Forbes NHL Analyst Mike Colligan: Letang & Dupuis Could Look Like Steals
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) -- Forbes SportsMoney NHL analyst Mike Colligan joined The Fan Morning Show on Thursday to break down the cap implications of the Penguins' decision to re-sign free agent Pascal Dupuis and sign Kris Letang and Chris Kunitz to contract extensions.
Colligan expects the Pens to sign restricted free agents Robert Bortuzzo and Dustin Jeffrey, which would leave them with about $3 million in cap space left. At that point, he thinks they'd have to choose between keeping Craig Adams or retaining Matt Cooke. He has reservations about what either those guys can do on a checking line at their age, though.
He expects Pascal Dupuis to look like a steal once this offseason has wrapped up, guessing that Dupuis could have commanded $5 million per year on the open market. In addition, he thinks that Kris Letang's contract extension will probably look smart as defensemen continue to get more and more money with each passing year.
He doesn't see Matt Cooke's value being driven up by the market because some teams won't want him around given his reputation.
While many expect the salary cap to grow over the next few years thanks to a new Canadian television deal, he was surprised to hear general managers at the draft talking about the salary cap being as high as $75 million within just two years.
The interview can be heard here:
