Penguins Acquire LW Brenden Morrow

[Tico Rick]

The best time to trade a prospect is right before the other guy figures out he's a bust. If Morrow had struggled at WBS again next year, because he wasn't listening/progressing, his value would have nose-dived.

Good point, slappy. And thanks for the WBS link.

[KG]

I trust Shero when it comes to trading prospects. His track record speaks for itself...

[Idoit40fans]

The best time to trade a prospect is right before the other guy figures out he's a bust. If Morrow had struggled at WBS again next year, because he wasn't listening/progressing, his value would have nose-dived.

Good point, slappy. And thanks for the WBS link.

If he had struggled as a 21 year old in the AHL? I don't think thats a good point at all. A year and a half ago, people thought he should be making the NHL as an 18 year old. That was ludicrous of course, but his stock isn't going down, and isn't going down anytime soon barring a sudden inability to skate and move the puck.

[DocEmrick]

The reports of Joe Morrow having an attitude problem might have something to do with this. Unsubstantiated as they may be, we're still stacked with D prospects and if Despres' play is any indication he's going to have a major role in the next few years. This is especially true with the uncertainty of our ability to tie up Letang + Malkin long-term.

[Steve Dave]

The best time to trade a prospect is right before the other guy figures out he's a bust. If Morrow had struggled at WBS again next year, because he wasn't listening/progressing, his value would have nose-dived.

Good point, slappy. And thanks for the WBS link.

If he had struggled as a 21 year old in the AHL? I don't think thats a good point at all. A year and a half ago, people thought he should be making the NHL as an 18 year old. That was ludicrous of course, but his stock isn't going down, and isn't going down anytime soon barring a sudden inability to skate and move the puck.

Bissonnette was close to making the NHL as an 18y/o.

[Gaucho]

Yeah, back when Dick Tarnstrom was our best defenseman.

[brwi]

Yeah, back when Dick Tarnstrom was our best defenseman.

Ahhh....the good old days!

[mikey287]

I wonder what it's like to be the GM of a team like that...

"Yeah, we'll do it for Lasse Pirjeta...no, our minor league team is fine, what do you mean? No, second line center. Yes, for the big club. So do we have a deal? Ok good, bye."

[NJ5934]

Yeah, back when Dick Tarnstrom was our best defenseman.

Ahhh....the good old days!

LMAO, back when Dick Tarnstrom was our best player.

[puckeye]

I wonder what it's like to be the GM of a team like that...

"Yeah, we'll do it for Lasse Pirjeta...no, our minor league team is fine, what do you mean? No, second line center. Yes, for the big club. So do we have a deal? Ok good, bye."

lol, Pirjeta for Brian Holzinger. Lasse had sneaky skill

[brwi]

I know this will be considered heresy and insanity, but I'd like to see the Pens limit Morrow to a max of two games a week until the playoffs. The guy is in hockey condition and isn't going to become a fatty or out of hockey shape because he gets a game off here and there. A healthy and somewhat more rested Morrow in the playoffs means more than having him out every 3rd game sometimes.

Yeah, yeah...got to mesh with the Malkin line and all, but I don't see that being a big issue. Hossa missed most of the Pens' games after being acquired and then had the post-season of his lifetime. Guerin missed some time also and is more similar to Morrow than Hossa who was several years younger and closer to his prime, i.e. a little more resilient than the old guys like Billy G and Morrow.

Why not? Pens need Morrow at as close to 100% he can be more than they need him to win some regular season games at this point. Yeah, that's sort of easy to say when the team without Morrow has a humongous winning streak, but that's the reality and why not take advantage of it?

[KG]

The best time to trade a prospect is right before the other guy figures out he's a bust. If Morrow had struggled at WBS again next year, because he wasn't listening/progressing, his value would have nose-dived.

Good point, slappy. And thanks for the WBS link.

If he had struggled as a 21 year old in the AHL? I don't think thats a good point at all. A year and a half ago, people thought he should be making the NHL as an 18 year old. That was ludicrous of course, but his stock isn't going down, and isn't going down anytime soon barring a sudden inability to skate and move the puck.

Bissonnette was close to making the NHL as an 18y/o.

Wow...remember that about Biz? time does fly...What a bad team we were in the lean days...Koltzov, Fata, Surovy, Kraft...

Remember Rick Jackman? He was the best offensive D man we had since Larry Murphy!

[pcm]

It's funny how people rationalize their desire to marginalize Joe Morrow's value now that he's been traded away.

Post the whole quote:
“I definitely struggled the first half of the season trying to find my place and find positives in what I was doing,” Morrow said. “They nitpicked my game so hard in the defensive zone that I had to change a lot of things. I did that and after the halfway point of the season I’ve played with more confidence and it’s been a steady uphill climb from there. It’s been going good.”

He's basically commending Hynes for improving his game. There's no whining at all. Joe Morrow is going to be a beast and a leader in this league. There's nothing wrong with admitting that Shero traded away a very good player. That's the price to pay for stocking up for a cup run.

[Gaucho]

There's nothing wrong with admitting that Shero traded away a very good player.

[guiner]

It's funny how people rationalize their desire to marginalize Joe Morrow's value now that he's been traded away.

Post the whole quote:
“I definitely struggled the first half of the season trying to find my place and find positives in what I was doing,” Morrow said. “They nitpicked my game so hard in the defensive zone that I had to change a lot of things. I did that and after the halfway point of the season I’ve played with more confidence and it’s been a steady uphill climb from there. It’s been going good.”

He's basically commending Hynes for improving his game. There's no whining at all. Joe Morrow is going to be a beast and a leader in this league. There's nothing wrong with admitting that Shero traded away a very good player. That's the price to pay for stocking up for a cup run.

I think GMRS trade 'says' less about Joe Morrow, a more about Simon Despres.

[Bioshock]

[SolidSnake]

Shero is def making more moves.

[BurghersAndDogsSports]

The same folks bashing Joe Morrow as a prospect are the same that were praising Despres and guaranteeing his success for various reasons even though he was having a rough go at it in WBS. Just saying, a prospect is a prospect. If they were sure things they would be:

1. Mario
2. Wayne
3. Sid

Very very very few guys are sure things, Despres and Morrow have had ups and downs. J Morrow could turn out to be better than Despres or vice versa.
Both could still be busts or nothing more than bottom pairing players but they both have crazy upside too.

But.... B Morrow is a an aging vet who may have a playoff push left in the tank. He was regarded enough by enough teams that we had to give up a top prospect for him.
If he ends up being a bust, it was still a trade worth making by a team not going to make a cup run and had no need of resigning him.

And I cant rationalize getting rid of J Morrow other than we are going for it the cup this year (which I am fine with btw) cause he was and still is a really really good prospect.

[The Snapshot]

The same folks bashing Joe Morrow as a prospect

This is what is wrong with your basic premise. I haven't seen anyone "bashing" Joe Morrow. Some have simply pointed to scouting reports and facts about his transition that make it very clear that he is not a sure thing. Comparing him to Despres in WBS this year isn't really valid, since Despres had already acquitted himself quite well at the NHL level last year.

I think Morrow will be a good NHL defender, who if he really wants to will become a VERY good NHL player. That describes at least three other young defenders in our stable of prospects, but I agree with you in terms of this being a good deal only because it's clear we are right there for a Cup run.

I mentioned this earlier today and Steve Dave just did as well, but folks are romanticizing his potential because he did almost stick as an 18 year old. Bissonette did as well, and he is playing wing and tweeting up a storm in the Desert. I am not comparing their skillset, but the point is that the camp was two years ago now and he was invisible at Prospect camp this year and was struggling mightily in WBS for most of the year. He only recently achieved "good AHL player" status. He just isn't a slam dunk as an all around D.

[bhaw]

The only way this ends up being unquestionably a great trade is if the Pens win the Cup and Joe Morrow never pans out. The exact opposite would be an early round exit and Morrow becomes a top pairing guy. Everything in between will just be preference and opinion. For example, the Pens could win the Cup this year, and if Morrow becomes a significant player, there will always be "how many Cups would we have won if we kept him?!?!"

In other words, the jury is out.

I personally am OK with the trade given our current stock of defensemen (this is part of why I believe we went so hard for defensive picks and prospects). Morrow brings good traits. If he executes and plays well, we have a great addition for the playoffs. If he can't contribute with goals, we at least have a much more solid 3rd liner.

[mikey287]

Dallas didn't miss a beat tonight without Brenden in the lineup...

[mikey287]

Someone asked earlier in the thread, I didn't know, but I do now.

The 3rd that we get is conditional: we get the worse draft position of Minnesota or Edmonton (almost certainly it will be Minnesota's pick). It is not Dallas', they sent theirs to Montreal already.

[BurghersAndDogsSports]

The same folks bashing Joe Morrow as a prospect

This is what is wrong with your basic premise. I haven't seen anyone "bashing" Joe Morrow. Some have simply pointed to scouting reports and facts about his transition that make it very clear that he is not a sure thing. Comparing him to Despres in WBS this year isn't really valid, since Despres had already acquitted himself quite well at the NHL level last year.

I think Morrow will be a good NHL defender, who if he really wants to will become a VERY good NHL player. That describes at least three other young defenders in our stable of prospects, but I agree with you in terms of this being a good deal only because it's clear we are right there for a Cup run.

Yeah, maybe bash wasnt a great word. But the point being he was listed on everyones top pairing of our future sick d-corp and now we are looking at his flaws and talking about him being a bust. If you would have mentioned his flaw a week ago you would have been laughed at.

Still I have zero problem with the trade. I am not sure how our roster will shake out in 2 years, nor how many of our d prospects will flourish so go for it now.

[meecrofilm]

Someone asked earlier in the thread, I didn't know, but I do now.

The 3rd that we get is conditional: we get the worse draft position of Minnesota or Edmonton (almost certainly it will be Minnesota's pick). It is not Dallas', they sent theirs to Montreal already.

Yeah, it was me. That's what I thought -- was just looking for confirmation. So it'll probably be a fairly high 3rd. Doesn't make a ton of difference at that point in the draft though.

[DontToewsMeBro]

Brendan Morrow is as much of a "sure thing" as Joe Morrow. We are putting our hopes that the guy that played for the Stars last week is not the same guy that will play for the Penguins next week...we're banking on some hidden "energy" being there that hasn't shown to exist. Just saying that there is some uncertainty on both sides...