Trades, not signings, might be the better moves for Penguins

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When Bill Guerin speaks, it’s one part informative and one part stand-up routine.

On Thursday, after the second day of the NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena, Guerin, the former Pittsburgh Penguins forward-turned executive-turned Minnesota Wild general manager, held court with reporters and was asked about the NHL’s salary cap largely remaining flat as it only rose $1 million for the 2023-24 season.

“That would be a great message to send to the agents,” a deadpanned Guerin said. “Because they think the cap just went up $10 million.”

As it is, the salary cap ceiling sits at $83.5 million. And for the Penguins, that means they will have $15,208,158 of cap space to operate with (according to Cap Friendly) following their trade acquisition of forward Reilly Smith on Wednesday.

The primary areas of need are clear for the Penguins. Namely, they need to figure out who their starting goaltender will be as Tristan Jarry is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent Saturday. And they could really use an influx of effective bottom-six forwards. Another right-handed defenseman wouldn’t hurt either.

But does that mean they will alter the style or identity of the team?

Don’t bet on it.

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Penguins coach Mike Sullivan watched the recently completed Stanley Cup Final. He saw the champion Vegas Golden Knights construct an airtight defensive phalanx and frustrate opponents. And he observed the runner-up Florida Panthers batter the other team with nearly perfectly timed forechecking.

He largely rejects the cliche of the NHL being a “copycat league” in which the other 30 squads need to emulate the finalists.

“I know that’s a fairly common adage around the league,” Sullivan said during the first round of the draft Wednesday. “The challenge with that is that, when you look at some of the Stanley Cup-winning teams here over the last handful of years … there’s different types of identities that bring team success. The most important thing is that we look at the group of people that we have. Our core group is the most important because they’re our difference makers. They’re the engine, I think, our team runs on. We’ve got to build a game plan that sets them up for success.

“If we were to try to copy the Stanley Cup champion every single year, we would be all over the map with the style of play, with the philosophy of play, an identity of what Penguins hockey actually looks like.”

In other words, don’t expect the Penguins to bring in a bulky defenseman who will block shots or a fourth-line winger who will forecheck an opponent through the boards.

Kyle Dubas, the Penguins’ president of hockey operations, has been short on specifics in terms of roster composition throughout most of his monthlong tenure since being hired June 1.

He has seven incumbent players on the NHL roster who are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents Saturday, including forwards Josh Archibald, Nick Bonino, Danton Heinen and Jason Zucker; defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Dmitry Kulikov; and Jarry.

“We’re still having conversations with all of them,” Dubas said Wednesday. “You try to have conversations with them, respecting what they’ve done for the franchise in the past. At the same time, trying to get a read on — as different trades happen, different teams fill their needs — what the demand is going to be of your own players.”

As was the case with Smith, the Penguins could always look to an addition (or even subtraction) through trades. Dubas acknowledges that avenue might be easier to navigate than a free-agent signing.

“There’s just more available in trade,” Dubas said. “That’s, frankly, a result of the cap just staying flat. Teams need to adapt and adjust and be able to find a way to be compliant while also being competitive.”

Perhaps Guerin, invoking the name of a Nashville institution, explained the flexibility of the trade market best.

“Like Tootsie’s,” he said. “It’s always open.”