Random Penguins Fodder

[Pitts]

On top of the powerplay issue, I think the team needs to get much more physical too. Coming down the stretch I honestly thought the Pens could match up well against most in the east. But these playoffs have been off the charts brutal on the physical side. Even the Canes have been pretty nasty. Our bottom 6 really needs some work.

[Pitts]

2 articles offering Marner to the Pens.

https://thehockeynews.com/news/five-nhl ... ove-clause

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburg ... rner-trade

[FLPensFan]

On top of the powerplay issue, I think the team needs to get much more physical too. Coming down the stretch I honestly thought the Pens could match up well against most in the east. But these playoffs have been off the charts brutal on the physical side. Even the Canes have been pretty nasty. Our bottom 6 really needs some work.

1000%. They could use another Bunting style guy in the top 6, and at least one guy in the bottom 6 that can hit, has size, can fight, and isn't devoid of skill. Jansen Harkins need not apply.

[DelPen]

Puljujarvi would be a benefit during the playoffs. He has the ability to score when he has a chance, he’s tougher than you think and he will also throw some cheap shots if he can get away with them. And Sullivan doesn’t like that which hurts his chances to play.

[FLPensFan]

Puljujarvi would be a benefit during the playoffs. He has the ability to score when he has a chance, he’s tougher than you think and he will also throw some cheap shots if he can get away with them. And Sullivan doesn’t like that which hurts his chances to play.

Puljujarvi's biggest impedement, in my eyes, is Noel Acciari. Acciari should be playing center, he should be playing RW. Puljujarvi has played RW his entire career, except when Sullivan moved him to LW then benched him because he didn't do much on his off-side that he never plays.

Eller-Puljujarvi would be 2/3 of a very solid 4th line, but there's no way they'll bench Acciari...especially since he's the only RH guy they have to take faceoffs.

[pens_CT]

2 articles offering Marner to the Pens.

https://thehockeynews.com/news/five-nhl ... ove-clause

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburg ... rner-trade

I don't follow Toronto much but Marner seems like another pass first, perimeter player. Not sure we need more of that type of guy especially at his cap hit number.

[largegarlic]

2 articles offering Marner to the Pens.

https://thehockeynews.com/news/five-nhl ... ove-clause

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburg ... rner-trade

I appreciate you posting the links, but I was hoping for some more detailed and plausible consideration of what that trade could look like. They do point out that Marner has an NTC, and that could limit what Toronto is able to get for him, but that second article seemed to be suggesting that Joseph, Graves, and/or Jarry could be the centerpieces of a Marner deal. That would be fantastic, obviously, for us, if Dubas could get Marner for Graves and/or Jarry, but that seems incredibly implausible from Toronto's perspective.

[Pruezy11881]

What the articles aren't taking into account is that the Leafs are already $14mil+ into the LTIR with all of that going away going into next season. They will be at just over 69 mil in salary cap with 12 RFA/UFA's next season. I'm not sure how busy they can be unless they absolve any depth that they have, or knowingly lose a trade with Marner just to get additional cap relief.

[FLPensFan]

Miles Wood with a nice OT goal for COL last night. If only there was someone here who thought his blend of size, speed, skill and physical play would have been a good fit for the Penguins. Better yet, if there was someone in the Penguins organization that would have looked into him as a fit.

[dark_forces]

Miles Wood with a nice OT goal for COL last night. If only there was someone here who thought his blend of size, speed, skill and physical play would have been a good fit for the Penguins. Better yet, if there was someone in the Penguins organization that would have looked into him as a fit.

His was a name you had often mentioned. I agreed. Sometimes you have to wonder what these so called hockey lifers are watching when we repeatedly acquire declining players like Petry, Rutta, Nieto, etc. and deal away fresher, younger legs (with decent offensive instincts) in Marino, Rodrigues and Matheson + botch an expansion draft and lose two useful players in McCann and Tanev.

My biggest request for offseason acquisitions is a center who can score 15-20 goals, or put up 40 pts. This would push Eller to the 4th line, ultimately strengthening it, and provide more offensive support for a team that just couldn't seem to score enough goals much of the time.

[KG]

DOC could be our version of Miles Wood for sure. Would like him to work on playing a more physical game. But he has the size, speed and smarts to be a solid contributor for cheap.

[dark_forces]

Where are the realistic lineup holes as we go into the offseason? As I look closer, I actually don't see many that are obvious.

(This lineup assumes Reilly Smith is dealt around the draft for futures. I also could see Dubas parting ways with Nieto, but I kept him for this exercise.)

XXX-Crosby-Rust (possible players to fill holes: DeBrusk, Bertuzzi, Teräväinen)
Bunting-Malkin-Rakell
DOC-XXX-Puustinen (possible players to fill holes: Domi, Roslovic, Monahan)
Nieto-Eller-Acciari
x-Puljujarvi, Poulin

Pettersson-Letang
Graves-Karlsson
POJ-St. Ivany
x-Ludvig, Shea

Jarry
Blomqvist

[FLPensFan]

Where are the realistic lineup holes as we go into the offseason? As I look closer, I actually don't see many that are obvious.

(This lineup assumes Reilly Smith is dealt around the draft for futures. I also could see Dubas parting ways with Nieto, but I kept him for this exercise.)

XXX-Crosby-Rust (possible players to fill holes: DeBrusk, Bertuzzi, Teräväinen)
Bunting-Malkin-Rakell
DOC-XXX-Puustinen (possible players to fill holes: Domi, Roslovic, Monahan)
Nieto-Eller-Acciari
x-Puljujarvi, Poulin

Pettersson-Letang
Graves-Karlsson
POJ-St. Ivany
x-Ludvig, Shea

Jarry
Blomqvist

Lineup holes:

1) Top 6 forward replacement for Smith
2) 3rd line center / RH centerman
3) 2nd pairing that won't be resolved in the offseason (they need to pray for a Graves rebound season, and more consistent play from EK65)

The problem is, what they SHOULD do versus what they WILL DO.

1) The lineup would be 10x stronger if Eller is their 3C. In their world, they are going to say Eller did a terrific job at 3C and doesn't need to be replaced. That may be true, but, you could have a 4C as strong as Eller, and play your 4th line a lot more, roll 4 lines consistently...or have Eller at 3C where he'll give you average at best 3C production, and then have a dime a dozen 4C. The team would be much better with Eller as their 4C for depth reasons alone.

2) I wouldn't let Nieto sniff the ice for the NHL club. He brought nothing IMO during 22 games he did manage to play. Wasn't even disappointing production...I just wasn't impressed with what I saw. Hinostroza looked really good in his first 5-6 games as a Penguin, flying around the ice and making the most of his shifts. That is what I expected from Nieto. But, Sully and Dubas will likely keep him because they have an illusion that he is a great PK guy. Saying a guy is a great PK guy as his best compliment is about as meaningful as saying I like Player X because he knows how to tie his own skates. Unless you are an awful skater or have very poor hockey IQ, any player should be able to handle PK duty.

3) Compounding on #2...if they are automatically giving Nieto a sweater, and then automatically giving Acciari a sweater...gee, then we haven't really progressed very far at all in terms of roster construction. Right now, Acciari needs to be in the lineup because they don't have any other RH centers, which is an issue for faceoff management. This is why I think one of trading for Pinto as option A, trading for Sissons as option B, and signing Roslovic as option C really need to happen. Roslovic is absolute trash on faceoffs, and he isn't great defensively. If they sign him, you are putting all your $$ and hope that he can rebound and get back to at least above average 3C production.

4) Puljujarvi is deserving of a 4th line spot, but 4LW isn't the place for him...and Acciari doesn't play LW. So Acciari will end up blocking Puljujarvi from getting better minutes or even a lineup spot, where the real option here is, play the hotter player and don't be afraid to sit Acciari. Now, if they don't get another RH center, that will make it even harder for Sullivan to pull Acciari from the lineup, or if they do but the RH center is injured.

[Dynasty1970]

Miles Wood with a nice OT goal for COL last night. If only there was someone here who thought his blend of size, speed, skill and physical play would have been a good fit for the Penguins. Better yet, if there was someone in the Penguins organization that would have looked into him as a fit.

That would mean we would need to hire Scouts. Not something the Penguins believe in. Anyone can select good players from the draft. Just like anyone can coach a Power Play filled with an all star cast.

[Dynasty1970]

Where are the realistic lineup holes as we go into the offseason? As I look closer, I actually don't see many that are obvious.

(This lineup assumes Reilly Smith is dealt around the draft for futures. I also could see Dubas parting ways with Nieto, but I kept him for this exercise.)

XXX-Crosby-Rust (possible players to fill holes: DeBrusk, Bertuzzi, Teräväinen)
Bunting-Malkin-Rakell
DOC-XXX-Puustinen (possible players to fill holes: Domi, Roslovic, Monahan)
Nieto-Eller-Acciari
x-Puljujarvi, Poulin

Pettersson-Letang
Graves-Karlsson
POJ-St. Ivany
x-Ludvig, Shea

Jarry
Blomqvist

Who do you have "penciled in" as Head Coach?

[Ericf]

Some teams don’t care about extensions not kicking in yet and they’re trying to make changes…and then there’s FSG lol

[penny lane]

DOC the lone physical presence. I would like somebody who makes Sullivan mad that he has to play him.

[Pitts]

Some teams don’t care about extensions not kicking in yet and they’re trying to make changes…and then there’s FSG lol

Count down to WBS coaching job...

[Skatingpen]

Jake is making himself a lot of money. He is so good

[stonewizard51]

So he doesn't need to be on Sid's wing to be good ? Whodathunkit.

[penny lane]

PITTSBURGH -- Mike Sullivan's genuine ambition is to guide the Penguins through their next great wave. Kyle Dubas' genuine ambition is precisely the same, including the part where Sullivan's behind the bench

https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2024 ... ins-nhl-dk

Molinari, Yohe, and now Dejan with Sullivan article. All is good and great with Dubas & Sullivan.
So now go and fix parts of the team so they can compete from day 1.

[Pruezy11881]

Pusty got resigned to a 2 year deal.

https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/pengu ... r-contract

[DelPen]

Surprised he didn’t test the market. Even if the team told him he was in their plans there hasn’t been a player under 30 that has been trusted with a spot they earned unless massive injuries happened since 2016.

[Puck-Lurker]

Pusty got resigned to a 2 year deal.

https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/pengu ... r-contract

That's nice and team friendly. Just keep him up over the Nietos of this world.

[Pitts]

Surprised he didn’t test the market. Even if the team told him he was in their plans there hasn’t been a player under 30 that has been trusted with a spot they earned unless massive injuries happened since 2016.

Didn't he play every game since like February?