Sids had sone duds as well..pessonen, hilbert, armstrong, satan, ekmam, christensen
- willi

Armstrong was TITS! ARMY's ARMY 2015! WOOWOO

I disagree about Letang. He's one of the best defenseman this year and has always been great (when not injured).

Anyways, we have a good top 6 right now this year and next if we can sign Comeau to a 2.5-3 million a year deal. Fleury is a good goalie and we have two great propsects that can replace Greiss next year, or we can play Zatkoff. Our defensive core is also set, sign either Martin or Hoff or an FA. BB will be back on a cheap deal too. Sundqvist might be ready as Kasperi might next year (AHL at least) We just need to tweak the bottom 6 a little more. Maybe we strike paydirt in the draft as well. Adams will be retired as well (thank god). We are in a good position with the cap next year, and with it rising the next two years (if it does, who knows) that give even more wiggle room to sign players.
- znagle

Letang might be one of the top-10 defenseman in the league, but when you factor in forwards and goalie...maybe top-30, maybe top-25. And I love the guy. But he's a step down (in my eyes) to the likes of Shea Weber/Alex Pietrangelo/Ryan Suter/etc when it comes to defenders. But I digress.

Every year, it's "Well, yeah, we just had this happen, so we just need to tweak it. And the year before, we have this other thing happen, and we fixed that, but now we just need to do this."

Excuse after excuse after excuse. And it's always "minor" things that are easy to fix. Well then (frank)ing fix them! There is no reason, ABSOLUTELY NO REASON, why this team is not at the very least a perennial ECF teams. Losing in the first and 2nd round 4 out of the last 5 years, and getting swept the only time you got past the second round, should be viewed as nothing less than a monumental disappointment.

But let's just keep tweaking and making minor adjustments.

He's said he won't rush those guys, so I don't think a mass youth movement is on the horizon just yet. Maybe Hextall's just putting on his poker face, though.
- BulliesPhan87

i dont think so either. i think they will trickle in though. even one here or there, playing well and on an ELC, will be a huge boost.

i do think eventually someone decent will have to go. maybe its coburn. everyone seems to hate him, but he is a capable player. just stating the obvious, but eventually someone worth retaining will have to be sacrificed.

that simmonds deal is an absolute beaut right now.

He's said he won't rush those guys, so I don't think a mass youth movement is on the horizon just yet. Maybe Hextall's just putting on his poker face, though.
- BulliesPhan87

i dont think so either. i think they will trickle in though. even one here or there, playing well and on an ELC, will be a huge boost.

i do think eventually someone decent will have to go. maybe its coburn. everyone seems to hate him, but he is a capable player. just stating the obvious, but eventually someone worth retaining will have to be sacrificed.

that simmonds deal is an absolute beaut right now.
- stayinthefnnet

Coburn could stay, but he'll cost around $6M/5 years or so, which is fair for him. The AMac deal is the killer.

You bring up an interesting point. The Penguins are currently paying (correct me if I'm wrong here) Crosby, the best player in the NHL, $8.787M per season, and Letang, their cornerstone, #1 defenseman, $7.5M per season. Now, theoretically, if the cap increases, the Penguins would have a lot of money to spend, and those cap hits become better deals.

So let's say the going rate for a top-line winger becomes $8M. Can the Penguins sell that this UFA winger is worth more than Letang, and only slightly less than Crosby? What if the going rate is MORE than Crosby is making?

Not sure where I'm going with this, but it would just be odd to pay a UFA with no ties to the team more than your stud defenseman and the best player in the game, the face of your franchise.
- jmatchett383

I am assuming that you are working under the guise that Malkin and his 9.5 million cap hit were gone? Otherwise I can't see an $8 million winger coming in, then the Pens would really be top heavy. But if Malkin were gone, I wouldn't think it would bother Crosby to bring in a winger close to his price. He already makes less than Malkin.

I am assuming that you are working under the guise that Malkin and his 9.5 million cap hit were gone? Otherwise I can't see an $8 million winger coming in, then the Pens would really be top heavy. But if Malkin were gone, I wouldn't think it would bother Crosby to bring in a winger close to his price. He already makes less than Malkin.
- PensFan1103

No, I'm working on the assumption that this team keeps plugging away with the same core despite constant early-round playoff exits.

Coburn could stay, but he'll cost around $6M/5 years or so, which is fair for him. The AMac deal is the killer.
- jmatchett383

as things stand right now, yes, it is.

we all have our albatrosses.

Sids had some duds as well..pessonen, hilbert, armstrong, satan, ekmam, christensen
- willi

Malkin just had a waiver pickup on the wing. A guy who went back on waivers. All of the players you listed except Janne Pesonen were at least NHL regulars.

Letang might be one of the top-10 defenseman in the league, but when you factor in forwards and goalie...maybe top-30, maybe top-25. And I love the guy. But he's a step down (in my eyes) to the likes of Shea Weber/Alex Pietrangelo/Ryan Suter/etc when it comes to defenders. But I digress.

Every year, it's "Well, yeah, we just had this happen, so we just need to tweak it. And the year before, we have this other thing happen, and we fixed that, but now we just need to do this."

Excuse after excuse after excuse. And it's always "minor" things that are easy to fix. Well then (frank)ing fix them! There is no reason, ABSOLUTELY NO REASON, why this team is not at the very least a perennial ECF teams. Losing in the first and 2nd round 4 out of the last 5 years, and getting swept the only time you got past the second round, should be viewed as nothing less than a monumental disappointment.

But let's just keep tweaking and making minor adjustments.
- jmatchett383

Or we can make irrational knee jerk moves and see how they work out....Bryzgalov, Carter, Richards (not looking so bad now), Briere

Or we can make irrational knee jerk moves and see how they work out....Bryzgalov, Carter, Richards (not looking so bad now), Briere
- willi

Yes, because the Flyers are hailed as perennial Cup favorites just like the Penguins...right?

Also, if you'd actually follow what I've been saying, it wouldn't be the result of 1-2 bad years, but more in the vein of 7-8 years of poor playoff showings.

Letang might be one of the top-10 defenseman in the league, but when you factor in forwards and goalie...maybe top-30, maybe top-25. And I love the guy. But he's a step down (in my eyes) to the likes of Shea Weber/Alex Pietrangelo/Ryan Suter/etc when it comes to defenders. But I digress.

Every year, it's "Well, yeah, we just had this happen, so we just need to tweak it. And the year before, we have this other thing happen, and we fixed that, but now we just need to do this."

Excuse after excuse after excuse. And it's always "minor" things that are easy to fix. Well then (frank)ing fix them! There is no reason, ABSOLUTELY NO REASON, why this team is not at the very least a perennial ECF teams. Losing in the first and 2nd round 4 out of the last 5 years, and getting swept the only time you got past the second round, should be viewed as nothing less than a monumental disappointment.

But let's just keep tweaking and making minor adjustments.
- jmatchett383

They are making major adjustments. We brought in 72, 39, 17 (top 6) 13, 23, 40 (bottom 6) right there alone is half the offense. Most have worked, some are tweeners.

Biggest mistake was signing Sutter after he was a turd that only produced in the playoffs. Should have shipped him out when the value was high (I was all for it). Next year we will see the rookie D playing IMO. They will take advantage of those ELCs while putting money elsewhere (maybe a top 6, slot comeau down and then sign some more serviceable bottom 6's)

You also can't argue the fact of the Penguins yearly injury bug. We have basically half a new team this year as well as a new system and coaches. It takes time to perfectly balance everything out. Players getting used to the system/each other, and the coaches knowing what they have and how to utilize them. Now that we are mainly healthy, we should see better results across the board.

Last post of the night here (won't let me sign in on my phone for some reason), time to leave work and celebrate my 22nd birthday by getting hammered and watching the game with the boys.

Looking for a 5-2 pens win tonight

They are making major adjustments. We brought in 72, 39, 17 (top 6) 13, 23, 40 (bottom 6) right there alone is half the offense. Most have worked, some are tweeners.

Biggest mistake was signing Sutter after he was a turd that only produced in the playoffs. Should have shipped him out when the value was high (I was all for it). Next year we will see the rookie D playing IMO. They will take advantage of those ELCs while putting money elsewhere (maybe a top 6, slot comeau down and then sign some more serviceable bottom 6's)

You also can't argue the fact of the Penguins yearly injury bug. We have basically half a new team this year as well as a new system and coaches. It takes time to perfectly balance everything out. Players getting used to the system/each other, and the coaches knowing what they have and how to utilize them. Now that we are mainly healthy, we should see better results across the board.

Last post of the night here (won't let me sign in on my phone for some reason), time to leave work and celebrate my 22nd birthday by getting hammered and watching the game with the boys.

Looking for a 5-2 pens win tonight
- znagle

Well if you're gonna run, then there's no point in continuing the conversation.

Well if you're gonna run, then there's no point in continuing the conversation.
- jmatchett383

quitter.

In a vacuum, that's good math. But right now, the Penguins have won (by my count) 4 our of 9 playoff series. Most of them (aside from MAYBE the 12/13 Bruins) were series where the Penguins were heavy favorites going in (Tampa Bay, Montreal, Philadelphia, even the Rangers last year). They have not won one game past the second round in that span.
- jmatchett383

Also to be fair, you are counting the year that Malkin nor Crosby played against Tampa Bay as a failure year for the two headed monster. The Pens should have won that series, but nobody expected that years team to win anything without Crosby and Malkin and that certainly isn't Crosby and Malkin's fault that year.

The Flyers series while disappointing, it was an organizational wide failure. You don't see what happened in that series happen very often. I chalk that up to an anomoly.

So to me, it really boils down to the Montreal series, the Boston series, and then the Rangers series last year. Those are the disappointments and like you said the Boston series, the Pens may or may not have been favored, but never should have been swept.

Or we can make irrational knee jerk moves and see how they work out....Bryzgalov, Carter, Richards (not looking so bad now), Briere
- willi

Really? That's all you've got?



L A Z Y

quitter.
- stayinthefnnet

It's because I have a small penis.

Really? That's all you've got?



L A Z Y
- BulliesPhan87

Also, the Briere move was fantastic at the time and got the team back to respectability. Just didn't last.

Malkin just had a waiver pickup on the wing. A guy who went back on waivers. All of the players you listed except Janne Pesonen were at least NHL regulars.
- Johnny Wrath

Hilbert? And Malkins wingers were hurt. Did you want Adams and Sill patroling his wing? Don't forget some good players have been claimed off waivers...kunitz, Lang, grabner,

Hilbert? And Malkins wingers were hurt. Did you want Adams and Sill patroling his wing? Don't forget some good players have been claimed off waivers...kunitz, Lang, grabner,
- willi

Still can't grasp how Grabner ever got to waivers.

Or we can make irrational knee jerk moves and see how they work out....Bryzgalov, Carter, Richards (not looking so bad now), Briere
- willi

not to sound haughty or anything, but if the comparison right now over the past couple seasons is the flyers, that further illustrates the problem.

no offense to them, but they shouldnt be the neighborhood market comparable.

they werent the ones who have had crosby and malkin the past few years.

Also, the Briere move was fantastic at the time and got the team back to respectability. Just didn't last.
- jmatchett383

agreed, willi is way offsides criticizing that signing.

It's because I have a small penis.
- jmatchett383

i mean i could have told you that...

agreed, willi is way offsides criticizing that signing.
- BulliesPhan87

He's trying to put the icing on the cake

#Dupuis

i mean i could have told you that...
- stayinthefnnet

Shhhhhh, I told you to stop calling me.