Whatever happened to Angelo Esposito?
- 87_71_11_29

Got a few injuries and regressed. At one point, I think the year before he was drafted, he was a major high end prospect in his class.

To Ryan Wilson:

I know we bust your chops about the charts and graphs in may of your articles.....but...

I gotta say, love the format of the past 2 articles. Sprinkle these types of articles in with the charts/graphs/stats stuff, and you're the A1 blogger on this site.

I appreciate the work. Well done.
- 87_71_11_29

Wholeheartedly agreed on my part. It will be an interesting offseason. Nice job RW.

KHL standout Artemi Panarin to sign with Blackhawks, but it’s NHL or bust http://t.co/eZha7Wkd7l

It is starting to piss me off that no one wants to ever sign with the pens... No top talent NCAA player no superstars from overseas... They either go rangers or blackhawks.. (frank)ing ridiculous

KHL standout Artemi Panarin to sign with Blackhawks, but it’s NHL or bust http://t.co/eZha7Wkd7l

It is starting to piss me off that no one wants to ever sign with the pens... No top talent NCAA player no superstars from overseas... They either go rangers or blackhawks.. (frank)ing ridiculous
- nh4442

Is there a financial obligation for CHI if he doesn't stay? Otherwise, that is a steal for them. Either he is NHL ready, or he is gone. That's a great option for player and team.

I really see comeau pricing himself out of a fourth line role, but even if he can be obtained for a slight raise, i think he makes a great third line guy. Same with winnik.

guy had a rough series, but if he can be retained on the cheap, pairing him with the young guy in sundqvist could be the start to a great fourth line.

KHL standout Artemi Panarin to sign with Blackhawks, but it’s NHL or bust http://t.co/eZha7Wkd7l

It is starting to piss me off that no one wants to ever sign with the pens... No top talent NCAA player no superstars from overseas... They either go rangers or blackhawks.. (frank)ing ridiculous
- nh4442

Yea you'd think people would want to play for a team that has no idea what direction they're heading and had so much success recently

We can't do that salary wise. We already have a guy on the decline like Sharp. His name is Kunitz.
- Oneonta Penguin

I think we could do it salary wise. It would add $2.6mil to the cap but if they move/buyout Scuderi it would be a wash. Yeah he's 33 but he's got lots of speed still.

I really see comeau pricing himself out of a fourth line role, but even if he can be obtained for a slight raise, i think he makes a great third line guy. Same with winnik.

guy had a rough series, but if he can be retained on the cheap, pairing him with the young guy in sundqvist could be the start to a great fourth line.
- stayinthefnnet

Comeau was making nothing. He's going to get more than a slight raise. If he stayed healthy he would have hit 20 goals and that is what his agent will be pushing on his next contract. Unless he wants to take a discount to stay in Pittsburgh, he'll be gone. Which is unfortunate because he is useful. But that's the double-edged nature of 1 year deals.

Caputi seemed to be a good young player at the time but he sucked for the Leafs as well. I don't even know where he ended up.
- Barnaby36

I read a couple years ago he won a ball hockey tournament in the Toronto area. That's a steep drop from playing in the NHL

Comeau was making nothing. He's going to get more than a slight raise. If he stayed healthy he would have hit 20 goals and that is what his agent will be pushing on his next contract. Unless he wants to take a discount to stay in Pittsburgh, he'll be gone. Which is unfortunate because he is useful. But that's the double-edged nature of 1 year deals.
- jfkst1

i would probably go as high as 2 mil on him. Any more than that, and i think it might be time to look for the next comeau on a 1 year small deal.

It's really not terrible at all. It's a year too soon for Murray because fleurys backup never plays. It would be better to just bring up Zatkoff and his 600k contract for the year. Otherwise it's fine, there are 0 free agents worth going after save Shawn Mathias so the emphasis would have to be on beau to hit the gym and make the top 6. Another crazy option would be to try and get Phil kessel somehow, it might take futures to do it but he's a scorer on a team that needs a scorer.

It's really not terrible at all. It's a year too soon for Murray because fleurys backup never plays. It would be better to just bring up Zatkoff and his 600k contract for the year. Otherwise it's fine, there are 0 free agents worth going after save Shawn Mathias so the emphasis would have to be on beau to hit the gym and make the top 6. Another crazy option would be to try and get Phil kessel somehow, it might take futures to do it but he's a scorer on a team that needs a scorer.
- Dcoms

You're going to give up grade A prospects and pay 8mil a year for the next 7 years for kessel?

My thoughts on a Scuds buyout....

If you bought out Scuds and went with the youth on D, you'd likely have to go out and sign another veteran D guy for insurance (a 6/7/8 type). That guy likely costs you $1.5-2 millish. Add Scuds buyout cap hit, and that puts you right back at (or very close to) his salary doesn't it?

Why not just keep Scuds?

I actually think Kunitz is more done that Scuds is.

Those that think Kunitz is playing an effective 3rd line role next year are delusional. His legs are shot. He cant/doesn't play a physical game anymore. RW is right in that his hands are gone. He's average defensively at best. He has no single attribute he brings to the table at this point. To me, if you cant trade him for loose change, he's the buyout target, not Scuderi.

Kunitz-Crosby-Hornqvist
Perron-Malkin-Bennet
Comeau-Sutter-Dupuis
?-Lapierre-?

Letang-Lovejoy
Maata-?
Pouliot-Cole

Buy-out Scuderi and dump Spaling and you guys might be alright. Comeau won't be super expensive to re-up. Neither will Cole or Dumoulin.

The Lovejoy haters are crazy. He's incredibly dependable and can play 20-22 minutes a game with a healthy defense. With a depleted defense missing Letang, Ehrhoff and Maata, he sticks out like a sore thumb. With a healthy group, he's a huge help, and very very affordable.

To Ryan Wilson:

I know we bust your chops about the charts and graphs in may of your articles.....but...

I gotta say, love the format of the past 2 articles. Sprinkle these types of articles in with the charts/graphs/stats stuff, and you're the A1 blogger on this site.

I appreciate the work. Well done.
- 87_71_11_29

+1

KHL standout Artemi Panarin to sign with Blackhawks, but it’s NHL or bust http://t.co/eZha7Wkd7l

It is starting to piss me off that no one wants to ever sign with the pens... No top talent NCAA player no superstars from overseas... They either go rangers or blackhawks.. (frank)ing ridiculous
- nh4442

Why dont these guys have to go through the draft or some other sort of waiver process to come to the NHL? Seems crazy they can just pick a contender to go to at their whim and come in at an ELC level.

Why dont these guys have to go through the draft or some other sort of waiver process to come to the NHL? Seems crazy they can just pick a contender to go to at their whim and come in at an ELC level.
- thickman1178

Wouldn't be saying this if he picked the pens

You're going to give up grade A prospects and pay 8mil a year for the next 7 years for kessel?
- jchst22

I'm in.

Wouldn't be saying this if he picked the pens
- jchst22

100% true statement. Still curious though.

No doubt we should re-sign Downie and Winnik for the right prices. Lapierre is done. He's a good faceoff guy and that's it. Doesn't agitate anyone anymore.

Winnik-Sundqvist-Downie sounds awessome.
- Barnaby36

Is a bum. Like everyone else though

100% true statement. Still curious though.
- thickman1178

If there was a waiver system or something like it, I think a lot less players would want to come over and give the NHL a chance. Usually they come from successful teams. If I were them, I wouldn't leave my home country where I'm a star to play for a scrub NHL team

My thoughts on a Scuds buyout....

If you bought out Scuds and went with the youth on D, you'd likely have to go out and sign another veteran D guy for insurance (a 6/7/8 type). That guy likely costs you $1.5-2 millish. Add Scuds buyout cap hit, and that puts you right back at (or very close to) his salary doesn't it?

Why not just keep Scuds?

I actually think Kunitz is more done that Scuds is.

Those that think Kunitz is playing an effective 3rd line role next year are delusional. His legs are shot. He cant/doesn't play a physical game anymore. RW is right in that his hands are gone. He's average defensively at best. He has no single attribute he brings to the table at this point. To me, if you cant trade him for loose change, he's the buyout target, not Scuderi.
- 87_71_11_29

My argument on the Scuderi buyout would the player brought in be more effective than Scuderi? We could have 2 players (a rookie and a UFA for about $2mil) for the price of Scuderi. I don't know if there's a better option that would sign for $2mil though......Jackman? Gleason?

We can't do that salary wise. We already have a guy on the decline like Sharp. His name is Kunitz.
- Oneonta Penguin

I agree. Another mid 30s winger is the last thing this team needs.

My thoughts on a Scuds buyout....

If you bought out Scuds and went with the youth on D, you'd likely have to go out and sign another veteran D guy for insurance (a 6/7/8 type). That guy likely costs you $1.5-2 millish. Add Scuds buyout cap hit, and that puts you right back at (or very close to) his salary doesn't it?

Why not just keep Scuds?

I actually think Kunitz is more done that Scuds is.

Those that think Kunitz is playing an effective 3rd line role next year are delusional. His legs are shot. He cant/doesn't play a physical game anymore. RW is right in that his hands are gone. He's average defensively at best. He has no single attribute he brings to the table at this point. To me, if you cant trade him for loose change, he's the buyout target, not Scuderi.
- 87_71_11_29

Isnt this Lovejoy?

And Kunitz can still play man. You'll see.

My argument on the Scuderi buyout would the player brought in be more effective than Scuderi? We could have 2 players (a rookie and a UFA for about $2mil) for the price of Scuderi. I don't know if there's a better option that would sign for $2mil though......Jackman? Gleason?
- willi

The last thing this team needs is another d-man. Trade Sutter for a winger,resign comeau and there you have it