I would do that deal for Hayes

Just curious - would you do that Pens trade for Toews instead of Girard?

I might. I'm really on the fence between those two. Toews is a much better defender, but Girard has a much better contract.

I think it's a little bit of an overpay for Girard. He's had a couple poor seasons, so his value is probably at the lowest it's been in a while. Regardless, he's still a fairly young, legit top 4 defenseman and the change of scenery could bring a return to form. The Pens might take that.



I doubt it. Toews would probably be the best defenseman on quite a few teams.

The thing Girard has going for him, above all, is cost control. He's a really good player, under contract until 2027 for just $5M.

I agree - he probably would. I was just curious because COL is in a serious cap crunch that isn't getting better anytime soon - and Toews is due for a good raise after this upcoming season whereas Girard has 4 more years. So they don't have much leverage on their trades which could lower the value a little.

I wouldn't describe the cap crunch as "huge". if the cap doesn't go up $4M this summer, it likely goes up $8M next year. It'll be tough, but they can probably find a way to make Toews work... That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see them move him and keep Girard's more favourable contract.

Pens decline. They already have Ty Smith, who can contribute well offensively and be a a bit problematic in his own zone. No need to trade for a really expensive one of those in Girard.

Appreciate the response.

Yeah that's why I was curious. The cap situation makes it a bit interesting. Do you take the not as good guy who's signed longer to a more team friendly deal - or do you keep the better guy knowing you might not be able to afford his raise next offseason? Tough decisions. And until they start signing people in the offseason, specifically Bowen, it's hard to know what kind of space they're working with.

As for the trade itself - if it's for Toews I'm definitely taking it. Obviously. As for Girard, that's a tough one. POJ showed good promise this past season and that 5mil might be better used elsewhere. But if the Pens free up that space by buying out Granlund or something like that I could see them accepting

I think the cap is only expected to go up 1mil this year - to 83.5. Would it actually go up 8mil next year? That's news to me - and would definitely change my point then haha

Maybe, maybe not. Right now, Our LHD depth goes Pettersson, Joseph, and Smith. Joseph and Smith both have top 4 defense potential and are more offensively inclined. They bring pretty similar qualities to the table IMO. And it's not guaranteed either of them will be legit top 4 caliber next season. The Pens need their defense to be better next year than it was this year.
Girard brings a more well-rounded, proven game. Yeah, he's struggled a bit recently. But he's shown himself to be capable of being a legit top 4 option already. I can see the appeal in bringing him on to solidify the Pens' top 4.
I think replacing one of Smith/POJ with Girard or one of the LHD available in free agency has a lower upside than keeping Smith and POJ, but having both is higher risk. Will the next regime want to take that risk?

There’s the $64,000 question. There’s no GM. We have no idea who it will be so we can’t even offer best guesses based on a track record or tendencies.

With Rutherford, we could bet he was going to be aggressive and impulsive, for better or for worse. He went big and it was always entertaining, just about any and everything was on the table. Could be a diamond, could be a lump of coal. Could be Brassard, whom we thought was a diamond but turned out to be a lump of coal. Gustavsson turned out to be the diamond. Ouch.

With Hextall, it was going to be stupid at the worst and inert at the best. Awful.

But, we can’t even guess who FSG has interviewed, if anyone. Absentee ownership.

Well, yes and no. We have a lot of names, with no real idea of what FSG wants in the next GM. We can only really assume someone who will build a strong analytics department.

Most names are either current assistant/associate GMs or former actual GMs. And Kyle Dubas, but I honestly think he stays in Toronto.
I think Eric Tulsky and Jason Botterill would be the clear frontrunners, but who's to say?

Those are the three names I've heard most frequently, also.