Pittsburgh's Offseason Challenge: Affordable Wingers

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We'll be running our division-by-division preview of the offseason beginning later in the week, but we wanted to give the two top dogs their own space. Yesterday we took a look at the Red Wings. Today: the summer outlook for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Thanks to Max Talbot's two-goal performance in Game 7, along with Marc-Andre Fleury's buzzer-beating save on Nicklas Lidstrom, the Pittsburgh Penguins brought home their third Stanley Cup. General manager Ray Shero now has the task of dealing with 10 unrestricted free agents and finding a way to construct a team that is capable of keeping the Cup in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins have been searching for the infamous "winger for Sidney Crosby" ever since Crosby entered the league in 2005-06. His wingers have been, for the most part, a revolving door the past four seasons, while the mid-season additions of Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin provided him with the best linemates he's ever had (minus that two-month stint with Marian Hossa a year ago). Kunitz is signed for three more years, while Guerin, 38, is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency.

The Penguins won't have much cap space to work with, and there's not much in the farm system in terms of NHL-ready wingers outside of 20-year-old Eric Tangradi (acquired along with Kunitz in the Ryan Whitney trade) and 2007 fourth-round pick Luca Caputi.

Key Free Agents: Bill Guerin (UFA), Ruslan Fedotenko (UFA), Petr Sykora (UFA), Miroslav Satan (UFA), Rob Scuderi (UFA), Hal Gill (UFA), Craig Adams (UFA), Mike Zigomanis (UFA), Philippe Boucher (UFA), Mathieu Garon (UFA), Alex Goligoski (RFA)

What Went Right: They won the Stanley Cup.

What Went Wrong: The short answer is simply, they won the Stanley Cup, so it's hard to say anything went wrong. That said, the team slumped in December and January as they sat 10 points out of a playoff spot. It was enough to cost Michel Therrien his job, which led to the in-season promotion of Dan Bylsma. Sergei Gonchar, the team's No. 1 defenseman, suffered two major injuries (shoulder, partially torn MCL) in one season. For a 35-year-old defenseman that could be considered a problem.

Cap Situation: Much has been made of the Penguins' salary cap situation, as analysts around the league have been talking about how hard it will be for the team to remain competitive with so much cap space tied up in so few players. Frankly, it's all much ado about nothing. Do the Penguins have a lot of money tied up in a handful of players? Sure. As of right now Pittsburgh has, roughly, $46 million committed to 14 players for next season. Does it limit what the team can do in terms of adding players? Absolutely. The good news? The core, and foundation of this team, is signed long-term, including Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Brooks Orpik, and Jordan Staal. Investing in top-tier talent is not a bad thing. Teams get in trouble when they invest top-tier money into mid-level talent, and that's not really happening here.

Dream Move: Tough to say. Considering the limited cap space the Penguins aren't going to be in the market for players like Marian Hossa (hey!), Dany Heatley, or Jay Bouwmeester, and instead will have to find another Ruslan Fedotenko or Petr Sykora ... or simply re-sign Ruslan Fedotenko. After trading 2007 first-round pick Angelo Esposito (along with their 2008 first-round pick) to Atlanta for Hossa, the Penguins will actually have a first-round pick at the entry draft in Montreal, and I'm holding out hope for Swedish prospect Carl Klingberg. Though, if recent drafts are any indicator, it may not be in the cards as the Penguins have selected just two European players (out of 17 picks) the past three years.

"Must Make" Move: Re-signing Rob Scuderi. One of the players that doesn't get a lot of attention, Scuderi is one of Pittsburgh's best penalty killers and an outstanding shot-blocker (he can even play goalie ... sort of). His performance in the Stanley Cup playoffs might have moved him out of Pittsburgh's price range, but he still should be Shero's top priority.

Look Out For... Kris Letang. Scored 10 goals in the regular season and added four in the postseason despite playing through a "significant injury." Still needs to become more consistent, but he's going to be 22 at the start of next season and is blessed with exceptional skating ability and the type of offensive talent that could produce 20 goals in a single season from the blue line. He's the Penguins' future power play quarterback.