Penguins Don’t Fly: Summer Dream Crushed

Jun 5, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; A referee breaks up a fight between Boston Bruins center

(63) and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman

(58) during the first overtime period in game three of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Delaware, USA–Well Isles fans, one of my summer dream’s has been crushed.

As you all may have known from my piece of a few weeks ago, I, along with many of you, were holding out hope, albeit slim, that Kris Letang would somehow find his way onto the Island.

Well, yesterday that dream was squashed as news filtered in that the Pittsburgh Penguins came to terms with their elite defenseman, securing a long-term and equally lucrative deal keeping him off the market.

The Norris Trophy finalist signed an 8 year, $58 million dollar contract extension, coming in at a little over $7 million per year. The cap hit on his new salary will be $7.25 starting with the 2014-15 season.

Ironically enough, the Pittsburgh Penguins are starting the 2014-15 committed to $25.45M of cap spaced out to just three players for the next seven years.

How the Pens organization will be able to keep all these players together for the foreseeable future, especially with the resigning of Pascal Dupuis last night, is quite puzzling.

The best part about it though, is it’s not our problem to figure out.

As most of you also know, the Islanders have more salary cap room than any team in the NHL, according to Capgeek.com.  The NHL cap ceiling is $64.3 million, and your Islanders, as it stands right now, are committed to paying just under $36M in salary next season.

Thus, with the start of free agency set to officially begin Friday, GM Garth Snow has some serious room to add key free agents if he chooses to do so.

As you all have seen the past couple of weeks, and the last few days with Andy’s great two part piece, titled Garth Snow’s Shopping List, we all have some ideas of who we would like to see the Isles nab when the market officially opens for business.

It’s going to be exciting to see how free agency plays out, and to see if GM Garth Snow is a follower of eyeonisles and grabs a few of the guys we would like to see in the blue and orange.

Hey you never know: he could be reading this right now

::Vanek would be nice Garth::

–MR ?