This is more about the fan base. For instance a lot of Pirates fans are saying as long as the team is going to stink, they should bring back McCutcheon so he can finish his career here. Even if the Pens stink, I believe a lot of fans will still come to watch Sid and Geno while they can.

And at least I haven't traded Kapanen yet, McCann moves up, and Poulin and Legare will at least turn pro. Ok that's not star studded, but at least there are some interesting guys mixed in.
- Tojo.

Forget the Pirates. Any fans still sticking with the team while Nutting is at the helm deserve what they get, IMO, which is nothing. Baseball has been stupid for like 20 years or so.

As for the Pens, I can barely watch Malkin right now and would probably rather not. You know how if you have a family member who is dying and you don't want to see them because you want your lasting memory of them when they were healthy and full of life? We're not there yet, but I don't think fans show up to see Malkin drifting around aimlessly committing turnover after turnover like he is now.

I think fans will show up to see young hungry players like Blueger over broken down relics like Malkin might become soon.

Honestly you can retool with trading both Geno and Tanger in the off-season. Doesn't have to be a full rebuild. It is possible. Trade Letang for good picks and sign Hamilton. And If Geno wants to go to..say Florida. Maybe you send Geno to Florida with something and snag Barkov. Idk just spitballing haha
- 668710

I doubt Florida is going to trade Barkov for Geno. I could see Ottawa, Nashville (with Struggling centers), or a struggling team trading for Geno (to help excite their fan base).

I wouldn't trade Geno unless we have a 2nd line center to replace him. Nugent-Hopkins is a free agent possibly. Otherwise maybe Nashville or Ottawa (if our scouts feel strongly in a player or 2).

Couldn't see them both trading Letang and signing Hamilton then signing Nugent-Hopkins and trading Malkin. Don't get me wrong if they did this it would definitely add talent while stocking the cupboards.

But Gillis had a progressive sounding resume letter that got leaked online. Surely that trumps what he actually did in his past job!
- Tojo.

But there were fans who said Jagr would always be a Penguin. "If Gretzy can be traded..."
- Hockey66

You're again comparing two situations that make no sense. The situations couldn't be further apart. Bad example.

Different salary situations ENTIRELY.
Different ownership ENTIRELY.
Different TEAM financial positions.
Different eras. Cap vs. No Cap.

You're again comparing two situations that make no sense. The situations couldn't be further apart. Bad example.
- Rinosaur

Whatever, don't be surprised if Malkin is gone one way or another before his contract expires and don't be surprised if the team doesn't want to pay him 2 years from now.

Whatever, don't be surprised if Malkin is gone one way or another before his contract expires and don't be surprised if the team doesn't want to pay him 2 years from now.
- Hockey66

Whatever. Just admit you gave a bad example.

Just like we should have traded Letang in the offseason for ANYTHING and then throw a bunch of money at Pietrangelo. That is, if the Pens are serious about contending in the next couple of years. $1.55M more than Letang makes. Maybe he didn't want to come here, who knows.
- Hockey66

Pietrangelo on this team currently instead of Letang would greatly improve this team and PP. Add in a potential good younger player or player in general from a Letang trade and this team would be a lot better compared to currently. If they pull the miracle and make Hamilton a Penguin this offseason or heck Nugent-Hopkins and they trade Malkin and/or Letang. I believe this team would turn the corner. Between the both of them they seem to make mistakes in the defensive zone and they both turn the puck over a lot each game. I think we need to be aggressive in free agency and we need to shop them. It would be a good retool opportunity.

Whatever. Just admit you gave a bad example.
- Rinosaur

Annnnnd I'm done with you again. Don't bother replying to me as I won't be replying to you anymore.

Annnnnd I'm done with you again. Don't bother replying to me as I won't be replying to you anymore.
- Hockey66

You act like we're dating.LOL

We had an agreement. You broke it. Don't get mad because you're a dingbat who says dumb poop.

Today would have been positive if Hextall was granted equitable autonomy possessed by most GMs. Unfortunately Burke's hiring as President of Hockey Operations will make Hextall's position untenable. Hextal's vision of a rebuild revolving around acquiring high end talent to eventually replace the aging stars will almost certainly be derailed by Burke's meddling oversight similar to the situation that evolved in Calgary.

Consider Burke's last few 1st round picks:

2008 (Tor) Luke Schenn - 5th overall - Fringe defenseman
2009 (Tor) Nazim Kadri - 7th overall - Third line center
2010 1st round pick (3rd overall) traded away in package for 3rd line winger
2011 1st round pick (9th overall) traded away in package for 3rd line winger
2011 (Tor) Tyler Biggs - 22nd overall - ECHL foreward
2011 (Tor) Stuart Percy - 25th overall - AHL Defenseman
2012 (Tor) Morgan Riley - 5th overall - 1st pair defense
2014 (Cgy) Sam Bennett - 4th overall - 3rd line centre
2015 1st round pick (15th overall) traded for bottom pair defenseman
2016 (Cgy) M. Tkachuck - 6th overall - 1st line foreward
2017 (Cgy) J, Valimaki - 16th overall - 4th line foreward

Despite most of these eleven picks being higher picks (5 in top 7 and only 2 after 16th), only Tkachuk and Riley have developed into elite players while Kadri has developed into an adequate 2nd liner and Bennett has become an occasionally passable 3rd liner.

Despite the remainder being mostly failures, Burke continues to proudly boast the benefits of drafting truculence over talent. I fear Hextall will be compelled to resign within a few years after, while the overseer gleefully resides over his faltering rebuild.
- Jackie Daytona

Are you smoking crack? Sam Bennett was a consensus top pick that year, literally anyone would have drafted him top 10, 2015 1st rounder for bottom pairing D? Dougie Hamilton? Okay...Jusso Valimaki is a defenseman who is basically beginning his career, looking solid already? All these things not mentioning that Burke wasn't the GM making these moves...Nice try.

See you guys after my ban. Dingbat will most definitely flag me.

You act like we're dating.LOL

We had an agreement. You broke it. Don't get mad because you're a dingbat who says dumb poop.
- Rinosaur

Actually, you did and I thought, ok, new season, leave the old season in the past. But then you're still an annoying, know-it-all jackass.

Notice I never said anything when you were completely wrong about Bjug (and yet you were SO sure of yourself)? I did have a good chuckle when someone else called you out, though. Anyway, have fun fighting with everyone else to the bitter end over minutiae.

See you guys after my ban. Dingbat will most definitely flag me.
- Rinosaur

Are you referring to me? Why would I flag you and on what grounds? I don't think there's a rule that says you can't be an annoying, know-it-all jackass. And nobody cares if you're a martyr over whatever stupid stand you're trying to make.

Are you smoking crack? Sam Bennett was a consensus top pick that year, literally anyone would have drafted him top 10, 2015 1st rounder for bottom pairing D? Dougie Hamilton

Re: Sam Bennett
No crack. You seem to share a common misconception of how NHL Central Scouting works. NHL central scouting ranks are different than most scouting tabulations. Unlike most team tables, central scouting attempts to calculate where players will be selected, rather than ranking them by talent. This is why we see oddities like Yakupov being ranked 1st by Central Scouting when no team but Edmonton had him slotted that high and Sam Bennett ranked where he was picked. Central scouting placed him correctly sensing Calgary would select him, despite few if any other teams having him slotted top 10. (some not in 1st round - an odd side note - some scouts nited the limits of his offensive set, and most teams were stunned to discover he was incapable of doing even one pull-up at the combine)

Re: Dougie Hamilton
Although I never mentioned Dougie Hamilton by name, I did note that Burkie traded the high picks that became Dougie Hamilton and Tyler Seguin for a third line winger. This is generally considered one of the worst 10-20 trades in NHL history. The Toronto team is literally still paying for this trade ($1.2 million/season)

Regardless, the point I was making was Burke makes foolish decisions and tends to prioritize grit over talent. This will be a stark change to Rutherford who, despite this past off season, excelled at judging talent and composing a team capable of competing for the cup. Burke has been unable to do this.

Burke does have one Stanley Cup, but it was won the season he arrived in Anaheim, while managing a team built by others. The following years in Anaheim along with his failures in Hartford, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary better reflect Burke as a GM and symbolize what Pens fans should expect.

Re: Sam Bennett
No crack. You seem to share a common misconception of how NHL Central Scouting works. NHL central scouting ranks are different than most scouting tabulations. Unlike most team tables, central scouting attempts to calculate where players will be selected, rather than ranking them by talent. This is why we see oddities like Yakupov being ranked 1st by Central Scouting when no team but Edmonton had him slotted that high and Sam Bennett ranked where he was picked. Central scouting placed him correctly sensing Calgary would select him, despite few if any other teams having him slotted top 10. (some not in 1st round)

Re: Dougie Hamilton
Although I never mentioned Dougie Hamilton by name, I did note that Burkie traded the high picks that became Dougie Hamilton and Tyler Seguin for a third line winger. This is generally considered one of the worst 10-20 trades in NHL history.

Regardless, the point I was making was Burke makes foolish decisions and tends to prioritize grit over talent. This will be a stark change to Rutherford who, despite this past off season, excelled at judging talent and composing a team capable of competing for the cup. Burke has been unable to do this.

Burke does have one Stanley Cup, but it was won the season he arrived in Anaheim, while managing a team built by others. The following years in Anaheim along with his failures in Hartford, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary better reflect Burke as a GM and symbolize what Pens fans should expect.
- Jackie Daytona

I think Burke will be the blowhard mouthpiece and I don't have a problem with that

Hextall isn't some rookie GM that will need his hand held and get undo influence from Burke. From the sounds of it, Hextall had the job as GM, but the organization wanted someone else to handle media, shaking hands and kissing babies, and Burke had been an ear to Mario throughout this process, so they decided to offer him the gig while also running it past Hextall

Different ownership ENTIRELY.

- Rinosaur

Lemieux and Burkle bought the team in September of 99. Jagr was traded in 2001.

I think Burke will be the blowhard mouthpiece and I don't have a problem with that

Hextall isn't some rookie GM that will need his hand held and get undo influence from Burke. From the sounds of it, Hextall had the job as GM, but the organization wanted someone else to handle media, shaking hands and kissing babies, and Burke had been an ear to Mario throughout this process, so they decided to offer him the gig while also running it past Hextall
- TheGame316

At the very least, it’s rarely boring in pittsburgh.

Hextall isn't some rookie GM that will need his hand held and get undo influence from Burke. From the sounds of it, Hextall had the job as GM, but the organization wanted someone else to handle media, shaking hands and kissing babies, and Burke had been an ear to Mario throughout this process, so they decided to offer him the gig while also running it past Hextall

I hope you are correct. In other organizations where hockey management is divided between GM and President of Hockey Ops, the GM clears trades involving money and/or signings with the President of Hockey Ops.

Unfortunately, I was just linked an extended clip of Burke speaking on a Canadian Sports network. He mentioned how he would spend the rest of the season evaluating the Pens he is unfamillar with, before deciding to keep or trade these players. Additionally, some sportscasters in Canada recently started hinting there may be a significant trade coming between Montreal and the Pens. Perhaps Burke is the source of this info. It will be interesting to see if Sid has indicated a desire to be traded to his childhood team.

[Edit: The Sid rumor seems to be spreading ... perhaps there is something to it]

https://www.nhltraderumor...y-crosby-to-montreal.html
https://thehockeywriters....build-means-crosby-moved/

I hope you are correct. In other organizations where hockey management is divided between GM and President of Hockey Ops, the GM clears trades involving money and/or signings with the President of Hockey Ops.

Unfortunately, I was just linked an extended clip of Burke speaking on a Canadian Sports network. He mentioned how he would spend the rest of the season evaluating the Pens he is unfamillar with, before deciding to keep or trade these players. Additionally, some sportscasters in Canada recently started hinting there may be a significant trade coming between Montreal and the Pens. Perhaps Burke is the source of this info. It will be interesting to see if Sid has indicated a desire to be traded to his childhood team.
- Jackie Daytona

Burke will likely have a similar role he had in Calgary towards the end of his tenure. In the beginning he was there to babysit/mentor Treliving, and once Treliving got his feet wet, Burke was thanked for his service and shown the door

Burke will be very sly in talking up his role here, but from all accounts Burke came onboard last minute. Meaning you don't interview a series of GM candidates, find your guy and offer him the job, then randomly offer a different guy out of nowhere a job that will have more authority and final say

Me thinks Burke is talking up his importance in what is mostly a PR role for the Pens while Hextall does the hard nitty gritty work of being the GM

Lemieux and Burkle bought the team in September of 99. Jagr was traded in 2001.
- MarkPolo

I didn't put much thought into what he said because he completely missed the point.

Lemieux and Burkle bought the team in September of 99. Jagr was traded in 2001.
- MarkPolo

They were not in a good spot at that time. It was so bad Lemieux was playing and being an owner lol.

I hope you are correct. In other organizations where hockey management is divided between GM and President of Hockey Ops, the GM clears trades involving money and/or signings with the President of Hockey Ops.

Unfortunately, I was just linked an extended clip of Burke speaking on a Canadian Sports network. He mentioned how he would spend the rest of the season evaluating the Pens he is unfamillar with, before deciding to keep or trade these players. Additionally, some sportscasters in Canada recently started hinting there may be a significant trade coming between Montreal and the Pens. Perhaps Burke is the source of this info. It will be interesting to see if Sid has indicated a desire to be traded to his childhood team.
- Jackie Daytona

That won't be Sid. It would probably be Letang.

I didn't put much thought into what he said because he completely missed the point.
- Hockey66

They definitely did Jagr a favor. We traded Jagr for peanuts. The most lopsided trade in Pens history by far.

They were not in a good spot at that time. It was so bad Lemieux was playing and being an owner lol.
- 668710

No, they weren't. My comment is basically more of a nudge saying "hey, you may not want to use that as a point for your argument because it's not factual."

Regarding the Jagr situation, it really didn't matter if the team was financially sound or not; he wanted out. When Lemieux came out of retirement it helped stave off his trade desires for a bit, but it wasn't enough. It's just one of those situations, a bit like we've seen recently with Laine.

They definitely did Jagr a favor. We traded Jagr for peanuts. The most lopsided trade in Pens history by far.
- 668710

Frustrating part is that same offseason Alexei F'in Yashin was traded for Chara and the #2 overall pick (Spezza), and all Jagr got was Kris Beech and a bunch of scrubs