Confirmed with Link: Brian Dumoulin Re-Signs (2 years/800K AAV)

[Penguinator]

Cole is not a top pairing defender and may never be. The Pens need at least one gaurenteed pairing and Maatta-Letang is it.

Also I think you are dreaming that Johnston is going to regularly have Scuderi as the 7th defenseman in the press box. Once Scuderi is in the picture Cole has to be paired with him as a babysitter. Lovejoy is too bad, slow and replicates his weaknesses. Pouliot and Dumoulin are better skaters and puck movers than Cole but have less experience and haven't played the right side.

Maatta-Letang
Scuderi-Cole
Pouliot-Lovejoy
Dumoulin

with TOI Letang, Maatta, Cole, Lovejoy, Scuderi, Pouliot, Dumoulin

That has to be one of the most realistic take on our D so far. I can't say i disagree with any of it. Pouliot was doing good with The Reverend on a 3rd pair. Of course things are probably going to evolve (or devolve) as the season unravels.

 

[Kasperi kapanen]

I was wondering, the pens have 10 forwards able to play too 9 minutes. Who goes? I would think its Kunitz or Bennett.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Good contract. Hopefully more changes are to come on the blueline.

 

[Giskard]

Well, we're gonna lose him on waiver anyway ...

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I like it.

 

[Coach Travis]

Nice. I always had him entered in at $900K on Armchair GM.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Great deal

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Cole is not a top pairing defender and may never be. The Pens need at least one gaurenteed pairing and Maatta-Letang is it.

You don't need a "top pairing defender" for a player to work on the top pairing. It's an artificial distinction. He just needs to complement our star defenseman, and Cole has the skillset to do that.

Further, if he's 100%, Maatta is more than capable of carrying his own pairing. Putting he and Letang on the same pairing means that we'll be icing sub-par defense pairings for 35 minutes every game.

Also I think you are dreaming that Johnston is going to regularly have Scuderi as the 7th defenseman in the press box. Once Scuderi is in the picture Cole has to be paired with him as a babysitter. Lovejoy is too bad, slow and replicates his weaknesses. Pouliot and Dumoulin are better skaters and puck movers than Cole but have less experience and haven't played the right side.

That's very possible, even if it's the worst of all possible outcomes. If Scuds is in the line-up he's probably going to need Cole as a babysitter. I sure as hell hope he's not though, and if he's not, Cole's better used in the top 4.

Maatta-Letang
Scuderi-Cole
Pouliot-Lovejoy
Dumoulin

with TOI Letang, Maatta, Cole, Lovejoy, Scuderi, Pouliot, Dumoulin

I'm a lot more confident in Cole working on the top pair than Scuderi working on the freaking middle pair.

There's no configuration of our defense with a Maatta-Letang pairing that looks passable, IMO.

 

[Kasperi kapanen]

I think Johnston should give Cole a shot with Letang.
It could be like Muzzin-Doughty.

 

[BumFortyOne]

You don't need a "top pairing defender" for a player to work on the top pairing. It's an artificial distinction. He just needs to complement our star defenseman, and Cole has the skillset to do that.

Further, if he's 100%, Maatta is more than capable of carrying his own pairing. Putting he and Letang on the same pairing means that we'll be icing sub-par defense pairings for 35 minutes every game.



That's very possible, even if it's the worst of all possible outcomes. If Scuds is in the line-up he's probably going to need Cole as a babysitter. I sure as hell hope he's not though, and if he's not, Cole's better used in the top 4.



I'm a lot more confident in Cole working on the top pair than Scuderi working on the freaking middle pair.

There's no configuration of our defense with a Maatta-Letang pairing that looks passable, IMO.

I think the distinction between the 2nd and 3rd pair is pretty artificial assuming a top pair of Maatta and Letang. Essentially we'll have one top pair and two (hopefully a bit better than) bottom pairs.

I can see the appeal of splitting Maatta and Letang to have them anchor two separate pairs, but I'd worry a bit about what that would do for the icetime of their partners and whether they could handle it.

Either way, I'm sure injuries will occur and we'll see a number of combinations throughout the season. Come the playoffs though, I would be surprised if Maatta-Letang was not the top pair playing over 25 minutes a game.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I think Johnston should give Cole a shot with Letang.
It could be like Muzzin-Doughty.

Closest thing they have to that pair is McNeill - Letang, but that isn't going to happen.

Maybe Dumo - Letang if Dumo adds a physical edge to his game. Dumo will have to work his way off the third pair though.

I'm more than a little concerned we will see Dumo with Scuds and that is going to be a trainwreck. Dumo isn't going to be able to babysit Scuds like Despres did.

 

[Penguinator]

Dumo isn't going to be able to babysit Scuds like Despres did.

But i thought Scuds was doing the babysitting all along, you know, experience.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Closest thing they have to that pair is McNeill - Letang, but that isn't going to happen.

Maybe Dumo - Letang if Dumo adds a physical edge to his game. Dumo will have to work his way off the third pair though.

I'm more than a little concerned we will see Dumo with Scuds and that is going to be a trainwreck. Dumo isn't going to be able to babysit Scuds like Despres did.

I don't know, it's not as if the Pens never pined a player before who had a decent salary before. I know not this particular HC. But Sydor/Boucher were both seeing plenty of it while costing over 2.0(2.5?).

Scuderi will probably be a wait and see.

 

[PensPlz]

Seems really, really low. I'm wondering if he were told to take less or be traded, due to our cap situation.

 

[Penguinator]

Seems really, really low. I'm wondering if he were told to take less or be traded, due to our cap situation.

It's a one way deal man, he'll make more dough. Good deal for both sides.

 

[JTG]

A "show me" deal. Letang, Pouliot, Maatta, Dumoulin, Cole, Lovejoy, and Scuderi. That blueline is young and inexperienced, but holy **** do they have a lot of potential if everything goes right.

The problem now is that we don't have capable guys in the AHL as call ups.

 

[plaidchuck]

A "show me" deal. Letang, Pouliot, Maatta, Dumoulin, Cole, Lovejoy, and Scuderi. That blueline is young and inexperienced, but holy **** do they have a lot of potential if everything goes right.

The problem now is that we don't have capable guys in the AHL as call ups.

Yeah, if they suffer the same injuries on d like last year, they'll be screwed.

 

[Pens1566]

Call me crazy, but I think we need to split up our 2 best d-men.

Cole-Letang
Maatta-Lovejoy/Dumo
Pouliot-Dumoulin/LJ

 

[Harvey Birdman]

One way?

 

[Kasperi kapanen]

A "show me" deal. Letang, Pouliot, Maatta, Dumoulin, Cole, Lovejoy, and Scuderi. That blueline is young and inexperienced, but holy **** do they have a lot of potential if everything goes right.

The problem now is that we don't have capable guys in the AHL as call ups.

Nick Andersen and Tim Erixon could be options.

 

[BumFortyOne]

A "show me" deal. Letang, Pouliot, Maatta, Dumoulin, Cole, Lovejoy, and Scuderi. That blueline is young and inexperienced, but holy **** do they have a lot of potential if everything goes right.

The problem now is that we don't have capable guys in the AHL as call ups.

I guess it depends on what comes of Erixon and Andersen, but if you add those two we go at least 9 deep in NHL "capable" players.

 

[Kasperi kapanen]

Call me crazy, but I think we need to split up our 2 best d-men.

Cole-Letang
Maatta-Lovejoy/Dumo
Pouliot-Dumoulin/LJ

That's not crazy at all. It's actually more balanced. Although I would want to put Pouliot with either Cole or Maatta on the 2nd pair. I don't want to ruin his development babysitting Scuderi or Lovejoy.

Cole-Letang
Maatta-Pouliot
Dumo-Lovejoy

 

[ChrisKuuuunitz]

He just better not take any time away from Benny.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

That's not crazy at all. It's actually more balanced. Although I would want to put Pouliot with either Cole or Maatta on the 2nd pair. I don't want to ruin his development babysitting Scuderi or Lovejoy.

Cole-Letang
Maatta-Pouliot
Dumo-Lovejoy

Cole/Letang makes little sense, Cole is the third guy who can play the right side of our 7 D, and our 2nd best right side D.

Dumo Letang
Maatta Cole

may work, but it's very likely we'll see:

Maatta Letang
Pouliot Lovejoy

and I think Dumo/Cole can be a tremendous pair, considering Dumo is more dynamic and a better skater, but Cole is pretty all around solid, and has a blistering shot.

By the post season, that pair could be our 2nd pair and be a strong one at that.

 

[WayneSid9987]

I always entered him as 900k in my armchairs as well.
Pleasantly surprised he came in @ 800k and really should've seen it as a possibility considering he'd probably get a 1-way.

Now if only we could get rid of Scuds, we'd have some healthy competition for the bottom pairing/#7.