Pouliot Trade Looks Bad

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

another wasted 1st round pick by that bum shero

i miss his girlfriend amanda kuhl, not him

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Good for him. He looked unmotivated and lousy in Pittsburgh, was 8th on the depth chart, and was waiver eligible. I rather doubt Pouliot is having this renaissance from the PPG press box.

 

[Lampedampe]

Benning for GM of the year?

 

[Kale Hulls]

Well since we now know he can play this good, why couldn't Pittsburgh get him to? When it comes down to it, it was either a bad trade or poor asset management.

 

[Empoleon8771]

The Pens were in a tough situation as far as waivers, but I see a lot of Pens fans saying he'd never have developed here, and I ain't buying. The kid had all of one year where he didn't progress...last year. Recency bias being what it is, people interpreted that as Pouliot becoming a total write-off.

Good on the kid for taking the opportunity in Vancouver and running with it.

And this year was the year he wasn't eligible to go down to WBS, which is a convenient thing that you're ignoring. People weren't saying Pouliot wouldn't progress solely because he stagnated last year, but because he stagnated last year and couldn't go back down to the AHL. He was at best 8th on the Penguins depth chart, so how could he have possibly developed any further here? He wouldn't even be playing.

Well since we now know he can play this good, why couldn't Pittsburgh get him to? When it comes down to it, it was either a bad trade or poor asset management.

No it doesn't, that's stupid. It's a case of a depth player who wasn't developing and didn't have a spot on the roster being traded for something rather than losing him for nothing. It was extremely smart asset management, they traded a guy they didn't need and would lose for nothing for some sort of asset.

Pittsburgh couldn't get him to play above career AHLer level because he never played for the Penguins with any sort of consistency, because the Penguins D depth has been insane ever since the start of 2016 (when they traded for Daley). It's kinda hard to get any sort of playing time when these:

Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Daley
Cole-Lovejoy
Schultz

Are above you in 2015-2016 and:

Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Daley
Cole-Schultz
Ruhwedel

Are above you in 2016-2017 and:

Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Schultz
Cole-Hunwick
Ruhwedel

Are above you in 2017-2018. Pouliot has been at best #8 on the Penguins depth chart since the start of the 2016 calendar year, he did absolutely nothing to even challenge for a regular spot since the trade deadline in 2016.

 

[Fatty McLardy]

Well since we now know he can play this good, why couldn't Pittsburgh get him to? When it comes down to it, it was either a bad trade or poor asset management.

Because Pouliot sucked with the Penguins, it had nothing to do with what Penguins didn't do with him. He just flat out sucked and had bad training camp the last 2 years. He's playing good on the Canucks because there's not much expectations for that team. He can work through his ups and down.

 

[Extra Texture]

Not sure why people are bitter. It didn't work out in Pitt for pouliot. No different than the pens benefitting from Schultz when it didn't work out in Edmonton for him.

That's life.

A lot of us are not bitter. In fact if you look at the bumped thread on the trade board you'll see many fans, myself included, that are happy that the guy is now a regular NHLer. It was that expectation and let down that always accompanies a top prospect coming up that was trying about the Pouliot situation in Pitt, by ultimately you just want to see these guys make it as regulars in the end, even if it's not in black and gold.

Someone said in the trade thread as well that "change of scenery" moves for struggling young players are a good gamble that GMs don't make often enough. In the case of someone like Pouliot, yeah he was taken high, but the talent was clearly there. It still annoys me thinking about Forsberg, Trouba, Ceci, etc, but the club reached for him in that spot and that's in no way his fault. It was a gamble and it didn't pay off...yet. Hopefully he keeps growing with the Nucks and becomes a good blue liner and a real PPQB.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

And this year was the year he wasn't eligible to go down to WBS, which is a convenient thing that you're ignoring. People weren't saying Pouliot wouldn't progress solely because he stagnated last year, but because he stagnated last year and couldn't go back down to the AHL. He was at best 8th on the Penguins depth chart, so how could he have possibly developed any further here? He wouldn't even be playing.

There was a not insignificant number of people on the Pens board who made it very clear that they thought he was a bust, and that waivers weren't the issue.

 

[Empoleon8771]

There was a not insignificant number of people on the Pens board who made it very clear that they thought he was a bust, and that waivers weren't the issue.

I really doubt that, because no one would advocate trading Pouliot if he was eligible to be sent down to the AHL. Or at least very few people would. It's an issue of Pouliot sucking plus not being able to be sent down to the AHL, it's extremely disingenuous to act like the waiver eligibility factor wasn't a huge factor in this.

I'm seeing you and Jiggy saying that you disagree with the idea with the idea that Pouliot wouldn't develop any further in Pittsburgh, but what neither of you guys have done is explain why you disagree with it. Pouliot is playing better now because he's actually playing in games. That would never happen in Pittsburgh, undeserving young players are NEVER given free spots with the Penguins. Look at Sheary being scratched in the playoffs last year after putting up a 72 points/82 games pace. Look at Guentzel nearly being scratched in the playoffs last year while leading the playoffs in goals.

 

[Extra Texture]

It's funny to me how similar the situation w/ Pouliot and the pens was to Cole and the Blues. Minus the cups...

It's funny because Cole is a "rehab project" I forget about with the Pens. Mostly because he wasn't widely trashed like Daley and Schultz were before coming to Pitt. But it's another example of just rolling the dice and seeing if a guy can thrive as a better fit somewhere new, and he's been an incredibly dependable guy on the blueline. The case of those three, Hagelin and Bonino has got me thinking every time Rutherford makes a move like this it's gonna be a home run. I'm still waiting for an injury bug to hit and Corrado or Tinordi to step up and look like Norris candidates, but I might be going just a tad overboard there.

 

[Maukkis]

When the trade was announced, 75% of the canucks board was crying about the 4th round pick we gave up for him...haha

Never change, HF.

To be fair to Benning, he sure seems to have an eye for these reclamation projects.

 

[jd22]

Never change, HF.

To be fair to Benning, he sure seems to have an eye for these reclamation projects.

Well... they are not all successful. Granlund for Shinkaruk was a decent trade, Baertschi for a 2nd was a good trade. This is seemingly a good trade here.

But then you have Vey for a 2nd, Forsling for Clendenning ( ), Pedan for a 3rd and Mallet...

At least he wasn't too stubborn to hold Pedan around to try to justify that one.

 

[Maukkis]

Well... they are not all successful. Granlund for Shinkaruk was a decent trade, Baertschi for a 2nd was a good trade. This is seemingly a good trade here.

But then you have Vey for a 2nd, Forsling for Clendenning ( ), Pedan for a 3rd and Mallet...

At least he wasn't too stubborn to hold Pedan around to try to justify that one.

Considering that he has essentially been acquiring players who, for some reason, have not produced with their previous clubs, his record is more than acceptable. I'll give you that some of his decisions have been very questionable, though.

 

[Brock Radunske]

Benning for GM of the year?

Top-3

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Well since we now know he can play this good, why couldn't Pittsburgh get him to? When it comes down to it, it was either a bad trade or poor asset management.

Sullivan didn't like him, so that pretty much sealed his fate as a Penguin.

After he lost his spot in late '16 for no reason to Schultz, his confidence waivered and he began a bad pattern of trying to do too much when he got into the lineup... and it just kept snowballing on him. Sullivan didn't want to deal with his growing pains, so guys like Ruhwedel got those minutes and did well.

Just how it is and Sullivan won two cups with his roster decisions. So eventhough I am a guy who has been insistent DP can play well in this league for years, I'm not going to rag too hard on Sullivan.

I just take issue with the statement some are making that he would have never developed in Pgh... he would have if they were patient, but they weren't, so maybe now Van benefits.

 

[jd22]

Considering that he has essentially been acquiring players who, for some reason, have not produced with their previous clubs, his record is more than acceptable. I'll give you that some of his decisions have been very questionable, though.

True, but those are just the 'struggling player' ones. Kassian and a 5th (why?) for Prust stings.

Whatever. I will concede that he seems to have turned the corner in the past year, though why it took three years, only Aquillini knows. If he gets extended - seems likely at this point - and has another good draft, I will give him some slack. All the same though, his decisions have, on the whole, been bad.

I would be in favour of keeping him as a scout, so long as Judd Brackett has an equal or higher opinion than him.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Well since we now know he can play this good, why couldn't Pittsburgh get him to? When it comes down to it, it was either a bad trade or poor asset management.

Because he couldn't play the Penguins system, but appears to be able to play Vancouvers. This is one factor in why some players look very different after being traded. The Penguins weren't going to change their back-to-back winning strategy to accommodate him.

 

[stepdad gaary]

i dont think the pens really care about a defensemen his 5 assists and 16 min/game on vancouver. its ok

 

[Riggins]

Epic performance by Pouliot tonight against Vegas. Better give the Norris to someone else.

 

[The GM]

I guess pens fans now know what it feels like for the oilers fans with their gm getting absolutely fleeced on deals

 

[CanuckGame39]

That was the greasiest giveaway I've seen in a few years, atleast.

Ho-lee-****.

 

[DeltaSwede]

This thread is super repetitive.

Why are so many getting upset about someone posting that a player that looked like a nobody has turned into a somebody (for now)?

Benning has done good trades and some bad ones too. Most seem to work out in his favour.

 

[hooverdam]

Sullivan didn't like Pouliot from basically his first moment coaching him in WBS. That was the death knell for him in this organization. Sullivan seems to make a decision on a player early on and stick to it no matter what; sometimes it can be good (Murray has been his guy from day one, for example) but sometimes it means curtains for that player.

I'll never forget how much everyone in the front office bragged about him training with Gary Roberts one year before a training camp, then did a 180 and said his conditioning was poor when he didn't have a good camp. The next year, he came to camp having lost an insane amount of weight and they barely said a word about it. That really messes with a kid's mind.

 

[terrible dee]

I wonder about this. If Pouliot turns into a top four defenseman as we drafted him to be, I think you can make the argument regardless of who was drafted at that position the Pens would've probably not developed that.

Part of Pooh not succeeding here was managerial moves with him and not letting him find any consistency. He showed flashes of being a top four defenseman in 15-16 and then we brought in Schultz and he basically didn't play for a month, played two playoff games looked good in one and made a mistake in the other and didn't see any consistency the rest of his time here.

Obviously, who cares? We won two cups, but I don't think Pouliot's lack of development in Pittsburgh was all on him.

That being said, it has been ten games. I could see Vancouver doing the same exact thing to him once their D is healthy.

If we didn't sign Hunwick, I'm sure we would've held onto Pouliot. Which makes the Hunwick deal kind of frustrating in my eyes, but also sometimes players just need a change.

Nope, Poo' isn't coming out of the line up.

Are you kidding? A trade happens where Benning finally doesn't look like Ned Beatty in Deliverance and you think the guy is coming out of the line up?

Poo' is a fine NHL D-man, and I expect as he regains his confidence he'll get significantly better

But right now today, he's more than good enough, doesn't make mistakes and is always involved in the play at both ends, but at the same time, doesn't look like he's chasing the play, his involvement is very natural, that combination of factors tells me a MAJOR break out is coming offensively.

Sometimes teams nominate a whipping boy, they want to BREAK that player, I have no idea why, but it happens all over

To a degree, Jake Virtanen is the guy in Vancouver, his play has developed to the point where I am 100% sure if they played him like Boesser and Horvat he would have similar point totals. But no, he embarrassed Benning, so they give him 4th line minutes and bench him every chance they get.

Some teams are just resentful of young talent, and I believe the Canucks (Travis Green in particular)
He attempted to put the brakes on Boesser to start the year, but Boesser forced their hand

But hey, listen, do you want some revenge on us for the Poo' deal?
Get Jordan Subban from us, he's been BURIED in the AHL despite being an all-star offensive defenseman and dynamic NHL ready talent, (The reason has to do with his brother I believe) but despite our defense being stripped to the bone every year this guy has not been given A SINGLE NHL GAME. Talentless plugs are called up and played ahead of him, while he's led the AHL team in scoring, its bizarre, management propaganda is that he cannot play defense, not at all, has no clue about the position he plays for a living (This is from a team who ices Eric Gudbransson)

Anyway, management is 100% full of s**t and have been holding him down for years intentionally,

If you could get Benning to give him to you, you could slot him right into your line-up and he'd out score Poo' this year.

 

[terrible dee]

This thread is super repetitive.

Why are so many getting upset about someone posting that a player that looked like a nobody has turned into a somebody (for now)?

Benning has done good trades and some bad ones too. Most seem to work out in his favour.

No, Benning is a drooling idiot and this is one of the few transactions he's been involved in where he didn't end up on a canoe trip.