Here’s a breakdown of the provided text, focusing on the financial implications of potential trades for the Penguins:
Key Players and Their Salaries:
Tristan Jarry: $5.3 million
Bryan Rust: $5.125 million
Rickard Rakell: $5 million
The Core Problem:
The Penguins’ recent roster moves suggest a focus on acquiring younger, cheaper players, prospects, or draft picks. However, a hypothetical scenario where they trade Karlsson and one of the listed forwards (Jarry, Rust, or Rakell) presents a important financial challenge due too the salary cap floor.
the Hypothetical scenario:
Trades: Karlsson + one of Jarry, Rust, or Rakell.
Salary Off the Books: Over $15 million (assuming no salary retention).
Resulting Payroll: $67 million.
Problem: This drops the payroll $3 million below the salary floor.
the Salary Cap Floor Implications:
To stay above the salary floor, the Penguins would need to:
Retain Salary: Keep over $3 million in salary on the hypothetical deals (they have three salary retention spots available).
Take on Salary: acquire at least $3 million in salary in return for the traded players.
Find Other Salary: Acquire $3 million in salary elsewhere on the roster.
Why “Full Tank Mode” is Tough:
The author argues that the penguins cannot simply “jettison everybody for draft picks or prospects or cheaper players to go full tank mode.” This is as trading away significant salary without taking on comparable salary in return would drop their cap number too far below the floor.
Challenges in the Current Market:
The salary cap is increasing, meaning fewer teams are desperate to dump salary.
This makes “Dumba/Kevin Hayes/Cody Glass type of trades” (presumably trades where a team takes on a bad contract for assets) less likely.Potential Strategies and Their Trade-offs:
Retaining Salary or Taking Bad Contracts: This could increase the return in draft picks or prospects for players like Karlsson or Rakell.
Swapping Jarry: Trading Jarry for a player with a comparable contract might be a more straightforward move. Money Must Be Involved: The author emphasizes that any significant salary dump will require some money to come back in return; it can’t be purely salary dumps.
Reasons to Keep Players:
The author is not convinced the Penguins will entirely empty the roster. Reasons for keeping players like Rakell and Rust include:
Productivity: They are still good players who could be productive for a few more years.
No Rush: the team doesn’t need to rush trades for salary cap space. Patience for Return: They can afford to wait for the right trade offer.
Credibility: Having good, invested players around a young roster brings credibility and prevents the team from becoming like struggling franchises (Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo).
Conclusion:
Regardless of the specific moves, the Penguins will have players on significant contracts for the 2025-26 season. If they trade any of their high-earning players, they must* acquire some salary in return to avoid falling below the salary cap floor. The author’s prediction is that the roster might look “vrey similar” to its current state, with perhaps one of the mentioned players being traded.