Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason Ramblings: Rumors, News, Thoughts, and More
By Mike Necciai
Well, it’s official. Tomorrow begins August and it’s now the dog days of summer. The Pittsburgh Penguins ended July with a boom, but are they done making moves?
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- Farewell Carl Hagelin
- Penguins Line-up Breakdown vs Stanley Cup Champs Vegas
- Ryan Graves Solid Signing For The Pittsburgh Penguins
There are rumors circulating that Matt Cooke may be returning to the Pittsburgh Penguins. All of these rumors surfaced after Cooke was spotted at a Pirates game and Greg Brown commented on the possibility of him returning to Pittsburgh. To make things worse, a fan tweeted that they spoke with Cooke in a concessions line and he also said that he was confident in a return to Pittsburgh.
However, signing Matt Cooke goes against everything the Pittsburgh Penguins are aiming for this summer. Jim Rutherford was clear about getting younger and faster, and he has done so. Matt Cooke doesn’t fit that narrative, and the Pens have no interest in bringing him back. I appreciate all that he did for Pittsburgh while he was here, but that ship has sailed.
The Pittsburgh Penguins released all of their latest jersey numbers.
We have some new and never-released #Pens jersey numbers. You can start studying this photo now. pic.twitter.com/3pDK6D0ING
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 30, 2015
Yes, at this point in the offseason this is big news. Just think how exciting August will be!
In all seriousness, I found it interesting that David Perron decided to go back to number 57 after wearing 39 last season. In the past, the Pittsburgh Penguins have offered deals in order to get the number switched on your jersey if you’ve already purchased one. There hasn’t been word on whether that will happen or not, but keep an ear out if you own a Perron jersey.
The Philadelphia Flyers have agreed to contracts with both Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek over the past few days, solidifying two major pieces of their core. And, I have to admit, both contracts were extremely fair and pretty good value.
In Pens land, there’s a lot of criticism about how much the Flyers gave Voracek. There are rumblings that he isn’t worth nearly as much as Sidney Crosby and that Phil Kessel is a better scorer and only makes $6.8 million. However, neither of these are good comparisons for a number of reasons.
First, remember that Crosby signed his deal prior to the new CBA. If that deal were made today his cap hit would be closer to the $10 million range. As far as Kessel, his contract is actually worth $8 million per year, but with the Leafs retaining $1.2 million the Pens aren’t responsible for the whole number. So, while Voracek’s contract does show the value that the Pittsburgh Penguins are getting with Kessel at his cap hit, it isn’t a means to downplay what Voracek received. Did I just stick up for the Flyers? Yikes.
Lastly, the Vancouver Canucks are about to do this…
Report: Canucks, Sutter closing in on five-year deal, north of $20M http://t.co/jjlsktte0M
— NBC ProHockeyTalk (@ProHockeyTalk) July 30, 2015
From my understanding, the deal is going to be worth $4.4 million per year. I won’t get into the details of why this is a bad idea for Vancouver, considering I just visited an overall look at Sutter’s numbers an the negative impact he has had on the Pittsburgh Penguins. You can also find a great piece at The Pens Blog that provides an in-depth look.
If the Canucks look at Sutter as a pivotal piece to their future success, it could be a long five years in Vancouver.
Like I mentioned previously, we’re hitting August and I fully expect NHL news to die down drastically. However, we always keep the conversation going at PensLabyrinth.Com and of course you can find me on Twitter at @Michael29Angelo.
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