Since Sulli took over, Kessel has 25 points in 38 games.
- j.boyd919

Yes but I think a lot of that was over like an 18 game stretch if I recall correctly. He's been snake bitten recently but certainly not the reason we lost. I mean the PK gave up 2 goals.

Yes but I think a lot of that was over like an 18 game stretch if I recall correctly. He's been snake bitten recently but certainly not the reason we lost. I mean the PK gave up 2 goals.
- dbell646

Oh yeah he had a good amount of points over an 18 game stretch, I was just choosing Sulli's takeover as a good spot to look at his production since then. And yeah I agree, as frustrating as those mishaps were, those were not the only reasons the Pens lost.

Actually it would be higher if he cuts it. I buy intermediate sticks myself as I'm only about 5' 9", usually get a 70 flex and by the time I cut it, its technically an 85 or so.

I think its plus 7 in flex for every 2 inches you cut off. (thats what she said)
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I'm 5'11" and occasionally use an intermediate because I like a shorter stick and you can get better quality for cheaper. However, I won't use it when I'm centering or playing with quality teammate. If I'm the guy with the puck on my stick all game it's fine, but if I'm receiving the puck a lot from guys who pass well its extremely tough.

Plus faceoffs suck.

Why doesn't it? Neal used an extremely whippy stick with a low flex(I believe it was a 75 flex) and he had absolutely no problem playing with Geno and scoring 40. I know everyone is pissed about Kessels struggles(rightfully so) and are looking for answers for it but the stick that he has used his ENTIRE career and been successful with isn't the issue.
- jaydogg1974

Neal had a lethal one timer. Kessel has NEVER been able to consistently one time the puck. Ask Leaf fans. That's a huge problem.

Oh yeah he had a good amount of points over an 18 game stretch, I was just choosing Sulli's takeover as a good spot to look at his production since then. And yeah I agree, as frustrating as those mishaps were, those were not the only reasons the Pens lost.
- j.boyd919

The PK cost us the game. Well, the PK and the stupid penalties. I'm still trying to figure out why Sestito never got in Hamonic's face.

Oh yeah he had a good amount of points over an 18 game stretch, I was just choosing Sulli's takeover as a good spot to look at his production since then. And yeah I agree, as frustrating as those mishaps were, those were not the only reasons the Pens lost.
- j.boyd919

He's gotta finish. He's paid 10 mil to score goals. Hopefully he picks it up. We needed that one last night. On another note I hate new arenas. They all go so corporate it ruins the atmosphere.

Neal had a lethal one timer. Kessel has NEVER been able to consistently one time the puck. Ask Leaf fans. That's a huge problem.
- jfkst1

Also, when he was with the Leafs he was the guy. Hence, the puck was on his stick more often and had to receive the puck in traffic less. Also, I don't think Neal used a flex that low. He's a big guy. His could be in the 90's and still bend like that when he shot.

Kessel is not the reason we lost. I agree he has been having a rough time with the puck all season. He's fumbling passes left and right and missing a lot of opportunities. But last night Geno also had two grade A chances near the crease. He shot wide on both of them and proceeded to look up to the heavens. Sometimes it happens.

Kessel has to be better and I think he will bounce back.

Also, when he was with the Leafs he was the guy. Hence, the puck was on his stick more often and had to receive the puck in traffic less. Also, I don't think Neal used a flex that low. He's a big guy. His could be in the 90's and still bend like that when he shot.
- cranktheradio

Exactly. He will NEVER be the focal point of an offense with 87/71 healthy. His game needs to adapt to theirs. Not the other way around. I think Kessel is very talented and I am not blaming him personally for this, but his game might not be compatible with this roster. And that is a very large problem when he is earning $6.8m/yr.

I've never thought of a player being known for a one-timer. To me it is a fundamental of hockey. The faster you can get a shot off the better chance you have of beating the goaltender, so logically a one-timer greatly increases those chances.

I cannot recall seeing an NHL player as consistently bad at one-timers as Kessel has been this year (Don't know if that is his history as well, can't say I watched him a ton outside of Olympics and Pens games against the Leafs). It's baffling to watch. When he doesn't attempt it his shots are too late, when he attempts it he whiffs.
- PensFan1103

I think there are not that many that are highly skilled at the 1-timer either. I played for 15 years competitively and that was the 1 thing I could never do. Specifically Brett Hull, Iggy, Stamkos all seem to excel at it. Letang could not hit the broad side of a barn with his 1 timer which makes the left side so weak on the Pens PP. I remember when we had Iggy and he blasted one from the top of the circle and I thought thats what the Pens have been missing. Kessel doesn't change the PP dynamic at all. Hornquest provides more presence than Kessel. Again, his skill set wasn't really needed for the Pens. Im not saying he doesn't have talent, just paid too much for what he brings that was already there.

Kessel is not the reason we lost. I agree he has been having a rough time with the puck all season. He's fumbling passes left and right and missing a lot of opportunities. But last night Geno also had two grade A chances near the crease. He shot wide on both of them and proceeded to look up to the heavens. Sometimes it happens.

Kessel has to be better and I think he will bounce back.
- Conse

I dont ever think a single player loses a game. That said he's a big part of the problem. Pens have multiple holes on their roster partly due to the Kessel acquisition.

I think there are not that many that are highly skilled at the 1-timer either. I played for 15 years competitively and that was the 1 thing I could never do. Specifically Brett Hull, Iggy, Stamkos all seem to excel at it. Letang could not hit the broad side of a barn with his 1 timer which makes the left side so weak on the Pens PP. I remember when we had Iggy and he blasted one from the top of the circle and I thought thats what the Pens have been missing. Kessel doesn't change the PP dynamic at all. Hornquest provides more presence than Kessel. Again, his skill set wasn't really needed for the Pens. Im not saying he doesn't have talent, just paid too much for what he brings that was already there.
- sammy87

The go to play with Kessel on the pp is the one where people start worrying about Letang and Malkin and let horny and Sid with a little bit more of room. Kessel has great playmaking ability and often finds Sid or Horny to a tip-in/redirect. We have scored a few goals that way already and I think that with time the number will only increase.

For 1-t the go to guy on the PP is Malkin and has to be Malkin only. Hes one of the best in the league, his 1t is deadly.

I dont ever think a single player loses a game. That said he's a big part of the problem. Pens have multiple holes on their roster partly due to the Kessel acquisition.
- sammy87

Yeah, I'm still on the fence about Kessel. His first months were with MJ and the whole team was a dumpster fire. I'm willing to give him a full season under Sullivan before I judge him.

I dont know if we have too many holes. I think our forwards are pretty good when everyone is healthy.

Maybe if we dont have Kessel we have room for a true top4 D. The only problem I have with our team is having a #1 D and then a lot of 3-6 guys. If Letang goes down we are done.

The Penguins are a much better team right now than they were at the start of the season. They play together and play like a team that believes it can win every game.

At the start of the season and through the coaching change there were very few times they looked like a team that knew what they wanted to do.

The East has a lot of teams that are close in makeup and if you look at the fact that they lost by 1 to the Isles...and 1 to the Caps...and see the Caps beat the Ducks by 1 in OT...I think you get a pretty good gauge of where the Penguins are right now.

They are one of the better teams in the league but they are not in that top group of Wash, Anh, Chicago, LA and then whoever people think is #5. I'd say they are a top 10 team.

A top 10 team has a shot to do something in the playoffs.

Yeah, I'm still on the fence about Kessel. His first months were with MJ and the whole team was a dumpster fire. I'm willing to give him a full season under Sullivan before I judge him.

I dont know if we have too many holes. I think our forwards are pretty good when everyone is healthy.

Maybe if we dont have Kessel we have room for a true top4 D. The only problem I have with our team is having a #1 D and then a lot of 3-6 guys. If Letang goes down we are done.
- Conse

No team wins a SC after losing their 1D. Doughty, Keith, Chara were all irreplaceable.

Yeah, I'm still on the fence about Kessel. His first months were with MJ and the whole team was a dumpster fire. I'm willing to give him a full season under Sullivan before I judge him.

I dont know if we have too many holes. I think our forwards are pretty good when everyone is healthy.

Maybe if we dont have Kessel we have room for a true top4 D. The only problem I have with our team is having a #1 D and then a lot of 3-6 guys. If Letang goes down we are done.
- Conse

I still think with everything they used to buy Kessel, they could have got a top4D and Oshie. Might have been able to keep Kap or Harrington with that as well.

I still think with everything they used to buy Kessel, they could have got a top4D and Oshie. Might have been able to keep Kap or Harrington with that as well.
- sammy87

I think you are wrong there. Armstrong wanted a goalie prospect. He might have demanded Murray for Oshie. Also what top 4 dman was available? I don't think the package they gave up for Kessel was a big deal. The problem is that I am growing skeptical Kessel can fit with this team and at his cap hit he needs to produce more.

I think you are wrong there. Armstrong wanted a goalie prospect. He might have demanded Murray for Oshie. Also what top 4 dman was available? I don't think the package they gave up for Kessel was a big deal. The problem is that I am growing skeptical Kessel can fit with this team and at his cap hit he needs to produce more.
- jfkst1

Harry is a G prospect. Probably of equal value of what the Blues got.

Im going off the names that have been rumored available. Shatt, Vat, Fowler etc....

I think a 1st, Kap and Harrington was steep considering that was pretty much the only pieces the Pens had to offer for anything.

Harry is a G prospect. Probably of equal value of what the Blues got.

Im going off the names that have been rumored available. Shatt, Vat, Fowler etc....

I think a 1st, Kap and Harrington was steep considering that was pretty much the only pieces the Pens had to offer for anything.
- sammy87

They probably wanted the top goalie prospect and Murray was it.
Pens got Kessel at discount because of his NTC. Those three don't have NTCs. Fowler isn't all that good either. Friedman said the asking price for Shattenkirk was 1st rounder, top prospect, and roster player. Kapanen isn't a top prospect and Harrington isn't a useful roster player.
Maatta, Murray, and Pouliot weren't traded which was considered a win.

I think there are not that many that are highly skilled at the 1-timer either. I played for 15 years competitively and that was the 1 thing I could never do. Specifically Brett Hull, Iggy, Stamkos all seem to excel at it. Letang could not hit the broad side of a barn with his 1 timer which makes the left side so weak on the Pens PP. I remember when we had Iggy and he blasted one from the top of the circle and I thought thats what the Pens have been missing. Kessel doesn't change the PP dynamic at all. Hornquest provides more presence than Kessel. Again, his skill set wasn't really needed for the Pens. Im not saying he doesn't have talent, just paid too much for what he brings that was already there.
- sammy87

Sure there are some that are better than others, but my point was that almost all NHL players can execute it pretty routinely. I have seen nothing from Phil that tells me he can execute it even close to routinely, which is just shocking for somebody who can shoot the way he can.

And Letang's accuracy certainly was/is an issue, although he has learned to take a little off of it for better results. But accuracy is different than not even being able to make solid contact. I could live with missing the net, it happens, nobody puts it on net all the time. The issue I have is that when he attempts it he either misses the puck or barely just gets a piece of it. And because he is so bad at it, he prefers to settle it down first and 9 out of 10 times the goalie or a defenseman has now closed his opening.

I get that there is probably not much he can do at this point to correct this, he probably just doesn't have the best hand eye coordination, he would probably suck at baseball. I just wish the Pens would have recognized this before getting him to play with Sid and Geno who really just need someone to finish the plays they make.

Not overly concerned about Kessel. Maybe not delivering to the level we were expecting but he hasnt been a total disaster. As far as assets given up, Kapanen and the 1st are the only two that mattered. If they wanted to trade him this summer they could get back a similar package.

I do wonder however, if like some others said, you dont move Kessel to the 3rd line with Bonino & Fehr and just let him wheel. Have the other two play some responsible defence and let Kessel free wheel. That is how he has been successful in the past so it might be worth a try.

But the Isles have been so hot lately. I expected a very tight battle and thats what we got. The win could of went either way.
- MattStrat

agreed. If Malkin hits the net a couple of times on the chances he had the Isles could have lost that 3-2.

I disagree with the other Isles poster, I think Halak's injury is a major issue for us. As good as Greiss has been this season he's played more games this year than he ever has and he's shown when he gets a number of starts in a row he's not as sharp. We could be facing a pretty serious problem in goal if he falters at all.

agreed. If Malkin hits the net a couple of times on the chances he had the Isles could have lost that 3-2.

I disagree with the other Isles poster, I think Halak's injury is a major issue for us. As good as Greiss has been this season he's played more games this year than he ever has and he's shown when he gets a number of starts in a row he's not as sharp. We could be facing a pretty serious problem in goal if he falters at all.
- Isles_since_6

Besides Halak's miraculous run with the Habs in 2010, he's not known to be a stellar playoff performer really. Of course in saying this I'm not even sure Greiss has played a playoff game before. Has he?

I still think with everything they used to buy Kessel, they could have got a top4D and Oshie. Might have been able to keep Kap or Harrington with that as well.
- sammy87

I don't buy that, even though I do think people grossly overrate Oshie, a guy who's career highs are 21 goals and 60 points.

So, you could get that for a suspect, which Harrington is/was; a second tiered prospect in Kap and a first?

The more and more I see of Harrington, the less and less I think he would be an impact player here.

Besides Halak's miraculous run with the Habs in 2010, he's not known to be a stellar playoff performer really. Of course in saying this I'm not even sure Greiss has played a playoff game before. Has he?
- MattStrat

I'd say Halak in the playoffs last year was pretty damn solid, it certainly wasn't his fault we lost to the caps. Greiss is an unknown and I really wouldn't feel great about going into the playoffs without Halak.

either is a massive upgrade over the steaming turd Nabby gave us against you guys in 2013 though.