All the years they led the league in injuries too. When healthy they were contenders. This year they are healthy and aren't even close to being contenders.
- jfkst1

ye... just imagine what last year could have been if we had the luck we have had with injuries this year

Hamhuis is nothing special but with better coaching and a system actually geared towards our players he may be all we need. With Pouliot, Maatta, and Dumoulin in the system and maybe even Clendening we gotta trust that our boys can develop. Marta's already showing improvement, Dumoulin was a fantastic surprise, and DP is apparently doing well and developing in the A. It we be a mistake to unload our minimal assets on a world beater when we already have good pieces moving forward. Nothing wrong with a stop gap like Hamhuis but no Fowlers, Barries, or Shattenkirks unless it's an absolute fleecing that we can't turn down.
- Victoro311

yeah I don't know what the infatuation with Hamhuis is.. is he good? I just don't know much about him

All the years they led the league in injuries too. When healthy they were contenders. This year they are healthy and aren't even close to being contenders.
- jfkst1

They were contenders (and fairly healthy) in both 11/12 and 12/13. Those were the 2 times that MAF sprung a leak. After they plugged him back up, the injuries started to pile up like in 10/11.

Terrible deal for the ducks Fowler is just entering his prime and mobile defense is at a premium. Also Fowler is still a RFA when his contract is up.

yeah I don't know what the infatuation with Hamhuis is.. is he good? I just don't know much about him
- j.boyd919

Hamhuis is a good, solid 3/4 defenseman. He's a product of Nashville, who can churn out top-4 defenseman better than any team. He's nothing special, but he's good.

Adding another player to a broken system is pointless. This team isn't one dman away from contending. They could add Barrie or Shattenkirk (both would be #1 dmen on ~10 teams in the league) and it won't fix this team.
- jfkst1

I agree 100%. The old man's first move should be telling Coach Farce to kick rocks. Then he can assess team needs and trade options.

yeah I don't know what the infatuation with Hamhuis is.. is he good? I just don't know much about him
- j.boyd919

I think he was pretty good in Nash, I was hoping the Pens got him when SHero traded a 3rd or whatever for his rights. But he's like 32 or 33 at this point and a UFA. He would help this year but do you want to do down the road of trading futures for a rental again?

HAHA, the reality is, he and Crosby are one of the few pieces that can fix the team.
- sammy87

Terrible deal for the ducks Fowler is just entering his prime and mobile defense is at a premium. Also Fowler is still a RFA when his contract is up.
- ky678468

It doesn't work for either team. It's not enough value for the Ducks, and it opens up a huge hole for the Penguins.

yeah I don't know what the infatuation with Hamhuis is.. is he good? I just don't know much about him
- j.boyd919

I have no infatuation with Hamhuis. He's not that good anymore and is more bottom 4 than top 4. But if the Nucks fall out of contention he should be relatively cheap and I don't want to break the bank on an elite top 2 d man when we've got Maatta, Dumoulin, and Pouliot in our future.

Gunnarson + Schwartz, Hamhuis + Vrbata? However, I like Myers + Ladd...would two of Pouliot/Murray/Sprong get it done? We'd have to add Kunitz (or Scuderi or Hornquist to make up the extra room). If only LW is target I would like to see JVR

I have no infatuation with Hamhuis. He's not that good anymore and is more bottom 4 than top 4. But if the Nucks fall out of contention he should be relatively cheap and I don't want to break the bank on an elite top 2 d man when we've got Maatta, Dumoulin, and Pouliot in our future.
- Victoro311

Clendenning, Cole, Warsofsky, Taylor all young guys that can be a part of the future as well. Jared Tinordi for a 2nd is what the Habs are asking, 6'5" and mean as hell, thats what we are lacking back there. Cole and Tinordi bottom pairing would be decent.
Letang Maatta
Dumoulin Hamhuis
Cole Tinordi
Pouliot Warsofsky

Gunnarson + Schwartz, Hamhuis + Vrbata? However, I like Myers + Ladd...would two of Pouliot/Murray/Sprong get it done? We'd have to add Kunitz (or Scuderi or Hornquist to make up the extra room)
- mventres

Now there's a creative idea... If Kunitz + Pouliot got us Schwartz and Gunnarson Id 100% consider it. It seems like our top 4 LD is pretty set with Maatta and Dumoulin looking forward but we have a massive hole at LW. Gunnarson isn't really that good, but Schwartz would be clutch and shedding Kunitz's contract is a major plus. Wonder if we could go Bowmeaster instead of Gunnarson... Probably not...

Gunnarson + Schwartz, Hamhuis + Vrbata? However, I like Myers + Ladd...would two of Pouliot/Murray/Sprong get it done? We'd have to add Kunitz (or Scuderi or Hornquist to make up the extra room). If only LW is target I would like to see JVR
- mventres

Murrray is untouchable, you don't just happen upon a franchise goalie and you sure don't trade him for any of that trash. The Blues will never trade Swartz and the other 3 guys could be had for much less. Vbata is not a bad idea provided he can be obtained for not too much.

Terrible deal for the ducks Fowler is just entering his prime and mobile defense is at a premium. Also Fowler is still a RFA when his contract is up.
- ky678468

Provides nothing that the Ducks need either. Like the Pens they need left wings, not right.

Another thing not addressed is that tons of teams are looking for mobile PMD, and most have more trade assets available than the Penguins. Teams will probably need to overpay for even mediocre top 4. Young ones still looking at RFA contracts will cost the moon

Where's that Anderssen freak we signed in the summer? What's his deal? Or Tim Erixon?

Now there's a creative idea... If Kunitz + Pouliot got us Schwartz and Gunnarson Id 100% consider it. It seems like our top 4 LD is pretty set with Maatta and Dumoulin looking forward but we have a massive hole at LW. Gunnarson isn't really that good, but Schwartz would be clutch and shedding Kunitz's contract is a major plus. Wonder if we could go Bowmeaster instead of Gunnarson... Probably not...
- Victoro311

You have zero chance of getting Swartz especially for that deal. Why would the Blues do that? An old used to be forward and a d-man that does not fit their system one bit.

Where's that Anderssen freak we signed in the summer? What's his deal? Or Tim Erixon?
- brienstel

They are both in WBS where they belong

Gunnarson + Schwartz, Hamhuis + Vrbata? However, I like Myers + Ladd...would two of Pouliot/Murray/Sprong get it done? We'd have to add Kunitz (or Scuderi or Hornquist to make up the extra room). If only LW is target I would like to see JVR
- mventres

As a canuck fan i think Vrbata would be perfect to play with Crosby. I dont think Hamhuis is what you guys are looking for.

Provides nothing that the Ducks need either. Like the Pens they need left wings, not right.

Another thing not addressed is that tons of teams are looking for mobile PMD, and most have more trade assets available than the Penguins. Teams will probably need to overpay for even mediocre top 4. Young ones still looking at RFA contracts will cost the moon
- Random35

How about Ben Lovejoy for Andrew Cogliano?

You have zero chance of getting Swartz especially for that deal. Why would the Blues do that? An old used to be forward and a d-man that does not fit their system one bit.
- Dcoms

Look at the Oshie deal...

Look at the Oshie deal...
- Victoro311

Oshie and Swartz are not even close. Swartz is a rising 2 way super star. Oshie is the most overrated played in the league. They are not comparable.

Adding another player to a broken system is pointless. This team isn't one dman away from contending. They could add Barrie or Shattenkirk (both would be #1 dmen on ~10 teams in the league) and it won't fix this team.
- jfkst1

The problem with the system is that the defenseman on the backend don't fit the system and are hindering the offense so swapping out 1-2 parts that don't fit on the backend for 1-2 parts that do fit the system will absolutely improve things greatly. People seem to want to ignore the fact that the system has already been proven effective when they had proper fits on the backend with Letang, Martin, Ehrhoff, Despres and Maata as 5 of the 6 defenseman. The system in it's current form was tweaked to adjust for players coming into the lineup that weren't capable of handling the roles the players lost both through injury at the end of last season and FA in the offseason.

With no real viable replacements for the coaching position the first move should be to address the issues on the backend and see if that gets them back to the dominance the current system showed when it had the proper peices, adding 1-2 legit PMDs will make this a completely different team and no Pouliot isn't that answer yet.

Provides nothing that the Ducks need either. Like the Pens they need left wings, not right.

Another thing not addressed is that tons of teams are looking for mobile PMD, and most have more trade assets available than the Penguins. Teams will probably need to overpay for even mediocre top 4. Young ones still looking at RFA contracts will cost the moon
- Random35

Yep. All the meaningful upgrades are going to be expensive and Pens have the least amount of future assets to use. Getting a Hamhuis-caliber dman is pointless. He's no better than Dumoulin/Maatta/Lovejoy and the team system is still broken.

The other day I saw a Canes fan wanting to trade Justin Faulk for some absurd reason so maybe you have a shot at him?