The Penguins were up 3-1 and blew it. Just like 2011. Flamed out of the playoffs 5 straight years by teams they should have beat. Clearly the Dan Bylsma and Ray Shero model isn't working so it's time for changes to be made, otherwise we're just gonna be frustrated each and every year and keep wasting years of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin's Prime. Since we are Armchair GM's unlike this other Penguins blog, we are gonna take a look at who should stay and who should go, in our own expert opinions.
Changes will start from the Top and we're gonna start with Ray Shero.
Ray Shero has been a pretty decent GM here, in fairness to him, he did trade for Chris Kunitz before the 09 Cup as well as get Pascal Dupuis with Marian Hossa. He also acquired James Neal and Matt Niskanen for a used up Alex Goligoski who needed a new change of scenery. We always say #InSheroWeTrust, but can we actually trust Shero? Let's look at a list of Ray Shero's draft picks since he became GM here in 2006.
2006 - 2nd Overall - Center Jordan Staal
2007 - 20th Overall - Center Angelo Esposito
2008 - No Pick
2009 - 30th Overall - Defenseman Simon Despres
2010 - 20th Overall - Forward Beau Bennett
2011 - 23rd Overall - Defenseman Joe Morrow
2012 - 8th Overall - Defenseman Derrick Pouilot
2012 - 22nd Overall - Defenseman Olli Maatta
2013 - No Pick
Let's look at this a little further and look at his Second Round Picks since 2006.
2006 - 32nd Overall - Defenseman Carl Sneep
2007 - 51st Overall - Center Kevin Veilleux
2008 - No Pick (First Pick this year was 120th Overall [Round 4])
2009 - 61st Overall - Defenseman Philip Samuelsson
2010 - No Pick
2011 - 54th Overall - Defenseman Scott Harrington
2012 - 52nd Overall - Center Teodors Blugers (WHO?!)
2013 - 44th Overall - Goalie Tristan Jarry
How many of those picks have worked out? Staal is the only one who had significant time with the Penguins because Despres and Bennett won't get there chance with current management. Maatta had a solid rookie season but you can't judge his career and how good that pick was on one season. Pouilot is supposed to be good but in 9 years, he traded the first round pick away twice, drafted 4 defenseman, and traded one away (who ended up bagging groceries in Norway or something but still). In the 2nd Round, Carl Sneep was awful, drafted Veilleux who has done nothing and TJ Galiardi went 4 picks later and Wayne Simmonds went 10 picks later. 2008, first pick was pick 120 and he took Nathan Moon. Gustav Nyquist went at 121. Scott Harrington looks like a good pick as does Philip Samuelsson but they're in the stockpile of Defensemen the Penguins have.
Look at some of the trades Shero made, some have been duds, some just didn't work out, some of that could be because of Dan Bylsma, but in reality, the Penguins lack of forward depth boils down to Ray Shero. Shero also did a horrible job getting Crosby and Malkin legit wingers to play with. Sure he gave Sid, Kunitz, and he gave Malkin, Neal, but who else have they played with? Lee Stempniak, Pascal Dupuis, Jussi Jokinen, Brian Gibbons are not top 6 forwards no matter what Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma want to tell you. Shero has whiffed on some big names too. Hossa, Parise, Jagr to name a few and as well as missed out on Ryan Kesler at this trade deadline. Not to mention some of the Free Agents Ray Shero left walk, Jarome Iginla, Max Talbot, Matt Cooke, Tyler Kennedy, Dominic Moore (who has eliminated the Penguins 3 times in Game 7's in Pittsburgh since 2009) to name a few. Yes we hated Tyler Kennedy, but you mean to tell me Tyler Kennedy isn't as good as Brian Gibbons?
In Our Opinion, Ray Shero needs to go.
Who we want to see replace him: We really have no idea, but the Penguins are soft and turning into the Nashville Predators because of Ray Shero.
Next let's look at everyone's favorite, Dan Bylsma
Get to our game. Grind bitches down. What more do we have to say? 5 straight years of playoff disappoint because of Dan. We'll give him a pass in 2011, but thats it. We don't expect them to win 6 straight Cups (counting 2009) but 0 Cup Finals and only 1 Conference Finals appearance since winning the Cup is unacceptable. Players like Brian Gibbons, Deryk Engellend, and Joe Vitale getting favoritism over Simon Despres, Beau Bennett, and Robert Bortuzzo is just ridiculous. Craig Adams and Rob Scuderi are washed up, but it's a pecking order with Dan and they can play over players who are playing better because you can't bench veterans. He did make a few adjustments this year, but that's only a few more than the previous 4 years. He had no backup plan and teams figured out his style in 2010 yet he continued to play the same way for 5 straight years. No accountability for his players.
It's obvious that Dan Bylsma has to go.
Who we would like to see replace Bylsma: Mike Babcock. The Penguins would have to buy him out, but he seems like a perfect fit here.
Who probably replaces Bylsma: Barry Trotz. Assuming Shero stays as GM, you would think Trotz comes to Pittsburgh because of the Nashville connection.
Time to look at the Penguins Roster.
First the goalies.
According to CapGeek this is the Penguins Goalie Situation contract wise moving forward.
| Goaltenders (3) | ||||||||||
| Fleury, M. » |  | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
UFA
| ||||||
| Vokoun, Tomas » | 35+ LTIR | $2,000,000 |
UFA
| |||||||
| Zatkoff, Jeff » | $537,500 | $600,000 | $600,000 |
UFA
| ||||||
One would think Vokoun is gonna either retire or sign somewhere else, he is 38. Jeff Zatkoff is signed to a respectable deal for a backup so there shouldn't be any questions about him moving forward. The big one is Marc-Andre Fleury.
Fleury is coming off of his second best postseason of his career. He showed us all that he is the goalie the Penguins can rely on. He also plays behind one of the worst defensive teams in the league and still managed to put together a .915 save percentage and is basically the only reason the Penguins even had a chance in Game 7. Fleury is entering the final year of his deal and will make $5 million next season. Some speculation is that the Penguins might hold off or that they might trade him.
What we would do: Give Fleury an extension right now. He was one of the only Penguins to show up every single game this postseason. A new coach with a tighter defensive style will only inflate Fleury's numbers too.
Defense.
Here is what the Penguins defensive situation looks like this year
| Defensemen (9) | ||||||||||
| Martin, Paul » | | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
UFA
| ||||||
| Orpik, Brooks » | | $3,750,000 |
UFA
| |||||||
| Letang, Kris » | $3,500,000 | $7,250,000 | $7,250,000 | $7,250,000 | $7,250,000 | $7,250,000 | $7,250,000 |
»
| ||
| Scuderi, Rob » | | $3,375,000 | $3,375,000 | $3,375,000 | $3,375,000 |
UFA
| ||||
| Niskanen, Matt » | $2,300,000 |
UFA
| ||||||||
| Maatta, Olli » | EL SR | $894,167 | $894,167 | $894,167 |
RFA
| |||||
| Despres, Simon » | EL | $840,000 |
RFA
| |||||||
| Bortuzzo, Robert » | $600,000 | $600,000 |
RFA
| |||||||
| Engelland, Deryk » | $566,667 |
UFA
| ||||||||
As well as Philip Samuelsson is a RFA
For starters, here is what likely should and will happen.
Kris Letang should be 100% safe, if you think about trading him, you're probably a moron. Kris Letang is the Penguins best defenseman and he's coming off of some of the best hockey that he's played in his life. Paul Martin is about 95% safe and should be considered their second best defenseman.
Brooks Orpik has played his last game as a Penguin. He's injured and when he played, he really didn't play well. The Penguins should let him walk. Matt Niskanen has also likely played his last game as a Penguin. Niskanen could demand nearly $6 million on the open market. Matt Niskanen could make more next year than the Penguins second best defenseman, Paul Martin. Also, Good Riddance Deryk Engelland. I'm not even gonna discuss Engellend.
By letting Orpik, Niskanen, and Engellend go, that leaves some holes in the Penguins defense core. Fixing it is simple.
Let Bortuzzo take over Orpik's role. He is as good as Orpik is right now, plus he plays with more of a skill set and has a long reach, give the kid a chance and I'm sure he will thrive. Re-sign Simon Despres and actually give him a shot. Buyout Rob Scuderi (even if it costs you a buyout price). If that happens you still have one open roster spot for a defenseman but you have a few options.
Option #1: Promote Brian Dumoulin to play 6th defenseman minutes with Olli Maatta.
Option #2: Promote Derrick Pouilot and let him learn at the NHL level.
Option #3: Sign a young FA defenseman and deal a young prospect for a Top 6 Winger.
So if you choose Option #3, let's look at the list of FA Defenseman there are this year.
UFA
| Player | Pos | Team | Age | Cap Hit | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boyle, Dan » | D | SJS | 37 | $6,666,667 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Timonen, Kimmo » | D | PHI | 39 | $6,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Markov, Andrei » | D | MTL | 35 | $5,750,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Pitkanen, Joni » | D | CAR | 30 | $4,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Zidlicky, Marek » | D | NJD | 37 | $4,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Meszaros, Andrej » | D | BOS | 28 | $4,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Quincey, Kyle » | D | DET | 28 | $3,775,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Salo, Sami » | D | TBL | 39 | $3,750,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Orpik, Brooks » | D | PIT | 33 | $3,750,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Mitchell, Willie » | D | LAK | 37 | $3,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Schultz, Nick » | D | CLB | 31 | $3,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Tallinder, Henrik » | D | BUF | 35 | $3,375,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Robidas, Stephane » | D | ANA | 37 | $3,300,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Klesla, Rostislav » | D | BUF | 32 | $2,975,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Greene, Matt » | D | LAK | 31 | $2,950,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Morris, Derek » | D | PHX | 35 | $2,750,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
There are also others, but I'm not posting them all, to see the full list go to CapGeek
RFA
| Player | Pos | Team | Age | Cap Hit | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schultz, Justin » | D | EDM | 23 | $3,775,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Gudbranson, Erik » | D | FLA | 22 | $3,200,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Subban, P.K. » | D | MTL | 25 | $2,875,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Del Zotto, Michael » | D | NAS | 23 | $2,550,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Kulikov, Dmitry » | D | FLA | 23 | $2,500,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Franson, Cody » | D | TOR | 26 | $2,000,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| McBain, Jamie » | D | BUF | 26 | $1,800,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Schilling, Cameron » | D | WAS | 25 | $1,775,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Petry, Jeff » | D | EDM | 26 | $1,750,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Erixon, Tim » | D | CLB | 23 | $1,750,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Krug, Torey » | D | BOS | 23 | $1,704,167 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Demers, Jason » | D | SJS | 25 | $1,500,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Tanev, Chris » | D | VAN | 24 | $1,500,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| de Haan, Calvin » | D | NYI | 23 | $1,470,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Ellis, Ryan » | D | NAS | 23 | $1,440,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Sustr, Andrej » | D | TBL | 23 | $1,350,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Schmidt, Nate » | D | WAS | 22 | $1,350,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| DeKeyser, Danny » | D | DET | 24 | $1,350,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Vatanen, Sami » | D | ANA | 22 | $1,325,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
There are some attractive names on this list. First one that stands out is an RFA, PK Subban. Subban would be an absolute dream and perfect fit on this team. One of the problems the Penguins had was that they were unable to protect Sidney Crosby. PK Subban would fill that role perfectly as well as he's an outstanding defenseman, he may cost a lot but the cap space you free up by not signing Niskanen, Orpik and buying out/trading Scuderi could allow you to sign Subban.
A few other names on these lists that I wouldn't mind would be Kyle Quincey, Jamie McBain, Torey Krug, Danny DeKeyser, and Sami Vatanen.
No clue what the Penguins would do, but any of those moves will help the team out tremendously next year and someone like Subban would add the grit that they've been missing.
Now to look at the Dumpster Fire that is the Penguins forwards.
| Player | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forwards (19) | ||||||||||
| Malkin, Evgeni » | LTIR | $8,700,000 | $9,500,000 | $9,500,000 | $9,500,000 | $9,500,000 | $9,500,000 | $9,500,000 |
»
| |
| Crosby, Sidney » | | $8,700,000 | $8,700,000 | $8,700,000 | $8,700,000 | $8,700,000 | $8,700,000 | $8,700,000 |
»
| |
| Neal, James » | | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
UFA
| |||
| Dupuis, Pascal » | LTIR | $3,750,000 | $3,750,000 | $3,750,000 | $3,750,000 |
UFA
| ||||
| Kunitz, Chris » | | $3,725,000 | $3,850,000 | $3,850,000 | $3,850,000 |
UFA
| ||||
| Stempniak, Lee » | $2,500,000 |
UFA
| ||||||||
| Jokinen, Jussi » | RSA | $2,100,000 |
UFA
| |||||||
| Sutter, Brandon » | $2,066,667 |
RFA
| ||||||||
| Goc, Marcel » | $1,700,000 |
UFA
| ||||||||
| Pyatt, Taylor » | $1,550,000 |
UFA
| ||||||||
| Glass, Tanner » | $1,100,000 |
UFA
| ||||||||
| Megna, Jayson » | EL | $925,000 |
RFA
| |||||||
| Bennett, Beau » | EL | $900,000 | $900,000 |
RFA
| ||||||
| Adams, Craig » | 35+ | $700,000 | $700,000 |
UFA
| ||||||
| Kobasew, Chuck » | $550,000 |
UFA
| ||||||||
| Vitale, Joe » | LTIR | $550,000 |
UFA
| |||||||
| Conner, Chris » | LTIR | $550,000 |
UFA
| |||||||
| Zolnierczyk, H. » | $550,000 |
UFA
| ||||||||
| Gibbons, Brian » | $550,000 |
UFA
| ||||||||
For starters, Stempniak, Jokinen, Goc, Pyatt, Glass, Kobasew, Vitale, Conner, Zolnierczyk, and Gibbons are all UFA. Sutter and Megna are RFA. To start out, Stempniak, Pyatt, Kobasew, Vitale, and Conner can all GTFO for all I care. I would make an attempt to keep Goc, Jokinen, Zolnierczyk, and Gibbons but for cheap. As far as Sutter goes, he's tricky. He played the best hockey of his career in the postseason, but what is he gonna ask for. He made $2.06 million this year and you would think he definitely gets a raise, but how much of a raise is too much? Can you flip his rights plus a little more for someone like Ryan Kesler who adds a little more size and grit to his game. If you can keep a Marcel Goc, who can play a 3rd line center, it allows you the luxury to make that kind of move. Jayson Megna shouldn't be that hard to re-sign if you choose to do that.
What the Penguins need most is Top 6 wingers. They currently have 4 of them. Sidney Crosby. Evgeni Malkin. James Neal. Chris Kunitz. One would think in a major firesale that Crosby, Malkin, and Kunitz are all safe. Neal is a great player, but I could see the Penguins moving him to shake up the makeup of the team. Beau Bennett needs to be in the Penguins Top 6 unless you want a modern day Alexsey Morozov.
So let's see some options the Penguins have for Top 6 forwards from Capgeek
UFA
| Player | Pos | Team | Age | Cap Hit | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaborik, Marian » | R | LAK | 32 | $7,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Heatley, Dany » | L | MIN | 33 | $7,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Vanek, Thomas » | L | MTL | 30 | $7,142,857 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Stastny, Paul » | C | COL | 28 | $6,600,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Cammalleri, Mike » | L | CGY | 31 | $6,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Iginla, Jarome » | R | BOS | 36 | $6,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Alfredsson, Daniel » | R | DET | 41 | $5,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Hemsky, Ales » | R | OTT | 30 | $5,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Gionta, Brian » | R | MTL | 35 | $5,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Jokinen, Olli » | C | WPG | 35 | $4,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Whitney, Ray » | L | DAL | 42 | $4,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Legwand, David » | C | DET | 33 | $4,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Michalek, Milan » | L | OTT | 29 | $4,333,333 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Callahan, Ryan » | R | TBL | 29 | $4,275,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Roy, Derek » | C | STL | 31 | $4,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Koivu, Saku » | C | ANA | 39 | $3,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Bolland, Dave » | C | TOR | 27 | $3,375,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Moulson, Matt » | L | MIN | 30 | $3,133,333 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Vrbata, Radim » | R | PHX | 32 | $3,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Samuelsson, Mikael » | R | DET | 37 | $3,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Jokinen, Jussi » | L | PIT | 31 | $3,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Setoguchi, Devin » | R | WPG | 27 | $3,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Grabovski, Mikhail » | C | WAS | 30 | $3,000,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Ott, Steve » | C | STL | 31 | $2,950,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Kulemin, Nikolai » | R | TOR | 27 | $2,800,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Downie, Steve » | R | PHI | 27 | $2,650,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Stempniak, Lee » | R | PIT | 31 | $2,500,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Smyth, Ryan » | L | EDM | 38 | $2,250,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Moss, David » | R | PHX | 32 | $2,100,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
| Bertuzzi, Todd » | R | DET | 39 | $2,075,000 | 2014 (UFA) |
RFA
| Player | Pos | Team | Age | Cap Hit | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Reilly, Ryan » | C | COL | 23 | $5,000,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Berglund, Patrik » | C | STL | 25 | $3,250,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Brassard, Derick » | C | NYR | 26 | $3,200,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Schenn, Brayden » | C | PHI | 22 | $3,110,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Ennis, Tyler » | C | BUF | 24 | $2,812,500 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Niederreiter, Nino » | R | MIN | 21 | $2,795,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Frolik, Michael » | R | WPG | 26 | $2,333,333 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Sutter, Brandon » | C | PIT | 25 | $2,066,667 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Johansen, Ryan » | C | CLB | 21 | $1,945,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| McGinn, Jamie » | L | COL | 25 | $1,750,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Lee, Anders » | C | NYI | 23 | $1,750,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Connolly, Brett » | R | TBL | 22 | $1,633,333 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Glennie, Scott » | R | DAL | 23 | $1,620,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Tlusty, Jiri » | R | CAR | 26 | $1,600,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Kunyk, Cody » | C | TBL | 23 | $1,584,063 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Spaling, Nick » | C | NAS | 25 | $1,500,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Laganiere, Antoine » | C | ANA | 23 | $1,350,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Kreider, Chris » | C | NYR | 23 | $1,325,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Eller, Lars » | C | MTL | 25 | $1,325,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Sobotka, Vladimir » | C | STL | 26 | $1,300,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Kristo, Danny » | L | NYR | 23 | $1,300,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Holland, Peter » | C | TOR | 23 | $1,295,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Galiardi, T.J. » | L | CGY | 26 | $1,250,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Hishon, Joey » | C | COL | 22 | $1,200,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Leblanc, Louis » | C | MTL | 23 | $1,170,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Schwartz, Jaden » | L | STL | 21 | $1,166,667 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Zuccarello, Mats » | L | NYR | 26 | $1,150,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
| D'Amigo, Jerry » | L | TOR | 23 | $1,082,500 | 2014 (RFA) |
| Perreault, Mathieu » | C | ANA | 26 | $1,050,000 | 2014 (RFA) |
Honestly, no idea who in this list I would wanna see the Penguins sign but they need to add atleast 1 top 6 winger. Get Sid and Geno some help and add some grit.
In order for the Penguins to theoretically have a shot at the Cup, they need to add skill, grit, and a coach who will have accountability. No clue what is gonna happen over the next few months, but what I do know is that Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux will likely make the right move to make the Penguins a better team. There is blood everywhere and it needs cleaned up.
Sit back and see what happens and as the begins said all playoffs, Buckle Up Baby.
Go Pens
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