Bye bye Gogo. I'd have thought we'd have gotten more for him, like Penner from Edmonton, or at least Richards. But reading more about Neal it looks like we finally get a power forward who can score along Sid's wing. 2 former first round picks for Gogo. Hate to see him go but we dealt in an area of strength. Perhaps this means Despres gets a shot at the big club next year?

MORE?!

This is a f***ing STEAL of a trade.  Ray does it again!  Neal RULES.

And yes, I'd expect Despres to crack the 3rd pairing next year.

?I just can't figure out how they are doing this.......they should be free-falling through the standings with this many injuries.

 

Me and my big mouth...

Wow! The more I'm reading about the players we got in this trade, the more I am liking it. I honestly haven't watched much Dallas hockey to have known those guys first hand, but geez, sounds like Neal is a first liner with unlimited potential!

i don't know much about neal either, but i've heard some good things about him, and it looks like he can score.  if he can score 21 goals in 59 games in dallas, imagine what he could do opposite sid.  :>

And he was in a drought as well Mike...1 goal in 11 games.

Just wondering how this affects the cap for next year. It almost assuredly means Max or Pascal won't be back, and that Tangradi, Sterling, or another WBS player will make the big league club.

http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=26

LOTS of forwards with expiring contracts.

That said, Talbot has to be among the odd men out, if only because he doesn't perform up to his current contract, much less worth giving a raise to with the cap tight.  The Letestu deal signals the end of one of the regulars this offseason.

Players under contract for next year with their cap hit:

Crosby 8.7
Malkin 8.7
Staal 4
Kunitz 3.725
Neal 2.875
Cooke 1.8
Tangradi .845
Vitale .512
Letestu .625

Upcoming RFAs (with CURRENT cap hit, so assume a raise if kept)

Kennedy .725
Jeffrey .508
Wallace .500
N.Johnson .500

Upcoming UFAs (with current cap hit, so assume a raise if kept)

Dupuis 1.4
Talbot 1.05
Rupp .825
Godard .750
Asham .700
Adams .550
Conner .550
Comrie .500
Sterling .500

Personally, I think an argument could be made that all of the RFAs would be kept and perhaps only Adams brought back from among the UFAs.  Dupuis will depend almost entirely on what he wants.  Does he go look for a payday or is he happy enough to stay at what the Pens would offer?

The blueline is in fantastic shape next year:

Martin 5
Michalek 4
Orpik 3.75
Letang 3.5
Niskanen 1.5
Lovejoy .525
Engelland .566

It's possible one of them even gets moved if Despres is ready for a regular shift at the NHL level come september.

In net:

Fleury 5
Johnson .6

Of course, that puts them at 18 players next year with a rough projection of 3.175 million in cap room with the roster short at least 4 forwards.

You also will have lots of LWs.

Assuming Crosby and Malkin are both ready to go next year, you have to assume Malkin and/or Tangradi will get moved to the right side (unless Kunitz or Neal are comfortable on the right.

Pens' lines at the morning skate:

Neal-Staal-Dupuis
Cooke-Adams-Kennedy
Rupp-Talbot-Conner
Sterling-Vitale-Wallace

GREAT info kid! I gotta believe you offer Sterling another 2 way, as he has not looked out of place at all. Dupuis and Talbot are great team players and great on the pk. Hate to break up the #1 pk unit in the league this year. I gotta believe Duper and Max give a hometown discount. I we can keep them at their current salaries, that leaves only $600K for 2 more forwards. Unfortunately, I just don't see that happening.