Brandon Sutter

[UnderratedBrooks44]

He's a pretty vanilla player but with this roster I guess what do ya want for the money he makes. A perfect 3rd line center for this team IMO would be someone in the mold of Jeff Halpern or Sami Pahlsson. Sutter is in the ball park but lacks the balls of that kind of player in a major way. He doesn't seem like it's something he'll develop either, but again for the money......

 

[Speaking Moistly]

He's a pretty vanilla player but with this roster I guess what do ya want for the money he makes. A perfect 3rd line center for this team IMO would be someone in the mold of Jeff Halpern or Sami Pahlsson. Sutter is in the ball park but lacks the balls of that kind of player in a major way. He doesn't seem like it's something he'll develop either, but again for the money......

I thought he was more aggressive against the Flyers, so it's there, it's just not something we see very often. It could be worse than Sutter.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

So other than Bolland, who are the better-than-Sutter-for-the-Pens 3C's in the league at under $4million per guys?

And isn't Steve Ott a center by trade?

Ott makes 3 mil per, really isn't any more productive than Sutter, and is a UFA after this year. He's also 7 years older.

He hits more, agitates, and is more of a battler. All things considered, I wouldn't take him over Sutter for our team. If we needed those attributes so badly - at the expense of age and cost-effectiveness - I imagine the sentiment to keep Cooke would've been a lot louder around here.

 

[Til the End of Time]

Sutter doesn't deserve to be in the dog house yet. He's playing okay. But his intensity level going into corners is laughable. He backs in cautiously and doesn't compete. I want to see him compete.

He's effort makes him beyond expendable. I never heard anyone talk about his effort level being crappy in Carolina. I don't get why he's so garbage right now.

BUT... remember. He's not terrible. He's just not the player I expected to see.

agreed. no one says he sucks. he just needs to up the intensity in all aspects of his game.

also that stuff about being unable to gain weight seems a bit fishy. lift harder and eat more in the offseason. i can understand a guy like malkin not bulking up significantly, considering he's already great as is. but sutter's game is clearly hurt by being so weak/thin. his job is to lean on the opposition's top players, and he would be better at it if he was bigger. getting stronger/heavier should have been one of his priorities.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Ott makes 3 mil per, really isn't any more productive than Sutter, and is a UFA after this year. He's also 7 years older.

He hits more, agitates, and is more of a battler. All things considered, I wouldn't take him over Sutter for our team. If we needed those attributes so badly - at the expense of age and cost-effectiveness - I imagine the sentiment to keep Cooke would've been a lot louder around here.

I'd have Ott and Sutter ranked right near one another. If it was a purely one year thing, I'd probably pick Ott. Long term, I'd stick with Sutter for age and RFA status.

 

[Jacob]

Ott will get more than his current salary on the open market, though.

 

[WVP]

Really solid defensively but like many have said he leaves you wanting just a bit more of an edge or nastiness to his game. I'd also like him to reach the 20 goal mark each year.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Really solid defensively but like many have said he leaves you wanting just a bit more of an edge or nastiness to his game. I'd also like him to reach the 20 goal mark each year.

Adding nastiness and consistent 20 goals will cost a lot closer to 4 mil a year than 2.

 

[WVP]

Adding nastiness and consistent 20 goals will cost a lot closer to 4 mil a year than 2.

I was about to add pretty much the same comment to my post...

In any case, he hovers close to 20 now, I'd just like to see 21-23 rather than 16-19.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I was about to add pretty much the same comment to my post...

In any case, he hovers close to 20 now, I'd just like to see 21-23 rather than 16-19.

I'd like him to add that after we re-sign him.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I'd have Ott and Sutter ranked right near one another. If it was a purely one year thing, I'd probably pick Ott. Long term, I'd stick with Sutter for age and RFA status.

Yep. Like Jacob said, Ott's going to be making even more next season too.

I just don't see who this mystery 3C could be who makes our team better. I get the impression KIRK believes we'd be a better team with Jokinen at 3C and the wing return we could get for Sutter and Orpik, but I'm not buying.

 

[ColePens]

For what it's worth, I think DJ could do every thing Sutter is doing right now. I mean... if we are talking money and what this team needs, I don't

Ultimately I just want to see Sutter pick it up. He has so much potential.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Yep. Like Jacob said, Ott's going to be making even more next season too.

I just don't see who this mystery 3C could be who makes our team better. I get the impression KIRK believes we'd be a better team with Jokinen at 3C and the wing return we could get for Sutter and Orpik, but I'm not buying.

We'd need to both replace Jokinen in the top 6 AND get him a more skilled 3rd line winger to make that an upgrade imo. Jokinen needs at least some talent on his line to be effective. With the wings we have even including Dupuis, there's no doubt in my mind that Sutter is the better 3C for us.

 

[Ogrezilla]

For what it's worth, I think DJ could do every thing Sutter is doing right now. I mean... if we are talking money and what this team needs, I don't

Ultimately I just want to see Sutter pick it up. He has so much potential.

Sutter is great at defending. His problem is that he's defending too often We have a very different expectation of him than what he had in Carolina where it was probably understood that the team would be on their heels more often than not.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

For what it's worth, I think DJ could do every thing Sutter is doing right now. I mean... if we are talking money and what this team needs, I don't

Ultimately I just want to see Sutter pick it up. He has so much potential.

In many respects he has. He's our faceoff leader. He's been hitting much more often...based on the eye test and the stat sheet.

He's been making due with two wingers who most didn't even want on the team as 4th liner this year, so I'm not sure how reasonable it would be to expect more offense. And he's still rail-thin, so I'm not sure we should expect him to impose his will in the corners like a Staal could.

I just think he's doing a good job early on despite less-than-ideal circumstances, and the criticism is a bit baffling considering most of his game isn't any different than its always been, and the stuff that isn't the same, he's actually been better at.

 

[Ogrezilla]

In many respects he has. He's our faceoff leader. He's been hitting much more often...based on the eye test and the stat sheet.

He's been making due with two wingers who most didn't even want on the team as 4th liner this year, so I'm not sure how reasonable it would be to expect more offense. And he's still rail-thin, so I'm not sure we should expect him to impose his will in the corners like a Staal could.

I just think he's doing a good job early on despite less-than-ideal circumstances, and the criticism is a bit baffling considering most of his game isn't any different than its always been, and the stuff that isn't the same, he's actually been better at.

Ya, I don't know where these complaints were last year. He looks the same, just with worse players around him right now.

 

[Ugene Magic]

The guy looks worn down in some games but his minutes are about 16:00 and under, what's up with that?

 

[SEALBound]

The guy looks worn down in some games but his minutes are about 16:00 and under, what's up with that?

I'd be curious to see what his off season training is like. Wouldn't mind him train an off season with Letang, Sid, or Gary Roberts.

Its just that, in the playoffs we need all 4 lines contributing what they can. I don't see Sutter having enough production to make that line anything to worry about. Unless we shift Duper to that line.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Ott is a great hitter, forechecker, amazing on faceoffs, solid defensively, better offensively. Ott is definitely a better player than Sutter pretty much in every way, and in a vacuum for one year only i would take him over Sutter in a heartbeat. He's the type of guy you could go to war with, whereas Sutter shrinks from physical contact. But yeah Ott's a soon to be UFA and going to be paid.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

In many respects he has. He's our faceoff leader. He's been hitting much more often...based on the eye test and the stat sheet.

He's been making due with two wingers who most didn't even want on the team as 4th liner this year, so I'm not sure how reasonable it would be to expect more offense. And he's still rail-thin, so I'm not sure we should expect him to impose his will in the corners like a Staal could.

I just think he's doing a good job early on despite less-than-ideal circumstances, and the criticism is a bit baffling considering most of his game isn't any different than its always been, and the stuff that isn't the same, he's actually been better at.

I think most realize his winger situation so i'm not even complaining about raw numbers. He's just completely incapable of winning a board battle. It's going to kill us in the playoffs.

 

[IcedCapp]

Ott is a great hitter, forechecker, amazing on faceoffs, solid defensively, better offensively. Ott is definitely a better player than Sutter pretty much in every way, and in a vacuum for one year only i would take him over Sutter in a heartbeat. He's the type of guy you could go to war with, whereas Sutter shrinks from physical contact. But yeah Ott's a soon to be UFA and going to be paid.

Ott's lifetime ppg is .39, Sutter's is .36. That's not the end-all, be-all, but I'm not sure he's that much better. I agree with everything else, though, and I would love to have Ott on the team. But contract, both length and money, is a concern.

 

[Darth Vitale]

I'd add my votes for:

1. Weak on the boards and that is a direct result of him physically being on the thin side / not strong enough to muscle guys off the puck in various circumstances. It's correctable but possibly to a limited degree; I think he's just "built thin" and is not capable of putting on a large amount of muscle year to year. Whatever he puts on in summer I think he's likely to lose most of it during a season. Fast metabolism type I bet.

2. He has solid skills and smarts. When he plays with better skilled guys and is given some freedom to play the offensive game, he's shown he can move the puck fairly well etc. He's what I would expect from a 3C. Not sure if better things are to come in the skill area but he's worth giving another season+ before passing judgement.

3. I'm not really worried about him at 3C. More worried about who's around him / who's around Geno at any given moment. In an idea world it would be nice to have a skillful guy like Juice on his line all the time and one banger / physical guy (Kobachoo will do for this year once everyone is healthy).

 

[Coastal Kev]

Sutter is slightly more visible than a traffic cone. Paint it anyway you want, but he is sub par.

 

[IcedCapp]

I'd add my votes for:

1. Weak on the boards and that is a direct result of him physically being on the thin side / not strong enough to muscle guys off the puck in various circumstances. It's correctable but possibly to a limited degree; I think he's just "built thin" and is not capable of putting on a large amount of muscle year to year. Whatever he puts on in summer I think he's likely to lose most of it during a season. Fast metabolism type I bet.

2. He has solid skills and smarts. When he plays with better skilled guys and is given some freedom to play the offensive game, he's shown he can move the puck fairly well etc. He's what I would expect from a 3C. Not sure if better things are to come in the skill area but he's worth giving another season+ before passing judgement.

3. I'm not really worried about him at 3C. More worried about who's around him / who's around Geno at any given moment. In an idea world it would be nice to have a skillful guy like Juice on his line all the time and one banger / physical guy (Kobachoo will do for this year once everyone is healthy).

I think a lot of the criticism directed towards him will go away when Neal and Beau rejoin the team. Not, they won't make him a better player, but he's an even (+/-) player now despite drawing tough match-ups (I'm assuming) and playing with no skilled wingers.

Once the 3rd line is in a position to, and starts scoring, the rest of his imperfections won't be as noticeable.

 

[Darth Vitale]

I think a lot of the criticism directed towards him will go away when Neal and Beau rejoin the team. Not, they won't make him a better player, but he's an even (+/-) player now despite drawing tough match-ups (I'm assuming) and playing with no skilled wingers.

Yeah that's sort of what I'm driving at. He tends to play to the level of his wingers. He can't carry the line but he can hold steady even with mediocre skill on his wings.