2024-2025 Season Random Penguins Fodder

[Pruezy11881]

Acklin, the PBO, has resigned...

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news ... t-resigns/

[KG]

That's some lineup without Sid/Geno! Rakell 1st line C? who knew...

[KG]

Acklin, the PBO, has resigned...

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news ... t-resigns/

Wonder if FSG will bring Jagr on in some real capacity? Jagr is selling his ownership in his team. Maybe there are some dots to connect?

[Wyopen]

Is there a roster freeze during the four nations tournament?

[dark_forces]

Acklin, the PBO, has resigned...

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news ... t-resigns/

Wonder if FSG will bring Jagr on in some real capacity? Jagr is selling his ownership in his team. Maybe there are some dots to connect?

That would be big news to end the season on, especially if—as anticipated—they fall short of the postseason.

[FLPensFan]

Is there a roster freeze during the four nations tournament?

No.

[Wyopen]

Is there a roster freeze during the four nations tournament?

No.

Thanks!

[Pens4Life]

Why now force Rakell into C spot??
Hayes could play first line C for 2 games anyway, Sully's pet Glass would remain 2nd.. Lizotte 3C, Acciari 4C.. Sullivan had him as center whole freaking last season,but now all of sudden he isnt ok for few games anymore or what?! Moron coach.. not to mention putting Nieto and Imama over Jesse lol (but MS hates him,soo..)

Rakell - Hayes - Rust
Bunting - Glass - Tomasino
Beauvillier - Lizotte - Heinen
Nieto - Acciari - Imama

Would be somehow logical

[Puck-Lurker]

Why now force Rakell into C spot??
Hayes could play first line C for 2 games anyway, Sully's pet Glass would remain 2nd.. Lizotte 3C, Acciari 4C.. Sullivan had him as center whole freaking last season,but now all of sudden he isnt ok for few games anymore or what?! Moron coach.. not to mention putting Nieto and Imama over Jesse lol (but MS hates him,soo..)

Rakell - Hayes - Rust
Bunting - Glass - Tomasino
Beauvillier - Lizotte - Heinen
Nieto - Acciari - Imama

Would be somehow logical

Nieto at 3LW is more baffling than Rakell 1C to be honest.

I'd try Rakell-Glass-Rust, with the idea that Glass is there to skate around and get the puck to Rakell and Rust, who provide the bulk of our goals anyway.

Then Bunting-Ponomarev-Tomasino. Or Poulin or whoever is in WBS and should be able to play C.

Beauvillier-Lizotte-Heinen as a 3rd line. With whatever remains on the 4th.


But no, what do we do if our top guys fall off? Play nobodies in increasingly larger roles

[Wyopen]

DOC with a penalty shot goal last night in OT. Two goals since the trade. MP29 signs a team friendly contract. Which begs me to ask the question, why do players seem to do better when they’re no longer under MS’s umbrella. I know it’s a small sample, but why?

[pekkasteele]

DOC with a penalty shot goal last night in OT. Two goals since the trade. MP29 signs a team friendly contract. Which begs me to ask the question, why do players seem to do better when they’re no longer under MS’s umbrella. I know it’s a small sample, but why?

It must be that they get intimidated by a TOP 2-3 coach in the league!

[FLPensFan]

DOC with a penalty shot goal last night in OT. Two goals since the trade. MP29 signs a team friendly contract. Which begs me to ask the question, why do players seem to do better when they’re no longer under MS’s umbrella. I know it’s a small sample, but why?

I'm kind of hoping DOC does play better there to help further the proof that a good number of guys instantly play better when getting away from Mike Sullivan....but, let's also not forget that DOC has an empty net goal in garbage time, and a penalty shot goal for Vancouver. Better than nothing, but not exactly 5v5 goal scoring either.

Also of note, from Taylor in DK Friday Insider....it may not have always looked like it in the locker room, but DOC and MP are pretty close. Taylor pointed out that DOC was the only non-Swedish player to fly over to Sweden for Marcus Pettersson's wedding last summer.

I wouldn't doubt that DOC tries to stay in Vancouver if he finds some success there down the stretch.

[KG]

DOC with a penalty shot goal last night in OT. Two goals since the trade. MP29 signs a team friendly contract. Which begs me to ask the question, why do players seem to do better when they’re no longer under MS’s umbrella. I know it’s a small sample, but why?

I'm kind of hoping DOC does play better there to help further the proof that a good number of guys instantly play better when getting away from Mike Sullivan....but, let's also not forget that DOC has an empty net goal in garbage time, and a penalty shot goal for Vancouver. Better than nothing, but not exactly 5v5 goal scoring either.

Also of note, from Taylor in DK Friday Insider....it may not have always looked like it in the locker room, but DOC and MP are pretty close. Taylor pointed out that DOC was the only non-Swedish player to fly over to Sweden for Marcus Pettersson's wedding last summer.

I wouldn't doubt that DOC tries to stay in Vancouver if he finds some success there down the stretch.

Definitely see DOC staying in VAN with JR and Allvin. Taylor also said that DOC and Vinny Deshairnais swapped apartments to make the move easier. That's pretty cool

[ahawk9]

I've always liked DOC and felt he really clicked and turned a corner last season with the 16 goals. Maybe not a top 6 guy but I thought he could be that Dupuis type of player who played in the top 6 to do the dirty work for his more skilled linemates. I don't know if it's the Sully factor or not (I'm inclined to say yes simply because I've been on that "fire Sully" train since it began) but he really seemed to take a step back offensively this season. Did Sully grind the offense out of him? Or, was he nervous he was going to get the Pool Party treatment? Or, was last year an aberration? I hope he does well in Vanouver, though. Worked hard and seemed to be a guy who was popular in the room.

Glad for MP, too. Nice deal for everyone, really.

[Wyopen]

I think it’s the Sully factor also. This isn’t the first time this happened. What surprises me is that MP29 signed with VCR less than a week after being traded and at a team friendly salary. I wonder if Pittsburgh is on his no trade list. Lol.

[KG]

Bemstrom recalled. He deserves it with the season he's having.

Hopefully he will play instead of Nieto, who was playing on the 3rd line in practice yesterday. No thanks.

[Pens4Life]

I actually hope he plays on 2nd line RW and Heinen goes to 3rd LW.

[FLPensFan]

Bemstrom recalled. He deserves it with the season he's having.

Hopefully he will play instead of Nieto, who was playing on the 3rd line in practice yesterday. No thanks.

Excited to see Bemstrom. He's been really good in WBS. Let's hope he's improved and continues to at least look good while playing.

Guess who's starting in net tonight

[john66]

Bemstrom recalled. He deserves it with the season he's having.

Hopefully he will play instead of Nieto, who was playing on the 3rd line in practice yesterday. No thanks.

Excited to see Bemstrom. He's been really good in WBS. Let's hope he's improved and continues to at least look good while playing.

Guess who's starting in net tonight

Back to back, so I get why. But, yeah, enough Ned already.

[TexasPenguins]

Bemstrom recalled. He deserves it with the season he's having.

Hopefully he will play instead of Nieto, who was playing on the 3rd line in practice yesterday. No thanks.

Excited to see Bemstrom. He's been really good in WBS. Let's hope he's improved and continues to at least look good while playing.

Guess who's starting in net tonight

I’d be surprised if we see Bemstrom tonight.
I’m sure MS will play Nieto instead

[Pitts]

I think it’s the Sully factor also. This isn’t the first time this happened. What surprises me is that MP29 signed with VCR less than a week after being traded and at a team friendly salary. I wonder if Pittsburgh is on his no trade list. Lol.

To be fair, Dubas never attempted to talk contract with him. I'm pretty sure he would have signed with the Pens if he were given the opportunity.

[longtimefan]

Perhaps this subject has been broached before, but is it possible to trade a coach in the NHL? It's very difficult to find reliable information. It has been done before. It's been a long time. The Flyers got a 1st round pick for Fred Shero in 1979, and the Nordiques received a 1st for Michel Bergeron in the mid '80s. Also from the Rangers.

I think Sullivan is a good coach, and that seems to be the prevailing wisdom around the league. I also believe his time has come as the Pens' coach. He's well past the expiration date for an average NHL coach. Cooper is the only one with more tenure. Those two are the only coaches making $5M plus. Sullivan has 2 seasons left at $5.5M per. That's $11M that doesn't affect the cap but does the bottom line. It's not an insignificant amount. Especially on a team whose attendance is going to suffer during a rebuild. They're on the hook if he's fired, although I believe it offsets if he's hired elsewhere. But the Pens would likely still be on the hook for a portion. Or Sully could decide to take a year off to concentrate on the Olympics and still get paid. Trading him would wipe the contract off the books.

The Rangers were rumored to be interested in him when there was talk he may become available. It would be a typical New York move. Especially after they've underachieved so badly under Laviolette this season. It would be remarkable if the pick they received from the Canucks ends up being in 2026, and the Pens draft position would be tied to how well they do under Sully.

The return wouldn't really be important. I suspect the FSG puts a lot more weight on that $11M than we do.

[FLPensFan]

Perhaps this subject has been broached before, but is it possible to trade a coach in the NHL? It's very difficult to find reliable information. It has been done before. It's been a long time. The Flyers got a 1st round pick for Fred Shero in 1979, and the Nordiques received a 1st for Michel Bergeron in the mid '80s. Also from the Rangers.

I think Sullivan is a good coach, and that seems to be the prevailing wisdom around the league. I also believe his time has come as the Pens' coach. He's well past the expiration date for an average NHL coach. Cooper is the only one with more tenure. Those two are the only coaches making $5M plus. Sullivan has 2 seasons left at $5.5M per. That's $11M that doesn't affect the cap but does the bottom line. It's not an insignificant amount. Especially on a team whose attendance is going to suffer during a rebuild. They're on the hook if he's fired, although I believe it offsets if he's hired elsewhere. But the Pens would likely still be on the hook for a portion. Or Sully could decide to take a year off to concentrate on the Olympics and still get paid. Trading him would wipe the contract off the books.

The Rangers were rumored to be interested in him when there was talk he may become available. It would be a typical New York move. Especially after they've underachieved so badly under Laviolette this season. It would be remarkable if the pick they received from the Canucks ends up being in 2026, and the Pens draft position would be tied to how well they do under Sully.

The return wouldn't really be important. I suspect the FSG puts a lot more weight on that $11M than we do.

I believe the answer is possibly, but I don't think the NHL would allow it. The NHL had a policy in the past that allowed fired but still under contract coaches and execs/GMs to be hired by other teams with some form of compensation going the other way.

Pittsburgh actually benefitted from this twice....we got a 3rd round pick from BUF when they hired Bylsma, and we got a 3rd round pick from NJ when they hired John Hynes. The 3rd from BUF got traded to Vancouver as part of the Bonino and Clendenning deal. The 3rd from NJ ended up being traded to Toronto as part of the Phil Kessel deal. The Penguins could have received compensation for Ray Shero going to NJ, but both teams waived their rights to compensation.

None of that really addresses trading an actively employed coach or GM. Based on how the rules have changed in terms of compensation for a fired but under contract coach/GM/exec, I'm guessing the NHL is not keen on giving out draft or other compensation for non-players. I'm thinking Bettman or the league would nix a trade of an active coach.

[Puck-Lurker]

I think it’s the Sully factor also. This isn’t the first time this happened. What surprises me is that MP29 signed with VCR less than a week after being traded and at a team friendly salary. I wonder if Pittsburgh is on his no trade list. Lol.

To be fair, Dubas never attempted to talk contract with him. I'm pretty sure he would have signed with the Pens if he were given the opportunity.

I'm less certain. Penguins won't be in a position to compete for a cup for (at least) three years in my view. Pettersson might like a shot at a cup with a good team. I imagine we'd be paying on top of his current extension to keep him.

Say 6.5M - 7M plus a NMC?

I'm wondering about that no contract talks thing though. Maybe GMKD didn't with Pettersson and Guentzel, because it would affect his position in trying to trade them? Speculation..

[Pitts]

I think it’s the Sully factor also. This isn’t the first time this happened. What surprises me is that MP29 signed with VCR less than a week after being traded and at a team friendly salary. I wonder if Pittsburgh is on his no trade list. Lol.

To be fair, Dubas never attempted to talk contract with him. I'm pretty sure he would have signed with the Pens if he were given the opportunity.

I'm less certain. Penguins won't be in a position to compete for a cup for (at least) three years in my view. Pettersson might like a shot at a cup with a good team. I imagine we'd be paying on top of his current extension to keep him.

Say 6.5M - 7M plus a NMC?

I'm wondering about that no contract talks thing though. Maybe GMKD didn't with Pettersson and Guentzel, because it would affect his position in trying to trade them? Speculation..

From Pettersen himself, he stated numerous time he did not want to be traded and to stay in Pittsburgh, He did, however, acknowledge the business side of it and understood why he might get traded this year. But, for sure I think the Pens might have paid more than 5.5 per to keep him.