Who/What are the Penguins missing?

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Balls, mostly.

Crude as it sounds... it sums up the majority of the overall organizational deficiencies. From GM to coach to lineup.

 

[Corvidae]

If we're just talking about the roster, they need above all else...

1) Gritty 3rd/4th liners with some size and speed. Their "gritty" guys are slow and they're fast guys are soft and/or small.

2) A backup they trust to play more than 10 games so Fleury doesn't go into the playoffs 6'2" 115 lbs and can cover when he has his nearly-inevitably Spring nervous breakdown.

I think point 1 alone would make a major difference on a nightly basis.

 

[WVP]

We need a top-6 winger and more grit/tenacity/jam in the bottom 6, particularly the 3rd line.

I think these issues, combined with incessant injuries are a bigger issue than coaching.

Go ape **** on DB all you want but there's limited answers up front.

 

[Shady Machine]

I think these issues, combined with incessant injuries are a bigger issue than coaching.

Go ape **** on DB all you want but there's limited answers up front.

So we should direct our pitchforks at Shero then I guess

 

[TheBeardofJustice]

After looking back to the 2009 Cup we need 2 archetypes.
1) A Gonch
A player who is big, clears the crease, and is gritty.
2) A Staal/Talbot
A player with heart on the third line who can score and also win battles in the corners.
Those are the big things. This team has absolutely no sandpaper. They are totally willing to watch their captain be thrown around like a ragdoll and they don't win pucks in the corner. Also, we don't have any scoring depth after the first two lines. That just about sums it up

 

[vodeni]

After looking back to the 2009 Cup we need 2 archetypes.
1) A Gonch
A player who is big, clears the crease, and is gritty.
2) A Staal/Talbot
A player with heart on the third line who can score and also win battles in the corners.
Those are the big things. This team has absolutely no sandpaper. They are totally willing to watch their captain be thrown around like a ragdoll and they don't win pucks in the corner. Also, we don't have any scoring depth after the first two lines. That just about sums it up

Am I reading this correctly, or you are making a joke?

 

[WVP]

So we should direct our pitchforks at Shero then I guess

I am a big Shero fan. Liked the lineup entering the season, for the most part. The defense is great. But I think we've quickly seen the shortcomings of the 3rd line, especially after Bennett was injured at the start of the season. Too many 13th forwards on the roster (Glass, Adams, Vitale, D'ag, Kobasew, WBS callups etc.).

I actually liked what I saw when Harry Z was on the 4th line with Vitale. I want my 4th line spending their shifts with the puck behind the other team's goal line, causing ruckus. That's what the 4th line did when Harry Z was up.

Top 6 could be better but that's tough to address. Generally they create way more scoring chances than the opposition. Overall the top 9 will need to crash the net MUCH more to score in the playoffs.

Still the situation isn't remotely as bleak as most here make it out to be. We'll likely be entering the playoffs with another showdown with Boston looming to make it out of the East. They are not a 4-0 sweep better than us, so I don't resign the team to defeat automatically.

 

[TheBeardofJustice]

Am I reading this correctly, or you are making a joke?

So you are probably not arguing the fact that he isn't big so you are saying he wasn't gritty and didn't clear the crease. Okay we disagree. I think I worded it wrong a little bit also. I meant Gonch as compared to smaller guys who are gritty like Cooke. I think we need more size.

 

[MrBurghundy]

So you are probably not arguing the fact that he isn't big so you are saying he wasn't gritty and didn't clear the crease. Okay we disagree. I think I worded it wrong a little bit also. I meant Gonch as compared to smaller guys who are gritty like Cooke. I think we need more size.

 

[Shady Machine]

You are killing it today. I bet your really pumped for the second installment of that film.

 

[MrBurghundy]

You are killing it today. I bet your really pumped for the second installment of that film.

I have an advent calendar for it.

 

[TheBeardofJustice]

I didn't watch Hockey in 08-09 so obviously I dunn goofed. In all the highlights and the Stanley Cup video it shows Gonch in that kind of light, so my bad if I sounded silly. I stand by the fact we need more size on the team.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

More sandpaper players and scrubs so DB can keep running this country club

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Yeah... Gonch was a lot of things. Most of them very good. The team could use another Gonchar, honestly. And when he was really at his peak, here... he was a defensive force in his own right. Not to mention all of the obvious offensive advantages he brought to the team.

But not anything close to a terror to opposing forwards in front of his own net.

You are right that the depth lines on this team need to be bigger and nastier. That seems to be the common refrain for a reason, I think.

 

[wolffy66]

Well we could sure use Sarge on the powerplay. And we could sure use a big crease clearing D. So hes in the ballpark.

 

[Your Boy Troy]

Like many people have already mention. Pittsburgh needs a tougher mentality. Crash the net and clear the net as well. They need a grinding forward on the third-line/top-six to create space.

And, do not take any ******** from these agitators that agitate Crosby and/or Malkin. Pittsburgh desperately needs a player that is mean, tough, and intimidating. They need a hybrid-enforcer, or an enforcer.

You cannot rely on Deryk Engelland to enforce when he is playing as a defenseman. Either play Engelland as a forward, or try to trade for a hybrid-enforcer (if they are available).

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I'd rather just have a real hockey player who can provide some energy and help wear down opposing lines. I don't think an enforcer would help much of anything. Look around the league.

People keep bringing up Ott. I like that idea, as an example.

 

[Guins71]

This past offseason screamed for major changes to be made. Those changes should have been a fired Bylsma, traded Letang, and a new goalie. Letang should have brought in a legit top of the line winger for Crosby. Fleury has played outstanding this year, but the minute the puck drops in April I will have no confidence in him and neither will he.

Bylsma - He doesn't match lines. He shows no emotion. He doesn't seem sure of himself. He doesn't attack opponents weaknesses.

Letang - Great Skater, Great first pass, but I think he is the opposite of what this team needs on the back end. I think they benefit more from Paul Martin like Dmen. Smart, controlled, positionally sound. Letang's game gets out of control and it funnels thru the team

Fleury - I can't rip him so far. He has played well. I just don't trust him come April. I know he has done it once, but I have faith he will again.

I would love to be wrong, but I think this past offseason was a huge mistake.

 

[jmelm]

1) More scoring in their bottom 6. This is the biggest difference between our team now, and our team when we won the cup (or the teams like Chicago & Boston who have won it recently).

2) An ELITE RW for Sidney Crosby. It's a damn shame we traded Morrow, a 1st round pick, TWO 2nd round picks, and some prospects, when that type of package could have landed us (or come damn close to landing us) a legit, young top-6 winger.

The good news now, though, is that we we can accomplish both 1 and 2 by one move: acquire said elite winger for Crosby and move Dupuis down to the 3rd line to play with Sutter. There's even a chance that we could accomplish this internally by having Bennett step up to 1st line RW, but then I would still like to see Dupuis on 3rd line LW or RW and someone else (Setoguchi as an outsider, or Gibbons as an insider, as examples) brought in to form, with Dupuis and Sutter, a solid 3rd line that can score and create momentum with their speed and solid 2 way play.

That would be a good quick fix, but on a longer term basis, I would add a 3rd thing I would like to see: someone even better than Jokinen as a 3rd wheel to Geno & Neal's line. I fully believe, if he trains accordingly and plays a full season this year, Tom Kuhnhackl can be this player, perhaps even as soon as next season. Jussi has been a great fill-in for us, but he is the very definition of a hot-and-cold player, and doesn't bring the same type of speed or physical presence as a guy like Bennett or the much talked about Kulemin would bring to that line.

Some combination of what I said above could work. Heck, if he has a great year and continues to progress, maybe even Megna could take Dupers spot on the 1st unit and Bennett can take Jokinen's spot, and we could see something like this:

Kunitz--Crosby--Megna/Bennett
Bennett/Gibbons--Malkin--Neal
Dupuis/Gibbons--Sutter--Megna/Dupuis

I don't know...but there must be some permutation of our current roster or WBS players that could solve this issue. At the very least, there's zero harm in experimenting, if nothing else, to get guys like Dupers & Sutter & Jokinen going again, especially with guys like Bennett and Glass possibly out for a while. Trying some of these options before pulling the trigger on a trade seems like a no-brainer.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Teams with less, play with more balls. It's not as much of a player personnel issue as it is a coaching and management issue. From GM to Coach, there's definitely a problem.

There's a distrust in the team's own prospect and developed players it seems and the treatment of rookies, while others think it isn't issue, seems to be one no matter how hard you try to sweep it under the rug as a manifested issue by the fan base.

It worries me when something goes stale and the person in charge, can't see it, but everyone else can.

 

[hiptanaka]

Here's what I worry about: Is Letang tradeable at all, much less for a proper return? His contract extension is starting to look like an albatross to me.

 

[Tender Rip]

That would be a good quick fix, but on a longer term basis, I would add a 3rd thing I would like to see: someone even better than Jokinen as a 3rd wheel to Geno & Neal's line. I fully believe, if he trains accordingly and plays a full season this year, Tom Kuhnhackl can be this player, perhaps even as soon as next season. Jussi has been a great fill-in for us, but he is the very definition of a hot-and-cold player, and doesn't bring the same type of speed or physical presence as a guy like Bennett or the much talked about Kulemin would bring to that line.

Hmmm.... for the record I really value your continued input on our youngsters and seemingly frequent viewings of prospects in general, irrespective of our insurmountable differences on Despres .
But I think this is a bit in that category too, with you having since his draft pimped Kuhnhackl big time as a prospect, and much more so than other sources. As of this time, the commentary I have seen closely matches the two WBS games I have seen this year, where Kuhnhackl was virtually invisible if he wasn't shooting the puck.

If we can agree that board work and hustle is important for a third wheel with Malkin/Neal, then I cannot right now think of a prospect of ours who have shown less. With skating being an issue also, at this point in time Jokinen is more than a cut above also when it comes to puck possession, and I think everyone here knows my opinion on Jokinen in that regard.
Kuhnhackl is a straight up sniper. And next year you say?! Kuhnhackl is far from being a difference maker offensively in the AHL.... there is a lot of harsh waters for that kid to swim before the NHL is even an option, and based on the little I have seen.... he is unfortunately not a guy I would put any money on making it there. I would love to be wrong though.

 

[The Tang]

D'Agostini: $550,000
Kobasew: $550,000
Adams: $700,000
Total: $1.8mm

Why didn't they just spend the money on a single effective player?

 

[theicebox]

D'Agostini: $550,000
Kobasew: $550,000
Adams: $700,000
Total: $1.8mm

Why didn't they just spend the money on a single effective player?

Too easy.

 

[NatureBoy]

Well, we as fans need ot realize that this team is going nowhere. Not with this coach, not with those injuries, not with beeing too soft, not as long Niskanen is around, not with goaltending. Don´t get me wrong, I am not a Fleury hater, he has been good. The problem is, he still is outplayed most of the time by the oppositons goalie. Rask, Price, Lundqvist, Brodeur, even Poulin.

The Pens come out flying in a lot of games and don´t score because the other goalie stands on his head. Fleury doesn´t do this often enough. Again, he has been good, but just not as good as the other goalies.

This team has a lot of problems, some of them could be fixed by a good coach. Then they would need more toughness and another goaltender. Almost impossible to fix all of that with limited cap space and so many injuries. If the Cap really goes up a few million, next Offseason will be very, very important. We can´t waste any more years, the window is getting smaller.