Who should the Pens keep?

Question

Long list of guys unrestricted as of July 1st. Malone, Orpik, Hossa, Dupuis, Laraque, Roberts, Ruutu, Conklin, Beech, Eaton...Staal and Malkin only have one year left on their contracts, Fleury's restricted I believe. So with all those names, who stays, who goes? I'd personally like to keep Orpik, Ruutu (he can draw penalties like it's nobody's business) and of course Malone and the Flower.

Answer 1

I say cut loose....Orpik, Conklin, Beech, Eaton.

Roberts is going to retire.

Keep Fleury, Malone, Ruutu, BGL, and Dupuis

Try for Hossa..but I see him in a Rangers uniform next season : (

Answer 2

Fleury- resign no matter what.

Malone- he helps try to resign him

Orpik-great defender, should resign him

Hossa- I think he'll go for money instead of staying in Pittsburgh

Dupuis- he will be a good penalty killer but he isn't the most adept at scoring

Laraque- big tough guy who would get a starting spot if someone leaves

Roberts- might retire

Ruutu- great defensive offenseman resign him

Conklin- one great year out of 10

Beech- didn't help

Eaton- bench

Answer 3

Em  Hossa is leaving best choice would be Montreal i have already heard rumors i don't know if its true or not. I have also heard that Roberts will probably go for other year and i would like to have Dupuis.

Answer 4

They will win the Stanley Cup if they keep everyone

Answer 5

This is going to be interested to watch. The cap is probably going to go up. Which I just wonder if Ron Burkle is willing to put more money into the team to sign players. This is the first year since him and Mario took over that he really got involved. If the cap goes up and more money is given to them from Burkle, this is what they should do.

Sign Malkin long term - Something like Sid contract, if they can.

Sign Fleury - He might sign about the same as his entry contract if he whats to stay here.

Malone - Even thou I don't like him. He is a good player to stand in front of the net. They should try to sign him.

Orpik - Well he has his ups and downs. He did pick up his game in the playoffs. Sign him to one year and see what he does next year and see if he can carry over his play from the playoffs.

Dupuis - Keep him. He can play on the third or fourth line depending if they sign Hossa. Or keep him on the line with Sid.

Laraque - He is the enforcer that they have to keep. Plus he can cycle very good in the offence zone. To answer the person they said he doesnt fight much. He doesnt fight much cause the other players know not to drop the gloves against him, they will lose.

Roberts - They can keep him for leadership and energy boost.

Ruutu - Can cycle and draw penalties. Plus he also can be an energy boost and can get the crowd into the game. Sign him

Conklin - can go. One good year after how seasons he has played. Plus look how he played after the Flower came back. He didnt play that very good. Plus the Pens got goalies that can play that are in the minors they can use.

Beech - let him go. not sure why the picked him up anyways.

Eaton - this is tough. he is a good player but is usually injuried.

Staal - He didnt do anything this year. They should wait till after next year to see if he is worth the money for a long term contract. He is good on penalty kill thou.

Answer 6

I would like to see them keep everybody but that is highly unlikely.

They need Malone for his physical play as well as Orpik and Ruutu.  I love Gary Roberts but I think they can get someone younger who might score more goals.  Hossa is good but will want alot of money that can go to keep other players.  Dupuis is a keeper as well as Conklin.  Beech and Laraque can go, they are good players but can be replaced.

Congrats to the Red Wings on the cup and to the Pens for the great season.

Answer 7

Malone- would love to keep him but wouldn't begrudge him for going elsewhere for $4 mil + We could probaby afford about $3 mil over 5 years to keep him

Orpik - chances are due to the problems he had with Therrien during the middle of the season, he will want to go elsewhere no matter what we offer him

Hossa - he helped get us to the finals, but he's not worth the money he'll be looking for

Dupuis - excellent on the PK and fairly cheap in comparison to other players with his experience level... keep him

Laraque - a fan favorite but whose play leaves something to be desired... keep him if he comes cheap but otherwise it's not worth taking up the cap space

Roberts - gotta keep Scary Gary unless he wants to retire. I don't think he wants to play for yet another team when he's at the end of his career

Ruutu - definately one of the keepers... you can't substitute for him... he's a troublemaker and a great mucker.

Conks - he showed he's still got what it takes and maybe he'll find a spot somewhere out there where he can get more play time.

Beech - I don't even know why we picked him up in the first place this year

Eaton - definately worth keeping if he's willing to lower his price. he won't get very many bids around the league following being benched for over half the year with a significant injury

Staal - needs to stay in Pittsburgh for at least the next 5 years. I mean after 2 seasons, he's improved so much that he can be unbelievable in coming years and it's worth it to have that happen in Pittsburgh

Malkin - he carried the team when Sid got hurt. His deal will be similar to Crosby's and will definately make sure the core stays together

Fleury - he made a great play by waiting it out and not talking contracts till this offseason. he took the risk and we need to pay him for his unbelievable work this season.

Answer 8

they should keep most of the team. it got them to the finals

Answer 9

I believe they should invest in a better back-up goaltender. Conklin had a good run but they need someone who's more consistent and they need to build up their 4th line so there's a little less agression and more offense.

Answer 10

Ignoring their RFA's could be costly. But if they want to try to get there one more time extend all their RFA's for whatever they can get away with. Let most of their UFA's walk. They can sign equivalents for similar money next year at minimal differences.

Malone will demand and should get 4 or 5 for 4 or 5 years. Hossa will ask for and likely get 8 from somebody. so what can you do. If you sign Malone for 4 years at 5 you won't have any money for Malkin next year. So resign Malone for what you can get and be ready to lose Malkin next year. Hopefully for the 4 draft picks that someone else will give you for him signing an offer sheet. Otherwise say goodbye to Stanley for another 16 years.

Answer 11

fleury will be resigned.   unfortunately, with his performance int he playoffs, his price will skyrocket.  he will ask for 5m+ a season.  this means, if the pens expect to resign malkin after next season, they probably cant resign any 'big names'.  i could see dupuis and laraque or ruutu staying if they  dont expect much money.

malone and orpik will both leave because they will both demand 3-4.5 a season, and the pens cant afford this.

hossa will demand 8+.

Answer 12

KEEPERS:

Fleury- 1st priority

Malone- really showed a lot of passion, endurance, speed, and skill in the playoffs. teams may offer him $4m, but I think he's worth keeping

Orpik- was huge in the finals, HUGE.  Tons of blocked shots and hits.  All GMs watching the playoffs are probably interested.  He could fetch up to $5m.  The Pens should keep him.

Hossa- I knew Hossa was a great scorer before joining the Pens, what I didn't know is how good of a two-way forward he is and how much effort and endurance he puts in.  I think the Pens have BETTER chance than people think of signing him to a 1 year $7m.  

Ruutu- is a great ajitator, with lots of energy and disguised skill on breakaways, keep him

Conklin- he is undervalued and could come at a favorable price

LET THEM FLY:

Laraque- he is good at what he does, but doesn't flex his muscles nearly enough.  The Pens traded Daniel Carcillo, a much scrapier player, for the top heavyweight and supposed offensive contributions of Laraque.  He doesn't fight nearly enough and he doesn't score, nor can he skate well.  He'll go for probably $2m, Pens can save that money.

Dupuis- I liked what he did when he came to the Pens, but he lacked the stick handling ability to play along with Crosby and Hossa when the pace picked up in the playoffs.  

Roberts- is not a necessity, he can still hit hard and provide momentum boosts in the playoffs but his skating and offensive skills have diminished.  If he is offered money elsewhere, Pens should let him go, BUT, he will probably only play one more year, teams wont pay more than $2m for him right now.  I don't see him leaving the Pens for another team.  Pens should keep him for if he settles for under $2m for 1 year.  He is a fan favorite and leads by example.

Eaton- this is a guy who is a GREAT defensman.  He had been out with a torn ACL for the majority of the season, but when he plays, he blocks a lot of shots, and the Pens win.  The thing is: Letang and Goligoski are two amazing young defensemen that will fill up the roster, Letang to start the next season, Goligoski will be given a shot from the minors.

Answer 13

First off, I'm not a fan of either team, however, one of the Redwings is from my hometown, so I had no choice but to root for them. Personally, I'm a hardcore Montreal Canadiens fan.

Answer 14

Sidney Crosby, marc andre fleury, malkin and staal