I think the players and coach think it. I think Hex kinda has one foot in the door of belief and one foot out. He is a GM built for the future and rebuilding and he looks more at prospects and them holding weight.
- 123Kid

If they think it we will see it in their play. We shall see...

I think the players and coach think it. I think Hex kinda has one foot in the door of belief and one foot out. He is a GM built for the future and rebuilding and he looks more at prospects and them holding weight.
- 123Kid

He sure f'd up the Flyers rebuild. That's why I didn't want him here.

Main takeaways from Yohe’s article:

1. Vibes are immaculate. Locker room is tight.

2. No real reason to buy into any kind of Kapanen hype, he’s just an enigmatic X factor for now

3. Smith is an offensive dynamo and is an interesting third pairing d man, but POJ is fine here.

4. Archibald probably starts on the 4th line but thinks DOC and Cagiula, who really shined during camp, are better players

5. Letang and Sid are athletic freaks of nature that still skate like they’re in their primes. Geno has had a more normal aging curve and looks like an elite player past his prime. Unfair to compare him to the other two and should still be PPG

Smith is real interesting for sure. It's not that far fetched he pans out, especially getting sheltered minutes. I look at Letang, who wasnt as highly touted as Smith in his draft, who started out on Pens 3rd pairing. Who through his first two full'ish seasons had 50 points in 137 games. In Smith's first two full'ish seasons he's had 43 points in his first 114 games. Smith is only 22 years old after his first two seasons and Letang was 23 after his first two seasons. In Letang's 3rd season, at 24 years old, he had worse production than previous season. It wasn't until Letang was 25 that he started having elite dman production...

... It's also possible Smith could end up being a bust hahaha

We shall see...

Russians complain that it is impossible to call the number given to the russian soldiers to voluntarily surrender, because the line is always busy. They are asking to create more hotlines for surrender)

WOW!

Probably...but luckily the players and coaches dont believe this...if they make it in anything can happen. Every player, coach and GM in the league thinks/knows this.
- MattStrat

I would be very disappointed if the team didn't think they could win. I think the Steelers still believe they can win.

When I was a senior, we lost to a bad team early in the season. I said to myself, wow we are a bad team. Nobody gave up and we still came in second. Bottom line is my heart is with this team, not my wallet.

Main takeaways from Yohe’s article:

1. Vibes are immaculate. Locker room is tight.

2. No real reason to buy into any kind of Kapanen hype, he’s just an enigmatic X factor for now

3. Smith is an offensive dynamo and is an interesting third pairing d man, but POJ is fine here.

4. Archibald probably starts on the 4th line but thinks DOC and Cagiula, who really shined during camp, are better players

5. Letang and Sid are athletic freaks of nature that still skate like they’re in their primes. Geno has had a more normal aging curve and looks like an elite player past his prime. Unfair to compare him to the other two and should still be PPG
- Victoro311

Seems like great news.

I would be very disappointed if the team didn't think they could win. I think the Steelers still believe they can win.

When I was a senior, we lost to a bad team early in the season. I said to myself, wow we are a bad team. Nobody gave up and we still came in second. Bottom line is my heart is with this team, not my wallet.
- Thunderbolt

Oh yeah, I get that. Even if I wasnt a superstitious weirdo I still wouldn't bet on the Pens this season. Other teams have much better chances of getting it done... But they're all chances...

Main takeaways from Yohe’s article:

1. Vibes are immaculate. Locker room is tight.

2. No real reason to buy into any kind of Kapanen hype, he’s just an enigmatic X factor for now

3. Smith is an offensive dynamo and is an interesting third pairing d man, but POJ is fine here.

4. Archibald probably starts on the 4th line but thinks DOC and Cagiula, who really shined during camp, are better players

5. Letang and Sid are athletic freaks of nature that still skate like they’re in their primes. Geno has had a more normal aging curve and looks like an elite player past his prime. Unfair to compare him to the other two and should still be PPG
- Victoro311

EDIT: sorry it’s POJ is done here, not fine here.

Oh yeah, I get that. Even if I wasnt a superstitious weirdo I still wouldn't bet on the Pens this season. Other teams have much better chances of getting it done... But they're all chances...
- MattStrat

If the Pens have a healthy Sid, Geno, Letang, Jarry and Guentz when the playoffs come, I'd give them a decent chance to make some noise in the east.

EDIT: sorry it’s POJ is done here, not fine here.
- Victoro311

I hate they're going to cut bait on him. We have so few young NHL ready players. When the Pens inevitably get banged up, they'll wish they had him.

I hate they're going to cut bait on him. We have so few young NHL ready players. When the Pens inevitably get banged up, they'll wish they had him.
- madmike71

I mean if he’s just a tweener, which is what it sounds like, we won’t really miss him. It’s really hard to be more than 8 deep in legitimate NHL defensemen and then after that it’s all pretty interchangeable because you’re dealing with plugs.

I mean if he’s just a tweener, which is what it sounds like, we won’t really miss him. It’s really hard to be more than 8 deep in legitimate NHL defensemen and then after that it’s all pretty interchangeable because you’re dealing with plugs.
- Victoro311

From what I've seen, he's better than a plug. He's certainly better than any other D at WB. Smith was downright gross defensively in the preseason. By all reports, he was the same at camp. They should send Smith down and give him big minutes.

I just don't think it's necessary to burn an asset (even a diminishing one) at the beginning of the season unless the guy that's getting the jersey is significantly better.

Highlights the awful Rutta signing. Only the preseason, but he looked like a plug to me.

From what I've seen, he's better than a plug. He's certainly better than any other D at WB. Smith was downright gross defensively in the preseason. By all reports, he was the same at camp. They should send Smith down and give him big minutes.

I just don't think it's necessary to burn an asset (even a diminishing one) at the beginning of the season unless the guy that's getting the jersey is significantly better.

Highlights the awful Rutta signing. Only the preseason, but he looked like a plug to me.
- madmike71

Hopefully Smith doesn’t turn out to be another Pouliot. I think Ouelett was signed to provide some depth at LD and he would probably be the first call up.

Smith is real interesting for sure. It's not that far fetched he pans out, especially getting sheltered minutes. I look at Letang, who wasnt as highly touted as Smith in his draft, who started out on Pens 3rd pairing. Who through his first two full'ish seasons had 50 points in 137 games. In Smith's first two full'ish seasons he's had 43 points in his first 114 games. Smith is only 22 years old after his first two seasons and Letang was 23 after his first two seasons. In Letang's 3rd season, at 24 years old, he had worse production than previous season. It wasn't until Letang was 25 that he started having elite dman production...

... It's also possible Smith could end up being a bust hahaha

We shall see...
- MattStrat

To this point Smith had one bad year after looking like a future star as a prospect and as a rookie. Was even running the Devil's top PP before they signed Hamilton. Clearly some rough spots in his game but if that can be coached up like they did with Matheson there's a potential big reward.

From what I've seen, he's better than a plug. He's certainly better than any other D at WB. Smith was downright gross defensively in the preseason. By all reports, he was the same at camp. They should send Smith down and give him big minutes.

I just don't think it's necessary to burn an asset (even a diminishing one) at the beginning of the season unless the guy that's getting the jersey is significantly better.

Highlights the awful Rutta signing. Only the preseason, but he looked like a plug to me.
- madmike71

Agree this is how I see POJ (and Ruuta ugh). Time will tell if this was a mistake. With Dumoulin about to become a UFA and us constantly wanting to move on from Pettersson, would have been nice to have another cheap player with upside.

I'd feel differently if he actually had a run at the NHL level and looked bad, but that never happened. Someone else's gain.

I hate they're going to cut bait on him. We have so few young NHL ready players. When the Pens inevitably get banged up, they'll wish they had him.
- madmike71

Agreed 100%. What makes it even worse is POJ is a kid we traded a decent asset for, and one we patiently developed in our system to the point that most said after last season that he had improved to the point of being NHL ready. Now we will lose him for nothing and without ever seeing what we really had. And for what? Because we refused to send down a waiver eligible offensively gifted Dman who sucks in his own zone. Maybe I could see that if we hadn't added Petry. Smith will not see any PP time if we're healthy, so do we really that offense on the 3rd pairing at the cost of what many rated as our top prospect? Just sh!tty asset management.

I hate they're going to cut bait on him. We have so few young NHL ready players. When the Pens inevitably get banged up, they'll wish they had him.
- madmike71

I doubt it. Dudes a twig. Rather have signed Gudbranson than ever give him a shot in the nhl.

Agreed 100%. What makes it even worse is POJ is a kid we traded a decent asset for, and one we patiently developed in our system to the point that most said after last season that he had improved to the point of being NHL ready. Now we will lose him for nothing and without ever seeing what we really had. And for what? Because we refused to send down a waiver eligible offensively gifted Dman who sucks in his own zone. Maybe I could see that if we hadn't added Petry. Smith will not see any PP time if we're healthy, so do we really that offense on the 3rd pairing at the cost of what many rated as our top prospect? Just sh!tty asset management.
- Pags

THIS!!!! POJ showed a large gap in talent compared to the rest of our D prospects. 100% agree that it is poor asset management. Idk why we wouldn't just keep POJ and sent Smith down to WBS. If we lose POJ and Friedman to waivers I really don't see us having a NHL ready defender in WBS that if someone gets hurt on the left side that can even be a plug for the big team.

He sure f'd up the Flyers rebuild. That's why I didn't want him here.
- madmike71

He didn't, actually. He was able to clear up some huge albatross contracts (Pronger LTIR, Grossmann, Lecavalier) and was able to stockpile picks. He also was able to swindle Sweeney into a 3rd for Rinalod.

Where Hextall messed up were:

1. Not listening to his scouts who wanted Makar or Heiskanen and picking Nolan
Patrick.
2. Limiting contact to a close inner circle (including spies) and excluding staff and alumni.
3. Completely neglecting the on-ice product.

As far as rebuilding went, they never went all-in. If you're going to go all in, then you move guys like Giroux, Voracek, Simmmonds, etc. and just tear it down. They played this middle-of-the-road game where they weren't good enough to contend but not bad enough to get lottery picks except by luck, which he did royally (frank) up.

THIS!!!! POJ showed a large gap in talent compared to the rest of our D prospects. 100% agree that it is poor asset management. Idk why we wouldn't just keep POJ and sent Smith down to WBS. If we lose POJ and Friedman to waivers I really don't see us having a NHL ready defender in WBS that if someone gets hurt on the left side that can even be a plug for the big team.
- 123Kid

If POJ gets waived, he's getting claimed, no doubt. If the Pens don't plan to shop him, they likely won't get better than a late 3rd/4th rounder for him. Rather keep him as the 7th.

No one wants to lose POJ, including myself, but Smith (another LD prospect with more upside) wasnt part of the equation not all that long ago. I think we need to look at this as Smith is the new LD prospect we want to keep and POJ is a lesser one that we will probably lose. We all thought POJ would be ready for, and getting, 3rd LD time this season...but the Pens upgraded their LD prospect to take that spot....

...hopefully Smith turns out better than POJ...might take a few years to know this for sure...and by then our big 3 are almost 40 years old anyway haha

Smith is real interesting for sure. It's not that far fetched he pans out, especially getting sheltered minutes. I look at Letang, who wasnt as highly touted as Smith in his draft, who started out on Pens 3rd pairing. Who through his first two full'ish seasons had 50 points in 137 games. In Smith's first two full'ish seasons he's had 43 points in his first 114 games. Smith is only 22 years old after his first two seasons and Letang was 23 after his first two seasons. In Letang's 3rd season, at 24 years old, he had worse production than previous season. It wasn't until Letang was 25 that he started having elite dman production...

... It's also possible Smith could end up being a bust hahaha

We shall see...
- MattStrat

If my aunt had a cock she’d be my uncle.

If my aunt had a cock she’d be my uncle.
- j.boyd919

hahaha that might be so but everyone would still think its your aunt....

hahaha that might be so but everyone would still think its your aunt....
- MattStrat

Especially if he identifies as my aunt because that's how they feel that day. Might be a tree the next. Gives a whole new meaning to morning wood.