The following is a condensed preview of the Pittsburgh Penguins chapter of my new book, Hunting Bargains in a Salary Cap World. If you purchase the book, you will receive a much more in-depth analysis of all these contracts, including year-by-year statistics, a customized “basket of comparables”, and memorable quotes from players, GMs, and coaches. Below is just a tiny sample of what’s in the book, with a few sentences clipped from the summaries.
Entry level contracts not included.
The Pittsburgh Penguins best contracts list is a celebration of the Crosby-Malkin Dynasty, who along with Kris Letang have been the primary drivers of success for the franchise winning 3 Stanley Cups. Ray Shero was the big boss man in Pittsburgh for 8 of these years, and put most of the pieces in place for the 2 titles won by his replacement Jim Rutherford (who does deserve some credit for that success, but not all of it). Jimmy did not autograph any of the contracts given out to Letang, Crosby, or Malkin but did acquire some key pieces needed to win the championships.
Some pundits were critical of the deal given Sid’s recent concussion issues, but that dissention would soon fade into oblivion, as Crosby quickly re-established himself as the game’s best player, winning the Hart trophy in 2014. The first 6 years produced 4 Hart nominations, 2 Stanley Cups, 2 playoff MVPs, and over 500 PTS. With what has been accomplished, it really doesn’t matter what happens on the back end of this contract because the team has already received the best possible value attainable.
Sid didn’t win any Hart trophies on this contract, but he was nominated twice and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in year one. On a per game basis, these were the most productive years of his career, scoring 371 PTS in 257 GP, which translates to 118 PTS per 82 GP. Crosby was on pace to score 132 PTS in 2011 before a concussion at the Winter Classic ended his season.
While injuries did again limit his regular season ceilings, Malkin made a substantial contribution to 2 Stanley Cups victories with 46 playoff PTS in those championship runs. Arguably he could have been named playoff MVP in 2017 if not for Crosby. Gino maxed out at 98 PTS in year four, and would average 94 PTS per 82 GP over the first 6 seasons.
The first 2 seasons were decidedly mediocre and limited by injuries. Anyone who thought this was the beginning of Gino’s demise would soon be proven wrong with a sensational 2012 where he scored 50 goals, 109 PTS, capturing that elusive MVP award. Anytime you can get one of those, it’s worth whatever the price you paid. The injury bug would strike again over the final 2 seasons, but he still managed to finish the treaty averaging 97 PTS per 82 GP, which is pretty damned good.
In the first year, Letang nearly doubled his point production up to 50 PTS in 82 GP, while averaging close to 24 minutes of ice time per game, quickly becoming the Penguins best defensemen. Not surprisingly, injuries did limit the maximum potential of this deal, where he averaged 61 PTS per 82 GP at a bargain price. This may not have produced any Cups, but he did notch 31 PTS in 41 playoff GP.
Letang has had issues staying healthy on this contract, but has still produced 65 PTS per 82 games, averaging over 25 minutes per game of ice time. He played a key role in their 2016 Stanley Cup championship, and missed the 2017 playoffs with an injury.
Gonchar would become the backbone on the blueline for 2 Penguins trips to the Stanley Cup finals before Letang eventually emerged as their top guy. Sergei logged a ton of ice time and remained very productive into his mid-30s, averaging 66 PTS per 82 GP. Also chipped in 44 playoff PTS in 60 GP, winning the Cup in 2009.
As year one of this treaty was underway, Jake was lighting the league on fire with 43 PTS in 39 GP amidst a series of serious team injures before falling victim to the injury bug himself. He might not be putting up numbers like this if he didn’t play on a team loaded with this much talent, but there would unquestionably be substantial demand for his services if he reached the open market.
It didn’t take long for Fleury to win his first Cup, hoisting the trophy in year one of this deal. Marc wasn’t exactly spectacular, but he did provide steady goaltending for an offensive powerhouse, with a Win-Loss record of 246-122 and a .914 SV %. He also helped me win a fantasy hockey championship under this contract, which is what I will always remember him for. The funniest part is that when I made the trade to acquire him that season, it was originally vetoed by the league with people complaining that I was getting ripped off. I politely let everyone know that they were all idiots (I was trading both goalies from a terrible Leafs team and Vanek for Fleury). Eventually I managed to get the trade pushed through, changed my team name to UNLEASH THE FLEURY, won the championship, and had a very satisfying last laugh. Thanks Marc.
In total, Goligoski scored 115 PTS in 223 GP (42-point pace), plus an addition 9 PTS in 13 playoff games. This contract ranked very high on the “bargain scale”, as they received a 40-point defenseman for 38 cents on the dollar. Shero traded Goligoski to Dallas in year two for James Neal and Matt Niskanen, which turned out to be good value even though neither Neal or Niskanen won Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh.
This contract did not qualify as a result of offensive production, it’s here for how heavily they leaned on Dumoulin to play important minutes for 2 Stanley Cup victories at a bargain price tag. Try finding another 2-year contract in the salary cap era that won championships both seasons (hint: he’s the only one). Dumoulin played 22 minutes per game in the 2017 playoffs without Letang in the line-up.
The first two years of this treaty produced 2 Stanley Cups, where Cole played an important role. He was very dependable in the playoffs, also contributing 12 PTS. When this ticket was close to expiring, Rutherford shipped him out as a rental as part of the 3-team trade to obtain Derick Brassard (which proved to be bad move). The Senators flipped Cole to Columbus, but Ian would have less success after leaving this winning culture.
This was hardly Kunitz best contract when looking at regular season production, with his scoring pace and ice time dropping each season. This contract qualified for the list due to 23 playoff PTS over 2 Stanley Cup championships. He never did come close to 35 tucks again (scoring 17, 17, and 9 over these 3 seasons), but finished his career with 4 rings. Well done.
Justin never had any intention of leaving the Penguins in the middle of a Stanley Cup celebration, and came back to the team at a cheap price. Sometimes betting on yourself pays off, with Schultz having a career year with 51 PTS, plus an additional 13 PTS in the playoffs, playing a key role in the absence of Kris Letang, winning another Cup. The Pens got a 50-point defenseman for 25 cents on the dollar.
Bryan surely left a few dollars on the table after having a sensational breakout performance in year two with 56 PTS in 55 GP, averaging close to 20 minutes per game of ice time. The Pens paid 50 cents on the dollar for that stat line, great value if he sustains this going forward.
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