Evaluating the Penguins Depth Ahead of Next Season

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Kuljit Parmar



As you may know, the Penguins have a lot of depth on their roster. But with that comes expensive amounts of money a team must utilize to maintain that type of squad.

Previously, I discussed Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang’s potential retention and briefly on Kasperi Kapanen. Today, I would like to speak on some lesser known players that either would or wouldn't make sense for the team moving forward.

Starting off with Michael Chaput. I would let this man walk, due to the need of cap space and the lack of production on his part that does not seem appealing in numbers.

Next is Louis Domingue. Mr. Spicy Broccoli and Pork himself took off in the postseason against the New York Rangers. He did not get the job done unfortunately by closing out the series in six, but he did put up a stellar performance that should not be overlooked by management. At thirty years of age and having put up steady backup numbers during his career, I would not be sure to think that they would let him walk. In fact I would re-sign him for cheap as a depth piece.

Brian Boyle is ready to retire. After having an ideal career with many teams under his belt, it is uncertain at best to see if he would be re-signed, but it may make sense for him to continue playing because of his experience in nature come playoff time. Overall, he could be an asset for the club, or he may want to go somewhere to a team that he would like to retire with.

Evan Rodrigues made a few errors this post-season against the New York Rangers, and a lot of people will say his mistakes potentially cost the Penguins the series. But that does not mean that the Pens should let Rodrigues walk. He has made up for his mistakes by scoring key goals and killing penalties consistently during his time in black and gold. 

Then we have Juuso Riikola, who is an unrestricted free agent like the gentlemen before him. I would let him walk, also because of his lack of production and the amounts of money he is getting paid. Due to the nature of free agency, the depth and cap space are the two most important aspects to look at – and he does not make the cut.

How about Casey DeSmith? This is another interesting selection for depth. As I said earlier, Louis Domingue should be signed to back up Tristan Jarry. However, DeSmith has a good argument for him to be re-signed as well, but this is the belly buster of the two goalies.

Domingue is a cheaper option when it comes to cap space from the two and has another two years of experience under his belt, but I believe DeSmith is a better goaltender. It will be interesting to see who gets picked. Maybe it’s neither at the end of the day.

And lastly, we have two more players. One being Rickard Rakell and the other Nathan Beaulieu. Both being the same age, Rakell is far and away the better player than Beaulieu is, and this helps with the depth aspect as Rakell is a twenty goal-scorer in the league that would help the Pens be physical on both ends of the ice. It would also benefit the third line because of the chemistry the team seems to put together, which would help bolster the offense in as many ways possible. 

So there you have it. One thing is for certain - this roster will likely look very different come next Fall.