Speculation: Brooks Orpik

Darth Vitale

Dark Matter
Aug 21, 2003
28,172
114
Darkness
I'd say there's a slightly less than even chance he stays (in other words more likely he'll go but not by much).

He shouldn't be back, but given how this team handled Dupuis and Kunitz, I won't be surprised if he is.
 

Scandale du Jour

JordanStaal#1Fan
Mar 11, 2002
62,001
28,718
Asbestos, Qc
www.angelfire.com
He'll probably be back (75%), but he shouldn't be.

We have Bortuzzo who is doing really well and Harrington in the A that will be a good defensive d-man. His role can easily be done by younger players. Plus we have Pouliot and Despres who could/should compete for full time spots next year. There is really no place for Orpik, imo. Even Martin should be let go when his contract is up. Niskanen, too. We have young quality cost-controlled d-man, we have to take advantage of it in order to invest into a top line winger for Sid so we can use Kunitz or Dupuis on the third line with Sutter and Bennett/Jokinen/Megna (depending on who we keep beyond this year).
 

cheesedanish87

Registered User
Jun 27, 2012
10,797
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Pittsburgh
There are so many things that will go into this, How does Orpik play this year? What will the cap be next year? How are some of the pens younger def playing? We gotta wait and see how everything plays out.
 

Ugene Magic

EVIL LAUGH
Oct 17, 2008
54,148
18,546
Pittsburgh
It really is a toss up, and him chirpping how good Maatta has been playing, being the D-corps leader as he is, there's no telling until this season/playoffs unfold.


Pens don't win the cup, I say he's resigned.

Pens do win the cup, Shero goes youth and lets Orpik get a final big contract for what's he's worth. He's not getting that here.
 

Ogrezilla

Nerf Herder
Jul 5, 2009
75,534
22,049
Pittsburgh
I fully expect Shero to let him walk. Because I still believe Shero is a very good GM. Keeping Orpik would completely change that for me. It wouldn't just be a bad move on its own, it would make me highly doubt his prospect building and draft strategy of recent years.
 

orby

Registered User
Jun 16, 2013
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Erie, PA
www.youtube.com
From a logical standpoint he shouldn't be re-signed. Too many young guys in the pipeline to justify using a roster spot for a veteran who can really only bring his A-game in the playoffs. Shero has a hardon for vets, though, so you never know.
 

billybudd

Registered User
Feb 1, 2012
22,049
2,249
Expect it's very likely that he walks. Most of the summer signings of old guys were in positions where there wasn't really anybody available to do the same job.

Adams is the only exception, but he also didn't cost anything.

It's also worth noting that Brooks was asked if he'd had extension talks and gave a snarky response that I can't quite remember.
 

Jag68Sid87

Sullivan gots to go!
Oct 1, 2003
35,575
1,249
Montreal, QC
Expect it's very likely that he walks. Most of the summer signings of old guys were in positions where there wasn't really anybody available to do the same job.

Adams is the only exception, but he also didn't cost anything.

It's also worth noting that Brooks was asked if he'd had extension talks and gave a snarky response that I can't quite remember.

The last time, he was practically a Shark or Ranger, then Sid and the Famiglia called and convinced him to stay.

I seriously doubt he's going anywhere. Depp is just depp to this regime, we don't draft guys to replace veterans (necessarily).
 

Captain Hook

Registered User
Jul 12, 2007
15,446
378
Depends on if the cap goes up or not. I think it's time to move on from him though.

I'd like to see Maatta graduate to the top 4 next year and see this lineup.

Scuderi Letang
Maatta Martin
Despres Bortuzzo
 

AquaticBirdman

Registered User
Sep 25, 2007
26,542
374
Montreal, Canada
If this were any other team in the league I would confidently say "no", he won't be returning. However on a team where both our GM and coach seem to have an undying obsession with aging vets (especially tenured ones like Orpik), then I'm not so confident. I can honestly see them offering him another 3 year deal for close to the same amount that he is currently making. Seeing as how Orpik knows he's guaranteed top 4 minutes on this team for the foreseeable future, he'd gladly accept such a deal as well.
 

Skk82

Registered User
Mar 30, 2004
4,136
0
Arlington, VA
Pithy posters can point to Kunitz/Dupuis for players Shero’s held on to, but he’s also let the likes of Gonchar and Cooke go for not wanting to pay them year too long. With the Pens cap situation, and committing 4 years to Scuderi, it pretty much closes the door on Orpik. As we've seen- since the Trib has reported the team didn't start negotiations with the agent yet.

Drop Orpik (and even UFA to be Niskanen) and the team would have:

Letang, Martin, Scuderi, Maatta, Bortuzzo….and then would have 2 spots for: Dumoulin, Despres, Harrington and even Pouliot to battle out for.

Likely they’d add an affordable 4/5 veteran defenseman on a 1-2 year bridge contract (maybe Niskanen?) but it probably won’t be Orpik. He’ll command big bucks and a long contract from someone on reputation alone.
 
Last edited:

IcedCapp

Registered User
Aug 7, 2009
35,854
11,225
1000 ****ing %.


And then we'll pull Fedotenko and Sykora out of cryofreeze, trade Despres for Talbot, sign Ryan Whitney, give up James Neal for Jordan Staal, trade Scuderi+ to the Ducks for Ben Lovejoy, pay Dallas to take Goligoski back, trade Pouliot to the Wild for Cookie

and party like it's 2008!
 

AquaticBirdman

Registered User
Sep 25, 2007
26,542
374
Montreal, Canada
Pithy posters can point to Kunitz/Dupuis for players Shero’s held on to, but he’s also let the likes of Gonchar and Cooke go for not wanting to pay them year too long. With the Pens cap situation, and committing 4 years to Scuderi, it pretty much closes the door on Orpik. As we've seen- since the Trib has reported the team didn't start negotiations with the agent yet.

Drop Orpik (and even UFA to be Niskanen) and the team would have:

Letang, Martin, Scuderi, Maatta, Bortuzzo….and then would have 2 spots for: Dumoulin, Despres, Harrington and even Pouliot to battle out for.

Likely they’d add an affordable 4/5 veteran defenseman on a 1-2 year bridge contract (maybe Niskanen?) but it probably won’t be Orpik. He’ll command big bucks and a long contract from someone on reputation alone.

Don't count out the possibility of Orpik taking a hometown discount though. He's already made quite a bit of money off his current deal, and considering how much pull he has on this team he might be willing to re-sign for slightly less per season than he's making now, in which case Shero won't hesitate to re-sign him.

As for Niskanen, at just 27 years of age there's no way he sticks around for a 1 year deal. Especially not if he ends up putting up around 30+ points this season. Another team out there will definitely be crazy enough to sign him to a multi-year deal at well over 3 million per season.

I also don't think Cooke and Gonchar were good examples. Gonchar was well into his late 30's when he left and managed to completely fleece the Sens with the amount of money they signed him too. Cooke has never in his career managed to land a lucrative deal (for a bottom sixer) so this was a "now or never" type of deal for him with Minnesota. Orpik doesn't fit into either of those categories.
 

MtlPenFan

Registered User
Apr 14, 2010
15,629
754
It depends on how well our current young guys are playing (two rookie D getting paired up and playing significant minutes is very un-Bylsma like) If they continue to blossom, with the rest of the d coming up through the system, Brooks is gone, and good ****ing riddance.

Martin has been rescuing Orpik for 2 seasons now.
 

AjaxTelamon

Registered User
Jul 8, 2011
6,068
1,821
Orpik won't be taking any hometown discounts. There will be a lot of suitors for his services, and he'll need money and term, neither of which we have to give. Add in the acrimony and perceived disrespect for not signing him this past offseason, and even if the Pens offer him a decent deal, he's still less likely to take it.

There is simply no fit between the two parties to make for a deal here, and I would interpret Shero's lack of engagement with Orpik's camp to further cement that position.
 

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