CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Now that he's been on the job for about a month, Ron Hextall surely has formed some impressions of his players, and what he's seen will help to determine the moves Hextall tries to make before the NHL trade deadline April 12.
But while he and his staff are trying to determine the areas of the roster that most urgently require an upgrade before the Stanley Cup playoffs, they're also getting a sense of which players they'll want to retain when they become free agents this summer.
The Penguins don't have any core players on expiring contracts -- Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust highlight the list of those whose deals are up after the 2021-22 season -- but there are some members of the supporting cast they probably would like to hold onto if Hextall can fit them under the salary cap.
Here's a look at the guys on the major-league roster who would be eligible to play elsewhere next season if the Penguins don't re-sign them, along with their current cap hit.
Restricted free agents, especially those who don't have arbitration rights, have limited leverage in negotiations and could bring compensation if they were to sign elsewhere, while those who are unrestricted could move on without the Penguins getting anything in return.
UNRESTRICTED
Cody Ceci ($1.25 million) -- After the criticism Ceci received for his play in Toronto last season, he seemed like a great candidate to succeed Jack Johnson as the fan base's favorite whipping boy. That changed after he'd played a few games here, and Ceci has proven to be much more than a guy who simply added some borderline NHL-caliber depth. He's been effective at both ends of the ice, and if he keeps it up, should expect to have a number of teams try to sign him before next season.
Evan Rodrigues ($700,000) -- Guys who can legitimately play up and down the lineup aren't all that common, and while Rodrigues is best cast in a bottom-six role, he has proven capable of playing not only all three forward positions, but of doing it on any line. Given the value the Penguins place on versatility and the limited number of promising forward prospects in their talent pipeline, bringing Rodrigues back seems prudent, unless they'd have to get into a bidding war to do it.
Colton Sceviour ($1.2 million) -- The Penguins showed how expendable they consider Sceviour to be by putting him on waivers a few days ago. He handles blue-collar chores fairly well and could provide decent depth, but Hextall should be able to find someone to do those things for less money.
RESTRICTED
Zach Aston-Reese ($1 million) -- Although Aston-Reese might never put up big offensive numbers, he's a valuable member of the third line and a capable penalty-killer. He has the right to file for arbitration, but doesn't generate the kind of statistics that would be expected to lead to an unreasonable bump in pay if he does.
Teddy Blueger ($750,000) -- Does he have top-six talent? Perhaps not, but Blueger is an ideal fit for his line with Aston-Reese and Brandon Tanev. He handles blue-collar duties well, has dramatically improved his performance on faceoffs and is a responsible penalty-killer. He likely is worth more to this team than he will get in his next contract.
Mark Jankowski ($700,000) -- He's one of the team's worst faceoff men and does not have a point in his past 21 games. Jankowski is making the league minimum and so far, the Penguins are getting what they paid for. He's part of the reason the fourth line still lacks an identity halfway through the season.
MORE PENGUINS
• You know how the Penguins have been looking for someone to operate in the left circle during power plays since Phil Kessel was traded to Arizona? Well, how do you think Alex Ovechkin would look there? OK, there's almost no way it will happen, for a variety of good reasons, but it seems quite possible Ovechkin will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent after this season, when his 13-year, $124 million contract with Washington expires. There apparently are no current negotiations between Ovechkin's camp and the Capitals for a new deal and there's no guarantee one will be in place before the current one ends. Still, it's hard to envision Ovechkin playing for any other NHL club, especially one that has been his team's bitter rival for most of his time in North America. (Seriously, could you picture Sidney Crosby in a Capitals sweater?) And even if Ovechkin was tempted to join the Penguins -- the idea of Crosby feeding him pucks presumably would appeal to him on some level -- there's no way the Penguins could clear the salary-cap space to accommodate him without doing major surgery on their roster. The bottom line is that Ovechkin and the Capitals figure to reach agreement on a new contract at some point and if they somehow wouldn't, Ovechkin probably would be more inclined to return to Moscow Dynamo in the Kontinental Hockey League, where he has suggested he would like to end his playing career, than to jump to another NHL club. -- Molinari
• The Penguins' video presentations on the arena scoreboard invariably are well done and well received, which made it a bit surprising they didn't offer a "While You Were Gone" feature once fans were allowed to resume attending games. It would have given the crowd a chance to acknowledge individual accomplishments and milestones -- most notably, Crosby playing in his 1,000th game -- that happened while pandemic restrictions prevented fans from being on hand. -- Molinari
• If you somehow have managed to forget, this is the one-year anniversary of the NHL suspending the 2019-20 season because of the pandemic. The Penguins were supposed to face the Blue Jackets in Columbus on the evening of March 12, but learned just hours before the scheduled start that the game would be postponed. They had no idea at the time they wouldn't play again until well into summer, when they faced Montreal in a best-of-five qualifying series or that they wouldn't perform in front of fans for nearly a year. -- Molinari
STEELERS
• The NFL lowering the salary cap in 2021 wasn't all bad for the Steelers. The NFL and NFLPA also set the fifth-year option numbers for the 2018 draft class, and they came in favorable for the Steelers. As part of the new CBA signed last year, the fifth-year option now becomes fully guaranteed the moment it is offered, so essentially teams that pick up the fifth-year option on a first-round pick are guaranteeing the final two seasons of a former first-round pick's deal. Because of their trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Steelers will have both he and Terrell Edmunds eligible for fifth-year options this year. Fitzpatrick, who has been selected to two Pro Bowls, would qualify in the first tier of players. According to the numbers released this week, that means his fifth-year option comes in at $10.612 million. Edmunds would qualify in Tier 3, which is for players who meet play-time qualifications but haven't been to a Pro Bowl. His fifth-year option will cost $6.753 million. Those are both very manageable numbers and lower than the estimates that were out there a month ago. The reason? The cap going down in 2021 since those numbers are tied to average salaries. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
• There are those out there who feel they have a handle on how the NFL rewards its compensatory selections each year, but they clearly are guessing like everyone else. The feeling was that the Steelers would get compensatory picks in the fourth and sixth rounds this year. Instead, they only got a fourth. And this year was even more convoluted than usual. For example, the Ravens got a fifth-round compensatory pick for the loss of defensive tackle Michael Pierce, who signed a deal worth $9 million annually to join the Vikings. But here's the thing, Pierce opted out last season, so he never played a snap for the Vikings. So, the Ravens got a fifth-round compensatory selection for a player who didn't play in 2020. Meanwhile, Javon Hargrave only netted the Steelers a fourth-round pick, even though his deal averaged $13 million per year with the Eagles and he played all season. The NFL should really make that a more transparent process. -- Lolley
• The NFL's "legal tampering" period begins Monday. That's when teams and agents can officially begin negotiating contracts for players who will officially become free agents at 4 p.m. March 17. Despite the drop in the salary cap to $182.5 million, expect the moves to come fast and furiously as teams that have a lot of cap space will be quick to make their moves like it's business as usual. What will be interesting is to see how some of these contracts are structured. Pre-pandemic, the cap was expected to go up to $210 million or more this season and then make an even bigger jump in 2022 when the new TV contract money rolled in. Now, there is an expectation that the cap will go up to $210 million in 2022. That's still a jump, but the feeling before was that the cap would rise above $230 million in 2022 before the pandemic hit. The ramifications of this are going to be felt for a few years. -- Lolley
• Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert and Matt Canada were at the Clemson pro day Thursday and running back Travis Etienne said he had Zoom calls with both Tomlin and Canada. "I feel like it'd be a perfect fit. I feel like he would use me in a way to get me into the mismatches, those one-on-ones that I feel comfortable in winning," Etienne said. "I feel like it would be great. He's going to get me out there, in a position to make plays." Etienne checked in at 5-10, 215 pounds, which was heavier than his listed weight, but still ran in the mid-4.4s according to reports. I have him as my third running back in this year's draft behind Javonte Williams and Najee Harris. But it wouldn't be surprising if all three wind up going in the first round this year because of the fall off to the backs after those three. In fact, I'm hearing now that if one of those backs happens to fall into the second round, it could be Harris, who is already 23 and has carried a huge workload in college. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• While most of the discussion around the outfield this spring has been around the starting center field job, the Pirates also have a handful of younger outfield prospects in camp. Players who likely won’t make the majors this year, but can make an impression and get to know the different coaching staffs. “Their work has been outstanding,” Derek Shelton said about the group. “The big thing with this group is that we have athletes. Athleticism stands out.” One player the Pirates are particularly high on is Cal Mitchell. The 2017 second-round pick had a bit of a down year in Class High-A in 2019, but left a good impression during the development camp last October and they really like his composure. He should reach the upper levels of the farm system this year, and could be on the cusp of a major league spot if he continues to develop. -- Alex Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• Major League Baseball announced experimental playing rules for different levels of the minor leagues Thursday, with one of the most noteworthy being the possibility of banning infield shifts. In the rule, if they choose to implement it, there must be four infielders on the dirt and two fielders on each side of second base. It’s an interesting idea, but the problem is that few teams actually shift the infield at Class AA, which is the only level where the rule could apply. The Pirates had infielders occasionally shift once they hit Altoona in the past, but it didn’t really pick up until they hit Class AAA Indianapolis. Banning shifts from a level where there aren’t a lot of shifts is not going to be an effective way to determine if it could create extra offense, which is what the league is hoping to have answered. However, that was the previous regime, and Nick Gonzales and Liover Peguero -- two middle infielders who should reach Altoona at some point this season -- both told me in the past few months about how important it is for them to be able to make plays on both sides of second base. That might have been a product of them being in the alternate training site last year, or the Pirates might have planned to be more aggressive with shifts in the minors this year. -- Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• He’s only made a couple outings, but newcomer Wil Crowe is seeing about a 10% increase on his four-seam spin rate, going from about 2,200 RPM last year to over 2,400 so far this spring. He has said that he is learning how to get the most out of his stuff from Oscar Marin, including how to tunnel his pitches more. It seems one of the ways to do that more efficiently for him is to try to throw his fastball to his hand side, because that’s where his targets and pitches have mostly been. Crowe was acquired in the Josh Bell trade and while it looks like there may be a few too many pitchers fighting for jobs right now for an opening day spot, he will surely get a nod this season. -- Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
