Not to mention the center we have is a turd. While our top 6 is the best in the league our bottom 6 is the worst in the league.
- nbartley9

i wouldnt call sutter a turd

Random thought, feel free to poop on it:

Pens sign Ryan Whitney to a low-paying deal as a 5-6 Dman
- TheJerseyDevil1

That's like me saying how about the devils sign bryzgalov to a low paying deal as your 3rd goalie

Not to mention the center we have is a turd. While our top 6 is the best in the league our bottom 6 is the worst in the league.
- nbartley9

You are fired up today my man.

It does show the organization likes him, as they like to bring in a couple of more veteran prospects to help with the young guys, so they must think he is a good role model.

But for him to go, he knows the competition on the blue line, he probably wants to get in front of Pens' management as often as he can. It's a no-brainer if invited.
- rival22

Is it safe to say Dumoulin surpassed J.Morrow on the depth chart?

Who's going to have a better carreer? Anyone with a guess?

i wouldnt call sutter a turd
- stayinthefnnet

He is pretty bad.

Jussi, Sutter, Vitale, Glass, and Adams make up our bottom 6 right now. I honestly would take just about anyone in the league over all of those guys. (sorry Adams)

Is it safe to say Dumoulin surpassed J.Morrow on the depth chart?

Who's going to have a better carreer? Anyone with a guess?
- Orpik44

I'd say it depends on what you're looking for and what role each player is put in. Dumoulin always was supposed to be a really solid all-around dman, who looks like he could potentially QB a 2nd PP based on what he was doing last year in Wilkes.

I'd venture to guess very few defensive prospects have as good of a slap shot as Joe Morrow. If used right, and he develops a bit more of an all around game, he can be very, very good.

You are fired up today my man.
- dbell646

I have had 3 days to sit and stir about Cooke leaving, with out having access to a computer. I just had my phone, it was a hard 3 days.

He is pretty bad.

Jussi, Sutter, Vitale, Glass, and Adams make up our bottom 6 right now. I honestly would take just about anyone in the league over all of those guys. (sorry Adams)
- nbartley9

im not going to say that is a solid group, but that is also the reality of having so many big contracts. adams is what he is. cant really hate it. really cheap fourth line guy who is mainly there for penalty kill, so he is fine. jussi isnt that expensive with carolina retaining some salary. while not your prototypical 3rd liner, his versatility makes him a keeper in my book. so there is another one.
glass is fairly useless, and vitale has seemingly lost what make him a spark plug. he shouldnt be an every day player. i will gladly agree with you on those two.

sutter isnt the most physical guy, but maybe that will change with time. at the very least, he plays very good defense, and over a full year, i expect around 18 goals and 40-45 points. not bad at all for a young guy.

i will say, that our problem with the lower lines is a lack of identity and competent grit.

Not to mention the center we have is a turd. While our top 6 is the best in the league our bottom 6 is the worst in the league.
- nbartley9

Sutter is not a bad player he just needs to gain a few pounds. He needs to be stronger on the puck. He looks like a toothpick. Even Beau is stronger than him right now.

OK ill admit im in a very bad mood over Cooke going to Minn. I saw it on twitter at my brothers wedding and it ruined the night for me. It just really bothers me that we cant unload total crap on our team like almost every other team in the league does to keep the heart and soul of our team.

Vitale, Glass, Nisky, and Engo should not have jobs right now and it really bothers me that they do.

Sutter is not a bad player he just needs to gain a few pounds. He needs to be stronger in the puck. He looks like a toothpick. Even Beau is stronger than him right now.
- Orpik44

I'm expecting good things out of Sutter this season. It was the first time he was traded, the lockout screwed stuff up, he didn't play anywhere during it, had a short camp, etc... Having a "regular" offseason routine and full camp could be a great thing for him.

OK ill admit im in a very bad mood over Cooke going to Minn. I saw it on twitter at my brothers wedding and it ruined the night for me. It just really bothers me that we cant unload total crap on our team like almost every other team in the league does to keep the heart and soul of our team.

Vitale, Glass, Nisky, and Engo should not have jobs right now and it really bothers me that they do.
- nbartley9

I was pissed to see Cooke leave too. He probably would sign for a little less with us. Why keep Glass and Niskanen?Why even keep Fleury?When you have a player as important to your team as Cooke was, you have to get it done.

Khudobin was available for $0.8M!....so we keep Fleury @ $5M and don't re-sign guys like Cooke and Morrow. Screw that.

Edit: I could live with a Vokoun/Khudobin tandem and a much better 3rd line.

I'm expecting good things out of Sutter this season. It was the first time he was traded, the lockout screwed stuff up, he didn't play anywhere during it, had a short camp, etc... Having a "regular" offseason routine and full camp could be a great thing for him.
- rival22

fullly agree. i think he has a big year, honestly i think he may even eventually price himself out of the pens plans. but right now, he is a good young cheap two way number three pivot. i certainly view him as more of a solution than the problem

Is it safe to say Dumoulin surpassed J.Morrow on the depth chart?

Who's going to have a better carreer? Anyone with a guess?
- Orpik44

Honestly, I think it's hard to compare Dumoulin & Morrow.

Morrow will always have more points & likely get bigger paychecks simply because putting pucks in the net puts fans in the seats. That being said, Dumoulin could very easily evolve into a solid Top-4 Dman who does a little of everything pretty well at the NHL level. Not a lot of glory, but not a lot of attention either. Both will have value, but it depends which type of player a team needs as to who is a better player.

I was pissed to see Cooke leave too. He probably would sign for a little less with us. Why keep Glass and Niskanen?Why even keep Fleury?When you have a player as important to your team as Cooke was, you have to get it done.

Khudobin was available for $0.8M!....so we keep Fleury @ $5M and don't re-sign guys like Cooke and Morrow. Screw that.

Edit: I could live with a Vokoun/Khudobin tandem and a much better 3rd line.
- Orpik44

I 100% agree, well maybe not with Fleury just yet im trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Cooke was so much more important to this team than just a 3rd line checker. We are going to feel that pain this season.

OK ill admit im in a very bad mood over Cooke going to Minn. I saw it on twitter at my brothers wedding and it ruined the night for me. It just really bothers me that we cant unload total crap on our team like almost every other team in the league does to keep the heart and soul of our team.

Vitale, Glass, Nisky, and Engo should not have jobs right now and it really bothers me that they do.
- nbartley9

Don't you remember when Kennedy and vitale were inserted to the lineup and provided a nice spark. Vitale is fine on the 4th line.

I'm expecting good things out of Sutter this season. It was the first time he was traded, the lockout screwed stuff up, he didn't play anywhere during it, had a short camp, etc... Having a "regular" offseason routine and full camp could be a great thing for him.
- rival22

He's also 24yrs old. He should be taking big steps forward this year & next as far as consistency and strength go.

Don't you remember when Kennedy and vitale were inserted to the lineup and provided a nice spark. Vitale is fine on the 4th line.
- drummer829

Kennedy did provide a spark yes, and we got rid of him too. which also makes me very angry. Vitale provided a 13 second spark when for those 13 seconds he remembered what got him a roster spot last year. Then he went right back to playing like the AHL'er that he is.

Kennedy did provide a spark yes, and we got rid of him too. which also makes me very angry. Vitale provided a 13 second spark when for those 13 seconds he remembered what got him a roster spot last year. Then he went right back to playing like the AHL'er that he is.
- nbartley9

He had 14 points in 11-12 on the 4th line in 68 games. That's not bad for a 4th line guy. We've seen him play with speed and grit so we know what he's capable of. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't most players on the pens go through some sort of poop period where they played like ass. It's just stupid to say vitale doesn't belong on the 4th line when there were other players who played worse than him

He's also 24yrs old. He should be taking big steps forward this year & next as far as consistency and strength go.
- s0rcerer1984

It doesn't hurt that it's a contract year for him as well. He has a lot of motivation going into next season.

He played a lot of tough minutes, and played incredibly well defensively. If he can generate a little more offense, he could be great fit on this team.

I 100% agree, well maybe not with Fleury just yet im trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Cooke was so much more important to this team than just a 3rd line checker. We are going to feel that pain this season.
- nbartley9

Had we unloaded Fleury's $5M salary and signed Khudobin for $0.8M I'd call this transaction pretty damn successful. You'd still have a bit more than $4M to work on your 3rd and 4th lines. Cooke would be re-signed and perhaps Morrow.

He is pretty bad.

Jussi, Sutter, Vitale, Glass, and Adams make up our bottom 6 right now. I honestly would take just about anyone in the league over all of those guys. (sorry Adams)
- nbartley9

I realize this may sound off given that the Pens are a legit Cup Contender in a lot of ways, but this season is a bit of a transistion year for them.

Unlike every single year under the old CBA, the NHL Cap is staying steady this year. However, UFA's are still looking to cash in, just like every other year, all the same. This puts a Cap ceiling team like Pens in a bind as prices go up, but the budget pool (ie, the Cap) stays the same.

The Penguins had three tasks this offseason:

(i) Lock-up the Core, high-skill players long-term;
(ii) Solidify the D w/ a Top-4 addition;
(iii) Solidify the Bottom-6, especially the 3rd-line W's;
(iv) Solidfy the Top-6 w/ 2 W's;

They chose to do (i), (ii), & (iv) at the expense of (iii).

In the long-term, I can't argue with this approach. Next off-season the Pens will have the Top-6 (Malkin, Neal, Crosby, Kunitz, Dupuis, Bennett) all signed along w/ Marting, Letang & Scuderi and Despres as a RFA. They'll need some bottom pairing Dmen, a back-up G, & a Bottom-6 F's. They'll have $11M plus any rise in the Cap to fill those needs, which is a pretty good Cap posistion going forward.

3rd/4th-line may suffer this year, but it is easier to get 3rd/4th liners via UFA next year than two Top-6 F's or risk losing Geno/Letang over a few $100K by letting them play out the end of their contract to re-sign Cooke.

Is it safe to say Dumoulin surpassed J.Morrow on the depth chart?

Who's going to have a better carreer? Anyone with a guess?
- Orpik44

That is like comparing Scuderi to Letang...Letang is always going to have better numbers, but you win a guy like Scuderi.

I think Dumoulin will turn out to be a solid top 4 NHL D-man...but I'm bias because I'm a BC hockey fan!

I've noticed how cynical many of us Penguin fans are becoming regarding our coach. It's pretty funny to talk about common sense moves for the club and dismiss them because Blysma will not do it.

Give young guys the ice time they need to develop.
Adjust the defensive zone coverage...like having a defensive zone coverage.
Play winger X with Sid and winger X with Geno.

At the risk of injury I'd still like Sid, Geno and some others to get more PK time. Putting a little fear of a short handed goal into the opposing PP would be great.

It seems we lacked that element last year. Even though the Pens were third in 2011-2012, I still think out top end talent can do more when we are shorthanded.

I'm confused. Is Matt Cooke a 50 goal 150 PIM guy who never got suspended and could win a fastest skater competition blindfolded.

Lets lose some the hyperbole here folks. Cooke was a good 3rd liner and a nice player to have on the PK, but what he brings to a team is easily replaceable.