Potential right-handed free agent targets for the Pittsburgh Penguins
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pittsburgh Penguins will enter the offseason with about $9.1 million in salary cap space. They’ll need to re-sign one of their RFA goaltenders Tristan Jarry or Matt Murray as well as other RFAs in Jared McCann, Dominik Simon, Sam Lafferty and Juuso Riikola.
A buyout of Nick Bjugstad would save them $3.5 million this year.
Justin Schultz will hit free agency, so the Penguins could be on the lookout for a right-handed defenseman.
Some potential right-handed free agent targets include:
Trevor Daley – He’s left-handed but often plays the right side. Was with the Penguins when they won in 2016 and 2017. He’s not the same player he was then but could be a good third-pairing guy for a season or two.
Trevor van Riemsdyk – He can skate and can be physical but can be inconsistent. Will likely be looking for a bit of raise from the $2.3 million he made last season.
Zach Bogosian – Has dealt with some injuries. Had to say what his value is, maybe two-years at $3 million per.
Kevin Shattenkirk – Would likely cost the Penguins too much as he can be a top-four on some teams and run their power-play. If the Penguins move salary, he could be their best target.
The Washington Capitals may need to make some moves
J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington: Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said last month that he, along with other GMs are going to be tight to fill out their lineups with the flat cap.
“In general I think it is going to be tight,” MacLellan said in August. “I think it is going to be hard for cap teams to create their lineup, to create depth in their lineup.”
The Capitals have about $10.4 million in salary cap space with 16 players under contract.
They have pending RFAs in Jonas Siegenthaler and Travis Boyd.
The Caps need to find a top-four right-handed defenseman and goaltender to play with Ilya Samsonov.
Some extra cap space may be needed to fill some holes. MacLellan has already said that they’ll need to make some trades.
“We are going to see what happens to the trade market at the draft and proceed through free agency and try to do the best job we can.”
