Give GMJR a Grade (cumulative)

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

My opinion is much different then most.

I'd give him a D.

I don't like the direction hes taking this team, hes been here for about 1 year and hes already traded away 3 number 1 draft picks, we could have the worst set of prospects in the NHL right now.

I would of rather had a GM that would of tried to draft and develop young talent rather then making win now moves.

Totally. Why have a good team when Sid and Geno are under 30 when we could burn 3 more years of their careers?

 

[The Greatest 101]

The team just goes from one extreme to another.I still think letting Niskanen walk was a mistake.I remember he said he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh.I would rather spend money on him than on Ehrhoff or even Martin.

 

[Gold Diamond]

The team just goes from one extreme to another.I still think letting Niskanen walk was a mistake.I remember he said he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh.I would rather spend money on him than on Ehrhoff or even Martin.

There's nothing special about Matt Niskanen.

 

[mpp9]

The team just goes from one extreme to another.I still think letting Niskanen walk was a mistake.I remember he said he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh.I would rather spend money on him than on Ehrhoff or even Martin.

Shero should have locked him up well before last summer. Or traded him.

I don't blame JR for not paying him what he got.

 

[DoktorZaius]

Still was a mistake to let him walk. Him and Orpik both would have brought in serious futures at TDL (1st or 2nd+ each).

 

[The Greatest 101]

I think the right move was re-sign him and move Martin for futures.

 

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Under JR,the defense corps also went from...
Martin-Letang
Maatta-Nisky
Orpik-Engo
Scuderi-Bortz
Depres-Dumoulin

To

Maatta-Letang
Pouliot-Cole
Scuderi-Lovejoy
Dumoulin-Erixon
Clenndening-Anderson

Why do people always ignore this?

Because the only guy we really "lost" was Despres. Everyone else walked, because they weren't worth the money/term.

For all the d-men we drafted, sure doesn't look like that plan fleshed out.

 

[drpepper]

There's nothing special about Matt Niskanen.

He's better than Lovejoy and Scuderi.

In the off-season of 2013, Shero had an option of re-signing Niskanen or re-signing Scuderi. He chose wrong. (Also Scuderi was at the time very clearly declining on the Kings and was never going to be a top defender on the Pens)

In addition, it's unlikely Rutherford would have traded for Lovejoy with two RHD on the roster (Letang, Niskanen).

 

[The Greatest 101]

He's better than Cole and Pouliot as well and maybe even Maatta.

 

[Shady Machine]

He's better than Cole and Pouliot as well and maybe even Maatta.

Would you choose Niskanen over Kessel or Perron? Had JR signed Niskanen to the contract he got from Washington, there is not enough cap space to get Kessel.

 

[Sam Spade]

There's nothing special about Matt Niskanen.

He's a top four guy that plays hard and plays every game. Two things the Pens are seriously lacking.

Steady guys that don't make huge mistakes, like Martin and Niskanen, that also compliment your number one/two are guys you win Cups with.

 

[Corvidae]

Can you name some of these "worse contracts" that have been moved?

The only one I can think of is Clarkson, and that was a very different situation. Unlike Toronto we aren't in a position to pay someone 5.3M to not play.

There's things to criticize Rutherford for, but Scuderi being on the team isn't one of them in my opinion. It's not his fault that Shero gave him that contract and a NTC. If not for that NTC he'd be gone already.

Scott Gomez, somehow Chris Pronger and Marc Savard, Brian Campbell, and the 10000 players who have been bought out. Seriously, you find a way to make him go away. If buyout was the only option, then use the buyout. Bury him in the minors for whatever savings you can get. It doesn't really matter as long as he is not on the team and making full $$$.

The reason they haven't is one of the 3:

1) They think they're too "classy" for that.

2) Management does not allow buyouts.

3) They actually like Rob Scuderi.

1 is stupid but very possible, 2 wouldn't be JRs fault but I think it's the most likely (Shero: no buyouts since Endicott, cashes out Zubrus out almost immediately), and if 3 is true the entire coaching staff and FO needs to go.

This is the Pittsburgh Penguins. If you're on the team with one way deal, you almost certainly play. If he's on the roster that's a total inexcusable **** up that hinders everything they're trying to do.

 

[The Greatest 101]

Well,I choose Niskanen over Perron pretty easily.Then trade Despres+ for Killorn.And we would still have Mathew Barzal.#Butterflyeffect

 

[Shady Machine]

He's a top four guy that plays hard and plays every game. Two things the Pens are seriously lacking.

Steady guys that don't make huge mistakes, like Martin and Niskanen, that also compliment your number one/two are guys you win Cups with.

Yeah I forgot about all the Cups the Pens won with Niskanen and Martin

 

[Shady Machine]

Well,I choose Niskanen over Perron pretty easily.Then trade Despres+ for Killorn.And we would still have Mathew Barzal.#Butterflyeffect

So you would pick Niskanen, Killorn, and Barzal over Perron and Kessel? Yeah I think I'm done here.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Who do you think he's spending that money on?

All indications would be that he'd go back to what was familiar. If he and Dan stayed, I bet they trade for Kesler (apparently Kesler wanted to play here b/c of DB). Instead of playing him on wing, they use the 3C model and re-sign at least one of Orpik, Nisky and Martin. So in a few years, we have Kesler at the same money Kessel's making probably playing like a normal 3C, a very expensive #4 D-man in Nisky and/or one of Orpik/Martin in their late 30's.

You think that's a better plan?

All indications show me that Shero went after quality scoring wings virtually every year, and I'm not sure what would lead people to believe otherwise:

'08 - Hossa
'09 - Kunitz
'11 - Neal
'12 - Parise
'13 - Iginla

He didn't always retain them, but anybody saying he didn't consistently make wings a priority isn't looking at the track record.

 

[Sam Spade]

Yeah I forgot about all the Cups the Pens won with Niskanen and Martin

I said they "compliment" the 1/2's perfectly.

Wouldn't it be awesome if Kris "every time I get hit I miss ten games" Letang could stay healthy for 25 games in a row, let's say, sometime around April or May?

 

[The Greatest 101]

Kessel has nothing to do with those guys.I would rather have Niskanen,Barzal and Killorn than Perron and Lovejoy.

 

[Shady Machine]

All indications show me that Shero went after quality scoring wings virtually every year, and I'm not sure what would lead people to believe otherwise:

'08 - Hossa
'09 - Kunitz
'11 - Neal
'12 - Parise
'13 - Iginla

He didn't always retain them, but anybody saying he didn't consistently make wings a priority isn't looking at the track record.

Why do you love Shero so much?

 

[Waffle Fries]

Scott Gomez, somehow Chris Pronger and Marc Savard, Brian Campbell, and the 10000 players who have been bought out. Seriously, you find a way to make him go away. If buyout was the only option, then use the buyout. Bury him in the minors for whatever savings you can get. It doesn't really matter as long as he is not on the team and making full $$$.

The reason they haven't is one of the 3:

1) They think they're too "classy" for that.

2) Management does not allow buyouts.

3) They actually like Rob Scuderi.

1 is stupid but very possible, 2 wouldn't be JRs fault but I think it's the most likely (Shero: no buyouts since Endicott, cashes out Zubrus out almost immediately), and if 3 is true the entire coaching staff and FO needs to go.

Pronger and Savard aren't really comparable situations to Scuderi. Pronger was used to get the Coyotes to the floor. The Panthers took on Savard in order to upgrade a young winger. Neither of those players will ever suit up for their new teams.

Campbell, while not necessarily worth his contract, is still a able to contribute to his team (and the Hawks took back a pretty rough contract they ended up buying out). Similarly when Gomez was traded, he still had some semblance of value. Scuderi has pretty much no value at this point in time, and he's not someone that teams can trade for simply to get to the floor and not play him.

As for the reason they didn't buy him out, I don't know. Maybe they thought they could move him. We know they tried to move him in the Kessel deal, so I doubt it's option 3.

He's a top four guy that plays hard and plays every game. Two things the Pens are seriously lacking.

Steady guys that don't make huge mistakes, like Martin and Niskanen, that also compliment your number one/two are guys you win Cups with.

I have never thought of Niskanen as a guy who plays hard with few mistakes.

 

[Shady Machine]

Kessel has nothing to do with those guys.I would rather have Niskanen,Barzal and Killorn than Perron and Lovejoy.

Capspace dogg.

 

[mpp9]

All indications show me that Shero went after quality scoring wings virtually every year, and I'm not sure what would lead people to believe otherwise:

'08 - Hossa
'09 - Kunitz
'11 - Neal
'12 - Parise
'13 - Iginla

He didn't always retain them, but anybody saying he didn't consistently make wings a priority isn't looking at the track record.

He didn't draft scoring line talent and his plan to build a pipeline of D-men as trade assets failed.

He traded two D-men drafted by his predecessor, had his arm twisted by ownership in 08 with Hossa and had Iggy fall in his lap choosing to come here.

He mitigated risk. But he didn't build the team properly.

 

[The Greatest 101]

Capspace dogg.

Only 3.4 million difference.Probably wouldn't have Cole or Fehr.Who cares?

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

He didn't draft scoring line talent and his plan to build a pipeline of D-men as trade assets failed.

He traded two D-men drafted by his predecessor, had his arm twisted by ownership in 08 with Hossa and had Iggy fall in his lap choosing to come here.

He mitigated risk. But he didn't build the team properly.

That's not the argument though. The argument was that Shero neglected scoring wings on the big roster, and he clearly didn't.

Why do you love Shero so much?

He was a much better GM than he's getting credit for here, to the point where he's being misrepresented. And I think a lot of it has to do with the shape of the forwards at the end of a rollback year compared to what we have now. People forget that we literally had more forward depth than we knew what to do with the year before.

Now he wouldn't even go after scoring wings if he had the extra cap space, apparently. Because he did that all the time.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Death, Taxes, and RRP and I disagreeing vehemently about Shero.

Those are the certainties of life.