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The Penguins’ protected roster for Wednesday’s expansion draft looks pretty straightforward. They will protect seven forwards, three defenders and a goalkeeper.
They should be:
Before – Teddy Blueger, Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Kasperi Kapanen, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Brandon Tanev.
Defenders – Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, Mike Matheson.
Goalie – Tristan Jarry.
First and second year professionals are exempt from the draft. So the Penguins don’t have to protect PO Joseph and John Marino.
The points of debate are:
• Blueger vs. Jared McCann.
• Matheson against Marcus Pettersson.
But the Penguins have just signed a two-year contract with Blueger. They didn’t do this to give it to Seattle. McCann is 25 and is already part of his third team. He shows flashes and is more productive than Blueger, who is a solid bottom four center. These have a deceptive value. Kill penalties too.
Matheson is better than Pettersson. The Penguins could trade the latter if Seattle doesn’t take it. Matheson comes at a steep price: he signed until 2026 for an annual cap of $ 4.875 million. He’s getting a whopping $ 6.5 million, $ 6.5 million, and $ 7 million in the last three years of this contract.
But the deal would likely prevent Seattle from taking Matheson if he’s available.
Your protected roster isn’t just about protecting your perceived best players. It is not a badge of merit. It’s about maneuvering Seattle to take who doesn’t mind losing.
No one could cheat Vegas like that in 2017. This is how the Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup Final as an expansion team.
Bad news for Seattle: there is no goalie like Marc-André Fleury to have this year.
There are two other popular talking points regarding the Penguin Protected List:
• Given Evgeni Malkin’s long recovery from knee surgery, should the Penguins protect Jeff Carter by not exposing the central position to potential disaster?
• Exposing Brandon Tanev by abandoning his contract, which carries a cap of $ 3.5 million until 2025.
Even considering the latter smacks of insanity, so I doubt GM Ron Hextall is.
Tanev’s hat trick isn’t that bad. It is an oasis of sand in the vast desert of the Charmin Penguins. Its speed allows it to fit perfectly into the lineup. He’s an invaluable penalty killer.
Tanev is a winning hockey player. If he’s exposed, Seattle definitely takes it.
The apprehension of exposing Carter is understandable. If Carter leaves, McCann is the center of the Penguins’ second line and Blueger is the third line. The depth board in the center trickles down in a way that hurts the Penguins.
But it’s hard to imagine Seattle taking on a 36-year-old who is in a cap of $ 5.27million, has a year on his contract, will likely retire after that, and may well resign immediately if he is called in. the expansion project. (Carter should make it known.)
Carter turned red for the Penguins: 13 goals in 20 games (including the playoffs) after joining the team. But there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to produce anywhere near that, let alone skate on an expansion squad. Carter has not exceeded 17 goals in a season since 2016-17.
McCann is a better choice for an expansion team than Carter. So the Penguins should expose Carter.
Creating the debate is my business. But the Penguins’ protected list seems obvious.
The player the Penguins want to lose is winger Jason Zucker. He has a cap of $ 5.5 million and is signed until 2023. His speed and skill should make him a good fit with the Penguins, but he’s not. It would be nice to get him off the books, but Seattle won’t bite.
A potential bet: if management isn’t convinced by Jarry, expose him and hope Seattle takes him. Sponsor free agency for a goalie like Antti Raanta, most recently of Arizona.
Potential issues: If Seattle doesn’t claim Jarry, his confidence is further shaken. If Seattle claims Jarry, the Penguins should have two goalies. Raanta (or whoever it is) and Casey DeSmith isn’t deep enough.
DeSmith is between a rock and a hard place: he’s a proper backup if your starter is both legitimate and durable. Jarry is not. Raanta (or anyone else) wouldn’t.
The best solution would be to sign Raanta (or whoever it is) and have him compete with Jarry for the No.1 position.
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