All Players with the Rubber Stick Syndrome must go. Scuderi, Martini, Adams, Spaling, Little Beau Peep, Kuny Lovehate. Get players who actually like to shoot the puck. I don't care if it goes in but you must be willing to SHOOT. All the passes are nice but if they don't produce anything, it is useless. Just shoot the Mudda Foocher
- holeinone

You're missing Liabilitierre.

Seth Jones is the best D the Predators have. I don't think they trade both SJ and FF unless the Penguins are adding more value to the trade.

As you all know, I would look into trading Letang virtually no matter what else happens with the team.
- Johnny Wrath

Jones is better than Weber and Josi??

It was just a thought and I disagree with your second paragraph, mostly because there's no internal replacement, and his trade value is hindered by NTC, health. But no need to go down that road again.

to be fair, I said I would do it if it was Sutter included lol.

I get it. All 3 are young, proven, and cost controlled. I like Gallagher and Patches. If Galchenyuk is at least an above average 2nd line center for the next 5 years, I think it makes sense. We can rarely count on a full healthy season for Sid so center depth is crucial.

I love Geno and thats why its hard to say yes to any deal but that deal might just make us a better team in the long run. We still need to then find a better 3rd C and make smarter moves with the bottom 6.

Alternatively, I saw a deal proposed Malkin for Seth Jones, Forsberg, 1st or Seth Jones, Wilson, Fiala, 1st. Seth Jones isn't what we "need" but we could then flip Letang for high level forward(s). A lot of moving parts and highly unlikely we would do something like that but an interesting talking point.
- YouMeAndDupuis9

Yeah we could resign Winnik and Comeau with the money we saved in trading those 3. Winnik is 3c with Comeau and maybe Weise on the wings. Downie, BB etc could be on third winger as well but you get the point. Cost controlled, young, they produce and better rounds the team.

I like that Malkin for Jones, Forsberg and the first. I doubt that would ever get done though. Flip Letang for Taylor Hall +. Profit

Backes, Kesler, Kopitar, Johansen, Duchene are the only other ones coming to mind. And only the first two would make any sense.
- YouMeAndDupuis9

Backes is a nice player but he's 30 now and really, he's Davis Backes.

Kesler just got to Anaheim. He's not as worn out as many think but he doesn't represent anything like 'the future'.

Kopitar makes 6.8M for two more seasons. He's at least on par with the very best forwards in the league. I think the Kings would trade almost every other forward on their roster before they trade Kopitar.

Duchene would be interesting but I don't think he's a good fit for a Penguins team that already has a #1 scoring center.

You're missing Liabilitierre.
- jfkst1

Whoops MY BAD.

Whoops MY BAD.
- holeinone

You can't forget him. We traded a boring player for an exciting one. Though he is generally more exciting because you never know when he is going to take a pointless penalty, lose a key draw, or have a defensive zone turnover. But at least he keeps things interesting with all his grit.

Jones is better than Weber and Josi??

It was just a thought and I disagree with your second paragraph, mostly because there's no internal replacement, and his trade value is hindered by NTC, health. But no need to go down that road again.
- YouMeAndDupuis9

Yeah. Weber and Josi. Josi is close but at 20, Seth Jones looks to be a dominant player for the next decade.

I think the Penguins already have a better set of D for the power play than Letang and they will next season if Martin walks.. That leaves maybe 20 minutes per game of even strength and PK time. One of the many WB/S players should be able to fill that role by next season. Hey, if they can stay healthy then it's better than status quo. I agree about the contract stuff and yes, how he's missed more than a full season's worth of games recently. It just means that they waited too long and soon they'll be in Mike Green territory.

You're missing Liabilitierre.
- jfkst1

His pet disgust nickname has to imply his grinning, rat-like qualities as well. Just because he hasn't yet done anything too rat-like doesn't mean that he isn't a veteran rat who picks his rat spots with care.

Yeah. Weber and Josi. Josi is close but at 20, Seth Jones looks to be a dominant player for the next decade.

I think the Penguins already have a better set of D for the power play than Letang and they will next season if Martin walks.. That leaves maybe 20 minutes per game of even strength and PK time. One of the many WB/S players should be able to fill that role by next season. Hey, if they can stay healthy then it's better than status quo. I agree about the contract stuff and yes, how he's missed more than a full season's worth of games recently. It just means that they waited too long and soon they'll be in Mike Green territory.
- Johnny Wrath

I thought Colorado made a poor choice taking MacKinnon over Jones. The time to trade Letang was before his extension when his value was greatest.

The problem is that there aren't any quick fixes. 87 and 71 probably have about 5 more elite years. Given that we have drafted poorly and squandered any draft picks we could have had means help isnt coming. For the most part we have aging or grossly average wingers. I hate to be all doom and gloom but the optimism of 2009 is long gone. What you see is what you get.
- all-pgh

You sir are exactly right. There are no quick fixes. Babcock wouldn't be a quick fix either. If we continue to go down the path we are in; bringing in rentals for prime pick assets and continue to have to look to the combo's and downies to come in and overachieve (no one expected Comeau and Downie to put up these point totals), then we will be closer to Toronto or Edmonton than whoever is on top.

Free agency will not help teams like it once did.

Jones is better than Weber and Josi??

It was just a thought and I disagree with your second paragraph, mostly because there's no internal replacement, and his trade value is hindered by NTC, health. But no need to go down that road again.
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I wouldn't say that yet. Weber is the best Dman in the game IMO. Josh certainly has taken that developmental step to the max over the last two years. He is an elite Dman now.

I thought Colorado made a poor choice taking MacKinnon over Jones. The time to trade Letang was before his extension when his value was greatest.
- jfkst1

I still don't understand how people would so easily trade Letang ? Good luck finding someone that comes close to filling his shoes. His salary is fair , not great but fair.

This board cracks me up. Say we trade Letang for a decent return. Letang goes on to win a norris which he could have been in consideration this year for. Then everyone here would be calling it the worst trade in the world, why did we trade a norris winner for Player A and B who sucks blah blah blah.

Say we trade Malkin and he goes on to win scoring race multiple times and the guys we get for him get hurt or only scores 30-40 points on our 3rd line. Again, people would want heads to roll. Its the same thing over and over again. No matter what happens people will find something to harp on.

Why the hell some of you that are hoping they miss the playoffs even waste time watching them is beyond me. If you're a fan of a team and want them to barely miss the playoffs because they don't deserve it that means you should take a break from watching said team and go outside or do something constructive with your time because you sure the hell aren't getting any pleasure out of watching hockey.

I still don't understand how people would so easily trade Letang , good luck finding someone that comes close to filling his shoes. The money is fair , not great but fair.
- Bradlee3

Letang is great...when he plays. He is injury prone. Everyone other than Shero knew that before he signed him to an extension. Going back and looking at what prospective trade offers were and the team would likely be better off now if they had traded him then. Letang has to be at top health in order to be effective. I'm skeptical that will ever happen for long periods of time.

I still don't understand how people would so easily trade Letang ? Good luck finding someone that comes close to filling his shoes. His salary is fair , not great but fair.
- Bradlee3

When you have a man making north of 7 million per that misses 20 games or so per year due to injuries, I think there are better places to invest the resources. Letting is injury prone and can't be trusted. Fact is, no one will ante up what he is worth in a deal. Not a chance.

I still don't understand how people would so easily trade Letang ? Good luck finding someone that comes close to filling his shoes. His salary is fair , not great but fair.
- Bradlee3

well in this case, we already traded Malkin for Seth Jones++. So Letang's shoes are adequately filled. Though with any player that young, there is a fear what future contracts look like and fear of losing them.

This board cracks me up. Say we trade Letang for a decent return. Letang goes on to win a norris which he could have been in consideration this year for. Then everyone here would be calling it the worst trade in the world, why did we trade a norris winner for Player A and B who sucks blah blah blah.

Say we trade Malkin and he goes on to win scoring race multiple times and the guys we get for him get hurt or only scores 30-40 points on our 3rd line. Again, people would want heads to roll. Its the same thing over and over again. No matter what happens people will find something to harp on.

Why the hell some of you that are hoping they miss the playoffs even waste time watching them is beyond me. If you're a fan of a team and want them to barely miss the playoffs because they don't deserve it that means you should take a break from watching said team and go outside or do something constructive with your time because you sure the hell aren't getting any pleasure out of watching hockey.
- kgrpitt

So, keep the team together with Crosby, Malkin and Letang and continue to fail. Fact is, this organization isn't close to winning it. We don't have the depth to do it. Sorry, trading Sutter, Kunitz, Spaling, Scuderi won't bring you anything that truly matters and if so, we won't know for three years or so.

Letang won't win the Norris either. Why? Because he won't play the amount of require games to deserve it.

You sir are exactly right. There are no quick fixes. Babcock wouldn't be a quick fix either. If we continue to go down the path we are in; bringing in rentals for prime pick assets and continue to have to look to the combo's and downies to come in and overachieve (no one expected Comeau and Downie to put up these point totals), then we will be closer to Toronto or Edmonton than whoever is on top.

Free agency will not help teams like it once did.
- Oneonta Penguin

Not true, I actually expected Downie to come in and put up decent numbers, I also think his numbers could be higher if his role was bigger. He is at his best when playing with skilled players because he has hands, and can finish. He did this alongside Marty and Stammer for a good 3 years until they traded him to the Av's.. and then Philly where both teams buried him on the 3rd and 4th lines. Comeau was definitely a surprise, but every team make's those signings that are low risk signings and hope for getting more production for their cash. especially cap strapped teams... look at Chicago with Brad Richards 2 mil for 37 points, Rangers with Dominic Moore, I wanted the Pens to sign Dominic Moore way back when, the guy is a solid player, especially on the 3rd or 4th line. I'da liked them to sign Brian Boyle too

So, keep the team together with Crosby, Malkin and Letang and continue to fail. Fact is, this organization isn't close to winning it. We don't have the depth to do it. Sorry, trading Sutter, Kunitz, Spaling, Scuderi won't bring you anything that truly matters and if so, we won't know for three years or so.

Letang won't win the Norris either. Why? Because he won't play the amount of require games to deserve it.
- Oneonta Penguin

Sooo you're one of the ones that hope the Penguins don't make the playoffs because they don't have depth? Cool, makes sense.

Backes is a nice player but he's 30 now and really, he's Davis Backes.

Kesler just got to Anaheim. He's not as worn out as many think but he doesn't represent anything like 'the future'.

Kopitar makes 6.8M for two more seasons. He's at least on par with the very best forwards in the league. I think the Kings would trade almost every other forward on their roster before they trade Kopitar.

Duchene would be interesting but I don't think he's a good fit for a Penguins team that already has a #1 scoring center.
- Johnny Wrath

Agree mostly.

Backes is definitely too old to be the only piece or even the main piece. He's a short term stop gap while we get younger and fill other weaknesses. Backes and Tarasenko is 100% fine with me, likely not with STL. Backes and Shwartz I might consider as a starting point, maybe throw in a Rattie. Or we could go haywire with Malkin & Letang for Tarasenko, Backes, Shattenkirk(wouldnt give us Pietrangelo) but all of those I consider unlikely.

Kesler, same deal. You'd need Kesler, Palmieri, Maroon/Etem to even get talking.

Kopitar...yea there's just no logical reason to swap Malkin and Kopitar unless it was part of some giant 7 player deal and my mind isnt prepared to think up a realistic scenario.

Duchene....I would take Duchene and a big plus. (Landy and ROR are too big to be a plus though). Mackinnon+ isnt a terrible idea but no incentive for COL there really.

Yeah we could resign Winnik and Comeau with the money we saved in trading those 3. Winnik is 3c with Comeau and maybe Weise on the wings. Downie, BB etc could be on third winger as well but you get the point. Cost controlled, young, they produce and better rounds the team.

I like that Malkin for Jones, Forsberg and the first. I doubt that would ever get done though. Flip Letang for Taylor Hall +. Profit
- znagle

Letang would never waive for EDM. Though, that's the caliber forward I would want back if I dealt him.

Anyone have a problem with Ian Cole playing 17-18 minutes per game at even strength and PK?

Sooo you're one of the ones that hope the Penguins don't make the playoffs because they don't have depth? Cool, makes sense.
- kgrpitt

There's a few people I've heard utter this non-sense about wanting to miss the playoffs. I'd like to think thats only limited to 2-3 people here.

I think there's a misconception about having some fun discussions on a hockey message board about trading big players and weighing pros and cons. At least, in my case, I 100% support the team this year and hope like hell they make the playoffs because I love hockey. But at the same time, I like being an armchair GM and dreaming up ways I think can help us going forward.

I want this team to be focusing on drafting and player development. There are no quick fixes to this mess that is going to deliver a Cup next year or even the year after that barring moving one of 71/58/87 which they probably aren't doing. They need to realize this ASAP. No one is winning a Cup with 3rd and 4th line retreads or non-entry-level guys making around $1mill. Aint happening. That will just be another round of Downie's, Comeau's, etc..

Might as well start focusing on 2017-18 and trying to be a Cup team the last 2-3 years of 87/71 "primes".

Identify your core for the next 5 years. IMO that's 87, 71, 29, 58, 72, 3, 51. In 2 yrs, Sid's 30, Geno's 31, MAF will be 33ish. They'd have 3 good years after that and prob 2-3 after that with limited production. Focus on building as strong a core around them as possible.

Anyone and everyone else is expendable.

Move Sutter, Perron, Spaling, Kunitz for picks to try and recoup all of the picks you traded. Could prob get a combo of 2nd and 3rd round picks for those guys. Perhaps package a few of those picks to get back into round 1 this year. This is a deep draft. We'll be in a better place in 2-3 years if we get some of these players.

You have Oscar, Kap, a few 2nds this year to build and grow into NHL players within 2-3 years. You'd have a higher #1 next year since we'd likely miss the playoffs.

Talk to Sid and Geno about this plan. If they aren't in, trade them.

Anyone who disagrees with this approach, that's cool. Just enjoy a few more years of no Cups, 3/4 line complaining, and watching NHL retreads patrol our 3/4 lines making around $1million.
- 87_71_11_29

well said

Sooo you're one of the ones that hope the Penguins don't make the playoffs because they don't have depth? Cool, makes sense.
- kgrpitt

I have not ever said that. Even if we did, we are out in the first round. However, you are very naive if you don't think this organization is flawed and one of the ways to help this shortage is possibly exploring trading one of the big three because, face it, trading Sutter, Spaling, Kunitz and Scuderi don't bring heavy returns and the free agency list isn't that stout with good players.