Inside Scoop: 2020 Free Agency

Going into free agency, which opened at noon on Oct. 9, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said that they wouldn't be in on the big names because of their salary cap situation - but that the team would still be looking at adding more players.
One of their goals was to add depth to the bottom-six, particularly strengthening the third line with versatile players. Especially since the three wingers who saw time on the third line during the playoffs - Patric Hornqvist (trade) and Patrick Marleau and Conor Sheary (unrestricted free agents) - are no longer with the organization.
Rutherford feels they did just that by agreeing to terms with forwards Evan Rodrigues and Mark Jankowski on one-year deals with average annual values of $700,000.

"Of course, other players can jump in and get a spot at camp - but if you look at what we did today, Jared McCann would be the left winger, Jankowski would be in the middle and Rodrigues on right wing," Rutherford said.
As of now, it looks like Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby, Kasperi Kapanen, Jason Zucker, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust would make up the top-six. And Rutherford hopes the identity of that third line can get closer to what it was back in 2016 and '17.
"That gives us speed on the wings and gives us the defensive center we're looking for," Rutherford said. "I don't want to compare Jankowski to (Nick) Bonino, that's not what I'm doing, but it's more along the lines of (getting back to) what we had when we were having more success in '16 and '17."

The Penguins like Jankowski's size - 6-foot-4, 212 pounds - and defensive prowess, particularly his penalty killing abilities. He's recorded seven career shorthanded goals, including five in 2018-19.
But in addition to that, Jankowski has displayed some offensive acumen as well. He scored 17 goals in 72 games during his rookie season in 2017-18, and followed that up with 14 tallies in 79 games the next year.
"He scored enough goals that we would be comfortable with him as our third-line center because of his defense," Rutherford said. "And if he can score in that 14-17 goal range like he did the two years prior, we'd be pretty pleased with that."
The 26-year-old, who was drafted by Calgary in the first round (21st overall) at the 2012 NHL Draft held right here in Pittsburgh, is coming off a down year with just five goals in 59 games. But Rutherford believes that Jankowski will be able to rediscover his game with the Penguins.
"That's not a good year for a player like that. I'm sure if you asked him and the Flames, they would say they had higher expectations," Rutherford said. "But I don't think that having 17 goals and 14 goals in a year and playing as a defensive center is all that bad. What we're looking for is for him to get back to that, where he was two years ago and three years ago. I would hope that with the players we have, the forwards we have and the defense we have, that we should be able to score enough goals."

Meanwhile, Rodrigues returns to the Penguins after being dealt to Toronto as part of the Kapanen deal on Aug. 25. Rutherford said the reason Pittsburgh dealt him was because they couldn't qualify the restricted free agent and risk getting caught up in arbitration with their limited cap space.
The Maple Leafs didn't qualify Rodrigues either, so the 27-year-old forward was able to come back at a number the Penguins could fit into their cap.
"We were happy about that," Rutherford said. "We've always liked Evan as a player. He's skilled, he's got a lot of versatility, he can actually play up in the top-six when necessary. And he can play all three forward positions."
By adding Jankowski and Rodrigues to the mix, Rutherford said that the Penguins will not be able to sign Dominik Simon.
"He was in the mix," Rutherford said. "We still had some interest in him, he still had some interest in us. But we felt having these guys that are more natural centers made more sense for the flexibility for the coach."
With the moves that Rutherford has made in recent weeks - including trading Hornqvist, Matt Murray and Nick Bjugstad, bringing in Kapanen, Mike Matheson, Colton Sceviour and buying out Jack Johnson - and with players like Marleau, Sheary and Justin Schultz hitting free agency, the Penguins have more flexibility under the cap.
Moving forward, Rutherford said he would like to add a depth center that's capable of coming in and playing some games; a right-shot defenseman (though he feels Chad Ruhwedel and Zach Trotman can slot in on that side behind Kris Letang and John Marino); and another goalie. But for now, the Penguins will most likely step back for a few days and see what else comes along.
And overall, Rutherford feels like the Penguins are making progress in terms of re-tooling the roster and becoming younger and hungrier as they look to put the playoff disappointments of the past few years behind them.
"I feel like we're making headway," Rutherford said. "Other teams are making headway too. We're not just going to stop now. We'll continue to look at our team, inside and out, and all the different things that you need to win."
UPDATE:The Penguins did sign two depth forwards and a goalie. They
added forward Josh Currie
late in the day on Oct. 9 and then
inked forward Frederick Gaudreau and goaltender Maxime Lagace
on Oct. 10.
Currie, 27, has 21 games of NHL experience - all with the Edmonton Oilers in 2018-19. Gaudreau, 27, spent the first six seasons of his professional career with the Nashville Predators organization, appearing in 84 total NHL games. Lagace, 27, has 17 games of NHL experience, all with Vegas from 2017-19.