Penguins Ranked As Second-Best Cap Situation, Claims Analyst

Penguins Ranked As Second-Best Cap Situation, Claims Analyst originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have one of the best cap situations in the NHL.

NHL analysts Harman Dayal, Sean Gentille, and James Mirtle of The Athletic ranked all 32 teams’ situations ahead of free agency beginning on July 1. The analysts ranked the Penguins as the second-best cap situation in the NHL.

“Pittsburgh enters its offseason with some work to do before it even hits the salary floor, though new deals for RFA winger Egor Chinakhov, forward Hendrix Lapierre and goaltender Artūrs Šilovs should get them there. Chinakhov produced like a top-sixer after Pittsburgh acquired him from Columbus, and Šilovs figures to be at least a 1B option moving forward,” the article read. …

“Beyond that, the thought is that Kyle Dubas is gunning for higher-end pieces on the trade market — young NHL players who will help the Penguins both next season and into the post-Sidney Crosby era, whenever that may arrive. That’s what all that cap space is earmarked for, though you can assume there will be another round of buy-low lottery tickets on the roster eventually. Several of those have hit for Dubas over the past few years, with Mantha leading the way.”

The Penguins do have some notable UFAs like Anthony Mantha, Ryan Shea, and Noel Acciari, among others, but Pittsburgh has plenty of cap space to either bring them back, or sign players to replace them.

Regardless, with the core of the group locked into long-term deals, the Penguins are in a great spot cap-wise, and the salary cap is only going up every year.

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