On the Penguins: Shero has decisions to make on free agents
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Penguins forward Max Talbot has scored 11 points this season.
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Max Talbot's place in this city's sporting lore is secure forever.
His place with the Penguins probably is not.
Talbot, of course, scored both of the Penguins' goals in their 2-1 victory in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final in Detroit, one of the great clutch performances by anyone who has played here in any sport.
His 2009-10 season was sabotaged by shoulder surgery required after the Penguins won that Cup, however, and the first 50 games of 2010-11 have been largely forgettable for him, too.
It's hardly like the guy is a liability -- he's an integral part of the best penalty-killing unit in the NHL and still can provide a spark with his selfless style -- but Talbot doesn't have a point in 15 games or a goal in 24.
While generating offense is a secondary facet of his job description, Talbot doesn't usually go through such extended slumps. And frankly, he simply isn't as visible as often as he has been in other seasons.
None of that would be a significant issue except that Talbot is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and the Penguins have several forward prospects -- guys like Dustin Jeffrey, Eric Tangradi, Nick Johnson and Tim Wallace -- on their minor league team in Wilkes-Barre who might be ready to move into NHL jobs next season.
It won't hurt their chances that younger players tend to work cheaper than veterans, because it is naïve to think that salary cap considerations don't influence personnel decisions.
Whether Talbot -- who has been, at times, the heartbeat of this team -- will be deemed expendable by management is hard to say. With the stretch drive and playoffs still ahead, it would be foolish for general manager Ray Shero and his staff to have finalized any decisions about who will be allowed to walk this summer.
Nonetheless, with a seven-figure cap hit ($1,050,000) and such an emphasis on getting the best possible return on every cap dollar, Talbot has to be viewed as a possibility, especially if he's unable to ratchet up his game over the next few months.
Talbot, though, is not the only forward on the cusp of unrestricted free agency. Here is a list of the others, along with their cap hits and an assessment of where they've fit in:
Pascal Dupuis ($1.4 million): While he isn't a classic first-line winger, Dupuis can be counted on for 15 or so goals. His speed is a great asset and, like Talbot, he's a terrific penalty-killer. Probably a keeper, although it's not clear how much he might be offered to stay.
First Published January 30, 2011 12:00 am
