Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Current Cap Hit: $71,720,000 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Zach Aston-Reese (Two years remaining, $925K)
F Jake Guentzel (Two years remaining, $734K)
Potential Bonuses
Guentzel: $183K
Guentzel was the latest of Pittsburgh’s youngsters to come up and make a difference right away to the point where he became a key cog in their attack down the stretch. It will be interesting to see if his production carries over to a full season; if it does, he’s going to be a major bargain for them. Aston-Reese was one of the more sought after college free agents during the season. With their lack of depth down the middle as the roster currently stands, he’ll get a long look at training camp.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
D Ian Cole ($2.1MM, UFA)
F Patric Hornqvist ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Tom Kuhnhackl ($625K, RFA)
G Antti Niemi ($700K, UFA)
D Derrick Pouliot ($800K, RFA)
F Ryan Reaves ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Carter Rowney ($613K, UFA)
F Bryan Rust ($640K, RFA)
F Scott Wilson ($625K, RFA)
Hornqvist has been a reliable and consistent secondary scorer for Pittsburgh since they acquired him three years ago. He has posted at least 21 goals and 44 points in each season in that time. That type of production is always in demand so barring a down year, he’s likely to have a shot at more money in free agency. The Pens paid a notable price to add Reaves at the draft, trading from the first into the second round to do so. He has improved his all-around game to the point where he can handle a regular shift and there aren’t many tough guys that can do that and the ones that can have landed sizable deals on the open market. The other four forwards are all poised to play bottom six roles and given the number of big contracts on their books already, the team will likely be pushing for them to give up a bit of money on their next deals to hold down their spots in the lineup.
Cole is coming off a career year in both points (26) and ice time (19:49 per night). That’s a notable jump for someone who has been more of a stay-at-home player in the past. A repeat of that performance will have him in line for a big raise but if he reverts back to his normal numbers, his next contract should come in somewhat close to his current one. Pouliot spent the majority of last year at the minor league level but as he now requires waivers, he’s likely to stick on the roster in some capacity. Whether or not he can lock down a regular spot will go a long way towards determining what his next contract will be.
Niemi is coming off a tough season with Dallas that resulted in the final year of his contract being bought out. That allowed him to take a cheap deal to join the Penguins where he’ll likely be tasked with playing 20-25 games to give Tristan Jarry another season to develop in the minors. A strong season would go a long way towards rebuilding his value, especially with some of the better backups landing some bigger deals in recent years.
Two Years Remaining
F Josh Archibald ($675K, RFA)
F Carl Hagelin ($4MM, UFA)
D Chad Ruhwedel ($650K, UFA)
Hagelin really struggled in 2016-17 and collected just 22 points in 61 games, a career low. Accordingly, the speedy winger has come up as a frequent suggestion as someone the team could trade. However, potential suitors will likely want to see if he bounces back before making any sort of commitment. Like many of the depth players with one year left, Archibald is likely to serve a role at the bottom of the depth chart but checks in at only $25K over the league minimum which will help him secure a spot.
Ruhwedel played more games last season with Pittsburgh (34) than he did in four years with Buffalo combined (33). Their injury woes also allowed him to get into six postseason contests as well. He’ll once again serve as a depth option that they can call on as players start to get hurt.
Three Years Remaining
D Matt Hunwick ($2.25MM, UFA)
G Matthew Murray ($3.75MM, RFA)
D Justin Schultz ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Conor Sheary ($3MM, UFA)
Sheary avoided arbitration earlier this summer while giving up a year of free agency to sign his new deal. If he continues to put up 50+ points like he did last season, this has a chance of being a big bargain for Pittsburgh. Even if his point total drops, his cap hit is the going rate for above average third liners and he should be able to at least produce at that level so there isn’t much risk for the team here.
Schultz bet on himself with a one-year deal last summer and it paid off handsomely as he parlayed a 51-point year into his new contract. His role should be a bit lower this season with Kris Letang set to return from injury but he’ll still have plenty of ice time next season. Hunwick was added to replace Trevor Daley who left via free agency for Detroit. While there were moments where played big minutes with Toronto, he’s better suited as more of a third pairing player and if that is his role, Pittsburgh may have overpaid slightly for him.
Murray’s contract already looks like a major bargain but it’s not as if the deal didn’t carry risk as when he signed it, he had just 34 NHL games of experience (regular season and playoffs) under his belt. Fast forward to today and he has quickly established himself as a high-quality starter which has this looking like a deal that is well below market value.
Four Or More Years Remaining
F Sidney Crosby ($8.7MM through 2024-25)
D Brian Dumoulin ($4.1MM through 2022-23)
F Phil Kessel ($6.8MM through 2021-22)
D Kris Letang ($7.25MM through 2021-22)
D Olli Maatta ($4.083MM through 2021-22)
F Evgeni Malkin ($9.5MM through 2021-22)
Having the top player in the league in Crosby locked up for as long as they have at this rate has to be considered a bargain for the Penguins. Of course, the type of contract he’s on is now illegal but nonetheless they’ll be benefitting from it for a while yet. While Malkin comes in more expensive and doesn’t produce as much as Crosby, he’s still a premier pivot when he’s in the lineup (though staying healthy has proven to be a challenge). He’s high priced for a second line role but there’s no denying he’s a top line talent so it’s one they’re content to pay. Kessel has seen his goal totals drop since leaving Toronto but he is still a legitimate top line forward. However, his inconsistency has drawn the ire of coach Mike Sullivan and if Pittsburgh has to move out one of their ‘big three’ to free up some money, Kessel will be the one to be dealt.
On the back end, Letang is a legitimate number one defender but injuries are a big concern; he has averaged just 55 games over the last four seasons. If he can stay healthy, there won’t be any issues with that cap hit but if he continues to be banged up on an annual basis, it could be a problem down the road. Dumoulin avoided arbitration earlier this summer with his new contract. He has established himself as a reliable second pairing defender and that’s where his cap hit checks in. Maatta hasn’t turned into a top defenseman like the team was hoping for and was more of a fifth blueliner last season. It’s probably too early to suggest they’ll be actively shopping him soon but if he follows last year up with a similar performance, there’s a good chance GM Jim Rutherford will be looking to shed his salary at some point.
Buyouts
None
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Still To Sign
None
Best Value: Murray
Worst Value: Maatta
Looking Ahead
With the number of big contracts that Pittsburgh has on the books, they’re going to be a team that’s tight to the cap for the foreseeable future. They have the wiggle room to make another addition this season but with nearly $55MM committed to just 10 players two years from now, they’d be wise to look for someone on a short-term deal. They’ve filled out their roster in recent years with cheap depth pieces and that’s a trend that’s likely going to continue for a while to come. That said, they should be able to keep the core together for at least a few more years assuming the Upper Limit continues to increase gradually as well so while they won’t be flush with cap space anytime soon, they’re not in bad shape overall.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.