the phil show is odd..dude was arguably mvp on team during season.. then the playoffs arrive and hes a shell..like to know why...is their a conflict with phil and sully? I always thought phil was happy camper with pens..id sure as hell say good riddance to letang before phil that's for sure..your highest paid defenseman should not be the playoff goat every game. pens mike Mitchell..

glad preds out..fuck em..misery loves company.. now the caps must be removed..4-0 be fun..

Deferring to other's expertise on how the NHL salary cap and compliance buyout process work, here is what I think I know.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compliance_buyout The compliance buyout still exists. My thinking was/is that each team got/gets one buyout -- the Pens have not used this previously -- the Pens could use it for Letang or Phil if it still exists?

2. https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/penguins Phil & Letang are now 30-something with 4 years left on their deals. Combined they would make north of $14 million EACH SEASON during that time. I can't see both being here for the next 4 seasons -- frankly, I'd say both will be gone by then.

3. By way of comparison, Hagelin and Brassard are both of similar ages, but only have one year remaining at a combined salary of half, or $7 million. This actually makes Hagelin and Brassard more attractive potentially to a team that wants to win now, meaning the Pens may get a better deal for 1 or both of them than for 1 or both of Phil/Letang.

So, what does this all mean -- I'll play amateur GM and capologist.

1. Phil gets traded this summer, maybe at the NHL Entry Draft for picks. The picks would help, but dumping some/all of that contract would be the main attraction for the Pens. I would rather keep Phil than Letang but I'm reading Sully's tea leaves.

2. Letang stays around another season and then gets traded or bought out if he doesn't up his game. I agree off his recent performance combined with his salary that the Pens wouldn't likely get top value by trading him now.

3. If they can't trade Phil or Letang then Hags gets traded at the Draft. I like Hags and he's valuable on the PK, but he doesn't score enough. Brassard is seen as a Swiss Army Knife -- can play 3rd/4th line center or fill-in on the top 2 lines if Sid/Geno get hurt. Also, Hag's $4 million plus the increasing salary cap can be used to find another FA plus to pay Jake whose going to need paid soon.

The way things played out with Reaves (I know, I'm trying to forget, too), Cole, and with Rutherford singing a different tune while Sully is basically chucking Phil under the bus (along with a healthy level of TVS for WBS jobbers like Rowney and Simon by Sullivan in the regular and post-season), and Rutherford stating that Sprong WILL be a regular next season, is there a bit of a disconnect between our coach and GM on personnel/ice time issues?

I think the Pens would be crazy to get rid of Hagelin under just about any context. His combination of speed, grit, and intelligence is just too rare.

Goal scoring is only one aspect that makes a good hockey player, and comparing goals to salary misses the point entirely. You need guys who can do other things, too. With the offensive talent on this team, there's zero reason they should be relying on Hagelin to be a consistent goal scorer when he does so many other things.

I am definitely of two minds with Hags. I love what he brings to the team. I hate the contract we inherited with him. It is by no means the biggest albatross of a contract the organization has to deal with (those are on the defensive side: we are actually, added up, paying our defensemen 2 million a year more against the cap than the freaking Preds are), but it's one of them.

The cap is supposed to be going up this season, maybe more than a little, for what it's worth.

I doubt that the Pens break up the band, more likely they make a few tweaks here and there. If they make a move it will be to add another defenseman, especially if Sprong is going to be a regular on the big club.

The window is 2-3 years so there is no need to panic and start thinking about making major moves.

Note that Phil and Letang have limited NTC's. So they have about 8 teams they could possibly be moved to

Basically Kessel and Letang aren't going anywhere. I'll do an avatar bet for the next year or whatever

Yup- Hags and Horny are the 2 best forecheckers on the team (and possibly top 15 in the league). Stuff they do doesn't end up on the scoresheet

Said nothing since Monday night. Love the Penguins and all they're accomplished. That said, my major disappointment is premised on their not coming through in the big spots in each of their last three losses...
*Surrendered the winning goal with a minute left in Game 3
*Had that fuckin' Game 5, then gave up the tying in the 3rd, the go-ahead with four minutes left, and missed a half-open net with 2 minutes left
*And of course, the OT loss in Game 6

In the context of the two previous seasons, very un-Penguin like.

But again....thank you Penguins for bringing two Cups in a row to Pittsburgh.