But we’re so desperate for capable defense-
We have to over pay.
I mean -
What else are they going to do with cap space.
Jack isn’t great- but he did suck up 31 minutes of ice time and did a good enough job
Ot: penguins
- Thread starter SoufOaklin4Life
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We have to over pay.
I mean -
What else are they going to do with cap space.
Jack isn’t great- but he did suck up 31 minutes of ice time and did a good enough job
I used to think Pens fans were smart. Now? I mean, seriously, any bitching about these moves, what would you want Rutherford to do??
Maybe sucker Buffalo and trade them Jack Johnson and Tanner Pearson for Rasmus Dahlin? Or Florida for Aaron Eckblad? Just what were you expecting?
Trading Phil Kessel for Connor McDavid or Nikita Kucherov? What?
Yes, Rutherford has made some bad moves. But my god, this is not one of them.
Maybe sucker Buffalo and trade them Jack Johnson and Tanner Pearson for Rasmus Dahlin? Or Florida for Aaron Eckblad? Just what were you expecting?
Trading Phil Kessel for Connor McDavid or Nikita Kucherov? What?
Yes, Rutherford has made some bad moves. But my god, this is not one of them.
I totally agree. They weren’t going to be a player today. They made a marginal move for a season that looks like it’s going to be disappointing. The offseason is the time to re-evaluate and alter the roster.
They need help on the blue line and got an experienced, tough, stay at home guy who can play on the PK and clear the front of the net. You will need this guy if they make the playoffs.
Worst part of losing Pearson is they gave up Hagelin for him, but Hagelin hasn't done anything this year.
Worst part of losing Pearson is they gave up Hagelin for him, but Hagelin hasn't done anything this year.
I fully expect them to turn Gudbranson into a solid D this year. The guy was a #3 overall pick in a draft not too far back. There is something there. They did a great job with Schultz when he was left for dead and turned Oleksiak into a serviceable defenseman when he was also left for dead. Not saying he's the next Ray Bourque, but he'll be fine in the 5/6 role killing penalties and as a stay at home tough guy.
Everybody loves the guys they win with. And we won with Carl. But that also now was 2 years ago and counting.
Carl Hagelin has 2 goals and 8 points this year. Which means he has scored exactly 1 goal since the Pens traded him. Derek Grant has been just as productive as he has. Hagelin will also be an UFA this offseason.
So I am not sure where all this angst of "we traded Hagelin for Gudbransson is coming from" Because that is a trade you would make every day.
When you listen to people in Pittsburgh discuss hockey, you understand how much people miss boxing and the fight game.
They like goonery and an eye for an eye.
They better talk to the owner of the Pens and the guy who saved the franchise twice because it is his opinion that counts.
Sullivan has always said he prefers the power plays and subsequent goals to the getting even crowd. He's right too. Hockey matches are decided by the score, not the amount of blood on the ice.
It is up to the officials to police the game and unfortunately the Canadians who run the league have always loved the goon game and the clutch and grab for some reason. The skill and play making that is the real beauty of hockey is lost on them.
Seems like Rutherford has split the difference here, a tough guy who can clear the front of the net on PP's, but who is still a skillful hockey player.
Now it's time for the skill guys, I'm looking at you Kessel, and to a lesser extent Hornquist and Malkin to get it going. Also time for Matt Murray to play like "The Guy" and pick this team up.
There's still time for a run, they need to find their game, and get it going.
FP, we aren't getting the power plays (and when we are the other team is scoring on them but that is another discussion).
Perfect example is Malkin getting cross checked, one, two, three, four times and finally coincidental minors are called when Malkin retaliates. Tampa has really played us physical. Washington has really played us physical. Philly always does. We aren't getting many PP's, not sure why (maybe this is my own bias) but it seems like the refs have somewhat of a hard on for the Pens.
I don't want Malkin, Sid, Letang having to respond to the physical play.
Yes, we know what Mario likes, we know what the Pens are known for, but this team, especially when you have almost 2 months of Kessel and Hornquist not scoring, is not that high flying team.
It is up to Sullivan to accept and figure out, this team should be doing more cycling down low, lean on the other team and they aren't outsprinting teams to lose pucks anymore.
Oh and it would help for the goalie to make a timely save or two.
To that end, Hornqvist signed a pretty significant deal and no one is crying about his lack of production. A Stanley Cup securing goal will prevent that.
That's scary. He signed it last year when he was white hot. But he has received a few concussions since. But the cap keeps on going up, I imagine Kessel will be moved, so there will be some cap relief, but Guentzel's contract (by the way an excellent contract for both parties) kicks in. The problem the Pens now have which over the past few years, they didn't, is when they were winning Cups, you had MM, Guentzel, Rust, Sheary, Dumo all on EL contracts. Now? They really have no one in the system that can come up and take a key role on an EL (Entry Level) contract.
Obviously, you're correct. If the penalties aren't called, or you give up shorties, then the strategy isn't working.
I did call out the League officials and mindset in allowing this thuggery to flourish. The knuckledraggers in Ottawa have always liked the garage league style. Sully needs to watch Slapshot a few times I guess?
The Pens are kind of like the Steelers. If the kicker hits kicks like he did last year, they'd have easily been a playoff team with the bye. If the Pens got solid goaltending and their stars performed like stars, they'd be in a comfortable position.
Well, they're a bit tougher now, so it will be interesting to see how they play it. I kind of agree with the cooler heads who say the "enforcer" doesn't stop people from running your stars. It is always after the fact, and if it is a strategy, they'll be willing to pay the price later in a game if necessary. What choice do they have, it's all they can do?
It's up to the officials to call the penalties, then up to the Pens to capitalize and make them pay. Our PP is sad, even more pathetic with the shorties! That needs to change for sure.
Only a couple of teams are really scary, Tampa and Toronto. Then the Caps are the Champs until they aren't.
Need to get into a favorable playoff situation and start with the Islanders or Columbus, then hope for an upset, or take your chances later on.
As you say, though...unless Murray starts playing like a consistent #1 goalie and quits letting in the soft goals, they won't have a chance in those late rounds, and may not even make it there!
I noted Hagelin hasn't done anything since they traded his, but Pearson was meh here. What Hagelin did bring was a veteran player who was outstanding on the PK, and someone who knew how to step up his game come crunch time. There are intangibles in every sport that don't show up in advanced metrics or stats.
FreeportPanther - I think fighting should be eliminated from hockey, but that doesn't mean you don't need a guy who isn't afraid to clear the front of the net and bang forwards in the corner. It's something the Pens lack. Murray is probably the happiest guy to hear about this trade.
Hyperbole much? It isn't the quality of the players sent out or brought in. If they wanted to have big physical underperforming defensemen they could have just kept Oleksiak at half the price.
I agree and that's exactly what they got.
Hope it helps Murray because he surely needs it!
Two years ago at the deadline the Pens picked up Streit, an UFA to be, for almost nothing to provide depth. That would've been the sensible thing here as both injured Dmen could be back by the weekend. But Rutherford again wants someone that can dole out punishment, and that, more than anything, is what this trade is all about. The guy can literally break someone's face, apparently. Well, they should've just kept Reaves then. On the Fan this morning Ron Cook is wondering whether Sullivan will even play this guy when Dumo ad Letang return. $4 mill a year and there's a question whether he's even worth playing? JJ has some incredible advance stats indicating he makes everyone he plays with a worse player. I hear knowledgable hockey guys indicating they'd be better off playing Ruwhedel over JJ The impact of these contracts going forward cannot be underestimated. Sure the Cap is 80 some million and may go up. Well, the Pens are up against the Cap every year and almost every year find themselves trying to retool or shake up the team during the season with multiple needs. Maybe they'll get lucky but these kind of deals are what turn good teams into also rans.
Two years ago, after the Second Cup they should've taken a page from the Patriots or Red Sox and looked to start getting rid of guys a year early rather than late. Rewarding guys for what they've given you instead of what you can reasonably expect they'll give you in the future is a sure way to ruin under the constraints of a salary cap. I hope I am wrong but I fear the Pens are digging themselves a deep hole with some of these personnel decisions.
Certainly Murray (or any goalie) would like a D-man that clears the front of the net but when you look at Gudbranson's stats and see that for D-men who have played more than 600 minutes 5v5 this season in the NHL, Gudbranson's team has the worst Goal's For% and Scoring Chance% in the league when he is on the ice, meaning the opponents score a lot more goals against his team then his team scores while he is on the ice which likely would not make Murray (or any goalie) real happy.
I totally agree that a physical presence on defense would be helpful but only if it is within the concepts of how we best play ..... he can be physical and bang opponents in puck battles on the boards and clear them from in front of the net and we could surely use that, but more importantly he is going to have to be positionally sound at all times, use his reach to his advantage, get better at puck pursuit/retrieval, and get the puck to his forwards to get it out of the zone (basically play a "simple" game in our end)...... those are things we need from him along with the physical play..... He will also need to know when to pinch and not pinch in the offensive zone or odd man breaks will occur ...... Gonchar and Martin are going to have to work closely with Gudbranson and could be a key if he is to develop in our system ...... the last thing we need is a guy who just goes around and hits people.
I also agree that some players have intangibles that can help a team in many ways that don't show up in his stats ...... let's hope Gudbransom brings some of those !
Murray in goal tonight against Columbus.
Defensive pairings look like :
Johnson/Schultz
Pettersson/Ruhwedel
Riikola/Trotman
Oh my !
Defensive pairings look like :
Johnson/Schultz
Pettersson/Ruhwedel
Riikola/Trotman
Oh my !
We'll start finding out tonight.
Ideally we can sneak up into the Islanders spot in the playoff bracketing. That would keep us away from Tampa until the conference finals.
One can hope, no?
Upside of the JJ contract, that is already one player that the Pens don't need to protect for the Seattle expansion draft for fear of losing.
Ron Cook?! That’s your hockey expert? He probably suggested bringing back Steve Sullivan and Beau Bennett too. Word on the street is Brent Burns is the top name on his Norris ballot.
All the Pens would have to do in order to avoid Tampa until the conference finals would be finish in the top 3 in the Metro.
5-2, 8 shots in the 3rd one which was a crazy
short handed bounce 7 in a row against a division rival Malkin very noticeable all night. All of a sudden the Pens are in the playoffs after beating a team that was supposed to have left them in the dust. These guys could have laid down and died to start the 3rd but it’s not in them. It’s hockey so it’s not a huge win but it’s about as big as it can get during the regular season.
short handed bounce 7 in a row against a division rival Malkin very noticeable all night. All of a sudden the Pens are in the playoffs after beating a team that was supposed to have left them in the dust. These guys could have laid down and died to start the 3rd but it’s not in them. It’s hockey so it’s not a huge win but it’s about as big as it can get during the regular season.
Columbus blows 3 on 0 right in front of the net. WHAT were they thinking?? Didn't even get a shot on Murray!
Murray makes HUGE save on short handed try. What is up with the shorties this year??
Keep piling up the points, need to move up, get a better draw in the playoffs.
Good thing we got two spare D men. They're dropping like flies.
Murray makes HUGE save on short handed try. What is up with the shorties this year??
Keep piling up the points, need to move up, get a better draw in the playoffs.
Good thing we got two spare D men. They're dropping like flies.
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