With the Toronto Maple Leafs game 7 loss on home ice to the Florida Panthers this past Sunday, it meant that all the speculation started with which Maple Leafs were going to potentially stay with the team and which ones could test free agency.
A popular name that has been in the league for quite some time came up plenty after game 7 was over. That guy is John Tavares, and he could potentially be a hot commodity on the free agent market if he chooses not to stay in Toronto.
But the Penguins are in no position to pay a 34-year-old player of his caliber, big money, especially when the team is not yet built to contend again.
If the Penguins had a coach and team of the Capitals caliber, they might have been in a different position
Every non-contending team has been saying all season long, that they could always go to the Washington Capitals route and fix their team that way. Put a lot of young players with potential and lots of skill players around their aging superstar and be a contender.
But the Penguins are not in that position. They have 3 aging superstars but they do not have a lot of cap space, especially cap space to be spending on another aging star that could slow down as he continues to get older.
If the Penguins were built to contend, then this could definitely be a different story, but Tavares is a player that the Penguins need to stay away from.
If the Penguins wanted to sign a Maple Leafs free agent, it could be a different one
The only way that the Penguins could really sign a free agent from Toronto, would be to go a route that it does not seem like Kyle Dubas wants to go, the offersheet route.
But if they truly did want to go that route, they could try to go after Matthew Knies and see how much they could offer him, but it would be pricey if the Maple Leafs do not match it.
The Penguins would be paying the Maple Leafs several first-round picks to offersheet Knies and not match it, and the Penguins are also not in a position to lose first-rounders.
But never say never to a dream of adding a Matthew Knies to this Penguins lineup as he would be a huge boost to the rebuild or retool.