thoughts on Matheui Perrault as a cheap addition?

From what I've read they want a dman who has term left on his contract, so Schultz wouldn't be on their radar, but if he was then yes, they'd have to add a lot more.
- Rinosaur

JJ !!

RW...this is the first blog that you've written in a while that I've enjoyed. I somewhat disagree about the post Malkin/Sid Pens. We are spoiled, but the team has done a good job of finding possible stars in later rounds that should continue to carry them. Letang's replacement is fairely obvious in Marino. Guentzel has shown that he's a legit star in the league and is underrated. Rust may also be turning that corner. Also this team should be able to bring in star free agents who want to be part of the legacy is the most successful hockey organization since 1990.

If managed correctly, I don't see a drop off like the Wings (the second most successful franchise in that time frame). Sid and Geno are still 2-3 years away from a major drop off, although Sid is a different beast...he's conditioned like Jagr and may still be a top line center for another 10+ years. And, as you mentioned, Pittsburgh hockey in general has become HUGE! I think I counted almost 30 different clubs in the PAHL? Allegheny alone has 31 teams ranging from mites to 18u. So, this fan base won't die off like the early 2000's. The Pens, like the Steelers, will always be a cap strapped team.

That's two long posts back to back...I HATE being off of work lol.
- cranktheradio

I mistakenly stated on here awhile back that GMJR would be the first GM to do this... meaning no Detroit Slide... the Wings are gawd awful... but I do believe this has been is MO. Now, Jake's injury could change this, but I do think this is the long term plan... to stay competitive after the 87/71 window closes, maybe even a regular, somewhat deep playoff contender.

Yohe talked to Rutherford. Not really a surprise, but he wants a wing to help replace Guentzel. Isn't particular if it's a rental or term. Also not likely to pursue a defenseman.
- Tojo.

This makes me sad. I think a 2nd pairing puck-moving LD with some offensive ability would do wonders for this team. One could argue it would have a bigger impact than any of the forwards / wingers we've been talking about. I would make that argument.

thoughts on Matheui Perrault as a cheap addition?
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I've wanted him in the past but not now - he's 32 and no longer productive. He's also not cheap in terms of contract as he'll be making $4.125M next season. WPG seems to be one of those teams that doesn't trade a lot, no matter how bad they're doing. I've pretty much given up on coming up with trade scenarios involving them.

thoughts on Matheui Perrault as a cheap addition?
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I'd stay far away. Expensive and aging. Production isn't ideal.

As for Murray, I would either trade him now or in the offseason. I'm definitely not giving him a new contract and I wouldn't want to gamble with arbitration. I honestly don't think he's worth any more than the $3.75M he's making now and especially not to the Pens since Jarry hit the scene.

Decent, relatively cheap vet backups are not too hard to find in the offseason. I would rather spend our cap in other areas. Remember that Jarry is also a RFA, so he'll get a bump.

Murray has looked elite for stretches but so have a lot of other goalies who are not elite. Is he very good overall? Maybe. Is he the next Cam Ward? Maybe. Murray has composure and big moment performances and that's about it. He's supposed to be a positional goalie but he's often out of position. He's not athletic to put it mildly. He's been injured a lot. He's not a good puck handler. His glove hand issues are well-documented. Just too many negatives on which to gamble a good chunk of salary, especially when we have a likely better long-term goalie already on the team.

This makes me sad. I think a 2nd pairing puck-moving LD with some offensive ability would do wonders for this team. One could argue it would have a bigger impact than any of the forwards / wingers we've been talking about. I would make that argument.
- Hockey66

Dumo and Petts are a pretty damn good 1-2 punch. Who would you want to bring in?

Dumo and Petts are a pretty damn good 1-2 punch. Who would you want to bring in?
- burgh4life87

I haven't spent much time looking into 2LDs but I wouldn't hang your hat on Dumo and Petts this season. Dumo had a serious injury / surgery and it is unknown whether he will be a good player this season. Petts has definitely taken a step back this season and is playing more like a 3rd pairing LD than a 2nd pairing LD. Then there's JJ. The left side at the moment could almost not be weaker. Luckily Riikola has stepped up to look like a NHL defenseman, even if only in a heavily sheltered role.

EK tying the Pens to Kovy again

I haven't spent much time looking into 2LDs but I wouldn't hang your hat on Dumo and Petts this season. Dumo had a serious injury / surgery and it is unknown whether he will be a good player this season. Petts has definitely taken a step back this season and is playing more like a 3rd pairing LD than a 2nd pairing LD. Then there's JJ. The left side at the moment could almost not be weaker. Luckily Riikola has stepped up to look like a NHL defenseman, even if only in a heavily sheltered role.
- Hockey66

His point production at 5v5 is almost identical to last season, right now good enough for 90th among defenders, with is 2nd pairing production. His defensive stats are slightly better this season in shots against and scoring chances against. His shots for %, scoring chances for %, and HDCF % put him among the top 50 in the league (over 53% in each). There is nothing about his game this season that suggests he is a 3rd pairing defender.

EK tying the Pens to Kovy again
- Rinosaur

Despite BobMck already saying Rutherford made it clear he has no interest in him.

Despite BobMck already saying Rutherford made it clear he has no interest in him.
- burgh4life87

Now it would just be dumb. They could have had him for $700K and now it would cost them an asset.

1. This is too long without hockey. Alex letang was the only entertaining part of the all star game.

2. I don’t dislike Matt Murray nor blame him for fleury leaving. My biggest criticism is he’s weird looking alien mofo. I’ve loved and hated fleury in his career here but know that moving his contract was the best business choice even though I wish he’d retire a pen. Same with Murray. Time to ship the bigger contract away. Simple as that.

I don’t think Jarry’s play is slipping. The team as a whole was gassed. Hopefully this long break was just what they needed to come back hard and healthy till the end, with a surprise guentzel, patty kane style, twist come playoff time.

We better not trade that 3rd rounder for kovy. I really hope we draft Martin chromiak with that pick. Kid looks wicked for the London knights and is projected 3/4th round.

I found this on Jet City Ice.

The exposed goaltender must be either under contract, or an RFA who has received his qualifying offer. There is no minimum number of games requirement for goaltenders.

Therefore Murray needs to be signed thru the 20-21 season. If he isn't then the Pens could conceivably lose two players in the draft.
- Thunderbolt

DeSmith is signed until then, so there is no eligibility issue. Even if they wanted a different back-up, just sign him for 2 years.

It would be a waste of assets to do so. I thought it was a good article. Pretty clear Jim is looking at every option.
- burgh4life87

I'd like someone to push Pettersson and push JJ out of the line-up, but it's not a glaring hole. Pettersson is better than Maatta, and we won twice with him, not to mention Marino elevates that pair anyways.

His point production at 5v5 is almost identical to last season, right now good enough for 90th among defenders, with is 2nd pairing production. His defensive stats are slightly better this season in shots against and scoring chances against. His shots for %, scoring chances for %, and HDCF % put him among the top 50 in the league (over 53% in each). There is nothing about his game this season that suggests he is a 3rd pairing defender.
- burgh4life87

I would argue that his defensive stats have more to do with a much better overall team defense than anything he is doing individually. I'm not saying he is a 3rd pairing defender, I'm just saying that he is playing closer to that this season than a 2nd pairing defender (or at least my conception of what a good 2nd pairing defender is). Using league-wide stats is pretty useless, IMO, unless your aim is to be average or just above average. Even if his offensive numbers are in the top 50, that probably means he is not in the top 4 of the top 10 teams.

Numbers are nice, but Petts is definitely having a down year. He likely tops out as a 2nd pairing d-man long-term, so any dip in play puts him in the tweener category.

The point remains that Dumo (coming off serious injury), Petts and JJ on the left side should not be relied upon to get a Cup. This is essentially the same defense that got swept in the first round last year, with the exception of the Guds/Marino swap, but with Dumo and Schultz now coming off major injuries.

The Pens have the resources and cap space to get a 2nd pairing defenseman to put us over the top. To not at least try would be negligent, IMO. We know Sully is capable of scratching JJ in the playoffs so that's something.

RW...this is the first blog that you've written in a while that I've enjoyed. I somewhat disagree about the post Malkin/Sid Pens. We are spoiled, but the team has done a good job of finding possible stars in later rounds that should continue to carry them. Letang's replacement is fairely obvious in Marino. Guentzel has shown that he's a legit star in the league and is underrated. Rust may also be turning that corner. Also this team should be able to bring in star free agents who want to be part of the legacy is the most successful hockey organization since 1990.

If managed correctly, I don't see a drop off like the Wings (the second most successful franchise in that time frame). Sid and Geno are still 2-3 years away from a major drop off, although Sid is a different beast...he's conditioned like Jagr and may still be a top line center for another 10+ years. And, as you mentioned, Pittsburgh hockey in general has become HUGE! I think I counted almost 30 different clubs in the PAHL? Allegheny alone has 31 teams ranging from mites to 18u. So, this fan base won't die off like the early 2000's. The Pens, like the Steelers, will always be a cap strapped team.

That's two long posts back to back...I HATE being off of work lol.
- cranktheradio

Man IDK dude. Marino’s been really good for what he is, but I’m not seeing 50+ points two-way 1D potential from him. I think he’s just a really solid top 4 D. Which is an awesome diamond to find in the rough, but nothing you can build your franchise around. You’re right that a guy like Guentzel is a potential franchise cornerstone, but a top line wing isn’t the hardest piece of the puzzle. 1C and 1D are the two most vital pieces of building a contender up and I just don’t think we have that in the pipeline. We’ll definitely hit a doldrum in the post Sid/Geno era unless a couple MAJOR surprises happen.

Now it would just be dumb. They could have had him for $700K and now it would cost them an asset.
- Rinosaur

Yea I will be pissed if we trade for Kovy, could've just had him and spent zero assests. Would be a dumb move now. I'll take Tatar from Montreal and that's about it.

Yea I will be pissed if we trade for Kovy, could've just had him and spent zero assests. Would be a dumb move now. I'll take Tatar from Montreal and that's about it.
- 668710

Sunk cost theory states this shouldn’t matter. If Kovy for a third is the best possible deal on the table at the deadline you take it.

I'd like someone to push Pettersson and push JJ out of the line-up, but it's not a glaring hole. Pettersson is better than Maatta, and we won twice with him, not to mention Marino elevates that pair anyways.
- Tojo.

As far as offense from defensemen go, I would call it a glaring hole. And we know that Petts, JJ, and Riikola are not defensive stalwarts. Will Dumo be effective when he comes back? Maybe not for the rest of the season. That needs to be a part of the equation. Even still, that's almost no offense from the entire left side. Getting a 2LD with some offensive chops would greatly lessen the burden of the forwards to do all of the scoring.

As for winning the Cup twice with Maatta, Maatta was playing a sheltered third pairing role while Cole was the stud 2LD. Also, Maatta then vs. Petts now would be debatable. You actually kind of made my point for me. Getting a 2LD like Cole that would, as you say push Petts to the third pairing and JJ out of the lineup, make us a serious Cup contender. As it stands now, with Dumo and Schultz coming back from serious injuries and sans the production of Kessel and Guentzel, I don't think we are a Cup contender right now. Regular season points are nice and all, but I'm not going to get fooled by it.

Man IDK dude. Marino’s been really good for what he is, but I’m not seeing 50+ points two-way 1D potential from him. I think he’s just a really solid top 4 D. Which is an awesome diamond to find in the rough, but nothing you can build your franchise around. You’re right that a guy like Guentzel is a potential franchise cornerstone, but a top line wing isn’t the hardest piece of the puzzle. 1C and 1D are the two most vital pieces of building a contender up and I just don’t think we have that in the pipeline. We’ll definitely hit a doldrum in the post Sid/Geno era unless a couple MAJOR surprises happen.
- Victoro311

Totally agree with this. I see Marino as a lock for 2RD for many years, which is nice. But replacing or even approximating Crosby, Malkin, and Letang is going to be a b!tch. It's really hard to do without having a top 3-5 draft pick, let alone top 10. They are all going to age out at about the same time, too. That says rebuild and lean years to me.

Sunk cost theory states this shouldn’t matter. If Kovy for a third is the best possible deal on the table at the deadline you take it.
- Victoro311

I mean, do you really believe that will be the best deal? I think we end up with a deal with the Ducks. Hopefully Rakell

Yea I will be pissed if we trade for Kovy, could've just had him and spent zero assests. Would be a dumb move now. I'll take Tatar from Montreal and that's about it.
- 668710

I think Rutherford has a couple of targets in mind. I don't see Kovy as one of them.