So would rather have Eberle/Yakupov or Hall alone? I always thought Eberle was the more cerebral guy on your roster.
- Barnaby36

Eberle is more cerebral but lacks top end speed and grit. Yakupov has feistiness and with the right linemates I think he can be just as good as eberle.

Hall is our best player and it's not even close right now. He's a better playmaker than he gets credit for too. Maybe nuge gets there once he adds weight.

So would rather have Eberle/Yakupov or Hall alone? I always thought Eberle was the more cerebral guy on your roster.
- Barnaby36

at the moment i have to say hall.
hes our franchise player.

yakupov could be a great player, but im not quite as positive that he becomes the player many oiler fans believe he will be. after a strong rookie season, i was so disappointed in how invisible he was so many nights. hopefully just a sophmore slump.
if he becomes that dynamic goal scorer that is also tough to play against/ pest, ill take ebs and him.

eberle is certainly a more cerebral player and 'slicker' with the puck than hall too. but i think he's the type of complimentary guy that every good team has, but not the go to possession driver. (now we just have to get good.... )
he also isnt near the skater nor has the grit hall does. hopefully he's good for 65-70 a year.

my guess is going forward the two cornerstones are hall and nuge. with ebs and yakupov riding shotgun as our snipers.

here's hopin.....

good evening gentlemen. very long night. being a volunteer firefighter takes a toll on you sometimes. suicides are just some of the worst calls to get.
but anyways


i would trade sutter for perron but not yakopuv. penguins need the character, not the flashy talented guys like yaks.

good evening gentlemen. very long night. being a volunteer firefighter takes a toll on you sometimes. suicides are just some of the worst calls to get.
but anyways


i would trade sutter for perron but not yakopuv. penguins need the character, not the flashy talented guys like yaks.
- SuperHenderson13

fair enough.

but just for argument sake; i think the media nonsense with yaks was way overblown.
doesnt help hes russian neither. and darren dreger is a superdouche.

by all accounts from the coaching staff, hes actually a very hard worker and is one of the most willing oilers to get combatative and stick up for his teammates.

but thus far, perron has certainly proven alot more in terms of character and those intangibles

fair enough.

but just for argument sake; i think the media nonsense with yaks was way overblown.
doesnt help hes russian neither. and darren dreger is a superdouche.

by all accounts from the coaching staff, hes actually a very hard worker and is one of the most willing oilers to get combatative and stick up for his teammates.

but thus far, perron has certainly proven alot more in terms of character and those intangibles
- hugefemale dog77

thats just it. we could take a risk on yakupov and hope he develops into that mature kid that we need him to be, but goal scoring and talent havent been and wont be the problem for the penguins as long as the likes of crosby, malkin, and letang are around. give us the gritty winger signed at a very reasonable amount and at a very good age. perfect fit for us. having perron on one line and hornqvist on another makes us a match better team already compared to last year.

thats just it. we could take a risk on yakupov and hope he develops into that mature kid that we need him to be, but goal scoring and talent havent been and wont be the problem for the penguins as long as the likes of crosby, malkin, and letang are around. give us the gritty winger signed at a very reasonable amount and at a very good age. perfect fit for us. having perron on one line and hornqvist on another makes us a match better team already compared to last year.
- SuperHenderson13

well said. and again, fair enough.

i think the consensus from both sides is that theyre just isnt a deal to be done involving sutter and perron/yakupov.

well said. and again, fair enough.

i think the consensus from both sides is that theyre just isnt a deal to be done involving sutter and perron/yakupov.
- hugefemale dog77

agreed. dont think we match up.

i think spaling is just as big of a problem. not a huge fan of his, especially if it means giving him a lot.

the sense i get is that sutter only wants a 1 or 2 year deal to take him to UFA status. with what guys like bolland got, hard to argue his logic. but he also has no power here with Goc able to step in to his role.

back to back top tens and 3rd in ppg this year.

I think an argument can be made for sharp, zetterberg and parise still as there all abit better defensively. But I think as soon as this year the two best left wingers in the game will unequivocally be hall and benn.
I think Taylor's ceiling still has aways to go as he needs work defensively, as well as in tight spaces. When he figures out how to be more effective playing at less than 100mph, hes gonna be great.
Admittedly abit biased. But he carries the on his back. Any debate between him or eberle is now dead
- hugefemale dog77

That 1st back to back season needs an *. Shortened season inflated a lot of stats. Pascal Freakin Dupuis had 20G that season. Which I'll admit the NHL needs a shorter season to make the games better, that was an exciting season. Let's see what he can do next yr with a better team. I also want to add that that division was terrible that yr. Van, CGY, COL that season as well. With Hall, RNH, Yak, Eberle, that's some top talent for the top 2 lines. If they can keep that together with some support, its pretty deadly. That will be a huge challenge though.

That 1st back to back season needs an *. Shortened season inflated a lot of stats. Pascal Freakin Dupuis had 20G that season. Which I'll admit the NHL needs a shorter season to make the games better, that was an exciting season. Let's see what he can do next yr with a better team. I also want to add that that division was terrible that yr. Van, CGY, COL that season as well. With Hall, RNH, Yak, Eberle, that's some top talent for the top 2 lines. If they can keep that together with some support, its pretty deadly. That will be a huge challenge though.
- sammy87

i dont really think it's about the totals per se, but more ppg. he was 6th last year in that category.
either way, im certain if he stays healthy hall will be among the league leaders for many seasons. so yeah, if u think an asterisk is deserved beside the shortened season, fair enough.

Jordan Eberle would do well on a line with Kunitz and Crosby or Hörnqvist and Malkin. Definitely. The guy has good hands.....now lets wake up from this impossible dream.

Btw...seems like Spaling just wants too much $$$.

I'd try to bring Mueller fast for a reasonable price.

That could be feasible. Be tough to part with Moroz, hard to peg him as a 3rd line winger or a budding power forward all teams need. Showed good signs this year.
- ystoil

Moroz could be a useful player, but I would very likely trade him for Sutter straight up and be quite happy with it.

Jordan Eberle would do well on a line with Kunitz and Crosby or Hörnqvist and Malkin. Definitely. The guy has good hands.....now lets wake up from this impossible dream.

Btw...seems like Spaling just wants too much $$$.

I'd try to bring Mueller fast for a reasonable price.
- Barnaby36

Spaling, now there's a guy I was hoping the Oilers targeted around the time they were shopping Gagner last summer.

Best set of trade talk I've seen on this site ever........

Best set of trade talk I've seen on this site ever........
- walshy66

Totally new proposals are refreshing to see

Seriously though, it's nice to see two fanbases discussing things somewhat logically and without much bickering.

As much as I would welcome seto on for a 1 yr 1mil deal... we need to stop adding players unless they are top 6... we have to play the kids in wbs or why even have a team... There is some decent talent down there and if they can get their foot in the door bc sutter and spaling want too much money then by all means let them fight for a spot... we don't need to go out and get seto mueller and whoever else now e wants when there are capable candidates in the system...


And I think once spaling arb is decided they will figure out what to do with sutter.. my guess is sign and trade.. for who and what idk...

Totally new proposals are refreshing to see

Seriously though, it's nice to see two fanbases discussing things somewhat logically and without much bickering.
- HopintheCordoba

Moroz could be a useful player, but I would very likely trade him for Sutter straight up and be quite happy with it.
- Morris

Yep. I think I'd make that trade too.

As much as I would welcome seto on for a 1 yr 1mil deal... we need to stop adding players unless they are top 6... we have to play the kids in wbs or why even have a team... There is some decent talent down there and if they can get their foot in the door bc sutter and spaling want too much money then by all means let them fight for a spot... we don't need to go out and get seto mueller and whoever else now e wants when there are capable candidates in the system...


And I think once spaling arb is decided they will figure out what to do with sutter.. my guess is sign and trade.. for who and what idk...
- nh4442

Seto wouldn't be for the bottom six. He'd be a top 6 or scratch. We don't have anyone that's ready right now in WBS to fill out a top 6 roll, so the let the kids play argument doesn't really apply here.

On a semi-related note: lets imagine a world in which Spalling demands too much money and we are either stuck with an absurd cap hit or are forced to trade him. Do we lose the Neal trade off of the virtue that we probably could have gotten a better package than Neal for Hornqvist straight up?

That being said, I'm glad that the Neal trade, which probably still made the team better is at worst a lateral move, is the only move that I've questioned Old Man Ruth's logic on. The old timer truly did have a killer offseason. Hopefully he has one more thing up his sleeve.

Seto wouldn't be for the bottom six. He'd be a top 6 or scratch. We don't have anyone that's ready right now in WBS to fill out a top 6 roll, so the let the kids play argument doesn't really apply here.

On a semi-related note: lets imagine a world in which Spalling demands too much money and we are either stuck with an absurd cap hit or are forced to trade him. Do we lose the Neal trade off of the virtue that we probably could have gotten a better package than Neal for Hornqvist straight up?

That being said, I'm glad that the Neal trade, which probably still made the team better is at worst a lateral move, is the only move that I've questioned Old Man Ruth's logic on. The old timer truly did have a killer offseason. Hopefully he has one more thing up his sleeve.
- Victoro311

I'm not saying that wbs kids play top 6. The only one who has shown he can is megna when he played on geno line he put up like 4 pts in 6 games... I'm saying if kapanen isn't ready you still have megna payerl sill and others to put in bottom 6 and fill top 6 with (and I hate saying this) dupes or downie

And no we lost the neal trade by a small margarine, ... I would have taken horn and one of their 2nds. Instead of dealing with and rfa who wants too much money... we already have that in sutter...

Seto wouldn't be for the bottom six. He'd be a top 6 or scratch. We don't have anyone that's ready right now in WBS to fill out a top 6 roll, so the let the kids play argument doesn't really apply here.

On a semi-related note: lets imagine a world in which Spalling demands too much money and we are either stuck with an absurd cap hit or are forced to trade him. Do we lose the Neal trade off of the virtue that we probably could have gotten a better package than Neal for Hornqvist straight up?

That being said, I'm glad that the Neal trade, which probably still made the team better is at worst a lateral move, is the only move that I've questioned Old Man Ruth's logic on. The old timer truly did have a killer offseason. Hopefully he has one more thing up his sleeve.
- Victoro311

Just picturing Spaling in a dark room trying to negotiate with 14 assistant GMs..

But yes, I think Spaling needs to be here and needs to be a competent 3rd line winger or else we lost the trade, imo. We threw out a lot of big names, packages for a potential Neal trade... and nothing against Hornqvist...but I don't think he alone would be enough for me to like the trade.

And I agree, I've loved all these offseason moves.

Spaling, now there's a guy I was hoping the Oilers targeted around the time they were shopping Gagner last summer.
- Morris

Interesting...a lot of people seem to love this guy. Yet, Pens fans in general aren't too thrilled about having him.

Interesting...a lot of people seem to love this guy. Yet, Pens fans in general aren't too thrilled about having him.
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I like the idea of Spaling a lot more than Spaling himself. I think he's the exact player we need on the 3rd line, but the price we're going to get him at is no bueno. As my gambling addict friend would say: not a value pick.

EDIT: I have a feeling Spaling will either end up being a fan favorite, or public enemy #2 behind Scuderi in Pittsburgh. There will be no in between.

I like the idea of Spaling a lot more than Spaling himself. I think he's the exact player we need on the 3rd line, but the price we're going to get him at is no bueno. As my gambling addict friend would say: not a value pick.
- Victoro311

Not to make light of a potentially serious problem..how can one get addicted to gambling? One night in Vegas and I lost enough money to ever do it again haha.

I really think Spaling will be similar to Jokinen. Jack of all trades, nothing flashy, but competent hockey player. Good third liner with a small potential for Geno's line given how Geno can play with those types of wingers.

Maybe that's wishful thinking. But I do think $2M is a fair price for him at his age/resume. Wouldn't go above $2M though.

Most of us are bashing Sutter or want him traded (mostly due to what he might cost). So set aside his pricetag for a minute, does anyone think he will be an above average 3rd line center this season with good linemates? I think the potential is there. And having Sid, Geno, Sutter, Goc down the middle might be one of the best center lineups in the league.

I like the idea of Spaling a lot more than Spaling himself. I think he's the exact player we need on the 3rd line, but the price we're going to get him at is no bueno. As my gambling addict friend would say: not a value pick.

EDIT: I have a feeling Spaling will either end up being a fan favorite, or public enemy #2 behind Scuderi in Pittsburgh. There will be no in between.
- Victoro311

If you play on the 3rd line in Pittsburgh (past few years at least) you are hated 99% of the time because you aren't putting up Crosby or Malkin numbers...