I had a complaint that he shot too much... 3 feet wide and 2 feet above the net or direct center-mass on a goaltender.

In fact, it's looked at times this year as though the Penguins and TK went to the same school of shot accuracy.
- ScienceJesus

I was just bugging dbell with that post.


I would like to see TK and Letang in the target drill during the skills competition. That would be some good entertainment.

I think it would be Orpik who would need to start calling his real estate agent if the Penguins move forward with Niskanen.
- Ryan_Wilson

I can't say that would terribly upset me either.

What the frank?!

Did Bylsma mismanage Crosby? Malkin? Letang? Staal? Neal? Niskanen? Because when he got a hold of them, Crosby was 22, Malkin was 23, Letang was 22, Staal was 21, Neal was 23, and Niskanen was 24.

So, we ignore all that and instead focus on what, Despres? Tangradi? Megna? Jeffrey? Letestu? Who exactly? So the complaint is that Bylsma doesn't go with the fans' choices at the bottom of his lineup?

And then as far as lineups, when healthy, there's not a lot of questioning his decisions. I'll give the guy some slack if goes with the veteran on Crosby's wing instead of the rookie coming off a weeks-long injury, especially because he saw 14/87/59 in practice, and I didn't.

The Iginla thing has been beaten to death. Bylsma had no good place to put him. The only person I blame for Iginla not working out is Iginla.



All teams blow leads. Bylsma doesn't do it anymore frequently than Babcock/Boudreau/Julien, etc. It's home-team myopia to suggest differently.

Penguins' Record - Leading After Second Period:

2013-2014 - 21-2-1
2012-2013 - 19-1
2011-2012 - 32-0-3
2010-2011 - 32-3-1
2009-2010 - 28-3-2

Didn't parse Bylsma's inaugural half-season. He won most of those games, so doubt it would skew it.
- hardnosed

Pointing out that he s inherited superstars regardless of their age does not favor your arguement in the slightest way... You can't just ignore the comments of 2 vital players on this team because their inconvient .. They play like an Allstar team and win on talent more often then not... Some of us having been saying this all season .. Win or lose ... It will be tough to win a cup if what nisk and scuds are saying is correct.
And for everyone that wants to point out tangradi ... Letestu and Lovejoy have gone on to be key contributors to their new teams... I don't care if they win yen straight or lose ten straight .. Some people on this these think its sac religious to point out that bylsma makes bad choices at times ...

For arguments sake, pretend we didn't have Letang or Orpik, could Niskanen be more than a #5 in that situation?
- canadianpenfan

That's the big question... If one of the current top 4 aren't back next season, Niskanen is an ideal fill in. But is he the long term guy there? I mean long term enough to spend $4+ mil on for the next handful of seasons?

I liked TK, but if I had one complaint it was that he shot too much.
- canadianpenfan

I see what you did there

I can't say that would terribly upset me either.
- canadianpenfan

I would move forward without Orpik. It doesn't make sense given his age and what it will cost. There are plenty of younger options that are cheaper.

This isn't a knock on Orpik, it's more of a compliment to Ray Shero and the amount of quality options the Penguins have.

I was just bugging dbell with that post.


I would like to see TK and Letang in the target drill during the skills competition. That would be some good entertainment.
- canadianpenfan

They'd need to add double-paned glass to the area high and wide of the net or else it'll be a 4 hour adventure with how many times they'll have to replace that glass. It can only take so many pucks before it starts to break.

i would not object to trading letang if the return is high enough. my preference would be to retain martin, niskanen, maatta and lose orpik and letang if all could not be kept. i am indifferent to despres staying or going. if there is only enough $ for niskanen or orpik, i would prefer niskanen staying but not for more than 5M/yr.

I had a complaint that he shot too much... 3 feet wide and 2 feet above the net or direct center-mass on a goaltender.

In fact, it's looked at times this year as though the Penguins and TK went to the same school of shot accuracy.
- ScienceJesus

If he's missing the net it means he's possessing the puck which currently our 3rd line rarely does that

as a player do you want more money and a shorter contract or perhaps a little less but a longer contract? at 27 years of age, do you prefer getting a max year deal so you know you are signed thru age 35? or do you prefer to get perhaps a little more money and sign another deal at age 31 or 32?
- i'mjustafan

Every player is different and every situation is different. You'd think that Niskanen would like to cash in on his good play and get locked in with a long term deal somewhere, but he came from what turned into a bad situation in Dallas, and worked hard to get his game where it is.

Does he just take the most money and be "the guy" with all of the pressure on another team somewhere.... or take a shorter/smaller deal on a team where it's an ideal situation?

They'd need to add double-paned glass to the area high and wide of the net or else it'll be a 4 hour adventure with how many times they'll have to replace that glass. It can only take so many pucks before it starts to break.
- ScienceJesus

That would be fun. A good prelude to watching Adams and Pyatt duel it out for the fastest skater.

If he's missing the net it means he's possessing the puck which currently our 3rd line rarely does that
- dbell646

This is true lol, but it's a double edge sword. When TK gets the puck it either results in a whistle, or a breakout pass to the other team, so possession ends anyway

The Pens are clearly a top team in the East, if not the top, but thanks for giving the Panthers some credit in your blog. Obviously, the Penguins played a little flat being off all that time and getting guys back from injury but they did have some quality chances that Clemmenson made some quality stops on. Panthers PP is probably the worst I have seen in a long time, if not the worst. They are a good, young team that when on their game have shown they can play with any team 5 on 5. Their main crutch is they are inconsistent and the aforementioned PP woes. It was a fun game to watch as a Panthers fan.

Orpik is this years whipping boy. Previously occupied by the likes of Martin and tk. Doug Murray in that scenario garnered 2 seconds. I wouldn't be upset if we got that but I'd prefer to keep Orpik. Personally I'd rest him after the Olympic break for a week or so

That's the big question... If one of the current top 4 aren't back next season, Niskanen is an ideal fill in. But is he the long term guy there? I mean long term enough to spend $4+ mil on for the next handful of seasons?
- rival22

I think he probably is worth it considering alternatives. Assuming they sign him and let Orpik walk, he immediately goes into top 4 and maybe top pair a year later considering Scuderi's age(and whether or not Letang/Martin are the defacto top pairing). Other options are to let young guys fill the gaps(unlikely), or to go sign another FA ala Michalek or more recently Scuds. FA isnt going to come cheap, and at least Nisk is a known commodity.

The Pens are clearly a top team in the East, if not the top, but thanks for giving the Panthers some credit in your blog. Obviously, the Penguins played a little flat being off all that time and getting guys back from injury but they did have some quality chances that Clemmenson made some quality stops on. Panthers PP is probably the worst I have seen in a long time, if not the worst. They are a good, young team that when on their game have shown they can play with any team 5 on 5. Their main crutch is they are inconsistent and the aforementioned PP woes. It was a fun game to watch as a Panthers fan.
- BravePackCats27

now we gotta keep it up tonight against a Sabres team we should beat.

The Pens are clearly a top team in the East, if not the top, but thanks for giving the Panthers some credit in your blog. Obviously, the Penguins played a little flat being off all that time and getting guys back from injury but they did have some quality chances that Clemmenson made some quality stops on. Panthers PP is probably the worst I have seen in a long time, if not the worst. They are a good, young team that when on their game have shown they can play with any team 5 on 5. Their main crutch is they are inconsistent and the aforementioned PP woes. It was a fun game to watch as a Panthers fan.
- BravePackCats27

There really is no reason for their power play to be as poor as it is with such a competent quarterback in Campbell.

I think he probably is worth it considering alternatives. Assuming they sign him and let Orpik walk, he immediately goes into top 4 and maybe top pair a year later considering Scuderi's age(and whether or not Letang/Martin are the defacto top pairing). Other options are to let young guys fill the gaps(unlikely), or to go sign another FA ala Michalek or more recently Scuds. FA isnt going to come cheap, and at least Nisk is a known commodity.
- Rawdog9755

True... Shero has to bring either Niskanen or Orpik back next season as a top 4 d-man. Each of those two has question marks there. At least with Niskanen, he can be there for the next handful of seasons.

True... Shero has to bring either Niskanen or Orpik back next season as a top 4 d-man. Each of those two has question marks there. At least with Niskanen, he can be there for the next handful of seasons.
- rival22

From a cap perspective, currently Orpik(3.75) + Nisk (2.3) are eating up roughly 6 mil. If Orpik is allowed to walk, Nisk is brought back at upto 4.75, and somebody like Bortuzzo becomes our regular 6th(600k-1mil) then we are still saving cap space going into a stretch of multiple years when the cap is rising sharply. Obviously, next year will still be a bit tough on the cap with Malkin, Kunitz, and Letang counting just shy of an additional 5 mil toward the cap with their extensions kicking in, and the need to resign some UFAs/RFA's and presumably some 3rd/4th liners.

I'm not worried about it, learn from it ( i.e. Stop being lazy) , clear, and reload for the next game.

The Pens are clearly a top team in the East, if not the top, but thanks for giving the Panthers some credit in your blog. Obviously, the Penguins played a little flat being off all that time and getting guys back from injury but they did have some quality chances that Clemmenson made some quality stops on. Panthers PP is probably the worst I have seen in a long time, if not the worst. They are a good, young team that when on their game have shown they can play with any team 5 on 5. Their main crutch is they are inconsistent and the aforementioned PP woes. It was a fun game to watch as a Panthers fan.
- BravePackCats27

Panthers played a really good game, worked their asses off. Good win.

Something interesting I heard last night- the Panthers have a winning all time record against the Pens. That surprised the poop out of me.

True... Shero has to bring either Niskanen or Orpik back next season as a top 4 d-man. Each of those two has question marks there. At least with Niskanen, he can be there for the next handful of seasons.
- rival22

It's really a tough call. I honestly don't believe the Pens can compete in the likely bidding war for Nisky. Orpik on the other hand would likely be in their price range but is showing signs of his age.

I'd say they go to Niskanen first, (maybe they already have) and get his price and then move on to Orpik. On the plus side for the Pens, I've heard a couple of interviews from Niskanen where he says he absolutely loves it here. Credits the Pens for saving his career....not sure if that's worth a million dollar discount however.

Like someone said earlier... I want to see Niskanen in the playoffs. He played pretty small last year when the physicality picked up.

r....not sure if that's worth a million dollar discount however.

Like someone said earlier... I want to see Niskanen in the playoffs. He played pretty small last year when the physicality picked up.
- madmike71

The nice thing for the Penguins is that they will get the opportunity to see Niskanen in the playoffs again before making a decision.

Good timing on this... Jesse Marshall has contributed some Niskanen stats on Rossi's latest blog:

http://blog.triblive.com/...n-niskanen/#axzz2r3P62gCq