Here is the Jan. 29 edition of the weekly NHL.com mailbag, where we answer your questions asked on X and Bluesky. Send your questions to @drosennhl on X and @drosennhl.bsky.social on Bluesky, and tag it with #OvertheBoards.
What can we expect from the Penguins, if anything? Are any big names on the move as they prepare for the future? -- @lbennett17.bsky.social
Nobody predicted Mikko Rantanen would be traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, so to speculate that there is no chance the Pittsburgh Penguins trade one of their big names, i.e. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, would be unfair. We do not have all the information. I'm not even sure Penguins general manager and president Kyle Dubas has all the information. If a team comes calling with a too good to be true offer, it's only prudent for Dubas to at the very least consider it. However, for now it does not appear that anything is imminent, especially with Crosby. He signed two-year contract with the Penguins on Sept. 16, 2024, and said he plans to play it out, meaning he will be in Pittsburgh through the 2026-27 season. He is bought in and believes the Penguins can become a Stanley Cup contender again on his watch. Getting the chance to play with Crosby remains Pittsburgh's best selling point as a franchise. Malkin is signed through next season. He's also 38 years old and currently injured. Letang is signed through the 2027-28 season. He's 37 years old. What exactly is their value in a trade if the Penguins aren't rebuilding, which they are not? It can't be high, and besides that, trading franchise icons that clearly can still play in an attempt to help a retool is not what an organization should do. It's certainly no way to honor everything those players have done for the organization. If they can still play, let them help.
However, the Penguins have players that could help their retool as we get closer to the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline on March 7. Marcus Pettersson certainly is one for any team looking for a left-shot rental defenseman. Matt Grzelcyk is another. He also is a left-shot rental defenseman. There could be a bigger trade to be made for forward Rickard Rakell, who is having a resurgent season playing on a line with Crosby and is signed for three more seasons after this one with a $5 million cap charge. Rakell has 23 goals in 51 games this season. His trade value may be at its highest right now. Michael Bunting is another. The forward is signed through next season with an AAV of $4.5 million, and he has 14 goals in 50 games. Bunting could be a solid middle-six addition for a contending team that needs help in that area. He's not a rental, so his value goes up.
Clearing future cap space while recouping assets should be a priority for the Penguins. That opens possibilities for them in the offseason.
Why did Chicago make that trade on Friday? -- @v-witnessed.bsky.social
Forget about the Blackhawks retaining 50 percent of Rantanen's remaining AAV for this season because that's irrelevant. They helped broker the trade between the Avalanche and Hurricanes because by doing so they could get a third-round draft pick for Taylor Hall, who is in the last season of his contract and is a pending unrestricted free agent. Could they have gotten more for Hall had they waited until closer to the trade deadline? We'll never know. By trading him Friday, the Blackhawks guaranteed themselves a third-round draft pick, which was good enough for them. It also took the risk away from waiting any longer to trade him. And it opened a roster spot and ice time that could go to a prospect to get NHL experience this season. Chicago won't reap rewards from that now, but maybe down the road it could make a difference. Again, we don't know, but it was the prudent thing to do for a team that clearly is not going to be in the playoff mix this season.
Washington sending zero players to the 4 Nations. Is this a significant advantage? -- @duncan-stewart.bsky.social
Sure, it could be an advantage. Having players who would be eligible to play in the tournament next month such as forwards Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome, defensemen Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson, and goalie Logan Thompson getting some extra rest certainly could make a difference for the Capitals as they begin the stretch run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off. At 39 years old, Alex Ovechkin certainly won't turn down rest before the hardest part of the hockey season begins. But he would be getting it anyway since he's not eligible to play in the tournament. However, it also can be a disadvantage that the Capitals don't have any of their top players playing in the tournament. Too much rest could create rust. Getting away from the game instead of continuing to play at a high level could throw a player off his rhythm. A player going to the 4 Nations Face-Off will play at most four games with travel between Montreal and Boston. This isn't like going to the Olympics in Europe or Asia. The risk of injury is real, but short of that, the tournament shouldn't be overly taxing on the body. Players will take the rest when they can get it, but they're also creatures of habit and taking almost two weeks off certainly breaks the routine. It will be interesting to see if it has any effect on the League. If it does, it won't last long.
What's the scoop on Capitals goalie Logan Thompson? High-upside contract? Flame-out potential? -- @mugnoma
To answer this question, it makes sense to go back to what Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger told NHL.com earlier this month about goaltending.
"Right now I feel confident in my game," Oettinger said. "I have worked on a couple things with my goalie coach, Jeff Reese, and have some things figured out. Right now it's going pretty good, but goaltending, you ride the wave, right? So right now it's going good, but maybe after tonight it won't be going good."
It's been going really well for Thompson in Washington, which is why the Capitals signed him to a six-year, $35.1 million contract ($5.85 million AAV) on Monday. He's 27 years old, so a six-year contract for a goalie playing at the top of his game and just entering his prime years is appropriate. The AAV, assuming Thompson continues to play well, also is team friendly. It could look even better in the coming years when the salary cap goes up, potentially to north of $100 million soon. There's some level of history with Thompson too. Last season with the Vegas Golden Knights, Thompson was 25-14-5 with a 2.70 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and one shutout in 46 regular-season games (42 starts) and 2-2 with a 2.35 GAA and .921 save percentage in four Stanley Cup Playoff games. Entering Tuesday, Thompson was 78-34-14 with a 2.55 GAA, .915 save percentage and six shutouts in 130 regular-season games (121 starts).
However, for Thompson and the Capitals, the cautionary tale is Tristan Jarry and the Penguins. Jarry signed a five-year, $26.9 million contract ($5.375 million AAV) on July 1, 2023, when he had 117 wins in 206 games, a 2.65 GAA and .914 save percentage. He was waived by the Penguins on Jan. 15 and assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League a day later. He's an AHL goalie less than two years into his five-year contract. The difference, though, is the Penguins signed Jarry at a time when his game was under scrutiny. His 2022-23 season (2.90 GAA, .909 save percentage in 47 games) was not as good as his 2021-22 season (2.42 GAA, .919 save percentage in 58 games). He was injured in Game 1 of the playoffs in 2022, and the Penguins didn't make the playoffs in 2023.
Thompson is playing the best hockey of his career, and the Capitals are trying to cash in on that at the right time. It's the right move for them right now. As Oettinger noted, however, right now for goalies may not last long.
