As everyone knows, the Penguins are under new ownership. Former ownership group Fenway Sports Group (FSG) was described as giving Dubas a blank check for hockey-related matters. Now, there’s reporting that the Penguins have an internal budget separate from the NHL salary cap. How restrictive that budget will be under the Hoffmanns remains unclear.
A lot of this reporting has come from that DK site. That site seems to have some weird angst toward the Hoffmanns, particularly since they said Pittsburgh needed another hotel near the rink. I’ve found the tone of their coverage of the group following that comment rather odd. Nevertheless, they’ve reported on an internal budget, so I’ll speak on it.
Whether there’s a strict internal cap or not, the Penguins haven’t been affected in terms of on-ice moves. For starters, they were actively attempting to acquire Jason Robertson, who was reportedly seeking $14 million or more per season. They also handed out a decent chunk of change to the unproven Ville Koivunen, signing him for eight years at $4 million per season. Those two moves in particular would be frowned upon for a team being held to a strict internal cap.
People wondering if this is why Dubas didn’t pick up any cap dumps are off base, too. Dubas is trying to clear spots for the youth, not muddy the waters even more with cap dumps taking up spots. Also, during a business ownership transition, it’s not unusual for spending to pause, which may have occurred here.
I also believe the rapidly increasing salary cap has a lot of teams thinking about internal budgets. As the cap continues to grow and owners reap those benefits, I expect some of those spending limits to dissipate.
Maybe Dubas is unable to dole out large, bonus-laden deals right now, but I truly believe that could be the extent of where his hands are tied. Even DK’s follow-up reporting says the internal budget hasn’t affected any roster moves this offseason or early in the season.
If that’s the case, then this is a gigantic non-issue. The Penguins don’t need to be a cap team right now. It won’t make them contenders.
And I also believe a certain team from Carolina has its own spending philosophy, too. Just saying.
