The only two players who might be worse than Glass and Taylor Pyatt and Jonathan Scott. There is 0% chance Downie is worse. Just wait until you watch Glass try to play night in and night out - he is awful. And it wasn't only last year - Glass was terrible the year before. He's just a bad hockey player.
- mw630

Rangers have enough depth, they won't have to play Glass night in and night out. But when they do play him, NY will see how terribad he actually is.

Rangers have enough depth, they won't have to play Glass night in and night out. But when they do play him, NY will see how terribad he actually is.
- PittsPens

True - but I don't think the Pens have to rely on Downie to play every night either. And he isn't signed to a 3yr deal at 1.4+ a season. If the surgery to repair Downie's hearing doesn't improve his play, he'll be demoted and someone like Megna will fill his role in the bottom 6. Watching Glass and Pyatt try to play hockey last year was so painful. I just can't figure out how anyone watched him play the last two seasons and thought to themselves that he deserved a raise and a 3 year contract.

True - but I don't think the Pens have to rely on Downie to play every night either. And he isn't signed to a 3yr deal at 1.4+ a season. If the surgery to repair Downie's hearing doesn't improve his play, he'll be demoted and someone like Megna will fill his role in the bottom 6. Watching Glass and Pyatt try to play hockey last year was so painful. I just can't figure out how anyone watched him play the last two seasons and thought to themselves that he deserved a raise and a 3 year contract.
- mw630

I feel like Glass is either gonna be a super terrible trainwreck or he's gonna be a fan favorite like Prust. I seriously don't see how he lacks any of the tools Prust or Dorsett had. He can skate, fight, and is willing to block a Weber slapshot with his face. If he can continue to do that and not be a total defensive liability, then I think we'll be satisfied with Glass.

$1.4M seems like a lot but it's what 4th liners like him who aren't in decline get paid nowadays.

I feel like Glass is either gonna be a super terrible trainwreck or he's gonna be a fan favorite like Prust. I seriously don't see how he lacks any of the tools Prust or Dorsett had. He can skate, fight, and is willing to block a Weber slapshot with his face. If he can continue to do that and not be a total defensive liability, then I think we'll be satisfied with Glass.

$1.4M seems like a lot but it's what 4th liners like him who aren't in decline get paid nowadays.
- rangerdanger94

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Personally, I think he has already declined. He is willing to fight and block shots, but he is not a great skater by any means. He blocks shots because he's constantly pinned in his own end. In 115 games with the Pens he had 15 points and was a negative 19. I know +/- isn't a great evaluation tool, and he wasn't brought in to score a bunch of points, but those are well below the numbers other 4th line guys are getting and they aren't getting 3 year deals. If you look at his possession stats, they are awful too. A bunch of bad Penguins (Glass, Vitale, Engelland, Orpik) got way too much money and term on their new contracts. Glass wasn't misused by XHCDB, so if he really turns it around for you guys, I would be really surprised.

I've got to laugh at this a little bit:

1) Niskanen was a decent defender. At best, he is as good as Erhoff. Erhoff has a cannon and was lost on a terrible Buf team

2) Orpik was physical and did block a lot of shots, but it's simple to block a ton of shots when you're alway pinned in your own zone. He has been one of my favorite players, but he is finished. He was slow to begin with and lost another step. That was an awful signing by Washington. Orpik < Bortuzzo at this point in his career, and Bortuzzo won't make the Pen's top 6.

3) I love that Philly fans trashed Neal while he was with the Pens but now that he's gone, he's amazing. Is he a better pure goal scorer than Hornqvist? Yes. But Hornqvist is a better all around player, which is exactly what the Pens needed. Scoring isn't a problem, and won't be a problem with this team. Look at Neal's numbers the year before he came to the Pens and compare them to Hornqvist's last year - they are very similar. Malkin will make Hornqvist better, plain and simple. Plus, he won't take the terrible penalties that Neal took. Neal's numbers are going to plummet playing with Riberio this year. Spaling will be playing on the 4th line, the 2nd line winger is likely to be Bennett.

4) I have my questions about Dupuis, but i'll wait until the beginning of the season to doubt him - he's a work out machine. If a 30+ goal scorer in Kunitz is a 2nd line winger - I'll take him every day of the week. The Pens don't need the most talented people playing around Crosby, just players he can play with. Look back at the Dups - Crosby - Kunitz stats.

5) If you watched Glass/Vitale/Adams/Kobasew/Pyatt try to play hockey last year, you would know why Pens fans are happy with the new players. Not that they are the best of players, but they have much better possession stats and better scoring abilities. The Pens no longer have the worst bottom 6 in hockey.

6) Of course the two best players are expected to lead the team - that's why they get paid the most money. I have no worries about the D struggling. The goalie situation is still a concern, but Greiss > Zatkoff so at least it's slightly better than last year.
- mw630

1) If Erhoff was so good how come he wasn't part of the solution in Buffalo?

2) Disagree, Orpik will have a good season with Caps assuming Holtby can make a save.

3) Neal has a good shot, he excelled with Malkin because he was just a triggerman. If he had to create his own space, he didn't do so well. Also he took a lot of liberties on other players, how many times has he kneed someone in the head?

4) Kunitz is fine, on any other team he is a 2nd line forwar though, Dupuis just isn't good. Crosby makes him a decent player but the Pens could do so much better winger wise than him.

5) It isn't very relevant. A lot of those guys were 4th line guys who played 8 mins a game. Bottom six now wont do much better than the old one.

6) Forgot about Griess, thought it was still Zakoff. My point is if Crosby or Malkin get hurt the team is screwed, you cant rely on just 2 players. Look at the playoffs last year. Crosby and Malkin struggled and because of that so did the Pens.

The only two players who might be worse than Glass are Taylor Pyatt and Jonathan Scott. There is 0% chance Downie is worse. Just wait until you watch Glass try to play night in and night out - he is awful. And it wasn't only last year - Glass was terrible the year before. He's just a bad hockey player.
- mw630

You obviously didn't see him in Philly last season, sure he meshed well with Read and Couturier for a bit but after that hot streak ended he was awful. When he was healthy he could never get back in the line up. Can't believe he was a 1st round pick.....

1) If Erhoff was so good how come he wasn't part of the solution in Buffalo?

2) Disagree, Orpik will have a good season with Caps assuming Holtby can make a save.

3) Neal has a good shot, he excelled with Malkin because he was just a triggerman. If he had to create his own space, he didn't do so well. Also he took a lot of liberties on other players, how many times has he kneed someone in the head?

4) Kunitz is fine, on any other team he is a 2nd line forwar though, Dupuis just isn't good. Crosby makes him a decent player but the Pens could do so much better winger wise than him.

5) It isn't very relevant. A lot of those guys were 4th line guys who played 8 mins a game. Bottom six now wont do much better than the old one.

6) Forgot about Griess, thought it was still Zakoff. My point is if Crosby or Malkin get hurt the team is screwed, you cant rely on just 2 players. Look at the playoffs last year. Crosby and Malkin struggled and because of that so did the Pens.
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

1) Because Buf didn't surround with anyone to play with. You think Niskanen would have done better? They didn't buy him out because he was bad, they were afraid of the massive recapture penalty if he retired before his contract was over.

2) Ha - ok. Glad you are so confident in that. You must know something that everyone else who agrees it's the worst contract given this offseason don't know. Look at his numbers, and the numbers of defenders playing with him/without him. He made every defender worse who played with him.

3) Not sure where you're going with this. I'm glad that he was traded, not defending him.

4) Pens could get a better winger than him, and it's possible Bennett takes his spot and moves him to the 3rd line, but the salary cap keeps them from being able to get everyone they need.

5) Those guys played a mix of 3rd and the 4th line. You're absolutely crazy if you don't think the bottom 6 is improved. It was the worst in the league last year.

6) If any teams' top two players get hurt, they're screwed. Take Toews/Kane, Getzlaf/Perry, Giroux/Couts or Simmonds, Kopitar/Carter, Bergeron/Krejci off their teams and those teams are screwed too. They may still make the playoffs, but they are not winning it all without their top two either.

I just can't wait for the facking season to start!!!

1) Because Buf didn't surround with anyone to play with. You think Niskanen would have done better? They didn't buy him out because he was bad, they were afraid of the massive recapture penalty if he retired before his contract was over.
- mw630

It's obvious that Erhoff trumps Niskanen offensively. As for defensively, I don't know. I feel like Niskanen has the advantage but with Erhoff wasting away in Buffalo for so many years who knows how good he will be defensively? Is he a guy you would trust to shutdown Ovechkin when the Pens are up by 1 goal with 2 minutes left in 3rd?

I look to a guy like Giordano who wasn't surrounded by anyone to play with in Calgary but he still played amazing. The whole not surrounded by anyone to play with seems like a cop-out to me.

Erhoff could be a trainwreck defensively or he could be good. It's tough to judge by his years in Buffalo for sure.

Also, the recapture penalties are definitely a huge reason he was bought out, but let's not forget that this helps Buffalo tank even more for McDavid.

- Guile

Rangers have enough depth, they won't have to play Glass night in and night out. But when they do play him, NY will see how terribad he actually is.
- PittsPens

Apparently Vigneault can bring out the best in him,I hope so if it's going to justify why they paid him that sum if better fourth liners were still available at that time.

1) If Erhoff was so good how come he wasn't part of the solution in Buffalo?

2) Disagree, Orpik will have a good season with Caps assuming Holtby can make a save.

3) Neal has a good shot, he excelled with Malkin because he was just a triggerman. If he had to create his own space, he didn't do so well. Also he took a lot of liberties on other players, how many times has he kneed someone in the head?

4) Kunitz is fine, on any other team he is a 2nd line forwar though, Dupuis just isn't good. Crosby makes him a decent player but the Pens could do so much better winger wise than him.

5) It isn't very relevant. A lot of those guys were 4th line guys who played 8 mins a game. Bottom six now wont do much better than the old one.

6) Forgot about Griess, thought it was still Zakoff. My point is if Crosby or Malkin get hurt the team is screwed, you cant rely on just 2 players. Look at the playoffs last year. Crosby and Malkin struggled and because of that so did the Pens.
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

My guess is because Buffalo has some very good defenders in the pipeline and there just wasn't any room for Ehrhoff. And to be fair, he probably wanted out, but likely would have stayed if the money/term was good enough.

Anybody who thinks the Pens D doesn't have question marks surrounding it is kidding themselves. Is Letang going to hold up? Is Maatta going to sustain or improve upon last year, or maybe hit a bit of a slump? Martin is a solid defender, if not flashy in the least. Scuderi? Bortuzzo? A rookie?

And yes, there are just as many question marks surrounding Philly, I'm well aware. But then again, the expectations surrounding the Flyers isn't nearly so high.

In my mind the Standings this season for the Metro division will be:

1 - Pens
2 - Rangers
3 - Flyers
4 - Jackets
5 - Caps
6 - Isles
7 - Devils
8 - Canes

Flyers in 7th? You're a hack

Pens
Isles
Blue Jackets
Rangers
Flyers
Devils
Hurricanes

My guess is because Buffalo has some very good defenders in the pipeline and there just wasn't any room for Ehrhoff. And to be fair, he probably wanted out, but likely would have stayed if the money/term was good enough.

Anybody who thinks the Pens D doesn't have question marks surrounding it is kidding themselves. Is Letang going to hold up? Is Maatta going to sustain or improve upon last year, or maybe hit a bit of a slump? Martin is a solid defender, if not flashy in the least. Scuderi? Bortuzzo? A rookie?

And yes, there are just as many question marks surrounding Philly, I'm well aware. But then again, the expectations surrounding the Flyers isn't nearly so high.
- wolfhounds

Despres was ready to be an impact NHL player 2 years ago. He's been better than Orpik that entire time. He got Bylsma'd. He's not even close to a rookie. The only question mark is whether he or Maatta will be in the top 4 and whether Scuderi can bounce back.

Flyers in 7th? You're a hack
- flyerscup2011

well thought out response from a flyers fan.

It's obvious that Erhoff trumps Niskanen offensively. As for defensively, I don't know. I feel like Niskanen has the advantage but with Erhoff wasting away in Buffalo for so many years who knows how good he will be defensively? Is he a guy you would trust to shutdown Ovechkin when the Pens are up by 1 goal with 2 minutes left in 3rd?

I look to a guy like Giordano who wasn't surrounded by anyone to play with in Calgary but he still played amazing. The whole not surrounded by anyone to play with seems like a cop-out to me.

Erhoff could be a trainwreck defensively or he could be good. It's tough to judge by his years in Buffalo for sure.

Also, the recapture penalties are definitely a huge reason he was bought out, but let's not forget that this helps Buffalo tank even more for McDavid.
- rangerdanger94

Niskanen is not a 1st pairing defenseman. Ehrhoff has been that and did well. I wouldn't compare both players. Ehrhoff is Martin 2.0. Anyway, I liked Niskanen but I know he's not top pairing material. Ehrhoff will be on the 2nd pairing for us since we already have Martin/Letang there and should do just fine.

I bet the Penguins offered the same $4M they paid Ehrhoff to Niskanen but it was time to cash in for him.