What I like the most about Bonino is his hockey IQ. Limited speed but very good defensive knowledge of the game.

What I like the most about Bonino is his hockey IQ. Limited speed but very good defensive knowledge of the game.
- Barnaby36

His hands were my favorite part about him. Your right about his IQ. He made so many heads up passes in tight spaces because he just knew where he was and what he
Needed to do. Not sure I have seen a guy who has the hand eye and wherewithal to make the little passes in tight besides Sidney Crosby.

His hands were my favorite part about him. Your right about his IQ. He made so many heads up passes in tight spaces because he just knew where he was and what he
Needed to do. Not sure I have seen a guy who has the hand eye and wherewithal to make the little passes in tight besides Sidney Crosby.
- Victoro311

Victoro, don't be mad at me but I'd prefer to have Daley back than signing Hunwick.

I'm probably the only guy who liked Daley here.

NHL.com are reporting the Pens get the 3rd round pick

I'm confused here.

So which is it? The Pens get Sheahan & a 3rd rounder,

Or,

Sheahan & a 5th rounder?
- Aussiepenguin

The Pens get Sheahan and a 5th rounder. NHL.com made a mistake there.

We do need to address but we are still solid in the standings no? We lost in regulation to Tampa twice who looks really good and Chicago, and our opener to the blues in overtime. The teams that have beaten us are really good teams. But yes we have some work to do.
- 668710

True, it's going all right, you can lose to those teams but the way you did to Tampa and Pens was a bit scary. It was not all Niemi's fault, although he can be blamed for a big part.

I had always heard that speed was in issue for Sheahan, not a strength.

I'm suprised Feds hasn't chimed in since he basically said this was a done deal... he must be banned... again.

Victoro, don't be mad at me but I'd prefer to have Daley back than signing Hunwick.

I'm probably the only guy who liked Daley here.
- Barnaby36

Nope, was a fan of him. Fantastic bottom pairing guy that can draw into the top 4 in place of injuries.

Disappointed we didn't try to keep him, but understand the age/price concerns.

We will prolly have to chase another depth d-man before the deadline this year. Jury is still out on Hunwick, Maata has had a nice rebound.

Nope, was a fan of him. Fantastic bottom pairing guy that can draw into the top 4 in place of injuries.

Disappointed we didn't try to keep him, but understand the age/price concerns.

We will prolly have to chase another depth d-man before the deadline this year. Jury is still out on Hunwick, Maata has had a nice rebound.
- nelson911

Thanks Nelson. We should've kept him.

Time for a new back-up

Time for a new back-up


- DutchSenators

Lol, the funny thing is fantasy hockey wise is Bryz would be better than Niemi. In my league Niemi is dead last he's below guys that haven't even played because 0 points is better then -3.4. other funny thing is is old partner Lehtonen is second to last with -0.8 lol neither are NHL goalies anymore.

They weren’t wrong that he was slow and somewhat vanilla. Dead wrong that they won the trade. Sutter is a very bad hockey player and Bonino is a lot better even if he’s unspectacular. And the Nucks gave us Bonino + for Sutter. What dumbasses...
- Victoro311

If you talk winning the trade, look at what Sutter is doing for the Nucks to what Boner used to do. Pretty sure they will say Sutter has & is much better for them the same as we all think Boner was a lot better than Sutter. Just so happens that Boner won a cup or 2 & Sutter is still trying to get them to the round 1 of the playoffs.

I had always heard that speed was in issue for Sheahan, not a strength.

I'm suprised Feds hasn't chimed in since he basically said this was a done deal... he must be banned... again.
- Rinosaur

He probably tried his luck spraying someone face to face like he does on here & got the poop beat out of him.

The Pens get Sheahan and a 5th rounder. NHL.com made a mistake there.
- DutchSenators

I'd argue the Wings got the better player - tbc. Then giving them a 3rd as well?? There's JR & his "both GM's should feel good after a trade", talk again.

Well I wasn't too happy when he gave too much previously but everything worked out ok, so I'll bite my tongue & hope Sheahan can handle things!

You can thankfully have Sheahan Pittsburgh fans. If you want any more garbage, just sing out......Detroit’s got plenty more garbage where he ( Sheahan ) came from.....the bum.
Good Riddance.
- GeoffY

We are getting better at trades. Shultz was the worst player in the NHL and Daley was only slightly better than Shultz. Sheahan is merely a bum. Things are looking up.

I'd argue the Wings got the better player - tbc. Then giving them a 3rd as well?? There's JR & his "both GM's should feel good after a trade", talk again.

Well I wasn't too happy when he gave too much previously but everything worked out ok, so I'll bite my tongue & hope Sheahan can handle things!
- Aussiepenguin

Wilson has 13 career goals, 8 of which came last year. Sheahan has a track record prior to last year of annual production that is more than Wilson has ever managed (9-13-14 goals per year). I'd say its a stretch to say the Wings got the better player. Wilson seemed like a very vanilla player. Looks like a wash to me. More importantly, Wilson is about to be lapped by other guys on the depth chart like Sprong and Alston Reese, while Sheahan fills a position of need. Sheahan isn't going to turn any heads but he is an improvement over what they currently has at 3/4C.

We are getting better at trades. Shultz was the worst player in the NHL and Daley was only slightly better than Shultz. Sheahan is merely a bum. Things are looking up.
- Thunderbolt

I'd argue the Wings got the better player - tbc. Then giving them a 3rd as well?? There's JR & his "both GM's should feel good after a trade", talk again.

Well I wasn't too happy when he gave too much previously but everything worked out ok, so I'll bite my tongue & hope Sheahan can handle things!
- Aussiepenguin

I don't think you can quantify who got the better player. It's about need-for-need. There is just too much bottom-six wing depth and Wilson just had no room in the lineup.

The position of need was Center. I mean yeah, you could compare basic numbers, but you're talking about a player who couldn't crack the Pens lineup anymore.

It's early and I'm probably nitpicking, but... Anyone else curious what's up with Guentzel? I mean yeah, he has 6 points in 9 games which is very good, but he's seemed ghost-like at times and Sullivan has had no problems bouncing him around when he was previously a staple on Sid's line.

It's curious, no?

The more and more I think about it, if Philly is out of the running come the deadline, the Pens #1 target should be Filppula. Yes, they'd have to pull off another Streit-like move to get him here since they'd be dealing with Philly, but I can't think of a better solution.

Personally, I just don't think a guy like Galchenyuk or Duchene are in the cards. That doesn't mean other high-profile guys won't become available, but Filppula has not slowed down and brings a bit of everything. He's the perfect replacement for Bonino, maybe even a slight upgrade.

When the season is over, the Pens can re-group and take a look at the UFA pool since there are some interesting names that will be out there: Bozak, Thornton, Plekanec or even Stastny(but he will probably get way overpaid).

The Pens just don't have any serious contenders for 3C in their system and will have to keep buying until they do. If they're buying, I don't care if they're young or not, only if they're still playing at the right level.

So yeah... Filppula for Pens' 3C!

Pretty much a no risk trade getting Sheehan. I liked Wilson and thought he did a nice job filling in during the playoffs last year. As RW mentioned, if he is a short term 3C and long term 4C I feel pretty good about it.

I was also fine with the Sutter/Bonino trade but I never understood the hate for Sutter. I thought he did pretty well given the linemates he had. Bonino was great but he also got to play with Hagelin and Kessel who are both far superior to anything Sutter had to work with.

I was and obviously still am happy with how that trade turned out but people forget how bad the Pens bottom 6 was prior to the offseason when Sutter was traded.

Lol, the funny thing is fantasy hockey wise is Bryz would be better than Niemi. In my league Niemi is dead last he's below guys that haven't even played because 0 points is better then -3.4. other funny thing is is old partner Lehtonen is second to last with -0.8 lol neither are NHL goalies anymore.
- 668710

Haha a minus 3.4, there you go!

It's early and I'm probably nitpicking, but... Anyone else curious what's up with Guentzel? I mean yeah, he has 6 points in 9 games which is very good, but he's seemed ghost-like at times and Sullivan has had no problems bouncing him around when he was previously a staple on Sid's line.

It's curious, no?
- Rinosaur

Not only does it have an effect on 59, but I would bet it's frustrating Sid as well. He's getting the Malkin treatment this year as Sullivan flips his wingers around

Now they just need to get a capable NHL backup/AHL journeyman goalie and they should be good to go.

His hands were my favorite part about him. Your right about his IQ. He made so many heads up passes in tight spaces because he just knew where he was and what he
Needed to do. Not sure I have seen a guy who has the hand eye and wherewithal to make the little passes in tight besides Sidney Crosby.
- Victoro311

You think Bonino made little passes in tight better than guys like Malkin and Lemieux, as well as that Gretzky guy? I will disagree.

The more and more I think about it, if Philly is out of the running come the deadline, the Pens #1 target should be Filppula. Yes, they'd have to pull off another Streit-like move to get him here since they'd be dealing with Philly, but I can't think of a better solution.

Personally, I just don't think a guy like Galchenyuk or Duchene are in the cards. That doesn't mean other high-profile guys won't become available, but Filppula has not slowed down and brings a bit of everything. He's the perfect replacement for Bonino, maybe even a slight upgrade.

When the season is over, the Pens can re-group and take a look at the UFA pool since there are some interesting names that will be out there: Bozak, Thornton, Plekanec or even Stastny(but he will probably get way overpaid).

The Pens just don't have any serious contenders for 3C in their system and will have to keep buying until they do. If they're buying, I don't care if they're young or not, only if they're still playing at the right level.

So yeah... Filppula for Pens' 3C!
- Rinosaur

You're getting ahead of yourself there. They're looking pretty dangerous and potent on the O.