I think Despres might have a slight edge as he's significantly bigger than either Matta and Morrow & a tad bigger than Doumolin.

EDIT: Actually, now that i think about it, most of the rankings i've seen have Morrow over Despres

I'd go: Morrow, Despres, Doumolin, Matta simply based on the fact that Morrow looks like a second coming of Gonchar on the PP and Despres & Dmoulin's size advantage. Matta could easily end up passing them, but its harder to teach size than it is posistioning.
- s0rcerer1984

Either way you look at it you know? Despres is good and if people who follow the junior ranks alot closer than I do think these guys could be better than him it's all good.

the guys over the insidepittsburghsports.com are quite funny
"mwalluk: Turn Malkin into a winger make sutter 2c" haha

Feel free to use this...




- canadianpenfan

Thank you, but that'd take too long. My displeasure with Semin needs to be announced in as short of order as possible.

Thank you, but that'd take too long. My displeasure with Semin needs to be announced in as short of order as possible.
- s0rcerer1984

Copy and paste my friend, copy and paste.

the guys over the insidepittsburghsports.com are quite funny
"mwalluk: Turn Malkin into a winger make sutter 2c" haha
- Orpik44

I've never been there, for your sanity I suggest you stop going there as well.

...

I've never been there, for your sanity I suggest you stop going there as well.
- canadianpenfan

haha you should go there....good articles from DePaoli. You probably gonna hear something about moving Malkin to wing or Parise to the 3rd line but other than that...

haha you should go there....good articles from DePaoli. You probably gonna hear something about moving Malkin to wing or Parise to the 3rd line but other than that...
- Orpik44

No thanks, I get all the crazy talk I need right here. If I really want to see some studitity I'll head over to ESPN, then I realize how good we have it here.

Copy and paste my friend, copy and paste.
- canadianpenfan

I don't think i'm getting across how much I dislike Semin as a player.

I've lived in Washington DC for 5 years and i've seen him play in person and on TV quite a bit. I will admit he is skilled, but lazy doesn't begin to describe it. When his team has the momentum and is forechecking hard, he'll kill it by playing soft. He'll float and wait for the pass, but he never fights along the boards or in the corners to get possesion of the puck. He'd make Satan & Sykora look like Lucic with how soft he hits. I've never seen him play D; not once. You want to know why he and Ovechkin always played on seperate lines in Wash.? Beacuse if they did, it'd turn into a 5v3 in the D-zone w/ both wings floating around near the blueline & Backstrom doing all the work. Also, you'd think that he'd be able to keep himself out of the box given how afraid he is of other players, but you;d be wrong about that too. You know how Geno will take a dumb, selfish penalty here and there and we all collectively groan? At least Geno recognizes it and comes out of the box like a pitbull on a mission. Semin will just mope for the rest of the game.

Words cannot describle how much I do not want him in Pittsburgh.

I don't think i'm getting across how much I dislike Semin as a player.

I've lived in Washington DC for 5 years and i've seen him play in person and on TV quite a bit. I will admit he is skilled, but lazy doesn't begin to describe it. When his team has the momentum and is forechecking hard, he'll kill it by playing soft. He'll float and wait for the pass, but he never fights along the boards or in the corners to get possesion of the puck. He'd make Satan & Sykora look like Lucic with how soft he hits. I've never seen him play D; not once. You want to know why he and Ovechkin always played on seperate lines in Wash.? Beacuse if they did, it'd turn into a 5v3 in the D-zone w/ both wings floating around near the blueline & Backstrom doing all the work. Also, you'd think that he'd be able to keep himself out of the box given how afraid he is of other players, but you;d be wrong about that too. You know how Geno will take a dumb, selfish penalty here and there and we all collectively groan? At least Geno recognizes it and comes out of the box like a pitbull on a mission. Semin will just mope for the rest of the game.

Words cannot describle how much I do not want him in Pittsburgh.
- s0rcerer1984

Oh I don't know, all those words did a pretty good job of it

I'm with you, wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole.

Oh I don't know, all those words did a pretty good job of it

I'm with you, wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole.
- canadianpenfan

Honestly, I had much more about much how (i) little Semin cares about winning, (ii) Semin shrinks from big moments, and (iii) would be an absolute disaster in the locker room.

I don't think i'm getting across how much I dislike Semin as a player.

I've lived in Washington DC for 5 years and i've seen him play in person and on TV quite a bit. I will admit he is skilled, but lazy doesn't begin to describe it. When his team has the momentum and is forechecking hard, he'll kill it by playing soft. He'll float and wait for the pass, but he never fights along the boards or in the corners to get possesion of the puck. He'd make Satan & Sykora look like Lucic with how soft he hits. I've never seen him play D; not once. You want to know why he and Ovechkin always played on seperate lines in Wash.? Beacuse if they did, it'd turn into a 5v3 in the D-zone w/ both wings floating around near the blueline & Backstrom doing all the work. Also, you'd think that he'd be able to keep himself out of the box given how afraid he is of other players, but you;d be wrong about that too. You know how Geno will take a dumb, selfish penalty here and there and we all collectively groan? At least Geno recognizes it and comes out of the box like a pitbull on a mission. Semin will just mope for the rest of the game.

Words cannot describle how much I do not want him in Pittsburgh.
- s0rcerer1984

I watch the guy every night and this really isn't accurate. He does fight for the puck along the boards, he just often loses the battle. He does take stupid penalties, though he cut down on that quite a bit after Hunter took over (he was held more accountable than he had been under Boudreau). He obviously has flaws, but he is a useful player IF he isn't commanding a ridiculous salary like he was paid here in DC.

I watch the guy every night and this really isn't accurate. He does fight for the puck along the boards, he just often loses the battle. He does take stupid penalties, though he cut down on that quite a bit after Hunter took over (he was held more accountable than he had been under Boudreau). He obviously has flaws, but he is a useful player IF he isn't commanding a ridiculous salary like he was paid here in DC.
- MadCap2008

It is very, very hard to take dumb penalties from (a) the press box or (b) the bench, 'cause you are only playing 10min/gm.

No thanks, I get all the crazy talk I need right here. If I really want to see some studitity I'll head over to ESPN, then I realize how good we have it here.
- canadianpenfan

Just to clarify... TIOPS is a pay site that I joined. The guy who writes the blog is a pretty intuitive writer. He has some good connections with the local teams and often does a pretty good job of predicting the directions of the teams and player movements. He also is heavily focused on the Pens....which I like.

As for the idiots on the posting portion.....too many fools......even more than this site and that's saying something.

One interesting little nugget Dipoali has recently posted.... He says Despres can be had for the right trade.

It is very, very hard to take dumb penalties from (a) the press box or (b) the bench, 'cause you are only playing 10min/gm.
- s0rcerer1984

He was rarely in the press box and he didn't play only 10 minutes per game. Again, he has his flaws but much of what is said about him is either exaggerated or inaccurate. He was a very effective player in the first few years of the Boudreau Caps when the style of play suited his game.

Just to clarify... TIOPS is a pay site that I joined. The guy who writes the blog is a pretty intuitive writer. He has some good connections with the local teams and often does a pretty good job of predicting the directions of the teams and player movements. He also is heavily focused on the Pens....which I like.

As for the idiots on the posting portion.....too many fools......even more than this site and that's saying something.

One interesting little nugget Dipoali has recently posted.... He says Despres can be had for the right trade.
- madmike71

I don't doubt that for a second. I think RS would be wise to wait a year and see how the others progress before dealing him though. We need him this year for sure unless something changes in the next week.

He was rarely in the press box and he didn't play only 10 minutes per game. Again, he has his flaws but much of what is said about him is either exaggerated or inaccurate. He was a very effective player in the first few years of the Boudreau Caps when the style of play suited his game.
- MadCap2008

He is very effective at the run & gun style, but you just can't win anything that way come playoff time.

I thought Hunter was a very good coach of the Caps. He was hard, but fair. Not sure why he left, but the Caps need a task-master coach. Hiring another Bruce Budreau will just take them a step back.

Just to clarify... TIOPS is a pay site that I joined. The guy who writes the blog is a pretty intuitive writer. He has some good connections with the local teams and often does a pretty good job of predicting the directions of the teams and player movements. He also is heavily focused on the Pens....which I like.

As for the idiots on the posting portion.....too many fools......even more than this site and that's saying something.

One interesting little nugget Dipoali has recently posted.... He says Despres can be had for the right trade.
- madmike71

Hey madmike71 so maybe you're familiar with Rothey and Yoda? haha

Do you post there often? What's your nick? I've been following that site quite a bit just because of DePaoli's artucles and a few of the posters (Kingpuck knows a few scouts)

Just to clarify... TIOPS is a pay site that I joined. The guy who writes the blog is a pretty intuitive writer. He has some good connections with the local teams and often does a pretty good job of predicting the directions of the teams and player movements. He also is heavily focused on the Pens....which I like.

As for the idiots on the posting portion.....too many fools......even more than this site and that's saying something.

One interesting little nugget Dipoali has recently posted.... He says Despres can be had for the right trade.
- madmike71

I have no doubt that is true, but I also think that price is pretty high. I'm talking [Despres + 2nd] for [Bobby Ryan]. Shero isn't moving Despres for a rental player or a short-term fix.

Hey madmike71 so maybe you're familiar with Rothey and Yoda? haha

Do you post there often? What's your nick? I've been following that site quite a bit just because of DePaoli's artucles and a few of the posters (Kingpuck knows a few scouts)
- Orpik44

Same name. I rarely post because there's only a handful of rational posters......reminds me of some of EK's proposed trades and thoughts. The one thing I like about the group of posters on this site is you get a nice perspective from Pens fans around the country and Canada. Over on TIOPS, I feel like it's a bunch of yinzers at the local dive bar. Yeah, I saw that guy Kingpuck the other night during the draft.....seemed to have some legit insight.

If I'm looking for Pens roomers....I like Depaoli, you can tell he has a couple of good sources. You can sure tell he's not sitting behind a keyboard making sh*t up for maximum hits like someone else we know.

He is very effective at the run & gun style, but you just can't win anything that way come playoff time.

I thought Hunter was a very good coach of the Caps. He was hard, but fair. Not sure why he left, but the Caps need a task-master coach. Hiring another Bruce Budreau will just take them a step back.
- s0rcerer1984

Am I the only one who thinks this is a sad commentary on the state of the game ? The best games that I have seen in recent years were those Pens/Caps regular season and playoff games from 3/4 years ago. Hell, the best thing in this year's playoffs were those crazy Pens/Flyers games.

Hunter's style achieved some degree of success in the playoffs but ultimately you get burned playing the "sit on the one-goal lead" style for periods at a time (at least you get burned when your team isn't really built to play that style). I'd like to see a hybrid of Boudreau/Hunter, someone who preaches defense but allows for a bit more creativity/aggressiveness offensively.

I have no doubt that is true, but I also think that price is pretty high. I'm talking
- s0rcerer1984[Despres + 2nd] for [Bobby Ryan]. Shero isn't moving Despres for a rental player or a short-term fix.

I don't think Despres and a 2nd gets Bobby Ryan. Despres is a good young player, but let's face it, Bobby Ryan is known quantity, Despres is not....at least not yet. I really don't believe we have the right pieces to get Bobby Ryan unless the Ducks have decided to do a partial re-build and they like some of our quality D prospects. The only other way we get him is in some sort of a 3 way deal.

I think if the Pens strike out on Parise, they'll def get Suter then use Despres as the chip for a wing if the right deal is there. I remember Dipoali saying earlier in the year, Morrow is untouchable by the way.

Am I the only one who thinks this is a sad commentary on the state of the game ? The best games that I have seen in recent years were those Pens/Caps regular season and playoff games from 3/4 years ago. Hell, the best thing in this year's playoffs were those crazy Pens/Flyers games.

Hunter's style achieved some degree of success in the playoffs but ultimately you get burned playing the "sit on the one-goal lead" style for periods at a time (at least you get burned when your team isn't really built to play that style). I'd like to see a hybrid of Boudreau/Hunter, someone who preaches defense but allows for a bit more creativity/aggressiveness offensively.
- MadCap2008

See, I have to disagree with you on that. I love 2-1, 3-2 games and can't stand football score hockey.

My favorite game of all-time? Penguins/Blackhawks, Game 3 of 1992 Cup Finals. I was 9yrs old. Penguins scored in the first few minutes and it was followed by approx. ~57minutes of intense nail-biting tension. The Pens/Flyers games this year made me sick; both teams were terrible. Sure, there were a lot of goals, but scoring is only entertaing if the players earn it with a great play.

I also agree that you still need some offensive kick to the game, but great players can beat a great defense/goaltending. The Geno and Sid have regularly lit up Brodeur and Lunquvist. It just doesn't happen 100% of the time. I'd prefer it that way.

Team sources said Crosby soon will sign a new contract in the range of 10 to 13 years with an average annual salary of between $9 million and $10 million and will try to recruit Parise, his longtime friend, and Suter.


http://triblive.com/mobil...ion-salary-believe-market

I don't think Despres and a 2nd gets Bobby Ryan. Despres is a good young player, but let's face it, Bobby Ryan is known quantity, Despres is not....at least not yet. I really don't believe we have the right pieces to get Bobby Ryan unless the Ducks have decided to do a partial re-build and they like some of our quality D prospects. The only other way we get him is in some sort of a 3 way deal.

I think if the Pens strike out on Parise, they'll def get Suter then use Despres as the chip for a wing if the right deal is there. I remember Dipoali saying earlier in the year, Morrow is untouchable by the way.
- madmike71

I would agree, from Anaheim's perspective.

I was just making the point that the return for Despres would have to be pretty substantial for Shero to move him. Shero loves owning a player's rights and he owns Despres' for the next 2yrs at $840K and then 4 more yrs as RFA. He isn't giving that up cheap.