Lol niskanen is the most overrated guy to come through the team in a while.
If the Pens were healthy last year they go to the finals at least.
If they stay relatively healthy this year they are cup favorites. Health is the biggest thing for this team. End of story.
I'm tired of this lazy-person's thinking. Are we top heavy? Sure but that's not the problem. Our problems have been a) Signing the wrong guys around the core and b) Not developing players who can be in the regular lineup and not take up much space.
Going forward, the cost of Crosby, Malkin, Kessel and Letang will be a lower % of the cap and lower than other team's cores as top players sign for Kane & Toews contracts.
I'm optimistic about the upcoming season, but wouldn't consider us anywhere close to "Cup favorites."
- The top 6 is obviously great on paper.
- The bottom 6 is a question mark: can Kunitz bounce back or will he slip further, can Dupuis literally survive a game, and who's going to fill out the 4th line?
- The D is an even bigger question mark. Maatta's never been asked to be a top pairing guy, let alone coming off of two surgeries, cancer, and a year away from the game. Letang is trying to return from yet *another* devastating concussion. The next two pairings, however they're comprised, will both look like 3rd pairs.
- MAF will always give them a chance to win.
Lol niskanen is the most overrated guy to come through the team in a while.
He's a number 4-5. Something Lovejoy and Scuderi aren't. Something that Cole and DP have yet to prove to be.
But yes overrated and over paid.
Pouliot, Lovejoy and Cole are not outplaying Martin, Ehrhoff, Niskanen anwhere on the ice any time soon. It's fine if you think those guys didn't cut it, but making the D objectively worse doesn't fix the problem.
I wouldn't mind Scuds at half price (or less), it's just that he ****s the **** outta our cap. Ogre, you should probably aim your frustration at Shero, he's the one who let him go when he was still good & he's the dumb ass who brought him back too late & overpriced.
I wouldn't mind Scuds at half price (or less), it's just that he ****s the **** outta our cap. Ogre, you should probably aim your frustration at Shero, he's the one who let him go when he was still good & he's the dumb ass who brought him back too late & overpriced.
At half price he's Sydor sitting in the press box, and even at full price.
Sydor at 2.5 back in 2008/09 was just as much hindrance as Scuderi at 3.375 today.
Hockey journalists before the Pens acquired Kessel:
"Pens won't win the Cup until they bring in better wingers to help Crosby and Malkin."
Hockey journalists after the Pens acquired Kessel:
"Pens won't win the Cup because they're too top heavy and didn't need to bring in an elite winger."
And these are the people who vote on major awards. Yikes.
Sorry dude but I have to disagree with you completely on that. The current group, as a whole, are better skaters (with the exception of Niskanen), make better first passes, and are more sound in the defensive zone (Pouliot is still weak there. Martin had my vote for that until this last season. He just looked lost in his own zone most of the time IMO). The only edge the old group has is Erhoff's play in the offensive zone. Well that and "experience". Don't get into the "experience is best" mindset. That's why this team is currently overpaying Kunitz, Dupuis and Scuderi. The group is also much more suited to the Pens game. I still loath the Despres-Lovejoy trade, but I gotta say Lovejoy is a very smart defenseman and one that I would trust with the game on the line. Pouliot is still rough around the edges, but he has potentiel to be elite on the breakout. Cole, while not exceptional at anything in particular, is someone I trust in most situations and should be fine in a top 4 role. The current group is much more suited to our Core and I believe has finally given us some sort of identity on defense.
Mods, feel free to soft delete this as the censor beeps aren't quite on Q but it's quite late, the children are sleeping & well... It's gold.
Sydor was almost as maligned as Scuderi is now.
he can have a limited NTC and a NMC for waivers.
Niskanen isn't worlds better than Cole. And we just played a season without Maatta. Sub him in for Martin.
There's question marks, but they're necessary for this team to be built properly moving forward.
Lol niskanen is the most overrated guy to come through the team in a while.
Mods, feel free to soft delete this as the censor beeps aren't quite on Q but it's quite late, the children are sleeping & well... It's gold.
we need to introduce this guy to ice cappy.