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Pittsburgh Penguins Talk: Free Agency Wish Lists

By Matthew Rodrigopulle

Jun 11, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; The Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate defeating the Nashville Predators in game six of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 11, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; The Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate defeating the Nashville Predators in game six of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Melissa Nelson

The Pittsburgh Penguins have many unrestricted free agents (UFAs) as the beginning of free agency looms. Most notably, Chris Kunitz, Trevor Daley, Ron Hainsey, and Nick Bonino are looking for new contracts. The Penguins have plenty of room under the cap (mostly thanks to the Las Vegas Golden Knights)—nearly $19 million. However, general manager Jim Rutherford has told the Pens’ free agents to test the market. This means that we shouldn’t expect any of our UFAs to return.

If none of the aforementioned players resign, the Penguins will have holes in the lineup at center and on the blueline. The most tantalizing name mentioned with the Penguins has been Matt Duchene. Duchene, a 26-year-old center for the Colorado Avalanche, garnered 41 points in 77 games played last season. While losing Bonino would be a blow for the Pens, Duchene would be a great upgrade.

However, Duchene doesn’t come cheap—he has two years left on his current contract, and his cap hit is $6 million. If the Penguins are looking to get Duchene, they should be careful not to give up too much for him.

Another name floated with the Penguins has been the recently bought out netminder Antti Niemi. In 37 games with the Dallas Stars in the 2016-17 season, Niemi had a .892 save percentage and 3.30 GAA—hardly stellar numbers. But Niemi is 33 years old, and a Cup-winning goaltender. He’d make a fine backup to Matt Murray, provided the Penguins can get him cheap—his most recent cap hit was $4.5 million.

Matt Cullen is also a UFA, but it seems likely that he’ll retire. If he does, a possible replacement could be Dominic Moore. Moore, a former Penguin, had a cap hit last year of $900,000 with the Boston Bruins and 25 points in 82 games. He also finished last season with an impressive 54.6% in the faceoff circle. Those numbers are comparable to Cullen’s.

The Penguins also have a handful of restricted free agents (RFAs) that are due for big pay raises. Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz are both RFAs, with current cap hits of $800,000 and $1.4 million, respectively. Conor Sheary is also an RFA and is currently making a shade under $700,000.

The Penguins should put their focus on resigning RFAs rather than retaining UFAs. If the Pens do lose all of their notable UFAs—which seems likely—there are replacements available on the market. But the team shouldn’t spend too much to get high-octane replacements like Duchene. The Pens have good replacements in the system.

Jake Guentzel can be moved to center on the third line. While the Pens no longer have a lot of defense prospects, most of their current blueliners—Schultz, Dumoulin, Olli Maatta—are young. The Penguins have also drafted quite a few defensemen over the last couple of drafts, although they are unlikely to be seen on the NHL roster for a few years. The Pens do have good prospective forwards like Daniel Sprong and Zach Aston-Reese. The Pens also have some promising goaltending prospects and shouldn’t spend too much money in trying to sign a backup like Niemi or making a trade for a center like Duchene. It’s also worth noting that the Pens’ depth in prospects—particularly in goal—can be used for making trades.

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