Ryan Wilson: Temper expectations of Jusso Riikola Temper expectations of Jusso Riikola

Anybody know what happened to Prow? I saw he was doing awesome in the AHL but never got a chance in the NHL. You’d think being the top dman in WBS, they’d at least give you a call up after the pens had all those injuries last year

i dont understand the signing though. Why a 1 way deal? with this signing they now have: letang, schultz, dumo, maatta, gudbranson, johnson, ruhwedel, riikola and trotman is a UFA but pettersson is an RFA. Assuming they only tender pettersson, thats 9 defensemen on 1 way deals. Right now they have $29M tied up in Dmen and havent signed pettersson yet.

Riikola makes 1/3 JJ so if they are delivering the same results, i want the $1M guy, not the $3.25M guy.

i dont understand the signing though. Why a 1 way deal? with this signing they now have: letang, schultz, dumo, maatta, gudbranson, johnson, ruhwedel, riikola and trotman is a UFA but pettersson is an RFA. Assuming they only tender pettersson, thats 9 defensemen on 1 way deals. Right now they have $29M tied up in Dmen and havent signed pettersson yet.

Riikola makes 1/3 JJ so if they are delivering the same results, i want the $1M guy, not the $3.25M guy.
- i'mjustafan

You have to assume someone will be moved not named Letang, or Dumo.....Pets is the #4 Dman on the team...I would assume they keep him. Ruds and Rikolla most likely will be the #7 man....So 1 of Gubs, JJ, Maata or Shultz will be moved.

i dont understand the signing though. Why a 1 way deal? with this signing they now have: letang, schultz, dumo, maatta, gudbranson, johnson, ruhwedel, riikola and trotman is a UFA but pettersson is an RFA. Assuming they only tender pettersson, thats 9 defensemen on 1 way deals. Right now they have $29M tied up in Dmen and havent signed pettersson yet.

Riikola makes 1/3 JJ so if they are delivering the same results, i want the $1M guy, not the $3.25M guy.
- i'mjustafan

Why does it matter whether it's 1-way or 2-way? So the guy gets paid $850K whether he plays in the NHL or AHL, no big deal.

Why does it matter whether it's 1-way or 2-way? So the guy gets paid $850K whether he plays in the NHL or AHL, no big deal.
- jmatchett383

1 way he has to clear waivers correct? Doesn't that confirm he's with the big club or at least the intention?

He wasn’t waiver eligible anymore anyways

He makes 850k NHL or AHL and if he’s in the AHL, he doesn’t count against the cap

What is the big deal here?

1 way he has to clear waivers correct? Doesn't that confirm he's with the big club or at least the intention?
- sammy87

Nope, it's just about pay.

RW warns don't anyone dare to have any optimistic thoughts about anything Penguins related!!

RW warns don't anyone dare to have any optimistic thoughts about anything Penguins related!!
- stackthepads

Haha. Thank you. It must suck to be most of the pens fans on here. Everyone wants to be a GM. I just like hockey and players with character and something extra to cheer for.

I don't know man ..I saw flashes of things I really liked with Rikki last year. I remember he came back from a long scratching, like weeks and weeks, and he put together a solid streak of games. I was defending him here a fair bit. I don't have any delusions of him becoming a top 2 stud but my eyes tell me he has a tool set that can help the Pens win games ...but...he's pretty error prone. If he could manage to settle his game a bit I think he could be an effective 6th/7th.

I think the odds are in favour of RW being right here but I keep in mind a lot of the Pens stats, especially defensively, were the sh!ts last year. Forwards and D alike.

I’m glad Petts is getting the love he deserves. I don’t know him personally but I’m glad Sprong turned into Petts

I don't know man ..I saw flashes of things I really liked with Rikki last year. I remember he came back from a long scratching, like weeks and weeks, and he put together a solid streak of games. I was defending him here a fair bit. I don't have any delusions of him becoming a top 2 stud but my eyes tell me he has a tool set that can help the Pens win games ...but...he's pretty error prone. If he could manage to settle his game a bit I think he could be an effective 6th/7th.

I think the odds are in favour of RW being right here but I keep in mind a lot of the Pens stats, especially defensively, were the sh!ts last year. Forwards and D alike.
- MattStrat

The team did Rikki no favors. Kept him with the big club when he struggled. Even worse... Forced him to play RD when he wasn't rotting the press box. Ruhwedel would have easily been better than all of the options they tried to force. I'm glad they brought Ruhwedel back.

Riikola has some skills/potential. He should have been sent down pretty early last season. Certainly shouldn't have been asked to play a role for which he obviously wasn't capable of handling.

Philly gets Hayes’ rights. Kinda neat because obviously AV ahead him before but also this was rumored not long ago

I just read another rumor that the Stars are looking into adding Marleau AND Zaitsev. I wonder what else they’re adding there

The kid has a cannon and isn’t afraid to use it. That’s gotta count for something.

Hayes isolated chart. You want to see + in the o zone and - in the D zone

https://twitter.com/ineff.../1135715137363566592?s=21

Anybody know what happened to Prow? I saw he was doing awesome in the AHL but never got a chance in the NHL. You’d think being the top dman in WBS, they’d at least give you a call up after the pens had all those injuries last year
- drummer829

He's 26 and a UFA. That's kind of late for a breakout and supposedly he isn't a good skater. Might have been worth a look, but probably not a big deal.

The kid has a cannon and isn’t afraid to use it. That’s gotta count for something.
- Doogs

He's also solid at getting the puck out of the zone and that can't be overlooked.

Riikola has definite issues positionally and it will be interesting to see if he's adapted to the speed to fix that. I'm not expecting too much, but I think he's got the tools to be exactly the type of dman that fits the 15/16 identity.

The team did Rikki no favors. Kept him with the big club when he struggled. Even worse... Forced him to play RD when he wasn't rotting the press box. Ruhwedel would have easily been better than all of the options they tried to force. I'm glad they brought Ruhwedel back.

Riikola has some skills/potential. He should have been sent down pretty early last season. Certainly shouldn't have been asked to play a role for which he obviously wasn't capable of handling.
- madmike71

Agree. I think he'll be better this year just for being more experienced, playing on the left side, and maybe not in the mess that was our middle lines most of the year.

Now I'm not sure how much better, but I'm glad he stuck around to find out. Can easily be waived with no penalty if he doesn't progress.

https://www.pensburgh.com...ason-zucker-pens-addition

According to MacKenzie (and LeBrun, Yohe, Russo, etc) Kessel for Zucker isn't dead. Basically a game of chicken with Phil wanting a better team (basically Vegas or AZ) but GMJR not getting a return he wants from them (Vegas got Stone instead, AZ has nothing to offer.)

Neither side wants to stay together and Zucker will likely be traded this month so unless another team steps up Phil will have to decide if he's willing to risk staying here over going to Minnesota.

Tried to summarize, but the article is worth the read and lays it out well.

https://www.pensburgh.com/2019/6/3/18650446/pittsburgh-penguins-trading-phil-kessel-to-minnesota-wild-jason-zucker-pens-addition

According to MacKenzie (and LeBrun, Yohe, Russo, etc) Kessel for Zucker isn't dead. Basically a game of chicken with Phil wanting a better team (basically Vegas or AZ) but GMJR not getting a return he wants from them (Vegas got Stone instead, AZ has nothing to offer.)

Neither side wants to stay together and Zucker will likely be traded this month so unless another team steps up Phil will have to decide if he's willing to risk staying here over going to Minnesota.

Tried to summarize, but the article is worth the read and lays it out well.
- Tojo.

I heard the AZ ownership deal is going to take some time to get done and won’t happen until later in the summer. Rumor is they won’t even make a Kessel offer until that gets done. Vegas doesn’t have room for Phil even if they unload their dead weight. There are other teams that make sense (like Dallas) but my guess is Phil for Zucker gets done. Then you can finally celebrate eh Tojo lol

https://www.pensburgh.com/2019/6/3/18650446/pittsburgh-penguins-trading-phil-kessel-to-minnesota-wild-jason-zucker-pens-addition

According to MacKenzie (and LeBrun, Yohe, Russo, etc) Kessel for Zucker isn't dead. Basically a game of chicken with Phil wanting a better team (basically Vegas or AZ) but GMJR not getting a return he wants from them (Vegas got Stone instead, AZ has nothing to offer.)

Neither side wants to stay together and Zucker will likely be traded this month so unless another team steps up Phil will have to decide if he's willing to risk staying here over going to Minnesota.

Tried to summarize, but the article is worth the read and lays it out well.
- Tojo.

There’s really nothing of interest from the coyotes unless it’s OEL or Keller, and I’m assuming those guys are near untouchable. Kessel/Schultz for OEL?

Vegas is absolutely stacked on the wing. Pacioretty, Stone, Smith, Haula, Tuch, and Marchessault. They’re a team that needs a bonafide #1 center (Malkin...). If Malkin were to be traded somewhere, I’d love to see him go to Vegas with fleury.

Go Blues. I thought they were going to blow this game with those brutal PP's.....they could have used Phil tonight. At least 2 more games! 2 less times I have to watch the Pirates.

There’s really nothing of interest from the coyotes unless it’s OEL or Keller, and I’m assuming those guys are near untouchable. Kessel/Schultz for OEL?

Vegas is absolutely stacked on the wing. Pacioretty, Stone, Smith, Haula, Tuch, and Marchessault. They’re a team that needs a bonafide #1 center (Malkin...). If Malkin were to be traded somewhere, I’d love to see him go to Vegas with fleury.
- drummer829

Malkin to Vegas for William Karlsson ++ ??

There’s really nothing of interest from the coyotes unless it’s OEL or Keller, and I’m assuming those guys are near untouchable. Kessel/Schultz for OEL?

Vegas is absolutely stacked on the wing. Pacioretty, Stone, Smith, Haula, Tuch, and Marchessault. They’re a team that needs a bonafide #1 center (Malkin...). If Malkin were to be traded somewhere, I’d love to see him go to Vegas with fleury.
- drummer829

I don't necessarily understand Phils interest in Zona. Supposedly it's about playing with Tocchet. Maybe Phil doesn't recognize the absurd rate of coaching turnover in the NHL. What are the odds Tocchet lasts longer than Phil's remaining term? One chance in 3?