In this edition of Tip of the Ice-Burgh, Nick and Nick unveil their top ten free agent targets for the Pittsburgh Penguins (1:19). They also discuss the opening of the NHL buyout window and whether or not that is a viable option for Reilly Smith this offseason (34:15).
The Nick's finish the show by previewing the 2024 NHL Draft and discussing which position the Penguins need to address this weekend in Las Vegas (42:09). Tune In!
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think you know the Brooks ghost think again introducing the all-new better than ever ghost 16 now with nitrogen infused cushioning for lightweight supreme softness that feels good every step every street every single day so go ahead take your daily joyride in the all-new nitrogen infused ghost 16 it'll turn your everyday miles into everyday endorphins let's run there head to brooksrunning.com to learn more this episode is brought to you by experience are you paying for subscriptions you don't use but can't find the timer energy to cancel them experience could cancel unwanted subscriptions for you saving you an average of two hundred and seventy dollars per year and plenty of time download the experience app results will vary not all subscriptions are eligible savings are not guaranteed paid membership with connected payment account required welcome to the tip of the iceberg podcast your home for Pittsburgh penguins news and analysis I'm your host Nick Belsky joined as always by Nick whore what a busy week rolls on in the National Hockey League the NHL board of governors meetings was yesterday we have the NHL awards later tonight should be a pretty slow night for the Pittsburgh Penguins at the NHL awards this year and then the NHL draft coming up on Friday and Saturday with the opening of free agency leading us off next week on Monday afternoon so with that today that means we have a lot of different things to discuss we're gonna start things off by unveiling our top 10 free agents to watch for the Pittsburgh Penguins we'll follow that up with the fact that the buyout window opens today will the penguins partake in buyout season this year and then we'll finish things off with our NHL draft preview just kind of take in a holistic look at what the Penguins approach should be at the sphere in Las Vegas but with that being said let's get started the Pittsburgh Penguins they got a lot of work to do in free agency this summer as of right now they got a lot of players locked up they got most of their roster it seems locked up now it's all about using that last around 11 million dollars if you go by cap friendly or if you go by puckpedia they got about 11 million dollars to perform some upgrades on their roster as of right now so we have our top 10 and I'm gonna say it right now kind of lied a little bit our top 11 free agents because there's a double header at number 10 here but before we get into all that or what do you think the Penguins are gonna be very very active on the opening day of free agency this year it's it's tough to nail down I don't know about too overly active I think they're gonna try and fill some holes maybe they'll take some big swings but if they don't hit on a big swing I think they're gonna roll right along because they're big focus it feels like the summer's gonna end up being trades the Riley Smith's it the Riley Smith situation still seems all but certain he'll be moved now Tristan Jari might be on the block after and Alex Nodelkovich signing so it seems like the Penguins big offseason stuff is gonna be more along the lines of wheeling and dealing rather than looking to find free agency I wouldn't be shocked at some big swings I definitely will be shocked at some small depth signings we know Cal Divas loves those especially after his track record last year so a couple of small names are almost certain maybe a big name I doubt two big names but most maybe they'll be in on one name we'll see what the whispers say over the next man the offseason is about three days long for for a couple of teams and the whispers of uh we'll see we'll see where it goes over the next 48 hours essentially yeah you mentioned Tristan Jari there if the Penguins do move on from Tristan Jari well they're gonna need to bring in another goaltender and that's where we go with our number 10 on the top 10 free agent targets list and this is a double header here because in my opinion you can't go wrong if you're going on the free agent market with either Ilya Sam Sonov or Cam Talbot Sam Sonov is more boom bust Talbot is a little bit more of a sure thing simply because when you look at Cam Talbot six teams over the last six seasons and the one thing that has been consistent has been a save percentage averaging a 9/11 save percentage over the last five seasons the only year where it was under 910 was an 898 save percentage two seasons ago in 2022 23 with the Ottawa Senators but if the Penguins are looking for a goaltender on the open market I like either of these guys because their contracts aren't gonna be long they're not gonna be expensive according the daily face-off which is where we got all of these contract projections from their top 75 free agents list Sam Sonov at one year 2.35 million dollars Talbot at one year 1.8 million dollars I don't think you can go wrong with either of those guys if you're looking for a 1a 1b going into next season with Alex and Delkovich and that's exactly it right there it is if you're going for a 1a 1b because the Penguins gold tending situation is so fluid but also kind of almost set it's an interesting conundrum they have because you're right they could bring in if they end up dealing Jari bring in a backup slash starter slash veteran presence to sort of just be there and letting the Delkovich take over full-time but also waiting in the wings is the top prospect of Joel Blumquist that they might want to give a push to so I'm not I mean we created this list together sort of except I didn't have any goalies and whatever I sent names over mostly because of the weird situation in that I wouldn't want to pay if I was a penguins more than a million dollars on a on a new goalie if they are bringing one in because let's say you can't move Jari for some reason I'm sure there are plenty of teams that are willing to take him you're not gonna add one period there's yeah that's enough of that but if you do end up moving Jari I get in a Delkovich this contract is pretty team-friendly and affordable you still don't want to use up that cap space that you have on someone that you're kind of just experimenting with so of these names you said if the situation is if the situation the Penguins are going for is a 1a 1b yeah absolutely I think Samson was gonna fit that mold a bit more than Cantalbit that's just my opinion but even if you bring in Cantalbit it's a good option as a backup that's a great option as a backup especially a guy that's might be willing to at this point of his career take a step back and play third string for a little bit if Joel Blumquist gets that push yeah so again this is a contingency plan that's why I wanted to make sure it was on the list because again you know what is the future of Tristan Jari only a select few people in this world know at the moment and unfortunately neither of us are one of them but let's move on in this list to number nine and this is where I have Jake DeBrusque as far as talent he might be one of the top players on this list talent wise but there is sure to be a bidding war a phrase that I could not find for the life of me yesterday on the live stream but there is sure to be a bidding war for Jake DeBrusque according to Cat Friendly's projections five-year contract five point eight million dollars is around where they expect him to come in at a lot of talent an all-around game likes to score down low as I believe Josh Joey of the athletic put in his trade targets list with Jake or not trade targets his free agent list with Jake DeBrusque he's somebody that would probably fit in well with Sidney Crosby so I have Jake DeBrusque at number nine I just think that that price tag is gonna get a little bit too high for the Pittsburgh Penguins it might like like I mentioned with the goal is like I don't want to go over a certain number with DeBrusque it's the same thing you know you you're not gonna want to go over certain number he can bring a lot that's certain and he's always kind of floated around the Penguins in trade rumors and rumors of this and that it seems like a great option but again you gotta keep it out of friendly price because Penguins don't have a ton of room to work with especially if they can't pull certain trades off so Kaldu has has to play smart with his salary cap and you know who knows maybe in that like I said the next 48 hours before the first round of the draft starts maybe things change and that space does open up and you're able to get into a bit more of a bidding war for a guy like Jake DeBrusque but it's free agency and everyone gets overpaid you just don't want to be the GM that way over pays for somebody yeah Allah Ryan Graves it turned into a way over pay for Ryan Graves more so because of the performance afterwards but you know that's a lot of money that you're paying a guy and also when you look at a guy like DeBrusque and we'll get into this with number eight as well you still have Ricardo Kell for four more years after this year or starting including this year you still have Brian Rust for four more years including this year are you really going to make another commitment to a top six forward where yeah DeBrusque has been good but he is not that take it to the next level type of forward he is not a Jake Genssel which the Penguins are not going to be in on in my opinion he is not a Sam Reinhardt he is not a Steven Stamko's I don't think the Penguins if they can't afford to get it on DeBrusque I don't they sure as heck can't afford to get in on those guys so don't expect them later on in this list but you know DeBrusque I don't think takes it to another level enough to warrant a five year five plus million dollar contract and that's why I think I have him down as far as we do doubt at number nine and I think that's why table terra vine and who's at number eight is in a similar situation according to daily face off four years five point two five million dollars he's coming off of a career year as far as goal scoring with 25 last season with the Carolina Hurricanes but he is a multi-time 60 point scorer so it's not like last year was a you know a fluke or a drop in the pan as far as his production overall but definitely a career high in goals with 25 a multi-time 20 goal scorer what do you think of table terra vine and in his fit with the Pittsburgh Penguins um I like the idea of it he strikes me as a guy that if he fits he fits great perfect boom but also we just had this we had the Derek Broussard discussion last episode for some reason I don't know what it is and I might be totally wrong and would love to be proven wrong in this he's a table terra vine and is a great player I don't know why I just and this died nothing based on this this is just vibes I get when I hear the name just feel like he wouldn't fit in the Penguin system for whatever reason just the vibe just the vibe of he's a great player he does great things with other teams for some reason I feel he'd get here and it would just be a bit of a letdown now maybe that's because or like the Riley Smith situation you're expect maybe because the expectations would be so high that if he doesn't meet them it's it looks like a failure especially if you're free agent hunting form where like I said you overpay for guys but at the end of the day if the Penguins could nab them that's a that's a splash and sometimes teams just need that splash signing and he'd be one of them so I don't totally hate the idea you'd have to win the bidding war no doubt and I would just hope that my vibes are wrong my vibes are usually off so you know this episode is brought to you by our good friends at NFL Sunday ticket on YouTube TV I'm sure by now you've all got back into your Sunday routines but they could be even better with NFL Sunday ticket in YouTube TV you get the most live NFL games all in one place every game every Sunday and you can even watch up to four different games at once with multi-view one of my favorite inventions of this 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million dollars he missed the entire 2022-23 season due to being in the player assistance program dealing with some mental health issues and he came back out on the other side of it this past season played 33 games to close out the year with the Calgary Flames what do you think about Oliver Shillington as a potential option on the left side because the Penguins defense as of right now it seems fairly set obviously there is still something to be determined with P.O. Joseph we'll talk about that in a little bit but what about Oliver Shillington is an option to come in and battle on that left side with Pedersen and Graves and potentially with a guy like P.O. Joseph it's it's an interesting option that I threw in there because a he's young we know the Penguins and Kyle Doobes are looking for if they're looking to get younger and whenever it comes to getting younger and free agency the youngest you can get usually is 27 26 27 he is 27 he just turned 27 little over a month ago that's just an age option that fits the fact that he's projected to get a one-year deal also makes a good amount of sense for the Penguins in maybe they can get him at a low number kind of approve it here and he's a guy that you can bring in on the left side especially if you find a taker for Ryan Graves or you need to organize that out or maybe P.O. Joseph doesn't work out who knows what exactly is going on in those circles but the left side is jammed I understand that but if certain moves happen a certain dealing happens a space opens up for a proof-it-year for a guy like Oliver Schillington who has proven to be a very very effective player on the Blue Line before mostly defensively yeah and the one thing I like about Schillington as well is he is a very smooth skater he's somebody that you bring in he's gonna be able to keep up with a guy like Crystal Tang in the defensive zone because with the puck on a stick Oliver Schillington has been pretty good in his career in the National Hockey League so I think that you bring him in in that aspect I think he could fit with a guy like Crystal Tang and I also agree with you I like the one-year deal I understand that especially when looking at defenseman the ability to project out how these prospects and when they're gonna be ready is very difficult it's almost a fool's errand but that gives you one more year to see where Owen Pickering is and I think this is gonna be a big year as far as telling how far away and finding out how far away Owen Pickering truly is to becoming a player at the NHL level because this year he could go one of two ways they could send them back to swift current at the WHL or he could play against professionals for the first time and either way it's a big decision that's gonna tell you a lot about where they view him if he plays professionally then we really get an opportunity to see where he's at whenever that level gets a little bit more intensified whenever he's playing against grown men in the American hockey league so I think it's a big year for him and buying out one year to be able to see where he's at without buying up further into the future and making more of a log jam on the left side I think that'd be great but I also think the Penguins definitely need and if it comes at the expense of clogging up that left side a little bit more I think you have to do it because I do think the Penguins need another name on the left side that's able to play in that top four as of right now the the one guy that they've kind of earmarked for that is P.O. Joseph but as we mentioned he's a restricted free agent and he needs a contract as of this moment so that's Oliver Shillington at number seven number six I got a name that I know you like that's the name they got the biggest pop out of you in our pre-pre-episode meeting Victor Arbudson right-wing formerly of the Los Angeles Kings and the Nashville Predators he's projected to go for three-year contract four point seven five million dollars a little expensive coming off a year where he missed extensive time first due to a back surgery then to an unrelated lower body injury but he had 15 points in 18 games last year for the LA Kings what do you think of Victor Arbudson as number six on this list I like the option he's got the ability to play on that right wing especially if the ones are able to hear good that that's one of Horawatt's dogs back there going through it a little bit he does not like the Victor Arbudson idea but you know I think he he might be on the opposite end of where me and Horawatt are maybe a bit I hopefully I can talk through this coughing a bit but yeah he fits he I feel like he's a name that would fit nicely in the on the right side of things just because of those put that those points were those were pretty good amount of points for low amount of games played you told me the win percentage with him in the lineup for the Kings was also really good yes he's a he's a gamer he's a guy that can find ways to succeed I feel like this is another one that would maybe the painless need to move out Ricardo Kell to make it work or even file out Riley Smith to open up that cap space because of the dollar amount but regardless I'd say it's a solid choice in terms of he's gonna be someone that can easily fill into the lineup and I mean play anywhere top six middle six he's not gonna be a fourth line guide but if you need them on the third line he can probably feel that out pretty nicely yeah and you mentioned the win percentage discrepancy with and without Victor Arbudson last year for the LA Kings with Arbudson on the ice the Kings had a 722 win percentage and I get it was only in 18 games but without him 484 that is a significant drop off so obviously I think that he's kind of a guy that's flown under the radar a little bit probably because he hadn't played all that much last year in a contract year but Arbudson it's a little bit of a gamble 4.75 million for a guy that you know had back surgery last year is is a little bit of a gamble but I think that his results speak for themselves so he's certainly gonna be a name that I keep my eye on a name that a lot of people in Pittsburgh have been throwing out there Dakota Joshua left winger Vancouver Canucks coming off of a career year he is projected by daily face-off to have a four-year 3.25 million dollar contract coming his way what do you think about Dakota Joshua because I have I have some reserve reservations about him being this high on this list I want to hear most of yours cuz I don't have too many opinions other than he seems like a feisty guy that could help the bottom six out for the most part mix it up in in the you know the physical aspects of the game who I don't know what his brother supposed to project by the way he's in this in the penguin system right now it may be there's that sort of connection there if if Jagger Josh was projecting to be an NHL player but who knows I want to hear your opinions on it more just because I don't have many he plays played in the west it was hard to really nail down but it's just something I need to hear more of so he has had a pretty elevated shooting percentage throughout his entire career typically over 11% but last year the year that he really got on everybody's radar he shot 21.4% like there is a massive regression of the mean coming especially if he signs with the penguins because the penguins historically especially over the last couple seasons are a team that has a very low shooting percentage they they don't typically finish with 21% or even above league average shooting percentages unless your name is Sidney Crosby Jake Hansel or Brian Russ that's typically not been the case coming off of a year where he scored at a 21.4% clip on every shot he's he took there's no way that persists and paying him as such gives me a little bit of concern giving a guy that is going to be a bottom six guy for years gives me a little bit of concern especially you know going into a year where you're gonna try to give your prospects as many opportunities as you can I understand there's not a lot of them coming and if they miss they miss and you don't have a lot to backfill that position but at the same time you know the reason he's this high on this list is because he fits the mold as you'll see with two other names in the top five he fits the mold of the identity that I think both of us want to see the penguins have next year in the bottom six and that's a little bit of grit it's a little bit of grime and that's a little bit more talent than they showed this past season so that's where I stand on Dakota Joshua I like everything else he brings the one thing that worries me is overpaying him for his gold production whatever he shot 21% last year yeah and I think that's sort of where I fell on it - it's just he's gonna end up costing a lot of money for your bottom six and that's I if I'm not willing to make to have the penguins overpay for guys like Jake DeBrusker terrifying and what he what makes you think when I want them to overpay for a Joshua it's that just doesn't make sense for this for the for the team I like the player I don't like the contract at least the projected contract again could come in much lower than that maybe the the market takes a crazy turn whenever noon rolls around on Monday afternoon but again as of four-point or 3.25 over four years I think that's a bit rich and I think you're overpaying for somebody who exceeded expectations last season under Rick Talket in the Vancouver Canucks number four this is the last defenseman on this list I have Matt Grizzlyk somebody who had a rough end to a very solid stretch with the Boston Bruins he's projected to make three point two five million dollars over three years in his next contract but he cut his teeth in this league as a top defender next to Charlie McVoy so in my opinion that fits the mode of what you need again you're buying out years that could potentially blockade other guys in the organization you don't know what the future holds for Marcus Patterson you would hope they sign him to a multi-year extension coming up this summer or maybe next season but you need another guy that can play top four minutes on the left side and I think Matt Grizzlyk fits the bill he fit yeah he fits the bill a lot like Oliver Shillington and then pretty much the same stuff that we discussed about that earlier is that if you can move out one of the names on the left side because it's a bit jam-packed he's a guy that fits right in he's a little bit older it's already 30 so maybe there's an age thing that might get in the way also he's probably gonna demand a decent amount of money but for what he brings it's almost always gonna be worth the payment that's just up to Kyle Dubas to get a good number again none of this is certain but quite an interesting name to keep an eye on especially if the Penguins are looking for defense men if they're looking for left side defense it's going to be a jam-packed situation you know at this point we assume Ryan Shays not gonna return we assume Jack Rathbone might not be coming back to the organization either it's gonna be fascinating to see how the rest of the left side works out and who's willing to go where in terms of on the depth chart and Grizzlyk Scott it goes near the top immediately the only problem that I have again and this is the problem with free agency the money goes higher and the only reason the money is this high for Matt Grizzlyk right now is because of the amount of left side options on the free agent market there's not a lot there is not a lot of guys especially if you're looking for somebody to play alongside a Chris Latang or an Eric Carlson I'm assuming it's gonna be Latang because I'm gonna assume that Carlson and Patterson get the first crack again next season there's not a lot of options and a lot of them there's certainly no guaranteed options right there's nobody that is going to be that top-tier guy and especially if you're looking for somebody that's a little bit younger Shillington is younger but Grizzlyk at 30 he's one of the younger options on the open market right now but I do think that he is a fit for the Penguins and I do think that if you're gonna want to fill that hole it's gonna cost you and that's unfortunate but that that's where you're at and that's why maybe they choose to go the trade direction and try to fill that left side defensive slot you know in a hockey trade where if Tristan Jari's on his way out or Riley Smith I think that might be a little bit more cost effective but if you have to go to the free agent market I think Matt Grizzlyk is your best option for that left side too on the defensive side of things number three top three are all four words to start with a left winger here Tyler Bertuzzi a name that I've mentioned a couple of times over the last month or so expected to make five point two five million dollars over the next four years what do you think of Tyler Bertuzzi here who are what honestly this is one where I'm just gonna say it's all you taking this decision yeah I don't totally hate it it's it's just the way you're probably gonna mention it's all boomer bust with him yes it is either to the moon or you're overpaying every penny for yes there's not gonna be much in between and it no just knowing the penguins history of things that's I would say more than likely they're gonna get the bust version of it but convince me I'm curious to hear the convincing again I don't hate the player I don't hate him as a player I don't hate him as a person I don't know it was a person but you get what I'm saying I don't hate the idea of Tyler Bertuzzi helping the penguins out in some sort of way I just want to feel the fit and feel out the fit a bit more than just here's a name that pops and go also that price tag all right that's just my thoughts on it here's the thing with Tyler Bertuzzi you mentioned it right there and I said it before the the show started it's boomer bust right and it was bust at certain points last season as well but then towards the end of the year he's finished with over 20 goals it was sort of like the Brian Rust in 2022 23 where you say well somehow he finished with 20 goals it wasn't a great season what he finished with 20 goals and when I look at a left side projected being Tyler Bertuzzi playing with Sidney Crosby which makes me think that you're gonna get you're more likely to get the boom aspect than the bust Tyler Bertuzzi Michael Bunting drew a conner down that left side that to me sounds like the beginnings of a playoff team obviously you need to fill out the rest of the roster well but Bertuzzi Bunting no conner not only do I like that as just a left side I like the identity you're starting to bring to Pittsburgh the we don't mess around identity the we're gonna get into the net front and we're gonna do our damage in the net front identity I think that's what they need more of you saw how big it was to just bring in one guy like that and Michael Bunting last year you bring in another guy like that and Tyler Bertuzzi I think it just elevates what you could do as far as going out and being a net front team next year which is what I think the Penguins need and I think that will help get their overall shooting percentage back up because it's been low for a lot of time years because well they don't get redirection goals they don't get garbage goals a lot Tyler Bertuzzi brings a little bit of that you've talked me into it I like that choice it didn't take much like I said I'm glad it was a little easier than I expected yeah I liked the player I liked the name already it just you know not knowing the intangibles of it that that all makes sense and you're right like the Penguins do need more of that net front presence they do need a bit more of that grit and grind that he brings and I mean sure there were some low points last season but if you look at some of the other numbers I mean in 16 games after 21 games after his trade to Boston last year he had 16 points four goals which doesn't fit what I think the team is looking for but the 16 points sounds good looks good he's a helper it can you know can be a playmaker and if he's playing alongside Scenicrosby who has unlocked some goal scoring ability a bit more recently there's more fun to be had there and you know 62 points and 68 games the previous season on a very neh Detroit Red Wings team yeah it was essentially him Matha and Larkin that year yeah who by the way Matha another interesting man to watch but we won't discuss yeah he didn't make the top two I'll just say that number two and this one to me if he goes for the projected price there's no reason the Penguins should not be in on this guy that's Anthony Beauvilla right winger so you might have to move you know a guy like Ricardo Kell over to the left you might have to try to see if Valteri Pustonin can move over to the left if he ends up making one of the roster spots but projected to only make a one-year contract at 900,000 when I saw that I said all right well he was already on the list that shot him up to number two because I'm sitting here saying this is a 27 year old that has played for four teams in the last two years but he's had five 15 goal seasons in his career that is a perfect bottom six piece to add if you're the Pittsburgh Penguins and you're looking to try to bring some more offense to the team as a whole you're trying to find it in different spots bring it a guy like Anthony Beauvilla who has proven a proven track record in the Metropolitan Division to scoring more than 15 goals and signing him for under a million dollars would be a home run for Kyle Dubas yeah absolutely it's I didn't realize he'd played on that many teams he's just been bouncing last year wow yeah I just noticed that yeah fascinating yeah and but but how everyone will remember him as a New York Islander doesn't seem to get injured too often that's a lot of games played on a lot of those seasons played 60 last year despite playing on three teams what is and what do Penguins fans know about the Islanders they play shut down hockey all four lines will attempt to shut you down one way or the other yeah they're starting to grow a bit more of a goal scoring touch but they're known for their defensive mindset and I've said it before and I'll stick to it the way Mike Sullivan likes to build his bottom six is the same way the Islanders like to build their entire lineup if that just means he'd fit nicely in the bottom six here Anthony Beauvilla would slide right in he has a small scoring touch if he could he'd scored 20 goals in the second year of his career if he can find something like that that's something to add to the Penguins bottom six because it needs that goal scoring touch but if it doesn't well then he's bringing the other parts of the game that the Penguins looking for which is that defense which is that bit more of a gritty concept bit more of a grind bit more of a sandpaper it's he's gonna record some points not a ton and at that price tag cannot be beat yeah when you're bargain shopping I feel like Anthony Beauvilla is going to be a top option for the bargain bin this year and you mentioned it a little bit there but you remember him from the New York Islanders and what do you always remember oh Anthony Beauvilla is in on a breakaway now I understand and we learned this last year one player will not fix the Penguins as far as making them a team that's good off the rush they're awful off the rush in fact one of the word last year was one of the worst they were one of the worst teams I've ever seen on on the rush just in general but Beauvilla does give you a little bit of that homerun aspect of oh he can get in on the breakaway because he's got the wheels to do so and if he can finish man he could be a very dangerous addition to the bottom six the number one guy on this list and again this is probably me doing a lot of heavy lifting because this is a guy that I have mentioned time and time and time again and if you are a actual not an actual a active listener of tip of the iceberg somebody that listens in every week you know who I'm gonna say already and that's max domi center slash right wing projected to make three point six million dollars over the next two years I see no downside personally to bringing in max domi to set the standard for the penguins bottom six to start that identity of the penguins bottom six and if all things work out and one of Jaeger which again very unlikely but Jaeger maybe a poolan maybe upon Amarev if one of them are ready to be that third line center you can bounce him to wing and he can go up and down the lineup it seems like a mike Sullivan type of guy I just think for that price two years at three point six million dollars bring in domi slot him in at third line center to start the year and go Crosby maulking domi Eller and you're working with some really solid depth down the middle yeah that's that's called cooking with gas that is absolutely turning up the heat especially on your center depth I didn't realize his number was his projections coming in that low I feel like he's definitely going to go for more than that but especially if you have to try and prime out of Toronto I forget what the most recent situation was there but if he's getting the market if he's going to go to free agency I'd say he's a guy that the penguins absolutely should be targeting especially if the projections that low especially if the years are that short I mean the penguins aren't necessarily a team looking for despite the Ryan Graves signing last year they're not a team that's really looking for long-term scenarios they shouldn't be looking for long-term relationships here it should just be guys that are two three years max maybe a fourth depending on the player um because they have to honestly just figure out what's going on with a city cross be how much longer does he want to play or can he play we know Morgan's probably gone in two years the chrysotang situation's gonna get interesting hate to say that but it's going to Carlson's around a little bit but older so who who really knows and the penguins are in such a weird situation that they can't commit long term to guys next oh me if he's only going for two years perfect come in play a couple years maybe stays for a third if he wants um and by that point the penguins should be ready to completely overturn everything uh and at a low price he'll bring quite a bit of punch to the lineup it's a good win-win situation along as long as he's affordable and plays anywhere near what he's good will have anywhere near what he's projected to the one name you mentioned there was up guinea malcon two years left on his contract heavily expected and speculated upon that he is going to be done after those two years there's your window you have two years to win a Stanley cup with Evgeny malcon and Sydney Crosby I like Max Domie's your third line center and if you want to bring him another third line center I don't mind Max Domie bumping over to wing for three point six million dollars either so uh you have him you have Michael Bunting I believe for the same amount of time start the line things up here and makes a lot of sense so that is our final list we're gonna actually move over and talk about some other things really quickly but number 10 split between Ilya Sam Sonov and Cam Talbot number nine Jake DeBrusk number eight Tevo Tara Vainen number seven defenseman Oliver Shillington number six Victor Arbudson number five Dakota Joshua for Matt Grislick three Tyler Bertuzzi two Anthony Beauvillae and the number one free agent to watch for the Pittsburgh Penguins is Max Domie so we hope you enjoy that let us know some of the free agents we might have missed some of the guys that you think should be on the Pittsburgh Penguins in radar going into Monday afternoon Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile with the price of just about everything going up during inflation we thought we'd bring our prices down so to help us we brought in a reverse auctioneer which is apparently a thing Mint Mobile unlimited premium wireless heavy to get 30 30 but get 20 20 but get 20 20 but get 20 20 but get 15 15 15 just 15 bucks a month so give it a try at mintmobile.com/switch 45 dollars up front for three months plus taxes and fees promoting for new customers for limited time unlimited 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We the vehicle owners manual for important feature limitations and information. So let's move over and talk a little bit about well buyout season because it is here as of right now the Fittsberg Penguins typically not big in buyouts they're still paying obviously Jack Johnson for the next year two years this year and next year they have one more year left on Jeff Petrie's retained salary from the Eric Carlson trade last year but the first buyout window opens today for this offseason it closes on sunday prior to the opening of free agency on monday last season Dubas mentioned right off the jump he does not like to buy players out because he does not like to pay players to not play for the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. He waited a lot on mccail grandlin he waited through the first buyout period he waited until almost needing to do it in the second buyout period because there will be a second or there was a second one last year because Drew O'Connor took him to arbitration he ended up being able to move off of mccail grandlin the Eric Carlson trade this year maybe a similar situation you look at the Pittsburgh Penguins there's not a lot of buyout candidates to begin with the only name that i can think of is Riley Smith now we've talked at nauseam over the last couple of weeks about well Riley Smith's gonna get traded Riley Smith's gonna get traded but it hasn't happened as of yet it didn't happen before the trade deadline because there was nobody willing to take on that contract the question then becomes for what the buyout calculator says this year Riley Smith would count two point three million dollars against salary cap next year one point three million dollars and then he would be done would you rather if it comes down to it buyout Riley Smith and have those cap hits or just let him play through his contract at least to the start of the season and see if he can bounce back on the on the Penguins roster i'm very much in the same boat as Kyle Dubas and i'd much rather um pay the guy to play for the team and not buy him out to pay someone who's not there um i get Riley Smith had a pretty poor season if you do a buyout you do a buyout you want it to be a decent number two point threes seems just a little steep in my eyes especially if it is for ends up being multiple years of you know two point three and then one it's the most reasonable one it's kind of low but um you don't have a ton of space and i get that clears up a bit but just seems like um to me at least you'd much rather pay the guy to maybe turn it around you never know he is a quality player he he has the attention of a ton of teams in the league i guess to be acquired so if he has that sort of attention if he has that sort of capability maybe if if they can't find a trade partner maybe a bank on him bouncing back if not maybe you have to come around to it but um it's to me at least it it would just be not the wisest move to suck up cap space uh that you're not going to use especially if you already have uh you know buy out jack johnson's buyout for another two years and you're still retaining on jeff petri for this year as well don't forget that one so all of a sudden that's let's round up and say a million on jack johnson for two years one point five on petri for this upcoming season and then two point three for rally smith that's a lot of money tied up into space into players you're not using payers you are actively paying to not play energy yeah that's just the way i see it had petri not been retained or had jack johnson not been bought out in this situation maybe i look at and go that's only two point three for a year you'll lose it in next whatever but the fact that that's all sorority there just doesn't make sense to me yeah when i look at this situation riley smith he had a down you hear and if you're doing what you're saying here and you're hoping that he bounces back add them to the list there's already a lot of players the penguins are counting on to bounce back this season recartor kel well they're hoping he comes back and has a better season ryan graves they're hoping he comes back in a lesser role potentially on a third pairing and he has a better season eric carlson had a pretty good year but they're hoping that he bounces back to have a more productive year more so in line with what he did is last year in san jose again don't expect 100 points people i would don't i need a sign so i can point to it don't make me point at the sign he is 100 points by a defensement is not a typical thing don't expect that of somebody going into a season but the point is they're trying to hope for all of these players to bounce back adding riley smith to that list doesn't sit well with me now again obviously the market for him is not phenomenal otherwise he would have already been moved but if they get the opportunity meaning if p.o. joseph heads to arbitration and brings back what you had last year with joe connor and he gives you the entire summer to find a trade if that happens and you still can't find a trade after free agency is done after the dust is settled on most of the nhl off season then i think you seriously consider buying him out because two point seven million dollars in free space is much better than five million dollars on a player that might not bounce back and might be an anchor on your team and that's totally fair too i i get it the the longer i have looked at it i can understand it again i just look at the additions of petri and johnson you know just wrong time for the bang was to buy someone out now because essentially that adds up to about four million dollars if if you take the actual money and what did we just go over what did we just talk about ten free agent possibilities that man you could use that extra four million dollars i mean i guess it's locked up in five maybe it clears out space but let's say there weren't other names already being paid to not play in Pittsburgh well then then it's looking a little different then you have that extra money to sign to really go into that bidding war with jake de brus to really go in that bidding war over terevin and or uh max domi or tada bertusi whoever it's it's a tough one it's this is why i don't uh ever want to be a general manager this is why you have to envy those guys those front office employees that are doing this math that are taking in the pros and the cons of all of this and are thinking about it a lot longer than i have which is at nine oh five a.m. on a thursday so uh it's it's a tough it's a tough one to lock down fully i just think i usually ride in the same boat in dubas with when it comes to buyouts yeah that's fair and i understand that this is all coming from a place where kyle dubas does not like to do it so the odds are stacked against me being the guy that wants to do it but even that two point seven million dollars you know what that pays for if you want to bring it back to our top ten free agents pays for anthony bovillier and half of max domi without even touching that eleven million dollars that's open so again there are pros and cons to it but i i just think that if it comes down to whether or not you're gonna let riley smith try to play this out and bounce back in year two or you're gonna cut bait and try to open up some space i cut bait and open up some space that that's it's it's what i think would end up being best for the penguins because i think that they need to change there especially you know you can't go into next season with riley smith and in the same top six with the only major change being michael bunting coming in from last season i just don't see it but at the end of the day you know i don't think it happens this weekend i think if it happens it's going to be because p.o joseph goes to arbitration and they have all that time to figure out whether or not they can actually make a trade it's already been a long time that they haven't been able to make a trade but maybe once the dust settles on free agency some people a little bit more inclined to take on the veteran forward let's finish things off today by previewing the nhl draft because that comes up this week and similar to the buyout uh not gonna be too busy for the petzburg penguins the nhl draft begins tomorrow night at the sphere in los vegas first round kicks off at seven o'clock eastern time the penguins have officially have six selections in the 2024 nhl draft two second round picks 44th and 46th overall a fourth round pick at 111th overall a sixth round pick at 175th overall and two seventh rounders at 207th overall and 223rd overall the pick that came over for chad rue weedle the question that i'm going to ask you hore watt because obviously the penguins don't have any first round selections so a lot of these names are off the board for the penguins do they need to go defense heavy looking at their prospect system now do they need to go defense heavy throughout this draft yes they do uh when you look at their system of prospects i mean we had the discussion with um Jacob ponteri not too long ago it's a lot of forwards we're talking about it's a couple of goalies too there's not a ton of defensive depth there there's oem pickering for sure there's a meal piananyemi but we haven't seen too much of them and he still needs to make it over to north american ice on a regular basis jax and i have any kind of stuck out from the crowd as not listed as a top prospect but then all of a sudden made noise in the NHL you're gonna need guys like that in the system but they don't even have that i we had the discussion not too long ago then when it comes to right-handed defensemen had an up in for jax and i have any we'd have been looking at another taylor fadoon tenure in pittsburgh uh that's just how thin the right side is at least um because even the way i mentioned pickering and piananyemi piananyemi left sides there are left side defensemen so when it comes to picking uh prospects this time around the penguins do need to heavily focus on defense um and as really just as many as they can i without looking even deeper into the depths of who the penguins have on on tap in the pool it's not many defensemen just off the top of my head it's a ton of forwards and like i said those couple of goalies the the defensive backing of this team is thin it's own pickering and a couple other guys but they're not sticking out so they're gonna need to add defensemen to really build the blue line for the future yeah especially with that 44th or 46th overall pick i'm looking at a right shot defensemen you have to you just don't it the cupboard is so bare that you need defensemen and you need high-end defensemen with those second round picks but honestly after that considering what the penguins have and i understand that it is in a probably 200 percent better position right now that it was a year ago you just need to fill the cupboard anyway possible so go best player available after that i think the second round 44 and 46 if they do stick there use those on defensemen and then the remaining four picks go out there and just take best player available and i think that's probably what they do especially once you get into the six and the seventh round you're you're picking you know a lot of projects you're going to pick the one that you think has the highest upside no matter what position they play but i think early in this draft i agree with you they need to focus in on getting some defensemen in this prospect system because you know dubas is added but cruise lucius is a forward veset lee ponomarov is a forward vili koi vunen is a forward uh braid and yager who you drafted with the first overall pick or first round pick last year is a forward so uh you need to start adding some defensemen and i think this weekend it's about high time they start doing that so it's going to be interesting we'll obviously keep an eye on that and i think we're going to try to bring somebody on next week to break down the picks that they have obviously with that intermixed with free agency it's going to be a busy couple of weeks for us here at the tip of the iceberg but thank you guys so much for tuning in because that is going to do it for this one remember you can find us anywhere you get your podcast from or on youtube by simply searching tip of the iceberg enjoy a very busy weekend across the national hockey league we'll see you guys next time
