PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, May 23, 2008
Penguins Sidney Crosby (bottom) and Evgeni Malkin look on at practice for the Stanley Cup final at Mellon Arena, May 21, 2008.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
General manager Ray Shero may not be able to keep everybody, but the players NHL agents believe constitute the Penguins' Stanley Cup-contending core will be around for a while.
Pittsburgh-born left wing Ryan Malone, star right wing Marian Hossa and defenseman Brooks Orpik are not part of that core - despite their significant roles in leading the Penguins to the Stanley Cup final.
"This is the test case in the salary-cap NHL era," said Paul Krepelka of the Orr Hockey Group. "Anybody would say that Pittsburgh knows its main core, its key five or six guys. Those guys appear to be can't-miss kids, and nobody has had the challenge of keeping a core like that together.
"I don't think it's impossible. But keeping everybody will be."
Signing the likes of impending unrestricted free agents Malone, Hossa and Orpik - any of them, let alone all three - likely will prove impossible.
"Pittsburgh has many issues it will confront this summer," said Allan Walsh of Octagon Athlete Representation. "But it has to figure out where to allocate the resources to keep that core together."
Agents agree that captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Ryan Whitney - signed last summer to long-term extensions that run though the 2012-13 season - are components to a core of Penguins players, all younger than 26, that also includes centers Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
Shero can begin discussing long-term contract extensions with Malkin and Staal on July 1, though each player is under contract through next season.
Agents believe Shero's top offseason priorities are extensions for Malkin and Staal and a new contract with Fleury, a restricted free agent on July 1.
That date marks the start of NHL free agency, and 12 players on the Penguins' current Cup final roster are eligible to shop their services to interested suitors.
Productive players such as Malone and Orpik are unlikely to be on the open market long. A star such as Hossa will surely be signed by some club in short order.
Most unrestricted free agents were signed within the first three days of the eligibility period in the past two offseasons.
Shero's best shot to keep any player, agents say, is to reach deals with the Penguins' potential unrestricted free agents before July 1.
But he is unlikely to reach terms - no matter the degree to which he wishes to retain a player - if future salary-cap space necessary to keep Malkin, Staal and Fleury is the trade-off.
"The most important thing is that young group gives them a chance to be an elite team for a long time," Krepelka said. "They can be competitive to compete for the Cup every year with that young group."
The NHL salary cap is at $50.3 million, and agents expect it to rise by at least $3 million next season.
The Penguins' current team cap number stands at slightly more than $44 million. That number will be altered next season by player losses and additions, and the first year of Crosby's extension.
Crosby will count $8.7 million against the cap for the next five seasons. Whitney's individual number is $4 million, and defenseman Sergei Gonchar is at $5 million each of the next two seasons.
Malkin, Staal and Fleury have all expressed interest in long-term deals. There is no way to know if they will provide the Penguins with a so-called hometown discount - though Krepelka said word is out that the young Penguins "like each other, and want to play together for a while."
Rich Curran, also of the Orr Hockey Group, said Crosby's willingness to take less than the allowable individual cap max - 20 percent of the cap in the year a deal is signed - "was appropriate for what he wanted to accomplish career-wise."
"He wants to win, and you have to commend him for that," Curran said. "But not everybody does that."
Shero is banking on the possibility that Malkin, Staal and Fleury will follow Crosby's lead and take a bit less to continuously chase the Cup with the Penguins.
It all starts with the core, which is why it may soon end in Pittsburgh for Malone, Hossa and Orpik.
"The individual decision for free agents is out of Pittsburgh's hands," Krepelka said. "Keeping the core together mostly isn't. The Penguins have to keep that young core together to compete for the Cup."
FREE-AGENT BREAKDOWN
Unrestricted: Player is eligible to sign with any NHL club, and the Penguins would not receive compensation. The Penguins hold exclusive negotiations rights until July 1.
Restricted: Player's rights are owned by the Penguins, who can match terms of any offer sheet extended by another NHL club. The Penguins would receive compensatory picks if they opt not to match terms. The Penguins hold exclusive negotiation rights until July 1.
Rob Rossi can be reached at rrossi@tribweb.com or 412-380-5635.
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