It's boring... let's make some awful predictions!

[ColePens]

Why not, eh? At the end of the year we can come back and see how bad these things are. We aren't even in camp yet so these are really going to be a shot in the dark.

- Niemi will finish with better stats than MAF in the regular season last year. Better than a .909 sv% and less than 3.02 GAA.

- Geno gets 40 goals.

- Letang doesn't play more then 58 games.

- Hags gets more than 30+ points.

- Guentzel outscores Sheary.

- For some crazy reason, Letang will play PP1 minutes even after Schultz dominated causing Schultz to get around 40 pts.

- Murray ends the season .924 sv%.

- Sprong ends the year on the big club and never goes back down to any other league.

- Sid ends up with > 87 points.

- Pouliot is waived and picked up by NJ.

- Ruhwedel ends up with 20 points.

- Reaves gets 15 pts playing with Scott Wilson and.... Matt Cullen! So that's a 2 for 1 as Matt Cullen comes back for one more year.

- Pens Powerplay ends up top 5 in the league.

- Maatta willl have 50 threads made by Penguins fan trying to trade him for a high end 3C by October.

Click to read more...

 

[BrookswasHere44]

I have nothing to add... Just.... Because I'm a idiot and lazy but damn Cole some these seem cray to me!

Thanks for the thread though. This will be a fun one to follow

 

[ColePens]

There's nothing better than looking back at the end of the year and seeing how bad this guessing game can get. It's really difficult to put predictions out prior to camp or seeing how the team plays. Every team is different each year. Example - HBK dominates 2016 and looks awful in 2017. Just really weird.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I don't see any of these as awful predictions, a lot of them seem like safe bets

When you were saying awful predictions, I'd expect something like:

-Guentzel struggles to start next season and gets sent back down to the AHL
-Murray falters and only puts up a .912 save% while playing as a full time starter
-Niemi puts up better stats than Murray puts up next year and the Penguins enter the playoffs with him as the starter
-Schultz regresses back into a 30 point defensive liability

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Due to... circumstances... Casey DeSmith is the starter for a stretch of 10 games.

 

[PensPlz]

Still without legit bottom 6 centers, we're 11th in the East come December.

We make the playoffs as a Wild Card.

After eliminating the Caps in the first round, we have a 2nd round exit.

 

[ColePens]

I mean I think you are crazy if you think we just sneak in on the playoffs with our team, but injuries can always change that quickly.

Do you guys think it would be good, though, for the Pens to struggle early and really have to dig deep and find that hunger? Or do you think it's just better off that they coast through the regular season? In the past, coasting has not been nice to the Pens but we are under Sully now.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Matia Marcantuoni is re-acquired by the Pens and becomes the 3C we're all looking for.

 

[DegenX]

This reminded me that we did something similar last year, but I can't find the thread, so I'm bookmarking this one.

Hmmm ...

• Sheary is traded as part of a deal for a 3C.
• Sprong makes the team out of camp.
• Sid and Geno finish in the top 10 in scoring, Kessel and Pretzel in the top 25.
• This is the year Letang wins the Norris.
• Hagelin not only returns to form, but has a career year.
• Murray is a Vezina finalist.

 

[The GM]

Kessell wins the selke.
Guentzel struggles on crosbys wing, but gmjr pulls off genius move by moving him to Tampa bay at the trade deadline for Kunitz
Craig Adams and mark eaton return to the team as veteran depth

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Now to make myself look like an idiot in hindsight.


- Crosby dodges the ASG again but has a close Art Ross race with McDavid because Kunitz isn't there requiring a sacrifice
- Malkin plays less than 70 games and has an injury interrupt some ridiculous play, as is tradition. Carries the PP for a stretch
- Guentzel misses a good chunk of games and goes through a slump with hilarious board reactions
- Sheary misses a good chunk of games and has a lower ppg settling around a 60p pace over 82 games
- Hornqvist benefits from their injuries
- Sprong secures a spot in the second half and clicks with Malkin as a better skating Neal replacement
- ZAR has some injury trouble that holds him back
- Hagelin has a modest improvement in production but his overall game returns to form
- Kessel ends up running his own line again and hits 30g. He'll have a damn good year for him
- Reaves is divisive and doesn't have an offensive improvement. Misses quite a few games due to injury
- Rowney regresses badly
- Wilson has a useful stretch in the top 6 during injuries before fizzling out there. Finally starts finishing more like it was hoped he would though
- The new 3C misses time from getting hit by the puck

- Letang plays ~65 games but is clearly hurt for a number of those
- Letang gets to **** up PP1 most of the time he's healthy. There's a brief period of time where everyone thinks he's figured it out but it's an illusion
- It's a classic Letang season, tbh. A solid, productive season when he's playing and he makes it to the playoffs healthy-ish
- The D leans on Letang less over the course of the season
- Schultz's production doesn't drop as much as people expect it to. He loses out on PP1 time when Letang is healthy but he also started last season with 5 points in 20 games. He ends the season near 50 points again.
- Cole deals with injuries that hamper him
- Maatta rebounds hard. Naturally this means we can trade him, Sprong and a ****ing unicorn for Duchene. Still has some random injury that makes you pity him
- Pouliot doesn't end the season a Penguin because he's traded
- Hunwick is just kind of there being alright most of the time. Underwhelming offensive numbers but alright overall
- Some people end up frustrated because Dumoulin doesn't break out offensively. His overall game is fine with a more consistent season than last
- Ruhwedel starts strong but runs into problems during a bad run of injuries on D
- Bengtsson or Corrado does well when they get games during the injuries

- Murray is a top 3 goalie but gets snubbed in Vezina talk and voting
- Murray gets revenge for abuse he takes
- Niemi has consistency problems but averages out to a decent year for him
- Jarry is the one they lean on if Murray goes down for long

- They pass the flu around for awhile
- Near the top for man games lost
- 1st or 2nd in the Metro, 3rd OA
- top 5 PK, top 10 PP carried by hot streaks and the time Letang misses
- FOs are fine again

 

[brewski420]

Letang, Geno and Sid all go through the whole season injury free!!

 

[Headshot77]

The Penguins miss the playoffs after the entire team and 1/2 of WBS contracts some new disease never heard of like strep dick.

 

[Sideline]

Phil Kessel will look uninspiring and struggle to put up 60 points in the regular season.

Phil Kessel will look like a red panda possessed and put up 20+ points in the playoffs.

Olli Maatta will find his game and look like a legit top 4 defenceman.

Letang will be healthy enough for the playoffs, but dinged up or worse the rest of the season.

Sid will be out scored by McDavid in the regular season leading to a never ending stream of "not the best anymore" hot takes.

Sid will lead the playoffs in scoring, winning the Cup, the Conn Smythe, all while shutting down McDavid in the finals.

JR trades for a big name that isn't Duchene because c'mon he gets bored and does huge deals, but Sakic is delusional.

 

[madinsomniac]

Jake leads the league in 5 on 5 goals

Crosby wins the scoring title

Mcdavid fall prey to the video game cover jinx and doesnt finish the season

Murrays first cold streak generates MAF nostalgia among the yinzers ... Benz and Madden blow this out of proportion..

Sullivan wins the Jack Adams more or less retroactively...

Hornqvist gets hurt for an extended amount of time

Hagelin is traded at the deadline

Maatta has a rebound year

Sprong spends more time in the Nhl than the Ahl

We have one surprising ahl guy make an impact out of no where

Kuhnhackl is traded before the season starts

Sheary has a mediocre first half but a better second half

Im out of guesses?

Lets say Letang plays every game in a season this year.... too bad it will be on his Xbox waiting to get healthy from getting hit by an asteroid while being treated for the plague... lol

 

[Jenkins]

Jake gets his first trophy. The Rocket!

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

My predictions:

1a - A lot of Fleury fans will barely (or never) post on here again ...
1b - ... except if Murray struggles. Then they'll post regularly to point this out.

2 - Rust will top the 20 goal mark for the first time in his career, but will do so despite producing next to nothing in the games he's next to Sid.

3 - Geno will miss 20 games.

4 - Guentzel will top 60 points.

5 - Schultz won't repeat his 50-point season of a year ago. Instead, he'll score in the 30 point range.

6 - Dumoulin will actually score 2 goals in the regular season.

7 - Ryan Reaves will beat people up on his way to a career high in points.

8 - Hagelin will bounce back and be a 35+ point guy.

9 - Kessel will score more than 23 goals, but less than 70 points.

10 - Pouliot will continue to not look like an NHL defenseman.

 

[PensandCaps]

Three new young guys from WBS will save the day due to injuries. Bluger,Simon and Bengstton.

Sprong will be a PPG winger with Geno.

Maatta tops 30 points.

Murray has a "sophomore" slump in the regular season, but still puts up league average.

Crosby gets 110 points playing with Guentzel.

Letang.....Stays healthy for all 82!!!

 

[ColePens]

My predictions:

1a - A lot of Fleury fans will barely (or never) post on here again ...
1b - ... except if Murray struggles. Then they'll post regularly to point this out.

Boy I didn't even think about that.

Three new young guys from WBS will save the day due to injuries. Bluger,Simon and Bengstton.

I actually like that guessing game - who will be the WBS kids that step up this year? I think Simon has that chance for sure.

 

[Asuna]

Boy I didn't even think about that.



I actually like that guessing game - who will be the WBS kids that step up this year? I think Simon has that chance for sure.

withour lack of centers, i'm going to go with bleuger

 

[The Old Master]

I only make my predictions a yr. later.....seems to work well for me.
edit; and i have some good ones for 2016

 

[BreakfastatMarios]

Penguins Arena switch from RC to Coke

 

[ColePens]

Penguins Arena switch from RC to Coke

Come on now. They have a better chance switching to Faygo. I will give them some credit that they heave Meat & Potatoes, Tako, The Yard, etc. It looks like these stadiums are really trying to buy into better food. That's a good thing.

 

[canadianguy77]

Crosby wins the Art Ross.

Kunitz is out of the league by January.

 

[PensandCaps]

My predictions:

1a - A lot of Fleury fans will barely (or never) post on here again ...
1b - ... except if Murray struggles. Then they'll post regularly to point this out.

2 - Rust will top the 20 goal mark for the first time in his career, but will do so despite producing next to nothing in the games he's next to Sid.

3 - Geno will miss 20 games.

4 - Guentzel will top 60 points.

5 - Schultz won't repeat his 50-point season of a year ago. Instead, he'll score in the 30 point range.

6 - Dumoulin will actually score 2 goals in the regular season.

7 - Ryan Reaves will beat people up on his way to a career high in points.

8 - Hagelin will bounce back and be a 35+ point guy.

9 - Kessel will score more than 23 goals, but less than 70 points.

10 - Pouliot will continue to not look like an NHL defenseman.

Oh if Fleury does well and Murray has a slump.... The Fleury fanboys will be unbearable. I hope Pickard pushes Fleury to the bench.