Random Penguins Fodder

[KG]

Heard Bourque on NHL radio this morning. He was very bullish on the Pens catching the Flyers and said the Pens should look to add a goal scorer and maybe another forward or D with some size. Made it sound like the Pens should be buyers.

He wasn't asked about Jakes status. Not sure how they don't ask that question. That's pretty much the only topic to talk about right now when it comes to the Pens.

Bourque said he was disgusted with what Serevalli said about Sid missing the silly player draft. Called him out.

[largegarlic]

Heard Bourque on NHL radio this morning. He was very bullish on the Pens catching the Flyers and said the Pens should look to add a goal scorer and maybe another forward or D with some size. Made it sound like the Pens should be buyers.

He wasn't asked about Jakes status. Not sure how they don't ask that question. That's pretty much the only topic to talk about right now when it comes to the Pens.

Bourque said he was disgusted with what Serevalli said about Sid missing the silly player draft. Called him out.

That's kind of a surprising take from Bourque. I feel like whenever I hear him during games (radio or TV), he's more critical of the team. I figured he'd be more on the retool side of the spectrum.

[pens_CT]

Heard Bourque on NHL radio this morning. He was very bullish on the Pens catching the Flyers and said the Pens should look to add a goal scorer and maybe another forward or D with some size. Made it sound like the Pens should be buyers.

He wasn't asked about Jakes status. Not sure how they don't ask that question. That's pretty much the only topic to talk about right now when it comes to the Pens.

Bourque said he was disgusted with what Serevalli said about Sid missing the silly player draft. Called him out.

That's kind of a surprising take from Bourque. I feel like whenever I hear him during games (radio or TV), he's more critical of the team. I figured he'd be more on the retool side of the spectrum.

I agree with you that he is the most honest and forthright analyst of the three professional teams in this town (I guess I have to include the Pirates as a professional sports team). I don't see how you add the pieces that he mentioned with the constraints of the current roster. The Jake contract issue just makes it even more difficult. With the upcoming schedule, 2 games against Winnipeg, 1 against Florida, 2 divisional games (NYI and Philly), and the 4 game Western Canada road swing all happening before the deadline, they could play themselves out of the playoff picture for good.

[Pitts]

Heard Bourque on NHL radio this morning. He was very bullish on the Pens catching the Flyers and said the Pens should look to add a goal scorer and maybe another forward or D with some size. Made it sound like the Pens should be buyers.

He wasn't asked about Jakes status. Not sure how they don't ask that question. That's pretty much the only topic to talk about right now when it comes to the Pens.

Bourque said he was disgusted with what Serevalli said about Sid missing the silly player draft. Called him out.

That's kind of a surprising take from Bourque. I feel like whenever I hear him during games (radio or TV), he's more critical of the team. I figured he'd be more on the retool side of the spectrum.

Nah. He's a player at heart - never give up!

[Pitts]

Heard Bourque on NHL radio this morning. He was very bullish on the Pens catching the Flyers and said the Pens should look to add a goal scorer and maybe another forward or D with some size. Made it sound like the Pens should be buyers.

He wasn't asked about Jakes status. Not sure how they don't ask that question. That's pretty much the only topic to talk about right now when it comes to the Pens.

Bourque said he was disgusted with what Serevalli said about Sid missing the silly player draft. Called him out.

That's kind of a surprising take from Bourque. I feel like whenever I hear him during games (radio or TV), he's more critical of the team. I figured he'd be more on the retool side of the spectrum.

I agree with you that he is the most honest and forthright analyst of the three professional teams in this town (I guess I have to include the Pirates as a professional sports team). I don't see how you add the pieces that he mentioned with the constraints of the current roster. The Jake contract issue just makes it even more difficult. With the upcoming schedule, 2 games against Winnipeg, 1 against Florida, 2 divisional games (NYI and Philly), and the 4 game Western Canada road swing all happening before the deadline, they could play themselves out of the playoff picture for good.

Or, they could find themselves 3rd in the Metro ...

[pens_CT]

Heard Bourque on NHL radio this morning. He was very bullish on the Pens catching the Flyers and said the Pens should look to add a goal scorer and maybe another forward or D with some size. Made it sound like the Pens should be buyers.

He wasn't asked about Jakes status. Not sure how they don't ask that question. That's pretty much the only topic to talk about right now when it comes to the Pens.

Bourque said he was disgusted with what Serevalli said about Sid missing the silly player draft. Called him out.

That's kind of a surprising take from Bourque. I feel like whenever I hear him during games (radio or TV), he's more critical of the team. I figured he'd be more on the retool side of the spectrum.

I agree with you that he is the most honest and forthright analyst of the three professional teams in this town (I guess I have to include the Pirates as a professional sports team). I don't see how you add the pieces that he mentioned with the constraints of the current roster. The Jake contract issue just makes it even more difficult. With the upcoming schedule, 2 games against Winnipeg, 1 against Florida, 2 divisional games (NYI and Philly), and the 4 game Western Canada road swing all happening before the deadline, they could play themselves out of the playoff picture for good.

Or, they could find themselves 3rd in the Metro ...

Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

[FLPensFan]

The only way they can add a scorer is by sending a struggling scorer and their cap hit out. There probably aren't going to be many rentals in their range that fit the bill.

For whatever a playoff run this year is worth, I'd probably be looking at a 4C and a LHD. Eller is playing too well to move down to 4C. Acciari really needs to be moved to wing to get better production from him. Finding a decent 4C shouldn't be an impossible task.

The other move they need is some Graves insurance. I don't think POJ, Ludvig, Shea is good enough to move into the top 4 for a full playoff series. If Graves struggles, they need another cheap vet that they can plug in to take his place.

[Pitts]

Heard Bourque on NHL radio this morning. He was very bullish on the Pens catching the Flyers and said the Pens should look to add a goal scorer and maybe another forward or D with some size. Made it sound like the Pens should be buyers.

He wasn't asked about Jakes status. Not sure how they don't ask that question. That's pretty much the only topic to talk about right now when it comes to the Pens.

Bourque said he was disgusted with what Serevalli said about Sid missing the silly player draft. Called him out.

That's kind of a surprising take from Bourque. I feel like whenever I hear him during games (radio or TV), he's more critical of the team. I figured he'd be more on the retool side of the spectrum.

I agree with you that he is the most honest and forthright analyst of the three professional teams in this town (I guess I have to include the Pirates as a professional sports team). I don't see how you add the pieces that he mentioned with the constraints of the current roster. The Jake contract issue just makes it even more difficult. With the upcoming schedule, 2 games against Winnipeg, 1 against Florida, 2 divisional games (NYI and Philly), and the 4 game Western Canada road swing all happening before the deadline, they could play themselves out of the playoff picture for good.

Or, they could find themselves 3rd in the Metro ...

Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

You do you my friend! All good.

[KG]

The only way they can add a scorer is by sending a struggling scorer and their cap hit out. There probably aren't going to be many rentals in their range that fit the bill.

For whatever a playoff run this year is worth, I'd probably be looking at a 4C and a LHD. Eller is playing too well to move down to 4C. Acciari really needs to be moved to wing to get better production from him. Finding a decent 4C shouldn't be an impossible task.

The other move they need is some Graves insurance. I don't think POJ, Ludvig, Shea is good enough to move into the top 4 for a full playoff series. If Graves struggles, they need another cheap vet that they can plug in to take his place.

Smith makes the most sense to move out in a hockey trade to bring in another wing for Geno. Would love to get a forward that has a shot first mentality and is a threat to score. The fact that Smith being placed on the top PP is either an attempt to get him going, or to showcase him. Most likely the former.

[pens_CT]

The only way they can add a scorer is by sending a struggling scorer and their cap hit out. There probably aren't going to be many rentals in their range that fit the bill.

For whatever a playoff run this year is worth, I'd probably be looking at a 4C and a LHD. Eller is playing too well to move down to 4C. Acciari really needs to be moved to wing to get better production from him. Finding a decent 4C shouldn't be an impossible task.

The other move they need is some Graves insurance. I don't think POJ, Ludvig, Shea is good enough to move into the top 4 for a full playoff series. If Graves struggles, they need another cheap vet that they can plug in to take his place.

Smith makes the most sense to move out in a hockey trade to bring in another wing for Geno. Would love to get a forward that has a shot first mentality and is a threat to score. The fact that Smith being placed on the top PP is either an attempt to get him going, or to showcase him. Most likely the former.

If Smith was on an expiring contract, I'm sure you could move him. With another year at 5M, unless you're getting another underachiever in return, chances are you can't trade him. I would hope he gets his game going, that would be a big addition to the offense.

[Pruezy11881]

Army ain't wrong...

[Guinness]

Ouch...

[KG]

Army ain't wrong...

The fact the players or the coaching staff haven't figured this out with 60% of the season gone is embarrassing. Imagine missing the playoffs because you can't figure out how to even get an average power play with the talent there? Getting close to reality.

[Pitts]

The biggest shame of it all is - even we here on this board know what they need to do to fix it! It really isn't rocket science at all. Dumbfounding really.

[dark_forces]

The biggest shame of it all is - even we here on this board know what they need to do to fix it! It really isn't rocket science at all. Dumbfounding really.

Other than Crosby, no player should be safe on the first PP. They are professionals and should understand that nobody gets a free pass to keep getting deployed on a PP that's not even near league average in effectiveness.

[hahnski86]

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 20-3-3 when scoring more than 3 goals (according to data skrive on ESPN)...That is a pretty impressive stat. GA has definitely been way down but so has scoring. Need production outside of your top 3 (let's be honest, we can't even say top 6 with the way the 2nd line has been contributing). Something's gotta give but if this team can find a way to score goals I am very hopeful for the playoffs...winning a series is another thing altogether, lol.

[FLPensFan]

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 20-3-3 when scoring more than 3 goals (according to data skrive on ESPN)...That is a pretty impressive stat. GA has definitely been way down but so has scoring. Need production outside of your top 3 (let's be honest, we can't even say top 6 with the way the 2nd line has been contributing). Something's gotta give but if this team can find a way to score goals I am very hopeful for the playoffs...winning a series is another thing altogether, lol.

46 games into last season, the team had 147 goals for, 138 goals against....which is 3.20 GF per game and 3.0 GA per game. The rest of the season, their GF per game dipped slightly to 3.11, while their GA per game jumped to 3.43.

46 games into this year, we've scored 136 goals for, and 124 goals against...which is 2.96GF per game and 2.7 GA per game. Philly is the only team below us that is still in a playoff spot. They have 7 more goals for than us in 4 more games played, 2.86 GF per game.

Last year, 46 games into the season, the Penguins generated 1118 scoring chances at even strength, with 109 goals for. (9.7% conversion)
This year, 46 games into the season, the Penguins generated 1191 scoring chances at even strength, with 114 goals for. (9.5% conversion)

On the PP, 46 games into this year, the Penguins have generated 281 scoring chances for, with 20 goals for. (7.1% conversion)
Last year on the PP, 46 games into the season, the Penguins had 300 scoring chances for, with 34 goals for. (11.3% conversion)

The PP is obviously lagging way behind. While everyone says we can catch Philly, we also need to be aware of Jarry's yearly late season regression.
--last season, last 42 games of the season...Jarry played 22 games, .898SV%, 3.08 GAA, -1.6 GSAA. DeSmith was better in all categories.
--21-22 season, last 42 games of the season...Jarry played 26 games, .910SV%, 2.83 GAA, -5.92 GSAA. DeSmith was better in all categories.
--20-21 season, last 42 games of the season...Jarry played 30 games, .919SV%, 2.45 GAA, -2.31 GSAA. DeSmith was better in all categories.

Our goaltending has saved us in a lot of games. Jarry needs to buck the trend of having poor 2nd halves of the season and getting outplayed by his backup. Otherwise, with Jarry playing poorly and the PP not recovered, good luck catching Philly.

[Sams_Dog]

Heard Bourque on NHL radio this morning. He was very bullish on the Pens catching the Flyers and said the Pens should look to add a goal scorer and maybe another forward or D with some size. Made it sound like the Pens should be buyers.

He wasn't asked about Jakes status. Not sure how they don't ask that question. That's pretty much the only topic to talk about right now when it comes to the Pens.

Bourque said he was disgusted with what Serevalli said about Sid missing the silly player draft. Called him out.

Can I find Bourque's interview online anywhere? I'd love to hear that.

[Maestro]

It's better to have crashed and burned than to have never flown at all.

[Puck-Lurker]

The idea of a pro athlete being a whiny baby about being traded and playing somewhere he does not want to is just mind boggling to me. You play a game for a living..a GAME, and make 5 MILLION dollars for PLAYING for half of the year. Most real hard working people (the kind that make a league full of millionaires playing a game for a living even possible with the fruits of their actual labor) would eat a literal **** sandwich every day for a year for half that money. It is all supposition regarding Smith, I know, but the sentiment has been expressed before regarding other players in this and other leagues.

Just for the record, I would definitely NOT eat a literal **** sandwich every day for a year for 2.5 million.

I'd honestly be surprised if Smith has been pouting about being traded. It would definitely be difficult to go from a Cup team to a fringe playoff team, but these things happen dozens of times every year. As a professional athlete, you'd have to expect it, and learn to accept it. But if he is seriously pouting, put him on a boat and shove him out to sea.

If you transfer 2.5M to my account om this condition (dependent on being able to verify its legit and so on)... That's a lot of money and it's only 366 days max. That's about 6.8K per. Then again 2.5m I guess is about 100k in real money, so maybe not.

Yeah, that's a lot of money... but it's also a lot of poo!

Probably would have to pass on it for health reasons anyway. I remember E. Coli being among the things in it and other nasties.

I will dress for a hockey game and never score ever and look terrible for the price though. Maybe crowdfund me?

[Guinness]

The idea of a pro athlete being a whiny baby about being traded and playing somewhere he does not want to is just mind boggling to me. You play a game for a living..a GAME, and make 5 MILLION dollars for PLAYING for half of the year. Most real hard working people (the kind that make a league full of millionaires playing a game for a living even possible with the fruits of their actual labor) would eat a literal **** sandwich every day for a year for half that money. It is all supposition regarding Smith, I know, but the sentiment has been expressed before regarding other players in this and other leagues.

Just for the record, I would definitely NOT eat a literal **** sandwich every day for a year for 2.5 million.

I'd honestly be surprised if Smith has been pouting about being traded. It would definitely be difficult to go from a Cup team to a fringe playoff team, but these things happen dozens of times every year. As a professional athlete, you'd have to expect it, and learn to accept it. But if he is seriously pouting, put him on a boat and shove him out to sea.

If you transfer 2.5M to my account om this condition (dependent on being able to verify its legit and so on)... That's a lot of money and it's only 366 days max. That's about 6.8K per. Then again 2.5m I guess is about 100k in real money, so maybe not.

Yeah, that's a lot of money... but it's also a lot of poo!

Probably would have to pass on it for health reasons anyway. I remember E. Coli being among the things in it and other nasties.

I will dress for a hockey game and never score ever and look terrible for the price though. Maybe crowdfund me?

Hey man, if Jansen Harkins can do it, we can too!

[KG]

Wonder if the Pens/Vegas want to look to reverse the Smith/Zucker swap. Maybe do a 3-team trade where the Pens get Zucker back, Smith goes back to Vegas and Coyotes get something from the Pens and Vegas for retaining on Smith and trading Zucker? Stranger things have happened.

[Badger Bob]

Why can't we trade all our bad players for other team's good players? I'm all for that.

[KG]

Friedman on NHL radio this morning said that GM's don't love this coming draft. Basically said after 20, it falls off a cliff. So that late first round pick doesn't have great value.

If that is the case then maybe we should give SJ our pick this year (assuming we don't fall off a cliff).

Said a lot depends on the next few weeks and if there will be more sellers. Right now there's not a lot out there.

[pronovost19]

Wonder if the Pens/Vegas want to look to reverse the Smith/Zucker swap. Maybe do a 3-team trade where the Pens get Zucker back, Smith goes back to Vegas and Coyotes get something from the Pens and Vegas for retaining on Smith and trading Zucker? Stranger things have happened.

Zucker? As a last resort…..still only a maybe. Too injury prone. Has to be better options.