Tomas Tatar continues to be linked to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they have little cap space to fit him in. How could they free up space?
Tomas TatarSpeculation linking the Pittsburgh Penguins to free-agent winger Tomas Tatar persists in this summer's NHL rumor mill.
TSN's Travis Yost noted the Penguins have been mentioned as a potential destination for Tatar. A reliable middle-six scorer, Yost wrote the 32-year-old winger could fit in well with a team that plays an up-tempo offensive style like the Penguins, Buffalo Sabres or Winnipeg Jets.
Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has indicated that injured winger Jake Guentzel might only miss a few games at the start of this season. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh Hockey Now's Dave Molinari believes Tatar could be a good short-term replacement on a team-friendly contract for Guentzel if he's sidelined longer than expected.
Molinari also pointed out that adding Tatar would complicate the Penguins' salary cap flexibility for the coming season. That could force them to perhaps shed a valuable role player.
Dan Kingerski noted the Penguins only have $220,658 in cap space for 2023-24. Unless Dubas can convince Tatar to accept a one-year deal worth under $900,000, he may have to consider a trade to shed some salary.
Kingerski believes Jeff Carter is the logical choice. He carries a $3.125-million cap hit for this season, along with a full no-movement clause on his 35-plus contract, per PuckPedia.
If Carter were to agree to a trade, Kingerski suggested a best-case scenario would be bundling the 38-year-old forward with a second-round draft pick and retaining 50 percent of his salary. However, he acknowledged that trading Carter seems unlikely, given the complete control he has over where he plays.