I think you underrate Ennis, but I think Ennis would be a whipping boy on this bird given how everyone felt about Sheary. Ennis is definitely better than Letestu, Jokinen, Hayes, and Jooris, and I’m honestly unsure how much potential Duclair has anymore.
- Victoro311

Ennis is a Sully player through and through.

Yup. Have you heard anything as to why Oleksiak hasn't been re-signed yet? It seems odd to me that they've taken care of everyone else and there's been no word at all on him.
- Rinosaur

No but I’m sure it’s getting done. Oleksiak was our least important RFA. Wouldn’t be surprised if they have the baseline of a deal done but the old man wants to dip into free agency before finalizing it to make sure the cap is suitable.

Yakupov? Ok. We're going to have agree to disagree on all of this. lol
- Rinosaur

https://www.tsn.ca/talent...ul-depth-player-1.1125814
(Insert Jack Johnson argument here where a coach or system or team can revolutionize any player as long as they come to Pitt -and aren’t named Hunwick, Pouliot, Despres, or that dude we got from Russia a few years back)

https://www.tsn.ca/talent/yakupov-can-be-a-useful-depth-player-1.1125814
(Insert Jack Johnson argument here where a coach or system or team can revolutionize any player as long as they come to Pitt -and aren’t named Hunwick, Pouliot, Despres, or that dude we got from Russia a few years back)
- WSCTeton17

Trying to be polite here by agreeing to disagree. Yakpuov would be a waste of a signing. Yeah, he can help offensively in the bottom six, but he's so lazy defensively that Sully would likely bench him frequently.

Ennis is a Sully player through and through.
- Rinosaur

Definitely agree. Picking up Ennis for a lowish cap hit (I think his perceived value around the league is pretty low) would be a really shrewd way of replacing Sheary and makes that trade with Buffalo even better.

I don’t think we sold that low on Sheary. Hunwick has a lot of negative value that needed to be compensated for. I thought it was a good, if unspectacular trade, its just unfortunate how we chose to spend a large chunk of that cap saving.

Ennis is a Sully player through and through.
- Rinosaur

I’m just using your same argument on a different scale, what happens if one of our penalty killers go down? Ennis has barely played on the PK at all over the last three seasons. So he comes in and plays just even strength on the 4th line? I don’t think you can tell me that he’s going to get PK time over Rust, Hagelin, Brassard, or Sheahan. I’m guessing Sid would PK over Ennis as well.
Jokinen is coming off 10 points in 14 games in Vancouver where he was a plus player and could move through the lineup as needed. He kills penalties, is still effective on PP2, and he’s still pretty decent in the dot (he’s been over 50% for forever)

Definitely agree. Picking up Ennis for a lowish cap hit (I think his perceived value around the league is pretty low) would be a really shrewd way of replacing Sheary and makes that trade with Buffalo even better.

I don’t think we sold that low on Sheary. Hunwick has a lot of negative value that needed to be compensated for. I thought it was a good, if unspectacular trade, its just unfortunate how we chose to spend a large chunk of that cap saving.
- Victoro311

Yup. It was a great move by JR to free up the space, but if JJ is to be the use of that space it really winds up not looking great. I have a ton of faith in Sprong, but if he turns out to be a dud, nothing having properly replaced Sheary (who is severely underrated by people on here), it's going to look even worse.

Ennis would be that low risk replacement.

I’m just using your same argument on a different scale, what happens if one of our penalty killers go down? Ennis has barely played on the PK at all over the last three seasons. So he comes in and plays just even strength on the 4th line? I don’t think you can tell me that he’s going to get PK time over Rust, Hagelin, Brassard, or Sheahan. I’m guessing Sid would PK over Ennis as well.
Jokinen is coming off 10 points in 14 games in Vancouver where he was a plus player and could move through the lineup as needed. He kills penalties, is still effective on PP2, and he’s still pretty decent in the dot (he’s been over 50% for forever)
- WSCTeton17

Again, this is a depth signing. Not sure how to make that clear. He could replace what Sheary brought and if not, Sully has the ability to give other guys a shot. That's what depth is. It's not a profound move that stops other players from getting their shot.

The Pens may not have the cap space to get some of the names we want, so that's where these cheap low-risk vets come in handy.

Definitely agree. Picking up Ennis for a lowish cap hit (I think his perceived value around the league is pretty low) would be a really shrewd way of replacing Sheary and makes that trade with Buffalo even better.

I don’t think we sold that low on Sheary. Hunwick has a lot of negative value that needed to be compensated for. I thought it was a good, if unspectacular trade, its just unfortunate how we chose to spend a large chunk of that cap saving.
- Victoro311

Except that Ennis isn’t quite Sheary. I’m not saying you guys have a poopty proposal- im saying tell me why he makes more sense than the alternatives. Same thing for JJ, if he was the best we could do then I’m all for it but I’m a strong believer that better options exist. For me, I’ll take Jokinen and Franson at $2M over JJ and Ennis at $4M all day

Definitely agree. Picking up Ennis for a lowish cap hit (I think his perceived value around the league is pretty low) would be a really shrewd way of replacing Sheary and makes that trade with Buffalo even better.

I don’t think we sold that low on Sheary. Hunwick has a lot of negative value that needed to be compensated for. I thought it was a good, if unspectacular trade, its just unfortunate how we chose to spend a large chunk of that cap saving.
- Victoro311

Big picture is an undrafted fa came in helped us win 2 cups then moved out for an actual pick and subtraction of a bad contract. Pens scouts earn an attaboy for that

Except that Ennis isn’t quite Sheary. I’m not saying you guys have a poopty proposal- im saying tell me why he makes more sense than the alternatives. Same thing for JJ, if he was the best we could do then I’m all for it but I’m a strong believer that better options exist. For me, I’ll take Jokinen and Franson at $2M over JJ and Ennis at $4M all day
- WSCTeton17

I just think you're missing the point that the Pens may not have the luxury of getting $2M players. There are plenty of available players I'd rather the Pens pursue, but depending on how this whole JJ situation pans out, they just may not have the funds. JR seems to like to operate with a little cap space for a deadline move, so even if the Pens have around $2.5M free after everything, he may only want to spend around $1M.

Again, this is a depth signing. Not sure how to make that clear. He could replace what Sheary brought and if not, Sully has the ability to give other guys a shot. That's what depth is. It's not a profound move that stops other players from getting their shot.

The Pens may not have the cap space to get some of the names we want, so that's where these cheap low-risk vets come in handy.
- Rinosaur

Depth signings matter, depth trades matter. Tell me how Ennis would be more effective than Jokinen and I’ll gladly concede. Personally, I don’t want someone who couldn’t cut it somewhere else unless they’re bringing in something I know is useful. I feel I’ve outlined how Jokinen does that

I just think you're missing the point that the Pens may not have the luxury of getting $2M players. There are plenty of available players I'd rather the Pens pursue, but depending on how this whole JJ situation pans out, they just may not have the funds. JR seems to like to operate with a little cap space for a deadline move, so even if the Pens have around $2.5M free after everything, he may only want to spend around $1M.
- Rinosaur

I’m talking about $2M for Jokinen and Franson combined, not each
I’m a finance major. Asset management is part of my job. Asset utilization is part of managing your assets. I feel I’ve done a good job outlining why Jussi would be a good fit

Depth signings matter, depth trades matter. Tell me how Ennis would be more effective than Jokinen and I’ll gladly concede. Personally, I don’t want someone who couldn’t cut it somewhere else unless they’re bringing in something I know is useful. I feel I’ve outlined how Jokinen does that
- WSCTeton17

Jokinen has slowed down significantly. Yeah, he has a decent two-way game, but he's just too slow for this team. His hands are gone.

Ennis skates well, decent speed, plays hard on both ends of the ice, above average two-way game and has some offensive upside.

I’m talking about $2M for Jokinen and Franson combined, not each
- WSCTeton17

Franson skates like mud. He's probably about equal defensively to JJ, but at the very least JJ is a much better skater.

Jokinen has slowed down significantly. Yeah, he has a decent two-way game, but he's just too slow for this team. His hands are gone.

Ennis skates well, decent speed, plays hard on both ends of the ice, above average two-way game and has some offensive upside.
- Rinosaur

Did you watch a lot of Jussi when he was with Vancouver? Because I did. Speed hasn’t been a part of Jussi’s Game for a long time but he’s still been effective. Maatta and Sheahan aren’t the fastest guys but we’re sure keen on keeping them around

Trying to be polite here by agreeing to disagree. Yakpuov would be a waste of a signing. Yeah, he can help offensively in the bottom six, but he's so lazy defensively that Sully would likely bench him frequently.
- Rinosaur

I am worried about the same issue with Sprong. I hope Sully doesn't bench him for Simon's due to Sprongs lack of effort defensively

I am worried about the same issue with Sprong. I hope Sully doesn't bench him for Simon's due to Sprongs lack of effort defensively
- 123Kid

Yeah. Hopefully Sully enters a mindset of acceptance like with Kessel.

EDIT:
I think a Hagelin-Brass-Sprong line would allow Sprong to take some defensive onus off of him and open up his game.

Did you watch a lot of Jussi when he was with Vancouver? Because I did. Speed hasn’t been a part of Jussi’s Game for a long time but he’s still been effective. Maatta and Sheahan aren’t the fastest guys but we’re sure keen on keeping them around
- WSCTeton17

I know speed hasn't been a part of his game for a long time and I'll argue that's made him less effective unless he's playing on a team not build around speed, but a more defensive game. Jokinen is just too slow for this team.

I know speed hasn't been a part of his game for a long time and I'll argue that's made him less effective unless he's playing on a team not build around speed, but a more defensive game. Jokinen is just too slow for this team.
- Rinosaur

Then why doesn’t that same argument apply to Sheahan or Maatta? They’re all effective hockey players.
So Ennis comes in and plays 4th line. He probably won’t PK. I don’t see him getting PP time over our first unit or Guentzel, Brassard, Sheahan, Sprong, Simon, ZAR, or any of our D. So if he makes the lineup he plays what, 6 minutes? That’s pretty poor asset management. I’d rather bring in someone with more offensive potential, size, or PK ability

Then why doesn’t that same argument apply to Sheahan or Maatta? They’re all effective hockey players.
So Ennis comes in and plays 4th line. He probably won’t PK. I don’t see him getting PP time over our first unit or Guentzel, Brassard, Sheahan, Sprong, Simon, ZAR, or any of our D. So if he makes the lineup he plays what, 6 minutes? That’s pretty poor asset management. I’d rather bring in someone with more offensive potential, size, or PK ability
- WSCTeton17

Sheahan is not a fast or super skilled skater, but he's Hagelin compared to Jokinen right now. Maatta is a very skilled skater. Jokinen also has NO offensive potential or size that benefits the pens.

Again, I'm not sure where the communication breakdown is, but the guys you want may simply not be financially feasible. If the Pens wind up only having around $1M, the pool to draw from is very weak.

I’m just using your same argument on a different scale, what happens if one of our penalty killers go down? Ennis has barely played on the PK at all over the last three seasons. So he comes in and plays just even strength on the 4th line? I don’t think you can tell me that he’s going to get PK time over Rust, Hagelin, Brassard, or Sheahan. I’m guessing Sid would PK over Ennis as well.
Jokinen is coming off 10 points in 14 games in Vancouver where he was a plus player and could move through the lineup as needed. He kills penalties, is still effective on PP2, and he’s still pretty decent in the dot (he’s been over 50% for forever)
- WSCTeton17

I think JR signs one additional player for PK just due to this argument, because Brassard has never played on the PK. It is one reason I wanted us to sign Grabner (who is rumored to be signing with Arizona). They can even move Brassard to wing and sign Plekanec or Filppula (both older and will get less money than their previous contracts and may take a one year cheap deal for a chance at the cup).

Sheahan is not a fast or super skilled skater, but he's Hagelin compared to Jokinen right now. Maatta is a very skilled skater. Jokinen also has NO offensive potential or size that benefits the pens.

Again, I'm not sure where the communication breakdown is, but the guys you want may simply not be financially feasible. If the Pens wind up only having around $1M, the pool to draw from is very weak.
- Rinosaur

Jokinen just has .71points per game with Vancouver. I realize he’s not stepping into a top 6 role here but if that’s not showing you offensive potential then you might want to reconsider some things.
Ennis on the other hand would be bringing one dimension: speed on the offensive side of the puck. His PPG of late: ranges from 0.21 - 0.48, most recently 0.3 points per game. There’s no reason to think Jussi will command more than a million. He kills penalties, is proven that he can move up the lineup as needed, he’s good on face offs, he has a history of being effective both offensively and defensively. The only things Ennis have over Jussi are speed and age and over the last 3 years he hasn’t been good enough to use them to his advantage

Jokinen just has .71points per game with Vancouver. I realize he’s not stepping into a top 6 role here but if that’s not showing you offensive potential then you might want to reconsider some things.
Ennis on the other hand would be bringing one dimension: speed on the offensive side of the puck. His PPG of late: ranges from 0.21 - 0.48, most recently 0.3 points per game. There’s no reason to think Jussi will command more than a million. He kills penalties, is proven that he can move up the lineup as needed, he’s good on face offs, he has a history of being effective both offensively and defensively. The only things Ennis have over Jussi are speed and age and over the last 3 years he hasn’t been good enough to use them to his advantage
- WSCTeton17

If you think Ennis is one-dimensional, then you honestly know nothing about him.

I think JR signs one additional player for PK just due to this argument, because Brassard has never played on the PK. It is one reason I wanted us to sign Grabner (who is rumored to be signing with Arizona). They can even move Brassard to wing and sign Plekanec or Filppula (both older and will get less money than their previous contracts and may take a one year cheap deal for a chance at the cup).
- 123Kid

I think Grabner will get slightly overpaid. Filppula and Plek serve no real purpose with the Pens because of Brass and Sheahan.

I'm still hoping for Kunitz, but it sounds like he may get some decent offers.