Penguins’ Best Defensive Options In Free Agency

Penguins’ Best Defensive Options In Free Agency

this is where we move over and get to a little bit more realistic as far as salary cap and and years on the contract uh of free agent targets and this is our first defenseman on this free agent list at number seven we have Oliver Shillington projected to go for one year 1.1 million dollars he missed the entire 2022 23 season due to being in the player assistance program dealing with some mental health issues and he came back out on the other side of it this past season played 33 games to close out the year with the Calgary Flames what do you think about Oliver Shillington as a potential option on the left side because the Penguins defense as of right now it seems fairly set obviously there is still something to be determined with po Joseph we’ll talk about that in a little bit but what about Oliver Shillington as an option to come in and battle on that left side with Pon and Graves and potentially with a guy like Po Joseph um it’s it’s an interesting option that I threw in there because a he’s young we know the Penguins and Kyle dupus are looking for if they’re looking to get younger and whenever it comes to getting younger in free agency the youngest you can get usually is 27 26 27 he is 27 he just turned 27 a little over a month ago that’s just an age option that fits the fact that he’s projected to get a one-year deal also makes a good amount of sense for the Penguins in maybe they can get him at a low number kind of approve it year and he’s a guy that you can bring in on the left side especially if you find a taker for Ryan Graves or you need need to organize that out or maybe po Joseph doesn’t work out who knows what exactly is going on in those circles but the left side is jammed I understand that but um if certain moves happen if certain dealing happens space opens up for prove it year for a guy like Oliver Shillington who has proven to be a very very effective player on the blue line before mostly defensively yeah and the one thing I like about Shillington as well is he is a very smooth skater he’s somebody that you bring in he’s going to be able to keep up with a guy like Chris L Tang in the defensive Zone because with the puck on his stick Oliver Shillington has been pretty good in his career in the National Hockey League so I think that you bring him in in that aspect I think he could fit with a guy like Chris L tang and I also I agree with you I like the one-year deal I understand that especially when looking at defensemen the ability to project out how these prospects and when they’re going to be ready is very difficult it’s almost to Fool’s Aaron but that gives you one more year to see where Owen Pickering is and I think this is going to be a big year as far as telling how far away and finding out how far away Owen Pickering truly is to becoming a player at the NHL level because this year he could go one of two ways they could send him back to Swift Current at the WHL or he could play against Professionals for the first time and either way it’s a big decision that’s going to tell you a lot about where they view him if he plays professionally then we really get an opportunity to see where he’s at whenever that level gets a little bit more intensified whenever he’s playing against grown men in the American Hockey League so I think it’s a big year for him and be buying out one year to be able to see where he’s at without buying up further into the future and making more of a log Jam on the left side I think that’d be great but I also think the Penguins definitely need and if it comes at the expense of clogging up that left side a little bit more I think you have to do it because I do think the Penguins need another name on the left side that’s able to play in that top four as of right now the the one guy that they’ve kind of earmarked for that is po Joseph but as we mentioned he’s a restricted free agent and he needs a contract as of this moment so that’s Oliver Shillington at number seven number four this is the last defenseman on this list I have Matt grizzli uh somebody who had a rough end to a very solid stretch with the Boston Bruins he’s projected to make $3.25 million over three years in his next contract but cut his teeth in this league as a top Defender next to Charlie makoy so in my opinion that fits the mold of what you need again you’re buying out years that could potentially blockade other guys in the organization you don’t know what the future holds for Marcus pson you would hope they sign him to a multi-year extension coming up this summer or maybe next season but you need another guy that can play top four minutes on the left side and I think Matt grizzli fits the bill he fit yeah he fits the bill a lot like Oliver Shillington and that pretty much the same stuff that we discussed about that earlier is that if you can move out one of the names on the left side because it’s a bit jam-packed he’s a guy that fits right in uh he’s a little bit older he’s already 30 so maybe there’s an age thing that might get in the way also he’s probably going to demand a decent amount of money but for what he brings it’s almost always going to be worth the payment it’s just up to Kyle dubas to get it a good number again none of this is certain but quite an interesting name to keep an eye on especially if the penguins are looking for defenseman if they’re looking for left side defenseman it’s going to be a jam-packed situation you know at this point we assume Ryan Shay is not going to return we assume Jack Rathbone might not be coming back to the organization either it’s um G to be fascinating to see how the rest of the left side works out and who’s willing to go where in terms of uh on the depth chart and grizz’s a guy that goes near the top immediately the only problem that I have again and this is the problem with free agency the money goes higher and the only reason the money is this high for Matt grizzli right now is because of the amount of left side options on the free agent Market there’s not a lot there is not a lot of guys especially if you’re looking for somebody to play alongside a Chris lat Tang or an Eric Carlson I’m assuming it’s gonna be lat Tang because I’m gonna assume that Carlson and peton get the first crack again next season there’s not a lot of options and a lot of them there’s certainly no guaranteed options right there’s nobody that is going to be that top tier guy and especially if you’re looking for somebody that’s a little bit younger Shillington is younger but Grizz like at 30 he’s one of the younger options on the open market right now um but I I do think that he is a fit for the Penguins and I I do think that if you’re gonna want to fill that hole it’s gonna cost you and that’s unfortunate but that that’s where you’re at and that’s why maybe they choose to go the trade Direction and try to fill that left side defensive slot you know in a hockey trade where if Tristan Jar’s on his way or Riley Smith I think that might be a little bit more cost effective but if you have to go to the free agent Market I think Matt grizli is your best option for that uh left side too on the defensive side of things

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a few free agent options that would pair well with Kris Letang on the blue line.

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