Karlsson to PIT

[FLPensFan]

I was told by local media there will be a press conference later this week. No date has been set yet.

[FLPensFan]

I was told by local media there will be a press conference later this week. No date has been set yet.

Well, this has now been changed to media availability today at noon for Dubas.

[KG]

https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Ryan-Wi ... 177/122495" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


"The true value of this trade is the impact it will have on the Penguins even-strength play. Out of Karlsson’s 101 points last year, yes 101. Only 27 were on the power play. He had 20 goals and 74 points at even-strength last year. He was tied for third overall in the league with... Connor McDavid. Only Nate MacKinnon (77) and David Pastrnak (76) had more than Karlsson. The next best defenseman was Vince Dunn at 49 points. Top three on the Penguins were Sidney Crosby (66), Jake Guentzel (50) and Evgeni Malkin (47)."

The even-strength production EK had last season was amazing for a D man. He did not pad his stats just by playing the power play. This is an amazing trade.

[FLPensFan]

https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Ryan-Wi ... 177/122495


"The true value of this trade is the impact it will have on the Penguins even-strength play. Out of Karlsson’s 101 points last year, yes 101. Only 27 were on the power play. He had 20 goals and 74 points at even-strength last year. He was tied for third overall in the league with... Connor McDavid. Only Nate MacKinnon (77) and David Pastrnak (76) had more than Karlsson. The next best defenseman was Vince Dunn at 49 points. Top three on the Penguins were Sidney Crosby (66), Jake Guentzel (50) and Evgeni Malkin (47)."

The even-strength production EK had last season was amazing for a D man. He did not pad his stats just by playing the power play. This is an amazing trade.

Over the last 3 years, Letang (58 points) has more PP points than Karlsson (45).

[FLPensFan]

Here's a summary of the Dubas presser (from DK Sports live blog, Pens Inside Scoop, Rob Rossi, Wes Crosby, and other twitter sources):

--Dubas starts by saying Guentzel's injury was something that happened last season (not said here, but it was a shot block in a game). It was not healing the way it was supposed to so they opted for surgery. Playing some games in Da Beauty League was something they wanted as part of the process for him to test the ankle. The Penguins made that decision.

--Dubas said he wouldn't expect any further "big" moves but wouldn't rule anything out. They are feeling out remaining free agents, could bring in some guys on PTOs, and mentioned replacing Granlund and a defenseman, since they moved out 2 (Petry, Rutta) and only brought in one, Karlsson.

--Biggest reason for wanting to add Karlsson is they felt they needed to improve on the ability of moving the puck out of their zone and Karlsson is one of the NHL's elite in that regard.

--Dubas reiterated his dislike of buyouts. Sounds like it was never really an option.

--Said LTIR is not currently an option for Jake. That requires missing 10 games and 24 days, into early November, and he is not expected to be out that long.

--Dubas said Petry's no-trade list did not include Montreal, so there weren't any issues there. He didn't have to talk to him to get permission

--Sounds like the plan is to get both top 2 pairings top pair minutes; said they can have one of Letang or Karlsson on the ice 50 minutes a night.

--Dubas also mentioned that the pursuit of Karlsson was a lengthy process that "goes back as far as his previous employer."

--Happy not to have to give up a top prospect like Pickering or Yager.

--Guentzel right now projected to miss about 5 games, but will have to monitor and see.

--Team anticipates carrying 22 man roster; 13F, 7D, 2G

--Dubas with high praise for Vukie Mpofu; says he has a lot of ideas; Dubas also said he WANTS to be called out by his people in the room when he is wrong. (complete shift from previous group)

--Said there is a lot of work to be done, as they missed playoffs last year; there are a lot of doubters, but they believe in their group. Now it is up to them to go out and execute.

--Dubas said Letang was all about doing whatever would help make the team better. Didn't care about how adding Karlsson may impact his role or minutes.

--From official team Twitter: Dubas on continued conversation with the Sharks and worry that another team would get Karlsson: "You always think that. Maybe just paranoia just goes with this. You stay up all night starring up at the ceiling wondering about how you're going to do this."

--Dubas said he won't be afraid to use waivers to gain cap flexibility.

--Dubas said this was a fairly lengthy process that only really intensified in the last week; Montreal came in at the very end.

--Dubas said Sullivan expressed a need for the Penguins to continually move the puck out of the zone, and that is why Karlsson was targeted.

Seems like the comments have died down and it may be over. If anything else earth shattering is mentioned, I'll add it here.

[KG]

Here's a summary of the Dubas presser (from DK Sports live blog, Pens Inside Scoop, Rob Rossi, Wes Crosby, and other twitter sources):

--Dubas starts by saying Guentzel's injury was something that happened last season (not said here, but it was a shot block in a game). It was not healing the way it was supposed to so they opted for surgery. Playing some games in Da Beauty League was something they wanted as part of the process for him to test the ankle. The Penguins made that decision.

--Dubas said he wouldn't expect any further "big" moves but wouldn't rule anything out. They are feeling out remaining free agents, could bring in some guys on PTOs, and mentioned replacing Granlund and a defenseman, since they moved out 2 (Petry, Rutta) and only brought in one, Karlsson.

--Biggest reason for wanting to add Karlsson is they felt they needed to improve on the ability of moving the puck out of their zone and Karlsson is one of the NHL's elite in that regard.

--Dubas reiterated his dislike of buyouts. Sounds like it was never really an option.

--Said LTIR is not currently an option for Jake. That requires missing 10 games and 24 days, into early November, and he is not expected to be out that long.

--Dubas said Petry's no-trade list did not include Montreal, so there weren't any issues there. He didn't have to talk to him to get permission

--Sounds like the plan is to get both top 2 pairings top pair minutes; said they can have one of Letang or Karlsson on the ice 50 minutes a night.

--Dubas also mentioned that the pursuit of Karlsson was a lengthy process that "goes back as far as his previous employer."

--Happy not to have to give up a top prospect like Pickering or Yager.

--Guentzel right now projected to miss about 5 games, but will have to monitor and see.

--Team anticipates carrying 22 man roster; 13F, 7D, 2G

--Dubas with high praise for Vukie Mpofu; says he has a lot of ideas; Dubas also said he WANTS to be called out by his people in the room when he is wrong. (complete shift from previous group)

--Said there is a lot of work to be done, as they missed playoffs last year; there are a lot of doubters, but they believe in their group. Now it is up to them to go out and execute.

--Dubas said Letang was all about doing whatever would help make the team better. Didn't care about how adding Karlsson may impact his role or minutes.

--From official team Twitter: Dubas on continued conversation with the Sharks and worry that another team would get Karlsson: "You always think that. Maybe just paranoia just goes with this. You stay up all night starring up at the ceiling wondering about how you're going to do this."

--Dubas said he won't be afraid to use waivers to gain cap flexibility.

--Dubas said this was a fairly lengthy process that only really intensified in the last week; Montreal came in at the very end.

--Dubas said Sullivan expressed a need for the Penguins to continually move the puck out of the zone, and that is why Karlsson was targeted.

Seems like the comments have died down and it may be over. If anything else earth shattering is mentioned, I'll add it here.

Nice! Thanks for sharing. So it sounds like he will try to do some fine tuning to replace Granlund/Rutta. Tatar Suter, Josh Bailey, Motte, Comtois, Ritchie, ZAR are all still out there. D side is a little more lean. Caleb Jones and Cal Foote could handle #6 d man minutes for league minimum. Then again, so could Ruhwedel or Ty Smith you would think. Top 9 forward is more pressing.

[FLPensFan]

Spoiler:

Here's a summary of the Dubas presser (from DK Sports live blog, Pens Inside Scoop, Rob Rossi, Wes Crosby, and other twitter sources):

--Dubas starts by saying Guentzel's injury was something that happened last season (not said here, but it was a shot block in a game). It was not healing the way it was supposed to so they opted for surgery. Playing some games in Da Beauty League was something they wanted as part of the process for him to test the ankle. The Penguins made that decision.

--Dubas said he wouldn't expect any further "big" moves but wouldn't rule anything out. They are feeling out remaining free agents, could bring in some guys on PTOs, and mentioned replacing Granlund and a defenseman, since they moved out 2 (Petry, Rutta) and only brought in one, Karlsson.

--Biggest reason for wanting to add Karlsson is they felt they needed to improve on the ability of moving the puck out of their zone and Karlsson is one of the NHL's elite in that regard.

--Dubas reiterated his dislike of buyouts. Sounds like it was never really an option.

--Said LTIR is not currently an option for Jake. That requires missing 10 games and 24 days, into early November, and he is not expected to be out that long.

--Dubas said Petry's no-trade list did not include Montreal, so there weren't any issues there. He didn't have to talk to him to get permission

--Sounds like the plan is to get both top 2 pairings top pair minutes; said they can have one of Letang or Karlsson on the ice 50 minutes a night.

--Dubas also mentioned that the pursuit of Karlsson was a lengthy process that "goes back as far as his previous employer."

--Happy not to have to give up a top prospect like Pickering or Yager.

--Guentzel right now projected to miss about 5 games, but will have to monitor and see.

--Team anticipates carrying 22 man roster; 13F, 7D, 2G

--Dubas with high praise for Vukie Mpofu; says he has a lot of ideas; Dubas also said he WANTS to be called out by his people in the room when he is wrong. (complete shift from previous group)

--Said there is a lot of work to be done, as they missed playoffs last year; there are a lot of doubters, but they believe in their group. Now it is up to them to go out and execute.

--Dubas said Letang was all about doing whatever would help make the team better. Didn't care about how adding Karlsson may impact his role or minutes.

--From official team Twitter: Dubas on continued conversation with the Sharks and worry that another team would get Karlsson: "You always think that. Maybe just paranoia just goes with this. You stay up all night starring up at the ceiling wondering about how you're going to do this."

--Dubas said he won't be afraid to use waivers to gain cap flexibility.

--Dubas said this was a fairly lengthy process that only really intensified in the last week; Montreal came in at the very end.

--Dubas said Sullivan expressed a need for the Penguins to continually move the puck out of the zone, and that is why Karlsson was targeted.

Seems like the comments have died down and it may be over. If anything else earth shattering is mentioned, I'll add it here.

Nice! Thanks for sharing. So it sounds like he will try to do some fine tuning to replace Granlund/Rutta. Tatar Suter, Josh Bailey, Motte, Comtois, Ritchie, ZAR are all still out there. D side is a little more lean. Caleb Jones and Cal Foote could handle #6 d man minutes for league minimum. Then again, so could Ruhwedel or Ty Smith you would think. Top 9 forward is more pressing.

I'm not sure where else Dubas is going to pull another rabbit out of a hat. If Guentzel isn't on LTIR, then the Penguins are currently 75K OVER the cap with a 22 man roster. If you swap Nieto out and Hinostroza in, that would put them 50K under the cap. But there's no room to add, unless he's got a magic Jeff Carter trade under his sleeve.

[Antonio]

Question. If he unloaded JC somehow, does that automatically make him the greatest GM in pens history regardless of any future mistakes?

[Fast B]

Question. If he unloaded JC somehow, does that automatically make him the greatest GM in pens history regardless of any future mistakes?

It would have to be up there with the Scuderi-for-Daley trade, certainly, in the category of "I don't know how the heck he pulled that off".

[SubtropicalPenguin]

So, I wonder what the odds would look like for who will lead the Pens in points this year. Since Crosby entered the league, either Sid or Geno have had the most points in every season (Jake tied Sid in 21-22, but Sid had fewer games).

The last time someone other than Sid or Geno lead the team in scoring was 03-04 when Dick Tarnstrom had a thrilling 52 point season to lead the Pens in scoring. In fact, since the 1984-85 season, there have only been three seasons where the team leader was anyone other than Lemieux, Jagr, Crosby or Malkin:

90-91 - Recchi
01-02 - Kovalev
03-04 - Tarnstrom

[Three Stars]

Here’s Kingerski’s press conference breakdown.

https://pittsburghhockeynow.com/pittsbu ... -granlund/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tico Rick]

Analysis:

Karlsson will either be the best or the worst player in Penguins history to wear the number 65.

With Dumo gone, will Karlsson get the "A"? I want to buy a Karlsson jersey but don't want one without the A if he in fact will be getting one.

[FLPensFan]

Analysis:

Karlsson will either be the best or the worst player in Penguins history to wear the number 65.

With Dumo gone, will Karlsson get the "A"? I want to buy a Karlsson jersey but don't want one without the A if he in fact will be getting one.

How did they do their assistants before, because Malkin and Letang would be the first up for assistants. Some teams have done it to where they have different home and away assistants.

Right now, I would say unless there is injury Karlsson won't have an A.

[FLPensFan]

So, I wonder what the odds would look like for who will lead the Pens in points this year. Since Crosby entered the league, either Sid or Geno have had the most points in every season (Jake tied Sid in 21-22, but Sid had fewer games).

The last time someone other than Sid or Geno lead the team in scoring was 03-04 when Dick Tarnstrom had a thrilling 52 point season to lead the Pens in scoring. In fact, since the 1984-85 season, there have only been three seasons where the team leader was anyone other than Lemieux, Jagr, Crosby or Malkin:

90-91 - Recchi
01-02 - Kovalev
03-04 - Tarnstrom

I don't think Karlsson will outpace Sid or Geno in points, but, I do think, if Sid and Geno remain healthy and play in at least 70 games or more each, you could see them with a jolt to their overall stats where they could be knocking on a 100 point pace for the season. I think Karlsson will help that much.

[Three Stars]

https://youtu.be/3lzV2yqNjpU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In case you have 46+ minutes to spare and want to binge on EK, here’s all 101 of his points last season.

[Antonio]

101 points in 46 minutes? So what does that translate into for his advanced stats/60? :)

[blurryhaze312]

Final post from me tonight. I'm trying to remember the last defenseman that had this type of shot from the blue line...probably Gonchar. He's got the puck handling ability of Letang and then some, but more importantly, he's got a wrister and slapper that can score from a distance.

Bonus edit: Can you imagine sending Crosby, Letang, and Karlsson over the board in a shootout? Or how much it means to be able to have Letang as the lone d-man in OT for one set of forwards, and Karlsson over the board for the next set? Scary.

Here's all his goals from last season:

I love Letang. Love him. But those wrist shots from the point that get through traffic are just a skill he doesn't have. Regularly shoots it off defenders shins.

Holy moly are those smooth shots.

[Puck-Lurker]

If for some reason, EK doesn't end up on PP1, I will lose it.

Wouldn't put it past Sully is all I'm saying.

[murphydump55]

Here's a summary of the Dubas presser (from DK Sports live blog, Pens Inside Scoop, Rob Rossi, Wes Crosby, and other twitter sources):

--Dubas starts by saying Guentzel's injury was something that happened last season (not said here, but it was a shot block in a game). It was not healing the way it was supposed to so they opted for surgery. Playing some games in Da Beauty League was something they wanted as part of the process for him to test the ankle. The Penguins made that decision.

--Dubas said he wouldn't expect any further "big" moves but wouldn't rule anything out. They are feeling out remaining free agents, could bring in some guys on PTOs, and mentioned replacing Granlund and a defenseman, since they moved out 2 (Petry, Rutta) and only brought in one, Karlsson.

--Biggest reason for wanting to add Karlsson is they felt they needed to improve on the ability of moving the puck out of their zone and Karlsson is one of the NHL's elite in that regard.

--Dubas reiterated his dislike of buyouts. Sounds like it was never really an option.

--Said LTIR is not currently an option for Jake. That requires missing 10 games and 24 days, into early November, and he is not expected to be out that long.

--Dubas said Petry's no-trade list did not include Montreal, so there weren't any issues there. He didn't have to talk to him to get permission

--Sounds like the plan is to get both top 2 pairings top pair minutes; said they can have one of Letang or Karlsson on the ice 50 minutes a night.

--Dubas also mentioned that the pursuit of Karlsson was a lengthy process that "goes back as far as his previous employer."

--Happy not to have to give up a top prospect like Pickering or Yager.

--Guentzel right now projected to miss about 5 games, but will have to monitor and see.

--Team anticipates carrying 22 man roster; 13F, 7D, 2G

--Dubas with high praise for Vukie Mpofu; says he has a lot of ideas; Dubas also said he WANTS to be called out by his people in the room when he is wrong. (complete shift from previous group)

--Said there is a lot of work to be done, as they missed playoffs last year; there are a lot of doubters, but they believe in their group. Now it is up to them to go out and execute.

--Dubas said Letang was all about doing whatever would help make the team better. Didn't care about how adding Karlsson may impact his role or minutes.

--From official team Twitter: Dubas on continued conversation with the Sharks and worry that another team would get Karlsson: "You always think that. Maybe just paranoia just goes with this. You stay up all night starring up at the ceiling wondering about how you're going to do this."

--Dubas said he won't be afraid to use waivers to gain cap flexibility.

--Dubas said this was a fairly lengthy process that only really intensified in the last week; Montreal came in at the very end.

--Dubas said Sullivan expressed a need for the Penguins to continually move the puck out of the zone, and that is why Karlsson was targeted.

Seems like the comments have died down and it may be over. If anything else earth shattering is mentioned, I'll add it here.

Fatso on the radio said Jake’s injury was a new injury, why else would he be playing in the summer?

Madden is such a donkey.

[Maestro]

At the end of the day will this deal be held in higher regard than the legendary 1991 Zalapsky/Cullen for Francis/Ulf?

"They are feeling out remaining free agents"
Return of Kessel?

[dark_forces]

At the end of the day will this deal be held in higher regard than the legendary 1991 Zalapsky/Cullen for Francis/Ulf?

"They are feeling out remaining free agents"
Return of Kessel?

I doubt that. Unless they win the Cup this season. That trade happened at just the right time, and culminated in their first championship. It represented an inflection point in the franchise's history where everything just came together—Lemieux returned, the club jelled, etc.

[Maestro]

Yeah I agree. But if they do win the Cup or a cup I guess with this group I would call it a tie.

This trade may have figuratively revived Lazarus.

[Dynasty1970]

So, I wonder what the odds would look like for who will lead the Pens in points this year. Since Crosby entered the league, either Sid or Geno have had the most points in every season (Jake tied Sid in 21-22, but Sid had fewer games).

The last time someone other than Sid or Geno lead the team in scoring was 03-04 when Dick Tarnstrom had a thrilling 52 point season to lead the Pens in scoring. In fact, since the 1984-85 season, there have only been three seasons where the team leader was anyone other than Lemieux, Jagr, Crosby or Malkin:

90-91 - Recchi
01-02 - Kovalev
03-04 - Tarnstrom

I don't think Karlsson will outpace Sid or Geno in points, but, I do think, if Sid and Geno remain healthy and play in at least 70 games or more each, you could see them with a jolt to their overall stats where they could be knocking on a 100 point pace for the season. I think Karlsson will help that much.

I was thinking the same thing…..even further down the road has an outside chance of Crosby getting into the top 5 all time in points.

[KG]

Friedman was saying that last season Grier wanted multiple first round picks plus for EK from Edmonton.

Things lined up perfectly for Dubas to pounce.

[FLPensFan]

There are reports out of Montreal that neither Petry nor DeSmith may make it to training camp. Word from La Presse is that Kent Hughes has not contacted Petry or DeSmith since the trade, and Legare is the only one who acknowledge his excitement of coming to Montreal. The article in La Presse says it is customary for an acquiring GM to contact players within 24 hours of the trade, and the fact that Hughes reportedly has not done so may be an indication he is already working on flipping one or both assets.

The article goes on to mention Hughes wasn't going to acquire these players for no reason. Maybe someone out there wanted DeSmith, but would like him more at 1M instead of 1.8M. Article kind of hints that Hughes may already have potential deals lined up for both players.