The NHL offseason is heating up with the entry draft and start of free agency fast approaching. Pen’s GM Ray Shero is gearing up for contract talks with several key players and perusing the lists of (un)restricted free agents for possible fits. Here is a uniformed, but hopefully logical, stab in the dark at how I could see the end product turning out on several of these topics.
As it stands, the Penguins have approximately $45.1M wrapped up in 11 forwards, three defensemen and two goalies. This allotment leaves room on the roster for two forwards and four defensemen. With the salary cap expected to rise $2M to $58.8M, Shero has about $13.7M to play with.
For those who cringe at the prospect of signing two top line forwards as well as half of the defense, please see the Chicago Blackhawks. I believe, and this is from memory, that they will have a salary cap of about $55M (after bonuses) and have already committed $57M to 14 players. Think Stan Bowman is having mixed emotions about Dale Tallon right now?
Shero’s greatest task will be to decide how and where to allocate these funds. One problem that he faces is the lack of top line winge ...
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Article written by C.R. Dyob
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June 16th, 2010 by C.R. Dyob Leave a reply »
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