pens_CT wrote:NJ5934 wrote:I really hope if we are going to throw 7 or 8 million at an UFA, it's Suter before Parise.
Not really. With Parise you are going to get somebody who will score 35-40 goals/80-90 points consistantly on Sid's line. At 7 to 8 mil/season that's pretty good production when you consider you are always going to overpay on the UFA market. Suter is a good defender, but if you are going to pay a defensemen 7 mil/year or more, you should expect some offense along with the defense. Suter will get you 7 to 10 goals max per season, and 40 to 50 points. Okay production, but not worth 7 mil/season IMHO. He is good positionally on defense, but isn't much of a hitter at all. Goligoski had more hits last year than Suter, so we don't gain anything in the physicality department. Parise is the much better option based on what you need to pay to acquire each player.
I don't agree with everything in your post, but I do agree with the premise that Suter isn't worth $7 million. Here's the thing -- and I'm sure it's been discussed in other threads -- if Suter signs here for $7 million, how would that impact Letang re-signing? Let's be honest, Letang is the team's number one defender, and it would be hard to imagine he would be happy making less than Suter. I highly doubt the Penguins could/would be able to pay two defensemen in the $7 million range. That, to me, is why I believe Parise is the top target. Sign the forward, add a defenseman via free agency (Salvador or Allen) or seek one in a trade (Yandle).
Plus, to me, it sure seems the Penguins have been silently courting Parise. Crosby with his family in the luxury sweet during the Cup Finals, Crosby agreeing to his contract and then the press conference late last week. To me, it was a sign to Parise saying "Hey, if you sign here longterm, you'll have a good friend and, oh yeah, the best player in the game centering you for the rest of your career. Add in all the talk from media outlets around the NHL suggesting teams are legitimately threatened by Pittsburgh's emerge in the Parise sweepstakes, and it all seems to add up.