Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now writes that he feels the Pittsburgh Penguins should consider an offer sheet to one of the many teams that are in tough regarding the salary cap. Kingerski feels the Penguins could target Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis, Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti, and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg or forward Dylan Holloway.
If Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas opted to submit an offer sheet it would mark a departure from his plan to acquire draft picks with an eye towards the future. The Penguins also have just $3.5MM in salary cap space available, making a push for Jarvis very unlikely. Perfetti could be an option as the Penguins have a hole in their top-six forward group and an offer sheet north of $3MM would fall in the range of what Perfetti will likely sign for next season. However, the obvious issue would be that the Jets would likely match the offer as they have the cap space to do so and Perfetti is coming off a 19-goal season. Offer sheets are rarely used in the NHL and given the state of the Penguins, it seems unlikely they will do so this summer.
In other morning notes:
- James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now writes that New Jersey Devils defensive prospect Seamus Casey opted to hold off signing his entry-level contract with the Devils because he wanted to have a full three years on the deal and wasn’t in a rush to jump into an NHL game. Casey added that he wanted to take a different approach and was concerned about his development when he opted not to sign after his college season ended. Casey was the Devils’ second-round pick in 2022 (46th overall) and will be in tough to make the NHL lineup this year as the Devils have been busy adding defensemen this summer including Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon and Johnathan Kovacevic.
- Mike McIntyre of The Winnipeg Free Press joined Winnipeg Sports Talk and explained what he thinks the holdup to a potential Rutger McGroarty trade could be. The Winnipeg Jets have reportedly been shopping the 20-year-old since the NHL entry draft and according to McIntyre, they were close to a trade with another team at one point but the other team might have had reservations because of the same issues the Jets are having with the former first-round pick. Neither McGroarty’s camp, nor the Jets have spoken publicly about why there is a riff between the two sides, but as Scott Billick writes in the Winnipeg Sun, it is likely due to a disagreement about McGroarty’s development path.
Casey and Mercer for Necas.
Cap flexibility for cap hell. FIFY
Another American kid who wants to have his cake and eat it too before his own birthday. Trade his rights to Columbus where he & Johnny G can enjoy hockey in a college town until every April rolls around.
Beings we have only speculation as to what the issue is between McGroarty and the Jets, blaming one side or the other at this point is fruitless. Could be nothing more than the he would rather stay at Michigan than play for the Manitoba Moose.