How do the Pens do it?

[Russian Factor]

They get a lot of 50/50 calls go their way in critical moments.

what I don't understand about people that seem to think the league is rigged or shows favoritism is - why do you watch then? if you believe you're doomed because another team is anointed champion and still get mad when that happens that's on you.

stop hurting yourself. go watch a movie instead.

 

[Shoofyou10]

Honestly the reason is that Crosby & Malkin took team friendly contracts and GMJR hasn't locked the Pens into any really bad long term contracts (and Shero didn't so that much either before he was fired). We didn't overpay for roll players like Bonino or Lovejoy when their contracts came up. And GMJR was very smart to make moves for players like Kessel and Brassard where other teams picked up a chunk of those contracts. And we have had young players who make less money come up and contribute on their entry deals (Sheary, Guentzel, Rust, etc). And GMJR has done a great job of assembling a defense that can skate and quickly make the first breakout pass in order to play the speed game that they want to. Because of those things we haven't gotten into cap trouble that's required us to trade off guys just to save cap space.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

Won't matter how they do it, won't go trough next round.
versus two previous seasons, Pens have not been nearly as good.
- they could of "easily" fallen to Flyers, round one.

I'm guessing you didn't watch much of the series eh?

 

[Riptide]

Yeah I dont agree with the tanking part either, but boy oh boy did the Pens get lucky with the timing.. one just couldnt pick a better time to be the worst team in NHL. If we compare that with pre-McDavid drafts for Edmonton, then you really understand how rare it is to have 3 generational players in back2back drafts, let alone being able to draft two of those players. And then to think that Pens were almost able to screw those two players is even more mind boggling.

No doubt. They got extremely lucky that Washington "won" the draft lotto the year before, because that increased their odds in the Crosby draw. They also got lucky that Ovie wasn't born a few weeks earlier or he and Malkin would have been in different drafts, and thus PIT wouldn't have him. And then they got stupidly lucky with the Crosby draft lotto. A TON of luck was involved there. But that's not "tanking". You want to talk about tanking, talk about the shit Pittsburgh pulled to get Lemieux. I mean I'm glad PIT got him... but that was embarrassingly ugly.

 

[Pancakes]

07 First Round
08 Finals
09 Cup
10 Confrence SemiFinal
11 First round
12 First round
13 Confrence Final
14 Confrence SemiFinal
15 First Round
16 Cup
17 Cup
18 Confrence SemiFinal

Thats some serious playoff experience right there. Sid+Geno really have been through it all:
4x First round
2x Confrence Semifinal
1x Confrence Final
4x Finals -> 3xCups 1xLoss

Technically it's

12 First Round series
7 Second Round series
5 Conference Finals
4 Cup Finals

Since every finals appearance also had a first, second, third round appearance, etc.

 

[powerstuck]

No bad contracts and have had a pipeline of young talent come through the past 3 years. (Dumoulin, Rust, Guentzel, Sheary, Murray, Kuhnhackl) Simon, Sprong, Aston-Reese should play bigger roles next year to keep the trend going.

And JR has made a number of brilliant trades. Kessel, Daley, Hagelin, Brassard.

And Crosby's (and Malkin's ???) contract still being under the old CBA which allowed some shenanigans.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

The Hawks were so ****ing close to winning the cup in 2014. They ran into a ridiculously stacked Kings team that just refused to lose. Penguins are amazing but I really don't think they've faced anything like the 2014 Kings.

The team that went to 7 against SJ needing to come back from 3-0? Pittsburgh wrecked a better version of San Jose in 2016. I would put up 2016 Pittsburgh against any team this decade.

 

[Zen Arcade]

Yeah I dont agree with the tanking part either, but boy oh boy did the Pens get lucky with the timing.. one just couldnt pick a better time to be the worst team in NHL. If we compare that with pre-McDavid drafts for Edmonton, then you really understand how rare it is to have 3 generational players in back2back drafts, let alone being able to draft two of those players. And then to think that Pens were almost able to screw those two players is even more mind boggling.

There's also the fact that the prospects they got for the players they had to trade were from notoriously bad drafts. None of those players panned out, which contributed to them staying bad enough to draft high. A lot of things fell into place.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

Crosby/Malkin>>>>>>>>Toews/Kane

It must suck being a Blues fan watching the Blackhawks win 3 cups with those losers Kane and Toews.

 

[Alwalys]

They have 2 of the very best players in the game on the same team.
Between the two, just one extra goal in any number of super important playoff games gives them a better chance of advancing in a league where scoring is at a premium.
It'll be interesting to see how that plays out in an "up" scoring year.

The team that went to 7 against SJ needing to come back from 3-0? Pittsburgh wrecked a better version of San Jose in 2016. I would put up 2016 Pittsburgh against any team this decade.

That SJ team wasn't better. Losing Hertl in game 1 was a huge blow and neutered the Sharks' best line. No such thing happened to the kings in 2014 or they might not have won it all either.

 

[madinsomniac]

Won't matter how they do it, won't go trough next round.
versus two previous seasons, Pens have not been nearly as good.
- they could of "easily" fallen to Flyers, round one.

Please... The pens dominated every game of that series... they had one bad game that they lost 5-1 and literally shot high or wide on a half dozen wide open nets... the other loss could easily have been a win too... Both losses the pens had more shots and better opportunities to score... the flyers mostly scored goals off of long shots that were screened or tipped by pens players...

they play that series the same way 100 times and like 90% of the time its a total sweep... The first period of the fourth game was the only time the pens really got dominated for a period... outside of a few 5-10 minute stretches scattered over the rest of the games, the flyers seemed not even to give a damn about playing hard... there was a really really good reason the pens had two shutouts and scored 7 or more goals 3 times...

 

[madinsomniac]

And Crosby's (and Malkin's ???) contract still being under the old CBA which allowed some shenanigans.

Crosby's is under that format, but he didnt take a contract that goes to or past 40, so its not like the ones that had guys getting a million per until they were 45... he legitimately took less money to win cups (and keep his yearly average at 8.7 for supersticious reasons)

Malkin's is under the new format... no shenanegans there

 

[powerstuck]

Crosby's is under that format, but he didnt take a contract that goes to or past 40, so its not like the ones that had guys getting a million per until they were 45... he legitimately took less money to win cups (and keep his yearly average at 8.7 for supersticious reasons)

Malkin's is under the new format... no shenanegans there

I agree. But my point is, if Pens had to resign Crosby since the new CBA, he would cost more, McDavid type money with +++ more.
You have one of the best, if not the best, players in the game signed at discount...which allows you to sign other superstars as well.

 

[haveandare]

what I don't understand about people that seem to think the league is rigged or shows favoritism is - why do you watch then? if you believe you're doomed because another team is anointed champion and still get mad when that happens that's on you.

stop hurting yourself. go watch a movie instead.

I'm not saying I buy into that line of thinking really but I think the reason behind accepting that if one believes it is because it still requires the Pens to be in the right spots. I don't think that poster is saying that the league shamelessly goes out of its way to give the Pens wins they don't deserve, more that if it's 50/50 or near it, they tend to get the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Castle8130]

There's also the fact that the prospects they got for the players they had to trade were from notoriously bad drafts. None of those players panned out, which contributed to them staying bad enough to draft high. A lot of things fell into place.

Put it like that, the hawks beat the pens 10-0 this year. Does that mean a better version of the hawks in 2015 would demolish the Penguins right now?

 

[Zen Arcade]

Put it like that, the hawks beat the pens 10-0 this year. Does that mean a better version of the hawks in 2015 would demolish the Penguins right now?

What does this have to do with anything I said?

 

[Seanaconda]

And Crosby's (and Malkin's ???) contract still being under the old CBA which allowed some shenanigans.

I think malkins is same cap/ salary every year and Crosby isn't going to retire before his contracts over unless he's injured so it won't be circumventing. He will prob sign another tbh

 

[stepdad gaary]

Thats some serious playoff experience right there. Sid+Geno really have been through it all:
4x First round
2x Confrence Semifinal
1x Confrence Final
4x Finals -> 3xCups 1xLoss

12 First Round Appearances
9 Second Round Appearances
5 Conference Final Appearances
4 Cup Appearances


The pens since Crosby was drafted. Not Sid and Geno playing in them but the team appearances

 

[Riptide]

I agree. But my point is, if Pens had to resign Crosby since the new CBA, he would cost more,

Only if he was willing to get away from his superstitious 8.7m cap hit. He could have taken a LOT more in his current deal, however he didn't want to because he wanted that 8.7m cap hit number.

 

[Critical13]

they got gifted generational talents.

This is generally what it comes down to. They've also made some good moves elsewhere, but having two top 5 talents in the world for a decade covers up a lot of deficiencies. Their drafting has not been great, their development subpar, but none of that matters because Sid and Malkin can turn Kunitz/Sheary/Guentzel into stars, where they would be borderline mid 6ers on many teams.

Well that, and they signed their best players under the old CBA. That would be 2 13million dollar deals today.

 

[Machinehead]

Some good late picks, some luck, and hired a coach that isn't a moron.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I agree. But my point is, if Pens had to resign Crosby since the new CBA, he would cost more, McDavid type money with +++ more.
You have one of the best, if not the best, players in the game signed at discount...which allows you to sign other superstars as well.

Pens had to weather the storm when their contracts weren’t bargains and everyone claimed they couldn’t ice a competitive team and pay them both.

Comical how the narrative has swung the opposite way now.

Basically, JR has done a masterful job with the cap after a couple little hiccups in his first season.

 

[BigEezyE22]

The most important facet is not having your top dogs quit just because they got paid.

 

[Riptide]

Their drafting has not been great, their development subpar, but none of that matters because Sid and Malkin can turn Kunitz/Sheary/Guentzel into stars, where they would be borderline mid 6ers on many teams.

One of those is not like the others. Sheary is a 3rd liner with some skill. Kunitz was a legit top 6 winger. More of a Hornqvist type then a pure skilled guy, but still a top 6 winger. Guentzel on the other hand is in a class all of his own (when discussing those 3). He's a legit top 6 skilled winger.

Well that, and they signed their best players under the old CBA. That would be 2 13million dollar deals today.

Malkin signed his contract under the current CBA - and it's still a 9.5m cap hit maxed out at 8 years, which is all that was allowed. And while Crosby did sign his contract under the old CBA... he has an 8.7m cap hit because that's what HE wanted. Odds are that doesn't change if he had signed that contract a year later.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I agree. But my point is, if Pens had to resign Crosby since the new CBA, he would cost more, McDavid type money with +++ more.
You have one of the best, if not the best, players in the game signed at discount...which allows you to sign other superstars as well.

That's not necessarily true. Crosby is one of the most superstitious people ever, to the point of it being ridiculous. He's obsessed with that 87 number, so chances are he'd stick with his $8.7 million cap hit even under the new CBA.

If Crosby was about the money, he could have asked for a lot more than $8.7 million when he signed his deal. I believe the max at that time was close to $12 million per year. He was well under that.