Hahahaha.....I love this stuff. Every year, in every city, it's the same thing. People trying to convince themselves that a disappointing player has magically turned into a superstar over the summer

"He's in the best shape of his life!"
"He's really toned down!"....OR....."He's added 15lbs of muscle!"
"He's been our best player in training camp!"
My personal fave...."He's been working out with Gary Roberts!"

We've all seen / heard this a million times, and we all know that it's meaningless

Now please proceed to tell me why, in this particular instance, it's actually true

Hahahaha.....I love this stuff. Every year, in every city, it's the same thing. People trying to convince themselves that a disappointing player has magically turned into a superstar over the summer

"He's in the best shape of his life!"
"He's really toned down!"....OR....."He's added 15lbs of muscle!"
"He's been our best player in training camp!"
My personal fave...."He's been working out with Gary Roberts!"

We've all seen / heard this a million times, and we all know that it's meaningless

Now please proceed to tell me why, in this particular instance, it's actually true
- AxlRose91

Who called him a superstar? And how is an athlete getting into better shape a bad thing?

He's a free agent after this year.
- j.boyd919

Paying him is a problem. He's better than the wingers who signed this year. They all got 6 per year. Mkt value can go to 7-8 on Marchand easily if he chases money.

Ok figure we lose horn if pouliot has a good year and we have to protect him. If pouliot is good enough to warrant protecting them he will get a pay bump. At least 2 million a year maybe 3.

Murray will take up a lot of the fleury savings. Maybe Murray signs at 4.8 per year so we save one there.

Kunitz and scuderi off the books. But dumo will eat up most of that if not all. Bottom line going to be very tough to find the cash. If we don't resign Bone and lose horn then could be possible if he takes a discount

Hahahaha.....I love this stuff. Every year, in every city, it's the same thing. People trying to convince themselves that a disappointing player has magically turned into a superstar over the summer

"He's in the best shape of his life!"
"He's really toned down!"....OR....."He's added 15lbs of muscle!"
"He's been our best player in training camp!"
My personal fave...."He's been working out with Gary Roberts!"

We've all seen / heard this a million times, and we all know that it's meaningless

Now please proceed to tell me why, in this particular instance, it's actually true
- AxlRose91

Sometimes it's bs to fill column space but sometimes it true.

I feel like Marchand has cleaned it up a little bit. I don't really think he's as dirty as people make him about to be. In comparison, there's a lot of people who think Malkin is a dirty player too.. same with Sid. And they aren't wrong. Most hockey players play with an edge, and somethings skill hides that edge. I think when Marchand isn't being a douche, he's a top 10 winger in the league, and if Sully is as good at getting the best out of his players as it seems, then he'd be a perfect fit here in Pittsburgh.
- j.boyd919

Edge vs poophead. Big difference. Big if on the dbag. No no no no to Marchand.

Hahahaha.....I love this stuff. Every year, in every city, it's the same thing. People trying to convince themselves that a disappointing player has magically turned into a superstar over the summer

"He's in the best shape of his life!"
"He's really toned down!"....OR....."He's added 15lbs of muscle!"
"He's been our best player in training camp!"
My personal fave...."He's been working out with Gary Roberts!"

We've all seen / heard this a million times, and we all know that it's meaningless

Now please proceed to tell me why, in this particular instance, it's actually true
- AxlRose91

Of course nobody knows if he'll turn things around but he has obviously changed his preparation. He looks like a completely different person. I laugh at those "best shape of his life" statements too, but in this case it's a pretty remarkable transformation.

I've been skeptical myself, but we have seen glimpses of his talent.

He's a free agent after this year.
- j.boyd919

I know he's a free agent but he's going to be looking for between 6-7 mill. That means we have to move someone else. Who goes? I don't want to lose any of our defense, our defense is going to be dynamic next year. Fast and high scoring. I really don't see how we make room for Marchand unless Horny goes in the expansion draft.

Hahahaha.....I love this stuff. Every year, in every city, it's the same thing. People trying to convince themselves that a disappointing player has magically turned into a superstar over the summer

"He's in the best shape of his life!"
"He's really toned down!"....OR....."He's added 15lbs of muscle!"
"He's been our best player in training camp!"
My personal fave...."He's been working out with Gary Roberts!"

We've all seen / heard this a million times, and we all know that it's meaningless

Now please proceed to tell me why, in this particular instance, it's actually true
- AxlRose91

Just sit back and watch. I never doubted him for a second. He's going to make all the trade proposals where you guys threw him in or traded him for a garbage player look like the ravings of lunatics.

Martox-Dipauli was pretty vanilla at the rookie tournament. Did not really stand out at all.
- Dcoms

no he didn't. but he looked good at training camp and scrim

Hahahaha.....I love this stuff. Every year, in every city, it's the same thing. People trying to convince themselves that a disappointing player has magically turned into a superstar over the summer

"He's in the best shape of his life!"
"He's really toned down!"....OR....."He's added 15lbs of muscle!"
"He's been our best player in training camp!"
My personal fave...."He's been working out with Gary Roberts!"

We've all seen / heard this a million times, and we all know that it's meaningless

Now please proceed to tell me why, in this particular instance, it's actually true
- AxlRose91

He is in good shape. Relax. It's a good sign. Hockey is starting back up and we are excited. Why aren't you?

They should have probably just handed Pouliot a job last year due to his amazing advanced stats instead of making him actually do intangible work during the offseason to make himself a better athlete and hopefully a better player.

Hahahaha.....I love this stuff. Every year, in every city, it's the same thing. People trying to convince themselves that a disappointing player has magically turned into a superstar over the summer

"He's in the best shape of his life!"
"He's really toned down!"....OR....."He's added 15lbs of muscle!"
"He's been our best player in training camp!"
My personal fave...."He's been working out with Gary Roberts!"

We've all seen / heard this a million times, and we all know that it's meaningless

Now please proceed to tell me why, in this particular instance, it's actually true
- AxlRose91

Jerome Bettis has been training with Bob Kersey this offseason and is coming into camp in the best shape of his life.

(stated every year from 2001-2005, and every year he showed up in Latrobe pushing three bills)

Jerome Bettis has been training with Bob Kersey this offseason and is coming into camp in the best shape of his life.

(stated every year from 2001-2005, and every year he showed up in Latrobe pushing three bills)
- hardnosed

Haha...so true

My favourite example is in baseball: "he's completely changed his swing"....or "he's changed his pitching mechanics"

A smart GM especially one that isn't a cup contender and has time to develop should target guys like pouliot.

Extremely common for defenseman to have a light go on late like niskanen whose now on team USA

Soooo, Pouliot for Drouin? Funny how a few months have changed the fanbase perception.

Hahahaha.....I love this stuff. Every year, in every city, it's the same thing. People trying to convince themselves that a disappointing player has magically turned into a superstar over the summer

"He's in the best shape of his life!"
"He's really toned down!"....OR....."He's added 15lbs of muscle!"
"He's been our best player in training camp!"
My personal fave...."He's been working out with Gary Roberts!"

We've all seen / heard this a million times, and we all know that it's meaningless

Now please proceed to tell me why, in this particular instance, it's actually true
- AxlRose91

Well, I suppose it's all better than saying he turned up to training camp looking like a busted arsehole! Much rather they tell us porky pies & give us a positive thought than the truth that usually rears its ugly head in the pre season games!

Soooo, Pouliot for Drouin? Funny how a few months have changed the fanbase perception.
- Topshelf Mountain

Are you insane??? Pouliot would never get you Drouin. Not even close

Are you suggesting you'd rather have Pouliot???

I have been saying this exact thing for a long time now but
Maatta Letang
Dumoulin Shultz
Pouliot Dailey
Looks pretty freakin awesome to me. We would have 2 second pairings to go with 2 second lines. That lineup would keep the puck moving. And then we have Cole and Bengsston as a 4th pairing. Pinch me because that is a dream

Are you insane??? Pouliot would never get you Drouin. Not even close

Are you suggesting you'd rather have Pouliot???
- AxlRose91

I would rather have Pouliot yes, you know nothing about him.

I would rather have Pouliot yes, you know nothing about him.
- Dcoms

I don't think you mean that. If you truly do, you're gonna feel so dumb after this season...

Jerome Bettis has been training with Bob Kersey this offseason and is coming into camp in the best shape of his life.

(stated every year from 2001-2005, and every year he showed up in Latrobe pushing three bills)
- hardnosed

Except this is a totally unique report. This isn't media saying Jerome Bettis just lost six pounds after exiting a McDonald's on a daily basis. Every year the story on DP has been management has doubts, he's not putting in the work, etc. Now we're finally hearing something new, and I'll tell you what it's made me a hell of a lot more optimistic than I was before. And I think it's very reasonable for me to be. The media doesn't like backing off their stories. They love regurgitating narratives and beating dead horses. I think the fact they changed course means something.

Except this is a totally unique report. This isn't media saying Jerome Bettis just lost six pounds after exiting a McDonald's on a daily basis. Every year the story on DP has been management has doubts, he's not putting in the work, etc. Now we're finally hearing something new, and I'll tell you what it's made me a hell of a lot more optimistic than I was before. And I think it's very reasonable for me to be. The media doesn't like backing off their stories. They love regurgitating narratives and beating dead horses. I think the fact they changed course means something.
- Victoro311

Not sure about the reports on Pouliot being all bad?? I can remember reports saying he wasn't ready (even though we experts on here all knew better ), that he admitted the previous year he wasn't physically ready & needed to prepare better, & last year the reports of attitude surfaced after he shat the bed pre season then decided to be a young bloke & do young bloke things on his birthday.

Young man with huge expectations on his shoulders, I think just needs to work a few things out - the first being he's not Mario Lemieux & he may actually have to participate in some training to improve his fitness & in doing so his attitude.

Not sure about the reports on Pouliot being all bad?? I can remember reports saying he wasn't ready (even though we experts on here all knew better ), that he admitted the previous year he wasn't physically ready & needed to prepare better, & last year the reports of attitude surfaced after he shat the bed pre season then decided to be a young bloke & do young bloke things on his birthday.

Young man with huge expectations on his shoulders, I think just needs to work a few things out - the first being he's not Mario Lemieux & he may actually have to participate in some training to improve his fitness & in doing so his attitude.
- Aussiepenguin

(frank) the birthday thing. Or Halloween or whatever it was. That incident was irrelevant and it's being over used as an argument by people on both the pro and anti DP camp. The relavent issue is that he did not have a good year last year. He was all but handed a spot on the big club and failed. Perhaps he was still suffering from his shoulder. Fine. He's young and can't expect development to go perfectly. But then he went back to the AHL and had a worse season than he did the year before and DK started reporting that people in the org were questioning his drive. That is not good. That is not excusable. I don't care if your Radulov snorting coke out of hookers' ass holes if you are determined to win and be a good hockey player, so I certainly don't care that a 21 year old went out and got drunk. What I wanted to see was progress and I'm finally seeing it this offseason.

(frank) the birthday thing. Or Halloween or whatever it was. That incident was irrelevant and it's being over used as an argument by people on both the pro and anti DP camp. The relavent issue is that he did not have a good year last year. He was all but handed a spot on the big club and failed. Perhaps he was still suffering from his shoulder. Fine. He's young and can't expect development to go perfectly. But then he went back to the AHL and had a worse season than he did the year before and DK started reporting that people in the org were questioning his drive. That is not good. That is not excusable. I don't care if your Radulov snorting coke out of hookers' ass holes if you are determined to win and be a good hockey player, so I certainly don't care that a 21 year old went out and got drunk. What I wanted to see was progress and I'm finally seeing it this offseason.
- Victoro311

(frank) Vic, get off the angry pills & go eat a donut.

What you've said is the thing. There's been excuses & reasons & disappointments. He's 'expected' to be a top flight Dman & he's probably been reading his own press - he hasn't performed although reading Gunners blogs........

Maybe he's realised that there's a little hard work involved & it's not just him saying that - he needs to do that. That & that Roberts character probably beat the poop out of his young smart ass self entitled attitude!!

I don't think you mean that. If you truly do, you're gonna feel so dumb after this season...
- AxlRose91

Yeah we will see