Mr. Brandon Sutter

[domaug*]

I talked to my brother-in-law - a Philly fan - about the difference between Staal and Sutter. He thought it was a downgrade aside from the faceoffs.

Not to say that the trade was bad or that Sutter is bad but I think that Carolina probably got the best player in the deal.

Carolina did get the best player in the deal.

however, i think Sutter's defense has been as good as, if not better than, Staal's defense.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Carolina did get the best player in the deal.

however, i think Sutter's defense has been as good as, if not better than, Staal's defense.

Agreed. We will see a drop in points but defensively and in the faceoff circle Brandon has an edge and will help us out big time. Great addition to this hockey team

 

[Ogrezilla]

Carolina did get the best player in the deal.

however, i think Sutter's defense has been as good as, if not better than, Staal's defense.

head and shoulders better than any defense Staal has played in about 2 seasons. As good as 2009 Staal? Hard to say at this point. It's been a while.

 

[ObsessedCreative*]

head and shoulders better than any defense Staal has played in about 2 seasons. As good as 2009 Staal? Hard to say at this point. It's been a while.

Agreed... Staals last two seasons in Pittsburgh, his D-game was going in the crapper. B-Sut has been money so far!

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I don't think Sutter is that off offensively either with Staal. Obviously with Carolina, Sutter was never going to get the sheltered minutes like Staal got with Pittsburgh or even a good supportive system that Staal has been with.

I do know Sutter seems more mature than Jordan and won't pout when things don't go his way, the defense seems just as good and with a team like Pittsburgh, Brandon will get more attention for it and people will see it. I think he's quicker than Jordan but Jordan has the better shot and reach. Once Brandon fully fills out, he could be just as good if not better.

 

[Illinest]

... he could be just as good if not better.

I definitely don't see that happening.
When I said Carolina might have gotten the better player I was thinking of Dumoulin and Pouliot. As in - perhaps one of those two ends up being better than Staal.

Sutter is a good, possibly great third-line center who seems to have the skill and size to play wing occasionally on the second line. I like that he's good in his own zone and good on faceoffs. I like that he's right-handed for faceoffs as well. He is clearly very mobile and has pretty good size, but I think it's pretty clear already why that trade had so many other pieces coming our way.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

You know what I love most about what Sutter brings to the table? We finally have a guy who can win the majority of his draws on the PK.

As good as our PK has been the past few seasons, we always seemed to spend the majority of it in our end because the guys who did the PKing at center sucked on draws. Staal improved his percentage last season, but generally speaking, he had a tough time getting above 50%. Sutter looks like he'll be stronger in that department than Staal.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I definitely don't see that happening.
When I said Carolina might have gotten the better player I was thinking of Dumoulin and Pouliot. As in - perhaps one of those two ends up being better than Staal.

Sutter is a good, possibly great third-line center who seems to have the skill and size to play wing occasionally on the second line. I like that he's good in his own zone and good on faceoffs. I like that he's right-handed for faceoffs as well. He is clearly very mobile and has pretty good size, but I think it's pretty clear already why that trade had so many other pieces coming our way.

I liked what Sutter brought to the Canes before he was a Penguin, he was one of the few of that Sutter clan that impressed me. But I always thought with the way the Canes develop and their system, he would fall through the cracks and never grow as a player.

Now that he is in the Pens system and behind 2 of the best C's in the game, he has the time to really grow and get better and they will build on his strengths and hopefully the rest follows.

 

[Dangles78]

I don't think Sutter is that off offensively either with Staal. Obviously with Carolina, Sutter was never going to get the sheltered minutes like Staal got with Pittsburgh or even a good supportive system that Staal has been with.

I do know Sutter seems more mature than Jordan and won't pout when things don't go his way, the defense seems just as good and with a team like Pittsburgh, Brandon will get more attention for it and people will see it. I think he's quicker than Jordan but Jordan has the better shot and reach. Once Brandon fully fills out, he could be just as good if not better.

Did you not see him after he was traded?

I'm only kidding. Though I didn't like his reaction at first after the trade. It's like he was traded to Columbus or Phoenix. I understand why he'd be upset, Carolina really made it known that he was a key part of their core then he's gone. Plus he had to move from Raleigh to the Burgh pshhhh

 

[LetangInTheSO]

Allow me to rain on the parade here a little bit.

First, let me preface my comments by stating that I love Brandon Sutter and he's exactly what I was expecting. Namely, though his offense will be a notable downgrade from Staal's, he'll nonetheless put up a few points and everything else about his game is exquisite. I love the kid and I'm sure he'll become one of my favorite Pens.

Now for the whining. It's really a shame how difficult (impossible?) it is to assemble a dynasty team in a cap world. If this were the 90s, it would likely have been possible to retain Staal, pair him with a "2nd line" calibre winger, put a sniper with Sid, and field three EXCELLENT scoring lines that were all defensively responsible. Instead, we have Sid still playing with two guys who can't create for themselves, one great duo in Malkin/Neal, a reliable 3rd line, good pieces on D but probably one stud short of "excellent," and the goaltending...well, I won't bring that up here.

Anyhow, here's to hoping that this group is still good enough to get the job done...they unarguably have a shot!

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Allow me to rain on the parade here a little bit.

First, let me preface my comments by stating that I love Brandon Sutter and he's exactly what I was expecting. Namely, though his offense will be a notable downgrade from Staal's, he'll nonetheless put up a few points and everything else about his game is exquisite. I love the kid and I'm sure he'll become one of my favorite Pens.

Now for the whining. It's really a shame how difficult (impossible?) it is to assemble a dynasty team in a cap world. If this were the 90s, it would likely have been possible to retain Staal, pair him with a "2nd line" calibre winger, put a sniper with Sid, and field three EXCELLENT scoring lines that were all defensively responsible. Instead, we have Sid still playing with two guys who can't create for themselves, one great duo in Malkin/Neal, a reliable 3rd line, good pieces on D but probably one stud short of "excellent," and the goaltending...well, I won't bring that up here.

Anyhow, here's to hoping that this group is still good enough to get the job done...they unarguably have a shot!

Which is a well and good rant, except that Staal was not cut loose because of cap reasons. We offered him virtually the same contract he signed with Carolina. He left because of reasons other than that. We have $15 million in cap space right now, $10 million next year. Sure we have some major resigns, but Shero made it clear that if Staal was willing, we could have and would have fit him under the cap.

 

[LetangInTheSO]

Which is a well and good rant, except that Staal was not cut loose because of cap reasons. We offered him virtually the same contract he signed with Carolina. He left because of reasons other than that.

Not entirely true. What Staal wanted (/wants) is an opportunity to flourish offensively. As recently as the 90s, some teams did ice 3 "scoring" lines. Absent a cap, it would not have been unthinkable to pair Staal with a bonafide scoring talent on his wing and ice three "scoring" lines that each played 17+ mins/night...The problem with Staal wasn't that he was on the third line per se, the problem was that he was relegated to a checking line with checking-level talent on his wings (no offense to TK and Cooke).

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Not entirely true. What Staal wanted (/wants) is an opportunity to flourish offensively. As recently as the 90s, some teams did ice 3 "scoring" lines. Absent a cap, it would not have been unthinkable to pair Staal with a bonafide scoring talent on his wing and ice three "scoring" lines that each played 17+ mins/night...The problem with Staal wasn't that he was on the third line per se, the problem was that he was relegated to a checking line with checking-level talent on his wings (no offense to TK and Cooke).

Absent a cap we would not be worried about having replaced Staal, but one or both of Crosby or Malkin would be on the Rangers or Philly right now. Has watching the Pirates for the last three decades taught people nothing? Thank God and Bettman for the salary cap.

But move that aside. Staal wanted to be 'the man' on a top two line, and play with his brother as well. There were multiple reasons he went and the cap, which we have $15 million remaining of, was low on the list.

 

[LetangInTheSO]

Absent a cap we would not be worried about having replaced Staal, but one or both of Crosby or Malkin would be on the Rangers or Philly right now. Has watching the Pirates for the last three decades taught people nothing? Thank God and Bettman for the salary cap.

But move that aside. Staal wanted to be 'the man' on a top two line, and play with his brother as well. There were multiple reasons he went and the cap, which we have $15 million remaining of, was low on the list.

Fair enough. My general point was that it's very difficult to retain elite talent and augment it with complimentary talent in this cap world. GMRS is doing an admirable job, but it's tough. More than likely, the big trades that the Pens will be making in the next couple of years will be along the lines of "Staal for Sutter" instead of "X+Y for [stud winger]" like we're all hoping for.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Fair enough. My general point was that it's very difficult to retain elite talent and augment it with complimentary talent in this cap world. GMRS is doing an admirable job, but it's tough. More than likely, the big trades that the Pens will be making in the next couple of years will be along the lines of "Staal for Sutter" instead of "X+Y for [stud winger]" like we're all hoping for.

Well we could draft a wing.

Heh. I know crazy talk.

 

[LetangInTheSO]

Well we could draft a wing.

Heh. I know crazy talk.

Exactly, right. We really need one of Tangradi, Bennet et al. (though those are really the only two with a strong chance IMO) to pan out. Not saying that they can't or won't, because they very well might, but it's frustrating that that's what we have to rely on. It's quite irritating that we haven't drafted a bonafide top 6 winger since Malone...or maybe Moulson.