHL. RHD picked 10th overall in 2018. Nice size with good all around ability. He'll be 21 in Oct. Maybe ready, but wouldn't have to be rushed. If anything, he'll create excellent depth and a nice problem. The pick helps replenish a graveyard. They've only got 4 picks in '21. A 2nd, 5th, and 2 7ths.

Hornqvist will be tough to part with. But that also props up his trade value. He didn't hurt it by producing at a 27 goal pace this past season, even though he never settled on a line. He has value. The contract is big, with the term being the biggest question. Even so, he still produces, and he'd be a welcome addition to any bench or locker room. No doubt teams have to sort through what they are looking for, but I toyed with Montreal, Dallas, and Calgary as possibilities. It's going to be a short list, but Horny is still producing.

To CAL: Hornqvist
To PGH: 2nd rd, 4th rd

Which leaves JJ. The toughest of the lot with three years left. Same as Horny, but JJ's play is an issue. Horny's isn't. I'm going to go on what's been popular by including him in a deal with Murray to Minny. If that doesn't work, I'm not of the opinion all is lost. JJ may have to use all of his relationship skills to pull a Houdini and move JJ to a team that isn't too concerned about the cap over the next few seasons. Detroit, Ottawa, LA. Then you realize that JJ does offer some attributes to a young team. I've never heard one bad story about JJ's character, and he's lauded by his teammates and coaches alike. There's a package to sell even if he's been sub par on the ice. Perhaps JJ and a 3rd for a 7th. Which is just throwing something out. For now, I'll go with Minny.

To MIN: Murray, JJ
To PGH: Dumba, Rask

Certainly Murray's declining play doesn't help, but Dumba had a bit of a rough go himself. Which is why the deal gets done. Rask and JJ are an exchange of perceived bad deals. When I look at the stats, Rask is a perplexing case. He just turned 27 and has 48 and 45 point seasons behind him, as well as a 21 goal season. His game just went south two years ago. If the deal were to happen, he'd offer some intrigue.

So I've eliminated the four contracts without retaining any salary, which is vital. What's the net result?

Going: Letang, Hornqvist, JJ, Murray, Bjugstad (either LTIR or trade). The four contracts remove $19.9M from the cap.

Coming: Larsson, Bouchard, Dumba, Rask, a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. A possibility of a 6th or 7th for Bjugstad.

I'm going to complete one more very popular deal on the boards.

To MTL: McCann, Riikola, 3rd rd
To PGH: Domi

After those deals are made, this is what you've got left: (lines for illustration purposes)

Guentzel Crosby Simon
Zucker Malkin Rust
Poulin Domi Tanev
ZAR Blueger Lafferty
Rask Angello

My assumption is that they move on from Rodrigues, either by letting him walk or dealing his rights. He could be brought back though, especially if he'll take a cut. He'd be a welcome addition to the competition. But is the type of guy JR is talking about with arbitration rights. If you kept him, you could send Angello down.

Dumoulin Dumba
Pettersson Marino
POJ Larsson
Ruhwedel

I'm sending Bouchard and his ELC to WBS to start with. It would be great if he forced himself onto the team. He almost made the Oilers out of camp, and he was on the bubble squad. For now, I'd prefer someone like Larsson, since I can't see playing two rookies together. Bouchard's development may allow you to trade Larsson at some point. Or maybe you let him walk. Regardless, Bouchard should be ready by '21-'22 to take over.

Jarry
DeSmith

So there you are so far. That's roster should probably carry a cap hit of around $70-$75M. Well below the cap. The roster doesn't have to be complete. There may be a few areas to clean up. An upgrade for a top 6 RW. A veteran LHD to temper expectations for POJ. But you've got the cap space to do it. And you even netted a couple of picks. The key to unlocking things are those four contracts. That's JR's first task. That's a blueprint to eliminating the upcoming cap constraints. Time for JR to go to work.

[pens_CT]

A GM has a tough job. They have to oversee the whole operation. Often, they have to rely on others. Understanding that they're the one who is going to take the brunt of any mistakes. You have to bring the players in. Trades, free agents, draft picks. You also have to find the right guy to coach them. Their failure is on you. Every move you make will be scrutinized for years to come. In the Pens organization, you're judged on Cups. Period. JR is still 2 for 6. Still, the Cups are ancient history, and your so called window is quickly shutting. If it's still open. The past tends not to be appreciated for at least a decade. Then the memory grows fonder as time goes on. For those who want Malkin and Letang traded, they'll point to JR. When each has to be signed off on by reluctant owners. That all goes with it.

I'm a big JR proponent. I try to look at the big picture. What's he done in the past, what's he doing now, does he have a plan for the future. A future that won't include him one day. I also think his experience is invaluable for what is likely to be some very uncertain times. I appreciate that JR does things. He doesn't just talk about it. When you make as many moves as he has, you're going to win some and lose some. Don't forget the expansion draft lends another layer of uncertainly. I'm pretty sure the Pens aren't going to win again during this era without making changes. JR's well respected among his peers, and has built up a ton of relationships. He's tuned in to what's going on. That's going to be important.

He acted quick with the assistants, but I think it had more to do with the contracts having expired and then extended. The constitution of the new staff will tell us a little bit about what they thought they were lacking, and might give a glimpse of how safe Sully's job is. I'm a bit shaky with this, fearing JR may be attaching himself to Sully the way Shero did to Bylsma. If push comes to shove, I think JR would pull the trigger. He's done so before. I believe Sully has to adapt. The team was lacking in several areas.

So how do you try to salvage what looks like a mess? One of the reasons I still believe in JR is that his responsibility is player procurement. And I read a lot about how this was the deepest team in the Crosby era. The coaches are charged with finding the right chemistry. That didn't happen. But they were deep. Still are. Which is useful for my blueprint.

With the upcoming cap issues, my first priority is to rid myself of potential problem contracts. Of which I see four. Bjugstad, Letang, Hornqvist, JJ. It's a task. But I suspect JR will leave no stone unturned. There's been a few popular themes on here, so I'll lean to them. But also add some of my own.

Bjugstad may well take care of himself. Has anybody heard a timeframe of when he'll be healthy? Backs are scary things, especially when they call it spine surgery. I have a hunch he'll end up on LTIR legitimately. If not, his deal isn't bad enough where you're going to have to pay to move him. You just will be disappointed with the 6th or 7th he'd likely bring. The contract's expiring. Someone would take a flyer.

Letang has the most value, although the market is limited. Toronto has been tossed around, and makes sense. But I have no interest in retaining salary. The cap isn't going up. The most important goal is to clear cap space so you can maneuver. A deal involving Kapanen would be fine with me, but TO has to figure out their own cap problems. Another team who may be interested is Edmonton, where the urgency grows greater every season. They could definitely use a Letang. They tried to fill the bridge with Mike Green at the deadline. He also would add the veteran experience of a 3 time Cup winner.

To EDM: Letang
To PGH: Larsson, Bouchard, 3rd rd

From the Pens POV, they've eliminated a $7.25M cap hit for two seasons, acquired Larsson on an expiring contract, and bring in his replacement for the following season in Evan Bouchard. He was close to making the jump this season, but spent it in the AHL. RHD picked 10th overall in 2018. Nice size with good all around ability. He'll be 21 in Oct. Maybe ready, but wouldn't have to be rushed. If anything, he'll create excellent depth and a nice problem. The pick helps replenish a graveyard. They've only got 4 picks in '21. A 2nd, 5th, and 2 7ths.

Hornqvist will be tough to part with. But that also props up his trade value. He didn't hurt it by producing at a 27 goal pace this past season, even though he never settled on a line. He has value. The contract is big, with the term being the biggest question. Even so, he still produces, and he'd be a welcome addition to any bench or locker room. No doubt teams have to sort through what they are looking for, but I toyed with Montreal, Dallas, and Calgary as possibilities. It's going to be a short list, but Horny is still producing.

To CAL: Hornqvist
To PGH: 2nd rd, 4th rd

Which leaves JJ. The toughest of the lot with three years left. Same as Horny, but JJ's play is an issue. Horny's isn't. I'm going to go on what's been popular by including him in a deal with Murray to Minny. If that doesn't work, I'm not of the opinion all is lost. JJ may have to use all of his relationship skills to pull a Houdini and move JJ to a team that isn't too concerned about the cap over the next few seasons. Detroit, Ottawa, LA. Then you realize that JJ does offer some attributes to a young team. I've never heard one bad story about JJ's character, and he's lauded by his teammates and coaches alike. There's a package to sell even if he's been sub par on the ice. Perhaps JJ and a 3rd for a 7th. Which is just throwing something out. For now, I'll go with Minny.

To MIN: Murray, JJ
To PGH: Dumba, Rask

Certainly Murray's declining play doesn't help, but Dumba had a bit of a rough go himself. Which is why the deal gets done. Rask and JJ are an exchange of perceived bad deals. When I look at the stats, Rask is a perplexing case. He just turned 27 and has 48 and 45 point seasons behind him, as well as a 21 goal season. His game just went south two years ago. If the deal were to happen, he'd offer some intrigue.

So I've eliminated the four contracts without retaining any salary, which is vital. What's the net result?

Going: Letang, Hornqvist, JJ, Murray, Bjugstad (either LTIR or trade). The four contracts remove $19.9M from the cap.

Coming: Larsson, Bouchard, Dumba, Rask, a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. A possibility of a 6th or 7th for Bjugstad.

I'm going to complete one more very popular deal on the boards.

To MTL: McCann, Riikola, 3rd rd
To PGH: Domi

After those deals are made, this is what you've got left: (lines for illustration purposes)

Guentzel Crosby Simon
Zucker Malkin Rust
Poulin Domi Tanev
ZAR Blueger Lafferty
Rask Angello

My assumption is that they move on from Rodrigues, either by letting him walk or dealing his rights. He could be brought back though, especially if he'll take a cut. He'd be a welcome addition to the competition. But is the type of guy JR is talking about with arbitration rights. If you kept him, you could send Angello down.

Dumoulin Dumba
Pettersson Marino
POJ Larsson
Ruhwedel

I'm sending Bouchard and his ELC to WBS to start with. It would be great if he forced himself onto the team. He almost made the Oilers out of camp, and he was on the bubble squad. For now, I'd prefer someone like Larsson, since I can't see playing two rookies together. Bouchard's development may allow you to trade Larsson at some point. Or maybe you let him walk. Regardless, Bouchard should be ready by '21-'22 to take over.

Jarry
DeSmith

So there you are so far. That's roster should probably carry a cap hit of around $70-$75M. Well below the cap. The roster doesn't have to be complete. There may be a few areas to clean up. An upgrade for a top 6 RW. A veteran LHD to temper expectations for POJ. But you've got the cap space to do it. And you even netted a couple of picks. The key to unlocking things are those four contracts. That's JR's first task. That's a blueprint to eliminating the upcoming cap constraints. Time for JR to go to work.

Idk, you made a lot of moves to the roster and still end up with Simon as the first line RW? He's cheap that's the only real thing he has going for him.

I don't see the desire to move Hornqvist. Yeah he's getting up in age and he makes over 5M/year, but he still seems to be able to produce at a 20 g/40 point pace, and from a skill set point of view he's a one of kind on this team. You remove him from the roster and you become more of a perimeter team which doesn't bode well in the playoffs.

Domi, okay that's an upgrade over what we have, I'm just concerned what kind of dollars he's going to be looking at going forward. Do we really want to pay him close to 5M per year? Even with Domi as the 3C, you still have potentially big voids in offense on the bottom two lines.

Dumba, I've never been a fan, he's like Letang in that he has brain fart moments, so your're getting a younger and about 1.2 million cheaper, but you're taking a step down in skill and production.

Larsson, your probably getting a one year player. I doubt he would want to re-sign here to play 3rd pairing minutes, and how much money do you want to pay him in that role.

BTW, I thought there was some reporting on Bjugstad from Rutherford I believe that said Nick had the potential to return had the Penguins advanced far into the playoffs. So for those who think we can LTIR him at the beginning of the season, and that he's career is in jeopardy, I think that's overstating his situation.

With your moves, you've improved the depth of the blueline, the secondary scoring from the forward group is still lacking, but you've removed JJ from the scene which deserves .

[longtimefan]

I'm not trying to produce a final roster. I'm trying to clear cap space so I can make moves. I know Horny's playing well, and Letang still has something to give. But they need to eliminate the $$$ in order to do much. What I did was produce a blueprint, much of it based on common rumors. I don't expect Larsson to return. That's why I brought along his successor in Bouchard. Since Bouchard was the 10th overall pick and NHL ready, I think it's more than fair for Letang at this stage. In terms of Bjugstad, I hadn't heard that, but I just don't feel his contract is much of a problem. My point is you need to clear those four contracts to reset your cap. They account very just under 25% of the cap. Moving them gives you flexibility, and the cupboard isn't bare. Cap room. You've got to find it. Then you can work on what's left. The cupboard isn't bare.

[FLPensFan]

A GM has a tough job. They have to oversee the whole operation. Often, they have to rely on others. Understanding that they're the one who is going to take the brunt of any mistakes. You have to bring the players in. Trades, free agents, draft picks. You also have to find the right guy to coach them. Their failure is on you. Every move you make will be scrutinized for years to come. In the Pens organization, you're judged on Cups. Period. JR is still 2 for 6. Still, the Cups are ancient history, and your so called window is quickly shutting. If it's still open. The past tends not to be appreciated for at least a decade. Then the memory grows fonder as time goes on. For those who want Malkin and Letang traded, they'll point to JR. When each has to be signed off on by reluctant owners. That all goes with it.

I'm a big JR proponent. I try to look at the big picture. What's he done in the past, what's he doing now, does he have a plan for the future. A future that won't include him one day. I also think his experience is invaluable for what is likely to be some very uncertain times. I appreciate that JR does things. He doesn't just talk about it. When you make as many moves as he has, you're going to win some and lose some. Don't forget the expansion draft lends another layer of uncertainly. I'm pretty sure the Pens aren't going to win again during this era without making changes. JR's well respected among his peers, and has built up a ton of relationships. He's tuned in to what's going on. That's going to be important.

He acted quick with the assistants, but I think it had more to do with the contracts having expired and then extended. The constitution of the new staff will tell us a little bit about what they thought they were lacking, and might give a glimpse of how safe Sully's job is. I'm a bit shaky with this, fearing JR may be attaching himself to Sully the way Shero did to Bylsma. If push comes to shove, I think JR would pull the trigger. He's done so before. I believe Sully has to adapt. The team was lacking in several areas.

So how do you try to salvage what looks like a mess? One of the reasons I still believe in JR is that his responsibility is player procurement. And I read a lot about how this was the deepest team in the Crosby era. The coaches are charged with finding the right chemistry. That didn't happen. But they were deep. Still are. Which is useful for my blueprint.

With the upcoming cap issues, my first priority is to rid myself of potential problem contracts. Of which I see four. Bjugstad, Letang, Hornqvist, JJ. It's a task. But I suspect JR will leave no stone unturned. There's been a few popular themes on here, so I'll lean to them. But also add some of my own.

Bjugstad may well take care of himself. Has anybody heard a timeframe of when he'll be healthy? Backs are scary things, especially when they call it spine surgery. I have a hunch he'll end up on LTIR legitimately. If not, his deal isn't bad enough where you're going to have to pay to move him. You just will be disappointed with the 6th or 7th he'd likely bring. The contract's expiring. Someone would take a flyer.

Letang has the most value, although the market is limited. Toronto has been tossed around, and makes sense. But I have no interest in retaining salary. The cap isn't going up. The most important goal is to clear cap space so you can maneuver. A deal involving Kapanen would be fine with me, but TO has to figure out their own cap problems. Another team who may be interested is Edmonton, where the urgency grows greater every season. They could definitely use a Letang. They tried to fill the bridge with Mike Green at the deadline. He also would add the veteran experience of a 3 time Cup winner.

To EDM: Letang
To PGH: Larsson, Bouchard, 3rd rd

From the Pens POV, they've eliminated a $7.25M cap hit for two seasons, acquired Larsson on an expiring contract, and bring in his replacement for the following season in Evan Bouchard. He was close to making the jump this season, but spent it in the AHL. RHD picked 10th overall in 2018. Nice size with good all around ability. He'll be 21 in Oct. Maybe ready, but wouldn't have to be rushed. If anything, he'll create excellent depth and a nice problem. The pick helps replenish a graveyard. They've only got 4 picks in '21. A 2nd, 5th, and 2 7ths.

Hornqvist will be tough to part with. But that also props up his trade value. He didn't hurt it by producing at a 27 goal pace this past season, even though he never settled on a line. He has value. The contract is big, with the term being the biggest question. Even so, he still produces, and he'd be a welcome addition to any bench or locker room. No doubt teams have to sort through what they are looking for, but I toyed with Montreal, Dallas, and Calgary as possibilities. It's going to be a short list, but Horny is still producing.

To CAL: Hornqvist
To PGH: 2nd rd, 4th rd

Which leaves JJ. The toughest of the lot with three years left. Same as Horny, but JJ's play is an issue. Horny's isn't. I'm going to go on what's been popular by including him in a deal with Murray to Minny. If that doesn't work, I'm not of the opinion all is lost. JJ may have to use all of his relationship skills to pull a Houdini and move JJ to a team that isn't too concerned about the cap over the next few seasons. Detroit, Ottawa, LA. Then you realize that JJ does offer some attributes to a young team. I've never heard one bad story about JJ's character, and he's lauded by his teammates and coaches alike. There's a package to sell even if he's been sub par on the ice. Perhaps JJ and a 3rd for a 7th. Which is just throwing something out. For now, I'll go with Minny.

To MIN: Murray, JJ
To PGH: Dumba, Rask

Certainly Murray's declining play doesn't help, but Dumba had a bit of a rough go himself. Which is why the deal gets done. Rask and JJ are an exchange of perceived bad deals. When I look at the stats, Rask is a perplexing case. He just turned 27 and has 48 and 45 point seasons behind him, as well as a 21 goal season. His game just went south two years ago. If the deal were to happen, he'd offer some intrigue.

So I've eliminated the four contracts without retaining any salary, which is vital. What's the net result?

Going: Letang, Hornqvist, JJ, Murray, Bjugstad (either LTIR or trade). The four contracts remove $19.9M from the cap.

Coming: Larsson, Bouchard, Dumba, Rask, a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. A possibility of a 6th or 7th for Bjugstad.

I'm going to complete one more very popular deal on the boards.

To MTL: McCann, Riikola, 3rd rd
To PGH: Domi

After those deals are made, this is what you've got left: (lines for illustration purposes)

Guentzel Crosby Simon
Zucker Malkin Rust
Poulin Domi Tanev
ZAR Blueger Lafferty
Rask Angello

My assumption is that they move on from Rodrigues, either by letting him walk or dealing his rights. He could be brought back though, especially if he'll take a cut. He'd be a welcome addition to the competition. But is the type of guy JR is talking about with arbitration rights. If you kept him, you could send Angello down.

Dumoulin Dumba
Pettersson Marino
POJ Larsson
Ruhwedel

I'm sending Bouchard and his ELC to WBS to start with. It would be great if he forced himself onto the team. He almost made the Oilers out of camp, and he was on the bubble squad. For now, I'd prefer someone like Larsson, since I can't see playing two rookies together. Bouchard's development may allow you to trade Larsson at some point. Or maybe you let him walk. Regardless, Bouchard should be ready by '21-'22 to take over.

Jarry
DeSmith

So there you are so far. That's roster should probably carry a cap hit of around $70-$75M. Well below the cap. The roster doesn't have to be complete. There may be a few areas to clean up. An upgrade for a top 6 RW. A veteran LHD to temper expectations for POJ. But you've got the cap space to do it. And you even netted a couple of picks. The key to unlocking things are those four contracts. That's JR's first task. That's a blueprint to eliminating the upcoming cap constraints. Time for JR to go to work.

First off, well done. I see you've completed the FLPensFan course on posting a novel.

I like the general concept of what you have done. I personally don't think you gave up enough for Domi, and I don't think Edmonton gives up as much for Letang. Other than those 2 things, I like it.

For Domi, I'd probably remove the 3rd, add Legare, and have a late 4th-6th rounder coming back from Montreal.
For Letang, maybe it's not as bad as I first thought with Larsson being a UFA. I have a hard time seeing them give up Bouchard, but, this one may work.
I'll add in though, that these trades still rely on the dominoe effect. You trade Murray & JJ to Minnesota for Dumba & Rask. What happens if your Letang trade falls through? Or you trade Letang, and the Minnesota deal falls through? That is the toughest part, I think, of what GMJR has to accomplish.

I ran with your trades, and added Bjugstad to Ottawa for STL 6th rounder, just to get rid of the player.
I've then made the following assumptions on player signings, which

Domi, 5 years, 5M AAV
Jarry, 2 years, 4M AAV
Simon, 2 years, 1.25M AAV
Lafferty, 2 years, 850K AAV
Angello, 2 years, 850K AAV

I also made one lineup change, and went with the following:

Domi-Crosby-Guentzel
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Poulin-Rask-Tanev
ZAR-Blueger-Laffery
xSimon, Angello

Dumo-Dumba
Pettersson-Marino
POJ-Larsson
xRuhwedel

Jarry
DeSmith

That roster came out to a cap hit of 77.35M, 4.14M in cap space. That also doesn't take into consideration that ZAR will almost definitely start the season on LTIR.

If Domi is going to make 5M AAV (which I think he will), I would try him in the top 6 first. I also like those lines because you potentially have a dump and chase type player on each line. Domi on the first, kind of Rust on the 2nd, Tanev on the 3rd.

I put Rask as the 3C. While it is a swap of 2 bad contracts, Rask is not JJ level bad. His production dropped. Rask was getting 15-17 minutes a night in Carolina, and he put up 33, 48,45, and 31 points, with one 21 goal season. The season he got traded to Minnesota, he got off to a slow start in Carolina. He was only getting around 12 minutes of ice time, and that has continued ever since with Minnesota. I'd bring the guy in and give him a fresh start. Put him in a position to succeed, and see if he can take the reigns. If not, then you can slide Domi back down, or even look at swapping Blueger and Rask.

[Pensfan4life8771]

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/1853144

I added Toffoli as our top RW from what you did.

Thoughts everyone?

[Pensfan4life8771]

I really truly do think if the Pens move Hornqvist and replace him with Poulin on 3rd line they will make a play to solidify Crosby RW.

[pens_CT]

A GM has a tough job. They have to oversee the whole operation. Often, they have to rely on others. Understanding that they're the one who is going to take the brunt of any mistakes. You have to bring the players in. Trades, free agents, draft picks. You also have to find the right guy to coach them. Their failure is on you. Every move you make will be scrutinized for years to come. In the Pens organization, you're judged on Cups. Period. JR is still 2 for 6. Still, the Cups are ancient history, and your so called window is quickly shutting. If it's still open. The past tends not to be appreciated for at least a decade. Then the memory grows fonder as time goes on. For those who want Malkin and Letang traded, they'll point to JR. When each has to be signed off on by reluctant owners. That all goes with it.

I'm a big JR proponent. I try to look at the big picture. What's he done in the past, what's he doing now, does he have a plan for the future. A future that won't include him one day. I also think his experience is invaluable for what is likely to be some very uncertain times. I appreciate that JR does things. He doesn't just talk about it. When you make as many moves as he has, you're going to win some and lose some. Don't forget the expansion draft lends another layer of uncertainly. I'm pretty sure the Pens aren't going to win again during this era without making changes. JR's well respected among his peers, and has built up a ton of relationships. He's tuned in to what's going on. That's going to be important.

He acted quick with the assistants, but I think it had more to do with the contracts having expired and then extended. The constitution of the new staff will tell us a little bit about what they thought they were lacking, and might give a glimpse of how safe Sully's job is. I'm a bit shaky with this, fearing JR may be attaching himself to Sully the way Shero did to Bylsma. If push comes to shove, I think JR would pull the trigger. He's done so before. I believe Sully has to adapt. The team was lacking in several areas.

So how do you try to salvage what looks like a mess? One of the reasons I still believe in JR is that his responsibility is player procurement. And I read a lot about how this was the deepest team in the Crosby era. The coaches are charged with finding the right chemistry. That didn't happen. But they were deep. Still are. Which is useful for my blueprint.

With the upcoming cap issues, my first priority is to rid myself of potential problem contracts. Of which I see four. Bjugstad, Letang, Hornqvist, JJ. It's a task. But I suspect JR will leave no stone unturned. There's been a few popular themes on here, so I'll lean to them. But also add some of my own.

Bjugstad may well take care of himself. Has anybody heard a timeframe of when he'll be healthy? Backs are scary things, especially when they call it spine surgery. I have a hunch he'll end up on LTIR legitimately. If not, his deal isn't bad enough where you're going to have to pay to move him. You just will be disappointed with the 6th or 7th he'd likely bring. The contract's expiring. Someone would take a flyer.

Letang has the most value, although the market is limited. Toronto has been tossed around, and makes sense. But I have no interest in retaining salary. The cap isn't going up. The most important goal is to clear cap space so you can maneuver. A deal involving Kapanen would be fine with me, but TO has to figure out their own cap problems. Another team who may be interested is Edmonton, where the urgency grows greater every season. They could definitely use a Letang. They tried to fill the bridge with Mike Green at the deadline. He also would add the veteran experience of a 3 time Cup winner.

To EDM: Letang
To PGH: Larsson, Bouchard, 3rd rd

From the Pens POV, they've eliminated a $7.25M cap hit for two seasons, acquired Larsson on an expiring contract, and bring in his replacement for the following season in Evan Bouchard. He was close to making the jump this season, but spent it in the AHL. RHD picked 10th overall in 2018. Nice size with good all around ability. He'll be 21 in Oct. Maybe ready, but wouldn't have to be rushed. If anything, he'll create excellent depth and a nice problem. The pick helps replenish a graveyard. They've only got 4 picks in '21. A 2nd, 5th, and 2 7ths.

Hornqvist will be tough to part with. But that also props up his trade value. He didn't hurt it by producing at a 27 goal pace this past season, even though he never settled on a line. He has value. The contract is big, with the term being the biggest question. Even so, he still produces, and he'd be a welcome addition to any bench or locker room. No doubt teams have to sort through what they are looking for, but I toyed with Montreal, Dallas, and Calgary as possibilities. It's going to be a short list, but Horny is still producing.

To CAL: Hornqvist
To PGH: 2nd rd, 4th rd

Which leaves JJ. The toughest of the lot with three years left. Same as Horny, but JJ's play is an issue. Horny's isn't. I'm going to go on what's been popular by including him in a deal with Murray to Minny. If that doesn't work, I'm not of the opinion all is lost. JJ may have to use all of his relationship skills to pull a Houdini and move JJ to a team that isn't too concerned about the cap over the next few seasons. Detroit, Ottawa, LA. Then you realize that JJ does offer some attributes to a young team. I've never heard one bad story about JJ's character, and he's lauded by his teammates and coaches alike. There's a package to sell even if he's been sub par on the ice. Perhaps JJ and a 3rd for a 7th. Which is just throwing something out. For now, I'll go with Minny.

To MIN: Murray, JJ
To PGH: Dumba, Rask

Certainly Murray's declining play doesn't help, but Dumba had a bit of a rough go himself. Which is why the deal gets done. Rask and JJ are an exchange of perceived bad deals. When I look at the stats, Rask is a perplexing case. He just turned 27 and has 48 and 45 point seasons behind him, as well as a 21 goal season. His game just went south two years ago. If the deal were to happen, he'd offer some intrigue.

So I've eliminated the four contracts without retaining any salary, which is vital. What's the net result?

Going: Letang, Hornqvist, JJ, Murray, Bjugstad (either LTIR or trade). The four contracts remove $19.9M from the cap.

Coming: Larsson, Bouchard, Dumba, Rask, a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. A possibility of a 6th or 7th for Bjugstad.

I'm going to complete one more very popular deal on the boards.

To MTL: McCann, Riikola, 3rd rd
To PGH: Domi

After those deals are made, this is what you've got left: (lines for illustration purposes)

Guentzel Crosby Simon
Zucker Malkin Rust
Poulin Domi Tanev
ZAR Blueger Lafferty
Rask Angello

My assumption is that they move on from Rodrigues, either by letting him walk or dealing his rights. He could be brought back though, especially if he'll take a cut. He'd be a welcome addition to the competition. But is the type of guy JR is talking about with arbitration rights. If you kept him, you could send Angello down.

Dumoulin Dumba
Pettersson Marino
POJ Larsson
Ruhwedel

I'm sending Bouchard and his ELC to WBS to start with. It would be great if he forced himself onto the team. He almost made the Oilers out of camp, and he was on the bubble squad. For now, I'd prefer someone like Larsson, since I can't see playing two rookies together. Bouchard's development may allow you to trade Larsson at some point. Or maybe you let him walk. Regardless, Bouchard should be ready by '21-'22 to take over.

Jarry
DeSmith

So there you are so far. That's roster should probably carry a cap hit of around $70-$75M. Well below the cap. The roster doesn't have to be complete. There may be a few areas to clean up. An upgrade for a top 6 RW. A veteran LHD to temper expectations for POJ. But you've got the cap space to do it. And you even netted a couple of picks. The key to unlocking things are those four contracts. That's JR's first task. That's a blueprint to eliminating the upcoming cap constraints. Time for JR to go to work.

First off, well done. I see you've completed the FLPensFan course on posting a novel.

I like the general concept of what you have done. I personally don't think you gave up enough for Domi, and I don't think Edmonton gives up as much for Letang. Other than those 2 things, I like it.

For Domi, I'd probably remove the 3rd, add Legare, and have a late 4th-6th rounder coming back from Montreal.
For Letang, maybe it's not as bad as I first thought with Larsson being a UFA. I have a hard time seeing them give up Bouchard, but, this one may work.
I'll add in though, that these trades still rely on the dominoe effect. You trade Murray & JJ to Minnesota for Dumba & Rask. What happens if your Letang trade falls through? Or you trade Letang, and the Minnesota deal falls through? That is the toughest part, I think, of what GMJR has to accomplish.

I ran with your trades, and added Bjugstad to Ottawa for STL 6th rounder, just to get rid of the player.
I've then made the following assumptions on player signings, which

Domi, 5 years, 5M AAV
Jarry, 2 years, 4M AAV
Simon, 2 years, 1.25M AAV
Lafferty, 2 years, 850K AAV
Angello, 2 years, 850K AAV

I also made one lineup change, and went with the following:

Domi-Crosby-Guentzel
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Poulin-Rask-Tanev
ZAR-Blueger-Laffery
xSimon, Angello

Dumo-Dumba
Pettersson-Marino
POJ-Larsson
xRuhwedel

Jarry
DeSmith

That roster came out to a cap hit of 77.35M, 4.14M in cap space. That also doesn't take into consideration that ZAR will almost definitely start the season on LTIR.

If Domi is going to make 5M AAV (which I think he will), I would try him in the top 6 first. I also like those lines because you potentially have a dump and chase type player on each line. Domi on the first, kind of Rust on the 2nd, Tanev on the 3rd.

I put Rask as the 3C. While it is a swap of 2 bad contracts, Rask is not JJ level bad. His production dropped. Rask was getting 15-17 minutes a night in Carolina, and he put up 33, 48,45, and 31 points, with one 21 goal season. The season he got traded to Minnesota, he got off to a slow start in Carolina. He was only getting around 12 minutes of ice time, and that has continued ever since with Minnesota. I'd bring the guy in and give him a fresh start. Put him in a position to succeed, and see if he can take the reigns. If not, then you can slide Domi back down, or even look at swapping Blueger and Rask.

If you need to take on Rask to get rid of JJ so be it. Minnesota isn't exactly flush with centers, so if Rask is getting only 12 minutes per game that's probably based on his play, so I don't see him coming here and putting up much better numbers. Again if it gets rid of JJ then you make the move.

[pens_CT]

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/1853144

I added Toffoli as our top RW from what you did.

Thoughts everyone?

I don't see Toffoli as a fit here. Certainly not at a salary close to his existing 4.6 million per season rate.

[KG]

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/1853144

I added Toffoli as our top RW from what you did.

Thoughts everyone?

I don't see Toffoli as a fit here. Certainly not at a salary close to his existing 4.6 million per season rate.

And no way Domi accepts $3.5Mill.

[100565]

I enjoy reading these, so thanks.

I like the results; however, I think you overvalue the Pens on all the trades. I don't think EDM would trade Bouchard for Letang - straight up...they are very high on Bouchard. I think Calgary cap problems prohibit that trade - moving Hornqvist for picks alone will be difficult. I think Rask for JJ is fair, but Murray is not bringing Dumba. I think Montreal trade is good value for both teams, but I think Montreal would not make that trade.

Again, I like the end result, but I think we would need to give more. I think there is enough to get all the trades done by including draft picks and prospects.

[FLPensFan]

Spoiler:

A GM has a tough job. They have to oversee the whole operation. Often, they have to rely on others. Understanding that they're the one who is going to take the brunt of any mistakes. You have to bring the players in. Trades, free agents, draft picks. You also have to find the right guy to coach them. Their failure is on you. Every move you make will be scrutinized for years to come. In the Pens organization, you're judged on Cups. Period. JR is still 2 for 6. Still, the Cups are ancient history, and your so called window is quickly shutting. If it's still open. The past tends not to be appreciated for at least a decade. Then the memory grows fonder as time goes on. For those who want Malkin and Letang traded, they'll point to JR. When each has to be signed off on by reluctant owners. That all goes with it.

I'm a big JR proponent. I try to look at the big picture. What's he done in the past, what's he doing now, does he have a plan for the future. A future that won't include him one day. I also think his experience is invaluable for what is likely to be some very uncertain times. I appreciate that JR does things. He doesn't just talk about it. When you make as many moves as he has, you're going to win some and lose some. Don't forget the expansion draft lends another layer of uncertainly. I'm pretty sure the Pens aren't going to win again during this era without making changes. JR's well respected among his peers, and has built up a ton of relationships. He's tuned in to what's going on. That's going to be important.

He acted quick with the assistants, but I think it had more to do with the contracts having expired and then extended. The constitution of the new staff will tell us a little bit about what they thought they were lacking, and might give a glimpse of how safe Sully's job is. I'm a bit shaky with this, fearing JR may be attaching himself to Sully the way Shero did to Bylsma. If push comes to shove, I think JR would pull the trigger. He's done so before. I believe Sully has to adapt. The team was lacking in several areas.

So how do you try to salvage what looks like a mess? One of the reasons I still believe in JR is that his responsibility is player procurement. And I read a lot about how this was the deepest team in the Crosby era. The coaches are charged with finding the right chemistry. That didn't happen. But they were deep. Still are. Which is useful for my blueprint.

With the upcoming cap issues, my first priority is to rid myself of potential problem contracts. Of which I see four. Bjugstad, Letang, Hornqvist, JJ. It's a task. But I suspect JR will leave no stone unturned. There's been a few popular themes on here, so I'll lean to them. But also add some of my own.

Bjugstad may well take care of himself. Has anybody heard a timeframe of when he'll be healthy? Backs are scary things, especially when they call it spine surgery. I have a hunch he'll end up on LTIR legitimately. If not, his deal isn't bad enough where you're going to have to pay to move him. You just will be disappointed with the 6th or 7th he'd likely bring. The contract's expiring. Someone would take a flyer.

Letang has the most value, although the market is limited. Toronto has been tossed around, and makes sense. But I have no interest in retaining salary. The cap isn't going up. The most important goal is to clear cap space so you can maneuver. A deal involving Kapanen would be fine with me, but TO has to figure out their own cap problems. Another team who may be interested is Edmonton, where the urgency grows greater every season. They could definitely use a Letang. They tried to fill the bridge with Mike Green at the deadline. He also would add the veteran experience of a 3 time Cup winner.

To EDM: Letang
To PGH: Larsson, Bouchard, 3rd rd

From the Pens POV, they've eliminated a $7.25M cap hit for two seasons, acquired Larsson on an expiring contract, and bring in his replacement for the following season in Evan Bouchard. He was close to making the jump this season, but spent it in the AHL. RHD picked 10th overall in 2018. Nice size with good all around ability. He'll be 21 in Oct. Maybe ready, but wouldn't have to be rushed. If anything, he'll create excellent depth and a nice problem. The pick helps replenish a graveyard. They've only got 4 picks in '21. A 2nd, 5th, and 2 7ths.

Hornqvist will be tough to part with. But that also props up his trade value. He didn't hurt it by producing at a 27 goal pace this past season, even though he never settled on a line. He has value. The contract is big, with the term being the biggest question. Even so, he still produces, and he'd be a welcome addition to any bench or locker room. No doubt teams have to sort through what they are looking for, but I toyed with Montreal, Dallas, and Calgary as possibilities. It's going to be a short list, but Horny is still producing.

To CAL: Hornqvist
To PGH: 2nd rd, 4th rd

Which leaves JJ. The toughest of the lot with three years left. Same as Horny, but JJ's play is an issue. Horny's isn't. I'm going to go on what's been popular by including him in a deal with Murray to Minny. If that doesn't work, I'm not of the opinion all is lost. JJ may have to use all of his relationship skills to pull a Houdini and move JJ to a team that isn't too concerned about the cap over the next few seasons. Detroit, Ottawa, LA. Then you realize that JJ does offer some attributes to a young team. I've never heard one bad story about JJ's character, and he's lauded by his teammates and coaches alike. There's a package to sell even if he's been sub par on the ice. Perhaps JJ and a 3rd for a 7th. Which is just throwing something out. For now, I'll go with Minny.

To MIN: Murray, JJ
To PGH: Dumba, Rask

Certainly Murray's declining play doesn't help, but Dumba had a bit of a rough go himself. Which is why the deal gets done. Rask and JJ are an exchange of perceived bad deals. When I look at the stats, Rask is a perplexing case. He just turned 27 and has 48 and 45 point seasons behind him, as well as a 21 goal season. His game just went south two years ago. If the deal were to happen, he'd offer some intrigue.

So I've eliminated the four contracts without retaining any salary, which is vital. What's the net result?

Going: Letang, Hornqvist, JJ, Murray, Bjugstad (either LTIR or trade). The four contracts remove $19.9M from the cap.

Coming: Larsson, Bouchard, Dumba, Rask, a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. A possibility of a 6th or 7th for Bjugstad.

I'm going to complete one more very popular deal on the boards.

To MTL: McCann, Riikola, 3rd rd
To PGH: Domi

After those deals are made, this is what you've got left: (lines for illustration purposes)

Guentzel Crosby Simon
Zucker Malkin Rust
Poulin Domi Tanev
ZAR Blueger Lafferty
Rask Angello

My assumption is that they move on from Rodrigues, either by letting him walk or dealing his rights. He could be brought back though, especially if he'll take a cut. He'd be a welcome addition to the competition. But is the type of guy JR is talking about with arbitration rights. If you kept him, you could send Angello down.

Dumoulin Dumba
Pettersson Marino
POJ Larsson
Ruhwedel

I'm sending Bouchard and his ELC to WBS to start with. It would be great if he forced himself onto the team. He almost made the Oilers out of camp, and he was on the bubble squad. For now, I'd prefer someone like Larsson, since I can't see playing two rookies together. Bouchard's development may allow you to trade Larsson at some point. Or maybe you let him walk. Regardless, Bouchard should be ready by '21-'22 to take over.

Jarry
DeSmith

So there you are so far. That's roster should probably carry a cap hit of around $70-$75M. Well below the cap. The roster doesn't have to be complete. There may be a few areas to clean up. An upgrade for a top 6 RW. A veteran LHD to temper expectations for POJ. But you've got the cap space to do it. And you even netted a couple of picks. The key to unlocking things are those four contracts. That's JR's first task. That's a blueprint to eliminating the upcoming cap constraints. Time for JR to go to work.

First off, well done. I see you've completed the FLPensFan course on posting a novel.

I like the general concept of what you have done. I personally don't think you gave up enough for Domi, and I don't think Edmonton gives up as much for Letang. Other than those 2 things, I like it.

For Domi, I'd probably remove the 3rd, add Legare, and have a late 4th-6th rounder coming back from Montreal.
For Letang, maybe it's not as bad as I first thought with Larsson being a UFA. I have a hard time seeing them give up Bouchard, but, this one may work.
I'll add in though, that these trades still rely on the dominoe effect. You trade Murray & JJ to Minnesota for Dumba & Rask. What happens if your Letang trade falls through? Or you trade Letang, and the Minnesota deal falls through? That is the toughest part, I think, of what GMJR has to accomplish.

I ran with your trades, and added Bjugstad to Ottawa for STL 6th rounder, just to get rid of the player.
I've then made the following assumptions on player signings, which

Domi, 5 years, 5M AAV
Jarry, 2 years, 4M AAV
Simon, 2 years, 1.25M AAV
Lafferty, 2 years, 850K AAV
Angello, 2 years, 850K AAV

I also made one lineup change, and went with the following:

Domi-Crosby-Guentzel
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Poulin-Rask-Tanev
ZAR-Blueger-Laffery
xSimon, Angello

Dumo-Dumba
Pettersson-Marino
POJ-Larsson
xRuhwedel

Jarry
DeSmith

That roster came out to a cap hit of 77.35M, 4.14M in cap space. That also doesn't take into consideration that ZAR will almost definitely start the season on LTIR.

If Domi is going to make 5M AAV (which I think he will), I would try him in the top 6 first. I also like those lines because you potentially have a dump and chase type player on each line. Domi on the first, kind of Rust on the 2nd, Tanev on the 3rd.

I put Rask as the 3C. While it is a swap of 2 bad contracts, Rask is not JJ level bad. His production dropped. Rask was getting 15-17 minutes a night in Carolina, and he put up 33, 48,45, and 31 points, with one 21 goal season. The season he got traded to Minnesota, he got off to a slow start in Carolina. He was only getting around 12 minutes of ice time, and that has continued ever since with Minnesota. I'd bring the guy in and give him a fresh start. Put him in a position to succeed, and see if he can take the reigns. If not, then you can slide Domi back down, or even look at swapping Blueger and Rask.

If you need to take on Rask to get rid of JJ so be it. Minnesota isn't exactly flush with centers, so if Rask is getting only 12 minutes per game that's probably based on his play, so I don't see him coming here and putting up much better numbers. Again if it gets rid of JJ then you make the move.

My point was, Rask has done it before. He was a pretty consistent for 4 straight years in Carolina. In 2018-2019, he went downhill. Went from a .5pt/gm player down to a .25 or less pt/gm player. 2 things happened that year. Bill Peters was fired (Brind'Amour took over) and Rask missed 20 games to start the season with a hand injury.

So, was the hand injury significant enough that it killed his production, or did the change in coaches affect his play? In his 26 games with Carolina that season after coming back from injury, 14 of his games saw less than 12 minutes TOI. He had 1 game of 16 minute TOI, and 7 games in the 14 minute range. Seems like Brind'Amour never gave him a chance to regain his old job and ice time back.

I don't want to make excuses for the guy, but, I'm Boudreau didn't seem to help his cause either. Again, this was a guy who was a major part of the Niederreiter deal, a guy who was a mid 30's to mid 40's 3C, and it took him until the last week of November to get at least 14 minutes TOI.

I'm going to dig into the hand injury a bit, to see if I can find any information on what it was and if it is still an issue, but, I see a guy who needs a fresh start and a coach who is going to put him in a position to succeed, not start him as a healthy scratch or drop his ice time by over 5 minutes and wonder why he isn't performing.

UPDATE: Gee how time flies. How could I forget...Rask was injured slicing food in his kitchen. Cut into the right ring and pinkie finger, cut some tendons. I've read some reports from Minnesota that just talked about getting Rask was dumb, because they really didn't have a spot for him in the lineup. He wasn't going to play over Koivu or Staal, and they had someone else mentioned at 3C. I think at worst, he's an expensive extra who walks as a UFA at seasons end, but, I do believe he could be a factor if given a proper chance.

[Jim]

I think that if you can get Domi for McCann, Riikola, 3rd; and then sign him for $5Mx5... that's a win.

[longtimefan]

Spoiler:

A GM has a tough job. They have to oversee the whole operation. Often, they have to rely on others. Understanding that they're the one who is going to take the brunt of any mistakes. You have to bring the players in. Trades, free agents, draft picks. You also have to find the right guy to coach them. Their failure is on you. Every move you make will be scrutinized for years to come. In the Pens organization, you're judged on Cups. Period. JR is still 2 for 6. Still, the Cups are ancient history, and your so called window is quickly shutting. If it's still open. The past tends not to be appreciated for at least a decade. Then the memory grows fonder as time goes on. For those who want Malkin and Letang traded, they'll point to JR. When each has to be signed off on by reluctant owners. That all goes with it.

I'm a big JR proponent. I try to look at the big picture. What's he done in the past, what's he doing now, does he have a plan for the future. A future that won't include him one day. I also think his experience is invaluable for what is likely to be some very uncertain times. I appreciate that JR does things. He doesn't just talk about it. When you make as many moves as he has, you're going to win some and lose some. Don't forget the expansion draft lends another layer of uncertainly. I'm pretty sure the Pens aren't going to win again during this era without making changes. JR's well respected among his peers, and has built up a ton of relationships. He's tuned in to what's going on. That's going to be important.

He acted quick with the assistants, but I think it had more to do with the contracts having expired and then extended. The constitution of the new staff will tell us a little bit about what they thought they were lacking, and might give a glimpse of how safe Sully's job is. I'm a bit shaky with this, fearing JR may be attaching himself to Sully the way Shero did to Bylsma. If push comes to shove, I think JR would pull the trigger. He's done so before. I believe Sully has to adapt. The team was lacking in several areas.

So how do you try to salvage what looks like a mess? One of the reasons I still believe in JR is that his responsibility is player procurement. And I read a lot about how this was the deepest team in the Crosby era. The coaches are charged with finding the right chemistry. That didn't happen. But they were deep. Still are. Which is useful for my blueprint.

With the upcoming cap issues, my first priority is to rid myself of potential problem contracts. Of which I see four. Bjugstad, Letang, Hornqvist, JJ. It's a task. But I suspect JR will leave no stone unturned. There's been a few popular themes on here, so I'll lean to them. But also add some of my own.

Bjugstad may well take care of himself. Has anybody heard a timeframe of when he'll be healthy? Backs are scary things, especially when they call it spine surgery. I have a hunch he'll end up on LTIR legitimately. If not, his deal isn't bad enough where you're going to have to pay to move him. You just will be disappointed with the 6th or 7th he'd likely bring. The contract's expiring. Someone would take a flyer.

Letang has the most value, although the market is limited. Toronto has been tossed around, and makes sense. But I have no interest in retaining salary. The cap isn't going up. The most important goal is to clear cap space so you can maneuver. A deal involving Kapanen would be fine with me, but TO has to figure out their own cap problems. Another team who may be interested is Edmonton, where the urgency grows greater every season. They could definitely use a Letang. They tried to fill the bridge with Mike Green at the deadline. He also would add the veteran experience of a 3 time Cup winner.

To EDM: Letang
To PGH: Larsson, Bouchard, 3rd rd

From the Pens POV, they've eliminated a $7.25M cap hit for two seasons, acquired Larsson on an expiring contract, and bring in his replacement for the following season in Evan Bouchard. He was close to making the jump this season, but spent it in the AHL. RHD picked 10th overall in 2018. Nice size with good all around ability. He'll be 21 in Oct. Maybe ready, but wouldn't have to be rushed. If anything, he'll create excellent depth and a nice problem. The pick helps replenish a graveyard. They've only got 4 picks in '21. A 2nd, 5th, and 2 7ths.

Hornqvist will be tough to part with. But that also props up his trade value. He didn't hurt it by producing at a 27 goal pace this past season, even though he never settled on a line. He has value. The contract is big, with the term being the biggest question. Even so, he still produces, and he'd be a welcome addition to any bench or locker room. No doubt teams have to sort through what they are looking for, but I toyed with Montreal, Dallas, and Calgary as possibilities. It's going to be a short list, but Horny is still producing.

To CAL: Hornqvist
To PGH: 2nd rd, 4th rd

Which leaves JJ. The toughest of the lot with three years left. Same as Horny, but JJ's play is an issue. Horny's isn't. I'm going to go on what's been popular by including him in a deal with Murray to Minny. If that doesn't work, I'm not of the opinion all is lost. JJ may have to use all of his relationship skills to pull a Houdini and move JJ to a team that isn't too concerned about the cap over the next few seasons. Detroit, Ottawa, LA. Then you realize that JJ does offer some attributes to a young team. I've never heard one bad story about JJ's character, and he's lauded by his teammates and coaches alike. There's a package to sell even if he's been sub par on the ice. Perhaps JJ and a 3rd for a 7th. Which is just throwing something out. For now, I'll go with Minny.

To MIN: Murray, JJ
To PGH: Dumba, Rask

Certainly Murray's declining play doesn't help, but Dumba had a bit of a rough go himself. Which is why the deal gets done. Rask and JJ are an exchange of perceived bad deals. When I look at the stats, Rask is a perplexing case. He just turned 27 and has 48 and 45 point seasons behind him, as well as a 21 goal season. His game just went south two years ago. If the deal were to happen, he'd offer some intrigue.

So I've eliminated the four contracts without retaining any salary, which is vital. What's the net result?

Going: Letang, Hornqvist, JJ, Murray, Bjugstad (either LTIR or trade). The four contracts remove $19.9M from the cap.

Coming: Larsson, Bouchard, Dumba, Rask, a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. A possibility of a 6th or 7th for Bjugstad.

I'm going to complete one more very popular deal on the boards.

To MTL: McCann, Riikola, 3rd rd
To PGH: Domi

After those deals are made, this is what you've got left: (lines for illustration purposes)

Guentzel Crosby Simon
Zucker Malkin Rust
Poulin Domi Tanev
ZAR Blueger Lafferty
Rask Angello

My assumption is that they move on from Rodrigues, either by letting him walk or dealing his rights. He could be brought back though, especially if he'll take a cut. He'd be a welcome addition to the competition. But is the type of guy JR is talking about with arbitration rights. If you kept him, you could send Angello down.

Dumoulin Dumba
Pettersson Marino
POJ Larsson
Ruhwedel

I'm sending Bouchard and his ELC to WBS to start with. It would be great if he forced himself onto the team. He almost made the Oilers out of camp, and he was on the bubble squad. For now, I'd prefer someone like Larsson, since I can't see playing two rookies together. Bouchard's development may allow you to trade Larsson at some point. Or maybe you let him walk. Regardless, Bouchard should be ready by '21-'22 to take over.

Jarry
DeSmith

So there you are so far. That's roster should probably carry a cap hit of around $70-$75M. Well below the cap. The roster doesn't have to be complete. There may be a few areas to clean up. An upgrade for a top 6 RW. A veteran LHD to temper expectations for POJ. But you've got the cap space to do it. And you even netted a couple of picks. The key to unlocking things are those four contracts. That's JR's first task. That's a blueprint to eliminating the upcoming cap constraints. Time for JR to go to work.

First off, well done. I see you've completed the FLPensFan course on posting a novel.

I like the general concept of what you have done. I personally don't think you gave up enough for Domi, and I don't think Edmonton gives up as much for Letang. Other than those 2 things, I like it.

For Domi, I'd probably remove the 3rd, add Legare, and have a late 4th-6th rounder coming back from Montreal.
For Letang, maybe it's not as bad as I first thought with Larsson being a UFA. I have a hard time seeing them give up Bouchard, but, this one may work.
I'll add in though, that these trades still rely on the dominoe effect. You trade Murray & JJ to Minnesota for Dumba & Rask. What happens if your Letang trade falls through? Or you trade Letang, and the Minnesota deal falls through? That is the toughest part, I think, of what GMJR has to accomplish.

I ran with your trades, and added Bjugstad to Ottawa for STL 6th rounder, just to get rid of the player.
I've then made the following assumptions on player signings, which

Domi, 5 years, 5M AAV
Jarry, 2 years, 4M AAV
Simon, 2 years, 1.25M AAV
Lafferty, 2 years, 850K AAV
Angello, 2 years, 850K AAV

I also made one lineup change, and went with the following:

Domi-Crosby-Guentzel
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Poulin-Rask-Tanev
ZAR-Blueger-Laffery
xSimon, Angello

Dumo-Dumba
Pettersson-Marino
POJ-Larsson
xRuhwedel

Jarry
DeSmith

That roster came out to a cap hit of 77.35M, 4.14M in cap space. That also doesn't take into consideration that ZAR will almost definitely start the season on LTIR.

If Domi is going to make 5M AAV (which I think he will), I would try him in the top 6 first. I also like those lines because you potentially have a dump and chase type player on each line. Domi on the first, kind of Rust on the 2nd, Tanev on the 3rd.

I put Rask as the 3C. While it is a swap of 2 bad contracts, Rask is not JJ level bad. His production dropped. Rask was getting 15-17 minutes a night in Carolina, and he put up 33, 48,45, and 31 points, with one 21 goal season. The season he got traded to Minnesota, he got off to a slow start in Carolina. He was only getting around 12 minutes of ice time, and that has continued ever since with Minnesota. I'd bring the guy in and give him a fresh start. Put him in a position to succeed, and see if he can take the reigns. If not, then you can slide Domi back down, or even look at swapping Blueger and Rask.

If you need to take on Rask to get rid of JJ so be it. Minnesota isn't exactly flush with centers, so if Rask is getting only 12 minutes per game that's probably based on his play, so I don't see him coming here and putting up much better numbers. Again if it gets rid of JJ then you make the move.

My point was, Rask has done it before. He was a pretty consistent for 4 straight years in Carolina. In 2018-2019, he went downhill. Went from a .5pt/gm player down to a .25 or less pt/gm player. 2 things happened that year. Bill Peters was fired (Brind'Amour took over) and Rask missed 20 games to start the season with a hand injury.

So, was the hand injury significant enough that it killed his production, or did the change in coaches affect his play? In his 26 games with Carolina that season after coming back from injury, 14 of his games saw less than 12 minutes TOI. He had 1 game of 16 minute TOI, and 7 games in the 14 minute range. Seems like Brind'Amour never gave him a chance to regain his old job and ice time back.

I don't want to make excuses for the guy, but, I'm Boudreau didn't seem to help his cause either. Again, this was a guy who was a major part of the Niederreiter deal, a guy who was a mid 30's to mid 40's 3C, and it took him until the last week of November to get at least 14 minutes TOI.

I'm going to dig into the hand injury a bit, to see if I can find any information on what it was and if it is still an issue, but, I see a guy who needs a fresh start and a coach who is going to put him in a position to succeed, not start him as a healthy scratch or drop his ice time by over 5 minutes and wonder why he isn't performing.

I've been checking him out a bit as well, and tend to agree. He was dealt straight up for Niederreiter. Partly because Minnesota was on a salary dump kick, and Rask was cheaper. Both were underachieving, but Nino was clearly better. That $4M contract makes him look a lot worse than he is. He just fell off the face of the earth two years ago. Guys aren't over the hill at 25. He's worth a flyer. The salary won't be held against him as much here if JJ goes the other way.

Another scenario I looked at was Letang with Kapanen as the return. The problem is the cap situation in TO. I am dead set against retaining salary. However, the area where I'd be flexible is here. Would you make the deal? If so, how much are you comfortable retaining? In effect, you're going to make Kappy a $4.2M player instead of $3.2M player for two years if you retain $1M.

[FLPensFan]

Spoiler:

A GM has a tough job. They have to oversee the whole operation. Often, they have to rely on others. Understanding that they're the one who is going to take the brunt of any mistakes. You have to bring the players in. Trades, free agents, draft picks. You also have to find the right guy to coach them. Their failure is on you. Every move you make will be scrutinized for years to come. In the Pens organization, you're judged on Cups. Period. JR is still 2 for 6. Still, the Cups are ancient history, and your so called window is quickly shutting. If it's still open. The past tends not to be appreciated for at least a decade. Then the memory grows fonder as time goes on. For those who want Malkin and Letang traded, they'll point to JR. When each has to be signed off on by reluctant owners. That all goes with it.

I'm a big JR proponent. I try to look at the big picture. What's he done in the past, what's he doing now, does he have a plan for the future. A future that won't include him one day. I also think his experience is invaluable for what is likely to be some very uncertain times. I appreciate that JR does things. He doesn't just talk about it. When you make as many moves as he has, you're going to win some and lose some. Don't forget the expansion draft lends another layer of uncertainly. I'm pretty sure the Pens aren't going to win again during this era without making changes. JR's well respected among his peers, and has built up a ton of relationships. He's tuned in to what's going on. That's going to be important.

He acted quick with the assistants, but I think it had more to do with the contracts having expired and then extended. The constitution of the new staff will tell us a little bit about what they thought they were lacking, and might give a glimpse of how safe Sully's job is. I'm a bit shaky with this, fearing JR may be attaching himself to Sully the way Shero did to Bylsma. If push comes to shove, I think JR would pull the trigger. He's done so before. I believe Sully has to adapt. The team was lacking in several areas.

So how do you try to salvage what looks like a mess? One of the reasons I still believe in JR is that his responsibility is player procurement. And I read a lot about how this was the deepest team in the Crosby era. The coaches are charged with finding the right chemistry. That didn't happen. But they were deep. Still are. Which is useful for my blueprint.

With the upcoming cap issues, my first priority is to rid myself of potential problem contracts. Of which I see four. Bjugstad, Letang, Hornqvist, JJ. It's a task. But I suspect JR will leave no stone unturned. There's been a few popular themes on here, so I'll lean to them. But also add some of my own.

Bjugstad may well take care of himself. Has anybody heard a timeframe of when he'll be healthy? Backs are scary things, especially when they call it spine surgery. I have a hunch he'll end up on LTIR legitimately. If not, his deal isn't bad enough where you're going to have to pay to move him. You just will be disappointed with the 6th or 7th he'd likely bring. The contract's expiring. Someone would take a flyer.

Letang has the most value, although the market is limited. Toronto has been tossed around, and makes sense. But I have no interest in retaining salary. The cap isn't going up. The most important goal is to clear cap space so you can maneuver. A deal involving Kapanen would be fine with me, but TO has to figure out their own cap problems. Another team who may be interested is Edmonton, where the urgency grows greater every season. They could definitely use a Letang. They tried to fill the bridge with Mike Green at the deadline. He also would add the veteran experience of a 3 time Cup winner.

To EDM: Letang
To PGH: Larsson, Bouchard, 3rd rd

From the Pens POV, they've eliminated a $7.25M cap hit for two seasons, acquired Larsson on an expiring contract, and bring in his replacement for the following season in Evan Bouchard. He was close to making the jump this season, but spent it in the AHL. RHD picked 10th overall in 2018. Nice size with good all around ability. He'll be 21 in Oct. Maybe ready, but wouldn't have to be rushed. If anything, he'll create excellent depth and a nice problem. The pick helps replenish a graveyard. They've only got 4 picks in '21. A 2nd, 5th, and 2 7ths.

Hornqvist will be tough to part with. But that also props up his trade value. He didn't hurt it by producing at a 27 goal pace this past season, even though he never settled on a line. He has value. The contract is big, with the term being the biggest question. Even so, he still produces, and he'd be a welcome addition to any bench or locker room. No doubt teams have to sort through what they are looking for, but I toyed with Montreal, Dallas, and Calgary as possibilities. It's going to be a short list, but Horny is still producing.

To CAL: Hornqvist
To PGH: 2nd rd, 4th rd

Which leaves JJ. The toughest of the lot with three years left. Same as Horny, but JJ's play is an issue. Horny's isn't. I'm going to go on what's been popular by including him in a deal with Murray to Minny. If that doesn't work, I'm not of the opinion all is lost. JJ may have to use all of his relationship skills to pull a Houdini and move JJ to a team that isn't too concerned about the cap over the next few seasons. Detroit, Ottawa, LA. Then you realize that JJ does offer some attributes to a young team. I've never heard one bad story about JJ's character, and he's lauded by his teammates and coaches alike. There's a package to sell even if he's been sub par on the ice. Perhaps JJ and a 3rd for a 7th. Which is just throwing something out. For now, I'll go with Minny.

To MIN: Murray, JJ
To PGH: Dumba, Rask

Certainly Murray's declining play doesn't help, but Dumba had a bit of a rough go himself. Which is why the deal gets done. Rask and JJ are an exchange of perceived bad deals. When I look at the stats, Rask is a perplexing case. He just turned 27 and has 48 and 45 point seasons behind him, as well as a 21 goal season. His game just went south two years ago. If the deal were to happen, he'd offer some intrigue.

So I've eliminated the four contracts without retaining any salary, which is vital. What's the net result?

Going: Letang, Hornqvist, JJ, Murray, Bjugstad (either LTIR or trade). The four contracts remove $19.9M from the cap.

Coming: Larsson, Bouchard, Dumba, Rask, a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. A possibility of a 6th or 7th for Bjugstad.

I'm going to complete one more very popular deal on the boards.

To MTL: McCann, Riikola, 3rd rd
To PGH: Domi

After those deals are made, this is what you've got left: (lines for illustration purposes)

Guentzel Crosby Simon
Zucker Malkin Rust
Poulin Domi Tanev
ZAR Blueger Lafferty
Rask Angello

My assumption is that they move on from Rodrigues, either by letting him walk or dealing his rights. He could be brought back though, especially if he'll take a cut. He'd be a welcome addition to the competition. But is the type of guy JR is talking about with arbitration rights. If you kept him, you could send Angello down.

Dumoulin Dumba
Pettersson Marino
POJ Larsson
Ruhwedel

I'm sending Bouchard and his ELC to WBS to start with. It would be great if he forced himself onto the team. He almost made the Oilers out of camp, and he was on the bubble squad. For now, I'd prefer someone like Larsson, since I can't see playing two rookies together. Bouchard's development may allow you to trade Larsson at some point. Or maybe you let him walk. Regardless, Bouchard should be ready by '21-'22 to take over.

Jarry
DeSmith

So there you are so far. That's roster should probably carry a cap hit of around $70-$75M. Well below the cap. The roster doesn't have to be complete. There may be a few areas to clean up. An upgrade for a top 6 RW. A veteran LHD to temper expectations for POJ. But you've got the cap space to do it. And you even netted a couple of picks. The key to unlocking things are those four contracts. That's JR's first task. That's a blueprint to eliminating the upcoming cap constraints. Time for JR to go to work.

First off, well done. I see you've completed the FLPensFan course on posting a novel.

I like the general concept of what you have done. I personally don't think you gave up enough for Domi, and I don't think Edmonton gives up as much for Letang. Other than those 2 things, I like it.

For Domi, I'd probably remove the 3rd, add Legare, and have a late 4th-6th rounder coming back from Montreal.
For Letang, maybe it's not as bad as I first thought with Larsson being a UFA. I have a hard time seeing them give up Bouchard, but, this one may work.
I'll add in though, that these trades still rely on the dominoe effect. You trade Murray & JJ to Minnesota for Dumba & Rask. What happens if your Letang trade falls through? Or you trade Letang, and the Minnesota deal falls through? That is the toughest part, I think, of what GMJR has to accomplish.

I ran with your trades, and added Bjugstad to Ottawa for STL 6th rounder, just to get rid of the player.
I've then made the following assumptions on player signings, which

Domi, 5 years, 5M AAV
Jarry, 2 years, 4M AAV
Simon, 2 years, 1.25M AAV
Lafferty, 2 years, 850K AAV
Angello, 2 years, 850K AAV

I also made one lineup change, and went with the following:

Domi-Crosby-Guentzel
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Poulin-Rask-Tanev
ZAR-Blueger-Laffery
xSimon, Angello

Dumo-Dumba
Pettersson-Marino
POJ-Larsson
xRuhwedel

Jarry
DeSmith

That roster came out to a cap hit of 77.35M, 4.14M in cap space. That also doesn't take into consideration that ZAR will almost definitely start the season on LTIR.

If Domi is going to make 5M AAV (which I think he will), I would try him in the top 6 first. I also like those lines because you potentially have a dump and chase type player on each line. Domi on the first, kind of Rust on the 2nd, Tanev on the 3rd.

I put Rask as the 3C. While it is a swap of 2 bad contracts, Rask is not JJ level bad. His production dropped. Rask was getting 15-17 minutes a night in Carolina, and he put up 33, 48,45, and 31 points, with one 21 goal season. The season he got traded to Minnesota, he got off to a slow start in Carolina. He was only getting around 12 minutes of ice time, and that has continued ever since with Minnesota. I'd bring the guy in and give him a fresh start. Put him in a position to succeed, and see if he can take the reigns. If not, then you can slide Domi back down, or even look at swapping Blueger and Rask.

If you need to take on Rask to get rid of JJ so be it. Minnesota isn't exactly flush with centers, so if Rask is getting only 12 minutes per game that's probably based on his play, so I don't see him coming here and putting up much better numbers. Again if it gets rid of JJ then you make the move.

My point was, Rask has done it before. He was a pretty consistent for 4 straight years in Carolina. In 2018-2019, he went downhill. Went from a .5pt/gm player down to a .25 or less pt/gm player. 2 things happened that year. Bill Peters was fired (Brind'Amour took over) and Rask missed 20 games to start the season with a hand injury.

So, was the hand injury significant enough that it killed his production, or did the change in coaches affect his play? In his 26 games with Carolina that season after coming back from injury, 14 of his games saw less than 12 minutes TOI. He had 1 game of 16 minute TOI, and 7 games in the 14 minute range. Seems like Brind'Amour never gave him a chance to regain his old job and ice time back.

I don't want to make excuses for the guy, but, I'm Boudreau didn't seem to help his cause either. Again, this was a guy who was a major part of the Niederreiter deal, a guy who was a mid 30's to mid 40's 3C, and it took him until the last week of November to get at least 14 minutes TOI.

I'm going to dig into the hand injury a bit, to see if I can find any information on what it was and if it is still an issue, but, I see a guy who needs a fresh start and a coach who is going to put him in a position to succeed, not start him as a healthy scratch or drop his ice time by over 5 minutes and wonder why he isn't performing.

I've been checking him out a bit as well, and tend to agree. He was dealt straight up for Niederreiter. Partly because Minnesota was on a salary dump kick, and Rask was cheaper. Both were underachieving, but Nino was clearly better. That $4M contract makes him look a lot worse than he is. He just fell off the face of the earth two years ago. Guys aren't over the hill at 25. He's worth a flyer. The salary won't be held against him as much here if JJ goes the other way.

Another scenario I looked at was Letang with Kapanen as the return. The problem is the cap situation in TO. I am dead set against retaining salary. However, the area where I'd be flexible is here. Would you make the deal? If so, how much are you comfortable retaining? In effect, you're going to make Kappy a $4.2M player instead of $3.2M player for two years if you retain $1M.

Kapanen's cap hit is 3.2M. I don't see how Toronto can make that trade without Pittsburgh retaining 50%. Their cap situation is B-A-D!!!! 40M in 4 players just isn't feasible. Unless they are willing to move one of the big 4 (Nylander makes the most sense), I think any trades they make either need to be $ for $ and/or 2 for 1, with Toronto getting back more players for the same price of those going out.

Letang for Kapanen satisfies neither of those.

If I were in Toronto's shoes, I would look at a deal centered around Dumba for Nylander. (if Minnesota is considering moving Dumba). Dumba is younger and 1.25M cheaper AAV than Letang. Minnesota adding Nylander would really add to a young core of guys with Fiala, Kaprizov, and Kunin. In that deal, I think Minnesota would likely need to kick in something else.

[ville5]

I think that if you can get Domi for McCann, Riikola, 3rd; and then sign him for $5Mx5... that's a win.

Don't see that happening. Domi's worst season is better than McCann's best. It has been reported in the past that Bergevin had interest in Riikola. But I doubt Riikola and a 3rd are enough to close the gap in value. But stranger things have happened.

[KG]

Letang for Kapanen and Kerfoot works cap wise and would be great for us. But I don't think Toronto can afford to do a 2 for 1 type of deal.

[KG]

I think that if you can get Domi for McCann, Riikola, 3rd; and then sign him for $5Mx5... that's a win.

Don't see that happening. Domi's worst season is better than McCann's best. It has been reported in the past that Bergevin had interest in Riikola. But I doubt Riikola and a 3rd are enough to close the gap in value. But stranger things have happened.

I could see Montreal having interest in our 1st round pick for Domi.

[brwi]

UPDATE: Gee how time flies. How could I forget...Rask was injured slicing food in his kitchen. Cut into the right ring and pinkie finger, cut some tendons. I've read some reports from Minnesota that just talked about getting Rask was dumb, because they really didn't have a spot for him in the lineup. He wasn't going to play over Koivu or Staal, and they had someone else mentioned at 3C. I think at worst, he's an expensive extra who walks as a UFA at seasons end, but, I do believe he could be a factor if given a proper chance.

I saw plenty of Rask as a Cane and he's not someone you want on your roster. Soff perimeter player with very little competitiveness. He may have cared at one time, but he sure didn't his last few years. The Canes went on a nice run the moment he was dumped for an effort guy in Nino who will actually hit/take hits and give a real effort.

I don't know if the coaching change had much to do with it as Brind A'mour was an asst with Peters and utilizes the same systems as Peters. It may have had to do with Brind A'mour having less tolerance for Rask's lack of effort when he was also not producing, but Rask didn't seem to find his lost game in Minnesota either. Better off just sending JJ to WBS than replacing him with Rask.

[FLPensFan]

UPDATE: Gee how time flies. How could I forget...Rask was injured slicing food in his kitchen. Cut into the right ring and pinkie finger, cut some tendons. I've read some reports from Minnesota that just talked about getting Rask was dumb, because they really didn't have a spot for him in the lineup. He wasn't going to play over Koivu or Staal, and they had someone else mentioned at 3C. I think at worst, he's an expensive extra who walks as a UFA at seasons end, but, I do believe he could be a factor if given a proper chance.

I saw plenty of Rask as a Cane and he's not someone you want on your roster. Soff perimeter player with very little competitiveness. He may have cared at one time, but he sure didn't his last few years. The Canes went on a nice run the moment he was dumped for an effort guy in Nino who will actually hit/take hits and give a real effort.

I don't know if the coaching change had much to do with it as Brind A'mour was an asst with Peters and utilizes the same systems as Peters. It may have had to do with Brind A'mour having less tolerance for Rask's lack of effort when he was also not producing, but Rask didn't seem to find his lost game in Minnesota either. Better off just sending JJ to WBS than replacing him with Rask.

Good to know, thanks. I would still do a JJ for Rask swap. While it is 750K more expensive this coming season, Rask is a UFA after 20-21, whereas JJ still has 2 more seasons. It's an overall win. If you can play Rask, great. If not, he's an injury fill in and leaves at the end of the year. I have heard that Minnesota could even look to buyout Rask.

[FLPensFan]

I think that if you can get Domi for McCann, Riikola, 3rd; and then sign him for $5Mx5... that's a win.

Don't see that happening. Domi's worst season is better than McCann's best. It has been reported in the past that Bergevin had interest in Riikola. But I doubt Riikola and a 3rd are enough to close the gap in value. But stranger things have happened.

I could see Montreal having interest in our 1st round pick for Domi.

I think McCann, Riikola, and Legare for Domi and a 3rd/4th would probably work...but that may not be the best offer they receive.

As Villie Siren said (ville5, had to say the full name, been a long time), Domi>>>McCann. Domi's worst season production wise is still better than McCann's best season, and I don't think just throwing in Riikola even's it out. You have to give them some type of piece with value, and, they'd have to see potential in Legare besides just being a Montreal born kid.

McCann and Legare for Domi. If you want to add in Riikola, then you look for a 3rd/4th added in there, too.

[Jim]

Good to know, thanks. I would still do a JJ for Rask swap. While it is 750K more expensive this coming season, Rask is a UFA after 20-21, whereas JJ still has 2 more seasons. It's an overall win. If you can play Rask, great. If not, he's an injury fill in and leaves at the end of the year. I have heard that Minnesota could even look to buyout Rask.

Rask has 2 years left, not 1.

Cap: $4M, $4M vs $3.25M, $3.25M, $3.25M
Total salary: $8M vs $8.25M

[Jim]

I think that if you can get Domi for McCann, Riikola, 3rd; and then sign him for $5Mx5... that's a win.

Don't see that happening. Domi's worst season is better than McCann's best. It has been reported in the past that Bergevin had interest in Riikola. But I doubt Riikola and a 3rd are enough to close the gap in value. But stranger things have happened.

Me neither, it's just what people wrote above.

[FLPensFan]

To give an idea of what other teams can offer, I saw these 3 NJ Devils trade ideas for Nylander in an article today:

1. Nylander for Kevin Bahl, 1st round pick (Vancouver), and Miles Wood. (Bahl is a good defensive prospect, but not the #1 type Toronto needs)
2. Nylander for Severson, Zacha, 1st round pick (Arizona). A good RD, a young center with upside, and a 1st. That would be enticing for the Leafs, IMO.
3. Nylander for Ty Smith and 1st round pick (Vancouver). Ty Smith is one of the better defensive prospects yet to play in the league, #17 overall in 2018 draft.

The Devils having 3 1st round picks and a good set of young players makes them hard to compete with, if Pittsburgh was looking at the same players.

[pens_CT]

Good to know, thanks. I would still do a JJ for Rask swap. While it is 750K more expensive this coming season, Rask is a UFA after 20-21, whereas JJ still has 2 more seasons. It's an overall win. If you can play Rask, great. If not, he's an injury fill in and leaves at the end of the year. I have heard that Minnesota could even look to buyout Rask.

Rask has 2 years left, not 1.

Cap: $4M, $4M vs $3.25M, $3.25M, $3.25M
Total salary: $8M vs $8.25M

Total salary: $8M vs $9.75M fixed your math.

[Jim]

Good to know, thanks. I would still do a JJ for Rask swap. While it is 750K more expensive this coming season, Rask is a UFA after 20-21, whereas JJ still has 2 more seasons. It's an overall win. If you can play Rask, great. If not, he's an injury fill in and leaves at the end of the year. I have heard that Minnesota could even look to buyout Rask.

Rask has 2 years left, not 1.

Cap: $4M, $4M vs $3.25M, $3.25M, $3.25M
Total salary: $8M vs $8.25M

Total salary: $8M vs $9.75M fixed your math.

You are mistaking cap for salary.
Johnson's salary: $3M, $3M, $2.25M = $8.25M