Taken with healthy grain of salt

[DelPen]

If they could get Malone that would solve some issues with getting a legit top 6 wing to make the scoring lines insane. It also helps the PK too.

Knuble wouldn't work unless you plan on only rolling three lines and use him just for PP. The PP should be better with the players we will have out there.

Malone-Malkin-Neal would be scary and follow that up with Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis, you can't stop all of them every night.

[meow]

The main concern for me is not the top 6 but the bottom 6, especially if Kennedy skates with Geno and Neal. Sutter and Cooke are great bottom 6 guys, as good as anyone in the league in their roles. But beyond that, there is not much grit or speed. Adams looked awful last season, totally washed up and slow. There's just not enough grit. Jeffrey and Tangradi have a shot but they are not that physical or fast. Perhaps a player like Wichester may be more of what they need rather than another old slow guy like Knuble or Malone? Just a thought.

Glass has speed and is a terrific role player.

[HockeyDaddy]

The main concern for me is not the top 6 but the bottom 6, especially if Kennedy skates with Geno and Neal. Sutter and Cooke are great bottom 6 guys, as good as anyone in the league in their roles. But beyond that, there is not much grit or speed. Adams looked awful last season, totally washed up and slow. There's just not enough grit. Jeffrey and Tangradi have a shot but they are not that physical or fast. Perhaps a player like Wichester may be more of what they need rather than another old slow guy like Knuble or Malone? Just a thought.

Glass has speed and is a terrific role player.

I must be the only guy here that thought Tangradi was great against the Flyers in a fourth line role? If that is where he ends up a bottom 6 that includes Sutter, Cooke, Glass, and Tangradi is not that bad. I have no doubt that Shero will add a bit more grit to that cast of characters before the playoffs.

[no name]

My soft spot for a home town guy says yes. My hockey sence says no way.

[Defence21]

The main concern for me is not the top 6 but the bottom 6, especially if Kennedy skates with Geno and Neal. Sutter and Cooke are great bottom 6 guys, as good as anyone in the league in their roles. But beyond that, there is not much grit or speed. Adams looked awful last season, totally washed up and slow. There's just not enough grit. Jeffrey and Tangradi have a shot but they are not that physical or fast. Perhaps a player like Wichester may be more of what they need rather than another old slow guy like Knuble or Malone? Just a thought.

Size does not equal grit. Vitale is very gritty and energetic. Tanner Glass also is a physical player whom I expect to fill in quite nicely for the departed Asham.

Adams isn't the player he once was, but he was an integral part of the penalty kill, which was highly successful until the playoffs. He shouldn't and won't be discarded, as he still brings value to this team from a defensive and physical standpoint.

[pcm]

Yeah, not worried about the bottom 6 unless Sutter lays a giant egg and curls up inside it.

[Pitts]

Malone-Malkin-Neal

That is one big, physical line!

[littlemoonboot]

People really shouldn't waste their time posting or reading anything "HockeyyInsiderr" tweets. He's been proven to be a fraud. Posting anything from that twitter on this board is like taking a crap in public.

[The Snapshot]

Is Eric Fehr a better alternative to Tangradi and Kennedy? He has at least a little track record in the NHL and was hurt much of last year.

[The Snapshot]

I must be the only guy here that thought Tangradi was great against the Flyers in a fourth line role?

Yes

[netwolf]

I don't know why I'm making a serious reply considering they came from this Insiderrrrrrrr fraud (http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/0 ... s-to-know/), but I can't help myself...

HCDB put Kunitz and Dupuis with 87. The current vacant on on Malkin's LW. The counter to that could by that the Pens' want a long term answer for Sid. A guy that would be who Neal is to Malkin, but that goes out the window when the rumor mill suggests Malone or Knuble. Neither of them would be considered permanent.

That logic aside, just say no to Mike Knuble. His last two years (http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdis ... p?pid=2765) look very similar to another Penguin that had an abrupt drop-off in the level of his play (http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdis ... p?pid=3036). Knuble is done. I don't think he has enough left to be a 4th line PP specialist, let alone a top 6 forward. IMO, signing him to be a top 6 would work out as well as Kovalev Part 2: Electric Boogaloo did.

Malone is a little different. I think he still has game left, but my concern with him is health. Since going to TB, he's played 70, 69, 54, and 68 games. The style he plays suggests he's likely to continue the trend. You could argue the extended off-season's given him time to heal up, or that the condense schedule will make even tougher for him to stay in the lineup. That concern aside, he would be better than any other in-house option available to the Pens. I guess my opinion on his return would come down to what would be going back to Tampa.

[netwolf]

Is Eric Fehr a better alternative to Tangradi and Kennedy? He has at least a little track record in the NHL and was hurt much of last year.

Maybe, but enough of an upgrade to use of their last spot under the 50 man contract limit (assuming it's still in the new CBA)? I'm not sure. We would have definitely won the Water Classic at Heinz Field with him though.

[The Snapshot]

Is Eric Fehr a better alternative to Tangradi and Kennedy? He has at least a little track record in the NHL and was hurt much of last year.

Maybe, but enough of an upgrade to use of their last spot under the 50 man contract limit (assuming it's still in the new CBA)? I'm not sure. We would have definitely won the Water Classic at Heinz Field with him though.

That contract max is not a concern. After this year, and actually right now, we have many options for never-will-be prospects and enough organizational depth. He is a better alternative than Knuble for sure.

[netwolf]

The thing about the contract max is, you can handcuff yourself trade-wise. If you are at 50, any deal you make has to involve the same number of contracts. You couldn't trade 1 guy for 2, or trade a draft pick or unsigned rookie for a roster player.

It's not a huge deal, but Shero doesn't strike me as a guy that would want to paint himself into a corner in the least bit.

[AlexPKeaton]

I'd take Malone for the PK alone. I tried to block the Flyer's series from my brain but I seem to recall the PK getting smoked left and right.

[Kovy27]

I'd take Malone for the PK alone. I tried to block the Flyer's series from my brain but I seem to recall the PK getting smoked left and right.

The whole team got smoked.

[Idoit40fans]

I'd take Malone for the PK alone. I tried to block the Flyer's series from my brain but I seem to recall the PK getting smoked left and right.

No reason to worry about anything that went wrong in that series, it was just unreal in all regards.

[Pitts]

I don't know why I'm making a serious reply considering they came from this Insiderrrrrrrr fraud (http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/0 ... s-to-know/), but I can't help myself...

I follow for entertainment purposes, and post the nuggets here simply for discussion's sake.

[Malkamaniac]

Only reason why I'd take Malone is that it's a 48 game season and if he's a bust you can buy him out.

[neophool]

I loved Malone but i just dont think he has enough left in the tank for a 2 year contract. Or enough to keep up with Sid.

[no name]

Crosby had one of his best years when he played with Duper and Kunitz, and Kunitz and Duper both had career years last season. So this might be the best option anyway you look at it.

Finding a Kunitz type guy for Geno and Neal is a must, someone who plays with a defensive concious but who also has offensive instincts to keep the play flowing up ice. I don't think Kennedy has what it takes to work on that line. He is a shooter type playing with a great center you have to hand trhe puck over to them.

[SoupOrSam]

Hockeyy Insiderr ‏@HockeyyInsiderr.

The egg in my egg mcmuffin is more reliable as an insider. #donedeal.

How much is the 40 points Malone gets really worth? The max I spend on him is 3mil. Doubt he takes it.

[Idoit40fans]

I'm just going to nip this in the bud ahead of time. Someone is thinking that the Neal Malkin Kunitz line was teh best in hockey and shouldn't be broken up. Think back to scoring rate that was being put up that hadn't been done in a decade+ when Kunitz was with Crosby and Dupuis. Carry on.

[Idoit40fans]

Hockeyy Insiderr ‏@HockeyyInsiderr.

The egg in my egg mcmuffin is more reliable as an insider. #donedeal.

How much is the 40 points Malone gets really worth? The max I spend on him is 3mil. Doubt he takes it.

He doesn't have to "take" anything, he has a contract. He's also a high end pker and fills a role that the Penguins can't currently fill on the powerplay. I don't think the Pens will get him, but he's worth more than $3 million and its already determined what he'll be making anyway($8 million over the next 3 years with a $4.5 million cap hit).

[columbia]

I'm not sure why the Pens would help out another team and take on a contract like this.
Money still matters and there's nothing good about being the team that buys him out in the summer.

Having said that, I can see the Pens signing a buyout castaway in the summer.