Shero states he plans to trade a defenseman or two

[penny lane]

Geno is the one who will be leaving next summer. Staal stays, thank god.

Everyone is entitled to his ... or her, own opinion, but not his... her own facts.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Jordan doesn't have the innate offensive skills. I wish the pens would let him be the shut down center; this is a much needed thing on the penguin team.
Until Sid returns to his goal scoring ability and can remain healthy, Evgeni is the best penguin player, best forward in the game.

[Pensrock]

Geno is the one who will be leaving next summer. Staal stays, thank god.

Everyone is entitled to his ... or her, own opinion, but not his... her own facts.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Jordan doesn't have the innate offensive skills. I wish the pens would let him be the shut down center; this is a much needed thing on the penguin team.
Until Sid returns to his goal scoring ability and can remain healthy, Evgeni is the best penguin player, best forward in the game.

Yeah, maybe I am nuts, but in my opinion I simply can't understand how anyone would advocate trading Malkin at this moment in time. He is a Top 2 or 3 player in the world and people want to trade him????? Especially when Crosby is such a wild card because of his health.

If god forbid, Crosby gets hurt again, do people really want Staal to be the lead guy? That is not a knock on Staal because I love him as a player, but if he is now the go to guy, sorry I am not comfortable with that at all.

[steelhammer]

Do people forget that Staal has had his own health issues the past 2 seasons?

[Troy Loney]

Do people forget that Staal has had his own health issues the past 2 seasons?

Fluke injuries.

[RisslingsMissingTeeth]

Looking at all of the factors/abilities, potential returns and current salary hits my ranking of d-men most likely to be traded would be.
1. Martin
2. Michalek
3. Lovejoy
4. Orpik
5. Niskanen
6. Strait
the rest I see as no chance at all. Engo fights and wins. No one on this team can do that and still be a solid D man. Letang is the closest thing to a sure thing staying as Crosby. Despres is the 'next one'. Just my opinions.

[meecrofilm]

Letang
Michalek
Orpik
Despres
Niskanen
Engelland
Bortuzzo

Are my ideal starting 7. Martin and Strait get moved. Lovejoy they just try to pass through waivers -- will hardly get a return for him anyways, might as well try it. Bortuzzo I really hope they keep, they don't have anyone else like him in the system.

[sil]

Looking at all of the factors/abilities, potential returns and current salary hits my ranking of d-men most likely to be traded would be.
1. Martin
2. Michalek
3. Lovejoy
4. Orpik
5. Niskanen
6. Strait
the rest I see as no chance at all. Engo fights and wins. No one on this team can do that and still be a solid D man. Letang is the closest thing to a sure thing staying as Crosby. Despres is the 'next one'. Just my opinions.

Engellend is valuable for his salary and for being a servicable #6/#7. I don't know if I'd personally call him "solid"...though he certainly isn't "shakey" I guess. I could give a rats butt about his ability to pile up W's in the fight department. I'd rather he play like Shea Weber and get embarassed in fights than play like Deryk Engellend and win fights.

[Idoit40fans]

Do people realize that Lovejoy makes less than Engelland. If they made the same, I'd still rather have Lovejoy playing. Either way, I don't want either of them starting when the defense is healthy.

[lemieuxReturns]

Do people realize that Lovejoy makes less than Engelland. If they made the same, I'd still rather have Lovejoy playing. Either way, I don't want either of them starting when the defense is healthy.

Engelland played very well last season. He certainly has earned a position on the team's top 6. His salary is a plus.

[Bathgate]

A friend of mine told me he heard Pierre McGuire on the HNIC satelite radio channel yesterday. McGuire said that people may not realize how bright the Pens' future is bacause unless you have closely followed the Portland Winterhawks and the London Knights you don't realize how great Joe Morrow and Scott Harringtoin are.

[Idoit40fans]

Do people realize that Lovejoy makes less than Engelland. If they made the same, I'd still rather have Lovejoy playing. Either way, I don't want either of them starting when the defense is healthy.

Engelland played very well last season. He certainly has earned a position on the team's top 6. His salary is a plus.

Players don't "earn" 5-6 distintion going into camp. He's under contract, so if he's in the organization, its likely he's on the team, but he isn't a lock to play.

[JoseCuervo]

A friend of mine told me he heard Pierre McGuire on the HNIC satelite radio channel yesterday. McGuire said that people may not realize how bright the Pens' future is bacause unless you have closely followed the Portland Winterhawks and the London Knights you don't realize how great Joe Morrow and Scott Harringtoin are.

I think most people know that the pens D prospect pool is incredibly deep. I'll be even more sure about it when they draft a defenseman again in the first round.

[sil]

A friend of mine told me he heard Pierre McGuire on the HNIC satelite radio channel yesterday. McGuire said that people may not realize how bright the Pens' future is bacause unless you have closely followed the Portland Winterhawks and the London Knights you don't realize how great Joe Morrow and Scott Harringtoin are.

Morrow's been seen as a potential top-2 defender for some time...and leading up to the draft last year. I was adamant about taking Nik Jensen before him, and (while I along with Canucks fans still really like Jensen) I'm beginning to think Morrow was the better pick and taken some 10 picks earlier for a reason.

Harrington has REALLY surprised me, and his surge this past season gives me great hope for Shero and his staff.

[sil]

A friend of mine told me he heard Pierre McGuire on the HNIC satelite radio channel yesterday. McGuire said that people may not realize how bright the Pens' future is bacause unless you have closely followed the Portland Winterhawks and the London Knights you don't realize how great Joe Morrow and Scott Harringtoin are.

I think most people know that the pens D prospect pool is incredibly deep. I'll be even more sure about it when they draft a defenseman again in the first round.

I'd be pretty upset with them if they skipped over the best player available if he happened to be a D, just so they could draft a forward or goalie...though with this particular draft...I've a hard time seeing a D the best player available at #22.

[steelhammer]

I'd be pretty upset with them if they skipped over the best player available if he happened to be a D, just so they could draft a forward or goalie...

I wouldn't.

[JoseCuervo]

A friend of mine told me he heard Pierre McGuire on the HNIC satelite radio channel yesterday. McGuire said that people may not realize how bright the Pens' future is bacause unless you have closely followed the Portland Winterhawks and the London Knights you don't realize how great Joe Morrow and Scott Harringtoin are.

I think most people know that the pens D prospect pool is incredibly deep. I'll be even more sure about it when they draft a defenseman again in the first round.

I'd be pretty upset with them if they skipped over the best player available if he happened to be a D, just so they could draft a forward or goalie...though with this particular draft...I've a hard time seeing a D the best player available at #22.

It depends on who the D is, imo. For the most part, it seems that a lot of the mid-first round prospects are all very similar (and there are a ton of defensemen ranked there), so unless a top defender drops, I'd rather they just go forward or trade the pick in a package for a forward prospect. But hey, that's me.

[Pitt87]

The d man that could be traded is most likely Martin, or maybe Orpik. I wouldn't give up on Michalek just yet.

I'd guess the d men most likely to be traded are strait, bortuzzo, and lovejoy. The team is stacked with bottom pairing defensemen and they'll have to clear waivers next year.

Agree. Everyone will go ape-charcoal with rumors of a Martin trade and it will be Lovejoy to whoever for another no good forward prospect, or a low-round pick in the draft.

I think we can expect at least one splash. It might be one of these, but I would wager that teams are inquiring about Orpik's availability and that GMRS is shopping Martin. He sort of has no choice but to hear out offers; First because its his job, but also because despite three early exits his team is still the odds-on favorite. You could argue that a Cup depends on his ability to support an adjustment in personnel.

[no name]

I remember hearing SHero on the NHL channel (during the playoffs) and he all but defended Martin and his play during the season. Of course i wouldn;t expect him to "call him out" or say negititve things about him.

[Froggy]

I remember hearing SHero on the NHL channel (during the playoffs) and he all but defended Martin and his play during the season. Of course i wouldn;t expect him to "call him out" or say negititve things about him.

no there has not been any official word from management, or any dip in playing time to really suggest that anyone within the organization is really that upset with him.

for what it's worth, i thought martin was our best d man for most of the 2nd half of the year. that's mostly to do to letang either being hurt, or forgetting how to play defense, but he did step his game up.

[DelPen]

The only safe Defensemen right now that have a reaslitic shot of making the team that I wouldn't see trqaded are Engellend, Letang, Orpik, Despres and Bortuzzo.

Orpik and Letang know this team well, they also can't be replaced. Engellend is a perfect #7, Bortuzzo has too much potential and size to give up on and Despres is a future top pairing on this team with Morrow.

Martin is the biggest drain on this team, Niskanen can be really good but he might also turn around and completely suck, Michalek can be great but $4.5 is too much for average, and Strait is reliable but not at the sacrafice of some other guys.

Lovejoy is gone though unless 2 other defensemen listed above are traded before him.

[sil]

The only safe Defensemen right now that have a reaslitic shot of making the team that I wouldn't see trqaded are Engellend, Letang, Orpik, Despres and Bortuzzo.

Orpik and Letang know this team well, they also can't be replaced. Engellend is a perfect #7, Bortuzzo has too much potential and size to give up on and Despres is a future top pairing on this team with Morrow.

Martin is the biggest drain on this team, Niskanen can be really good but he might also turn around and completely suck, Michalek can be great but $4.5 is too much for average, and Strait is reliable but not at the sacrafice of some other guys.

Lovejoy is gone though unless 2 other defensemen listed above are traded before him.

Is it a good thing then that Michalek's cap hit is $4,000,000 and not $4,500,000?

[largegarlic]

I'm interested to hear why some people are inclined to put Bortuzzo in the "don't trade" pile. I mean this in an entirely non-confrontational way. I didn't think he embarrassed himself when called up this year, but he certainly wasn't as good as Despres. I also would rate Strait higher than him given that Strait didn't embarrass himself in the playoffs, even when many other Pens did.

However, I haven't seen any WBS games, and I know from checking in occasionally on Bombulie's WBS blog that Bombulie thinks Bortuzzo doesn't have anything left to prove at the AHL level and will be playing in the NHL somewhere (PIT or otherwise) next year.

What am I missing with regards to Bortuzzo's game?

[meecrofilm]

I also would rate Strait higher than him given that Strait didn't embarrass himself in the playoffs, even when many other Pens did.

However, I haven't seen any WBS games, and I know from checking in occasionally on Bombulie's WBS blog that Bombulie thinks Bortuzzo doesn't have anything left to prove at the AHL level and will be playing in the NHL somewhere (PIT or otherwise) next year.

What am I missing with regards to Bortuzzo's game?

Bort and Strait are a wash in terms of NHL readiness. Strait got the leg up on the depth chart this season due to Bortuzzo's mid-season concussion.

What it really boils down to is organizational value. There are already Strait-type players on the big club and in Pens' system, including a better version of him in Harrington. Aside from Orpik (who isn't getting any younger) Bortuzzo is the only other big bruiser in the entire organization. After drafting and developing him to be NHL ready, you don't just dump off a player like that.

[largegarlic]

I also would rate Strait higher than him given that Strait didn't embarrass himself in the playoffs, even when many other Pens did.

However, I haven't seen any WBS games, and I know from checking in occasionally on Bombulie's WBS blog that Bombulie thinks Bortuzzo doesn't have anything left to prove at the AHL level and will be playing in the NHL somewhere (PIT or otherwise) next year.

What am I missing with regards to Bortuzzo's game?

Bort and Strait are a wash in terms of NHL readiness. Strait got the leg up on the depth chart this season due to Bortuzzo's mid-season concussion.

What it really boils down to is organizational value. There are already Strait-type players on the big club and in Pens' system, including a better version of him in Harrington. Aside from Orpik (who isn't getting any younger) Bortuzzo is the only other big bruiser in the entire organization. After drafting and developing him to be NHL ready, you don't just dump off a player like that.

Thanks. That makes sense.

[steelhammer]

Harrington won't be NHL ready for a while and there is no guarantee as to how he progresses. Strait and Bortuzzo are ready right now. Pens are only theoretically deep in players that can be strong, shutdown d-men. The reality of the situation is much different.