Dustin Jeffrey

[Ogrezilla]

I have a feeling my hate for Craig mother****ing Adams is going to reach new heights this season.

Its tough, because I honestly do like him. He's a great guy. I don't think I'd mind him if he was used properly. Which at this point means as the 13th forward if its a 4th liner who gets hurt. I blame Disco for my disdain of Adams.

 

[Jacob]

We don't need to waive Adams to keep Jeffrey. We have 13 forwards right now.

I'd like to see Jeffrey play with Glass and Vitale on the fourth line and move up when injuries hit. Jeffrey has all the tools to be successful on this team. He's versatile, he's smart, and he can score ugly goals off the rush.

I agree with this, I think that's a 4th line that gives you truculence but also has enough skill to possess the puck and chip in offensively. I think Jeffrey can be more than just a 4th liner too. he can play on special teams and even take the odd shift with Sid or Geno should the need arise.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Before his injury, a lot of the board was pretty high on him as a two-way player - even projecting him as a good 3rd line center down the road.

If he can get back to that form, we'll have some nice scoring depth and flexibility moving forward.

 

[MrBurghundy]

We don't need to waive Adams to keep Jeffrey. We have 13 forwards right now.

Its not so much about waiving him as it is not playing him.

 

[wgknestrick]

Its not so much about waiving him as it is not playing him.

Waiving him means we don't have to keep bringing his name up in these threads ever again. Is he considered our property now (since we signed him to his last contract) or does CHI get first dibs on him if we sent him back down to WBS (since we claimed him off their waivers)?

Nonetheless, he is and has been a fringe NHL talent for the last 4 years. He is as easily replaceable of a player as you can get. Pens get better when he isn't playing...that should tell you something.

I just can't believe the Pens are benching a young, near PPG, AHL player in preference of Adams.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Waiving him means we don't have to keep bringing his name up in these threads ever again. Is he considered our property now (since we signed him to his last contract) or does CHI get first dibs on him if we sent him back down to WBS (since we claimed him off their waivers)?

Nonetheless, he is and has been a fringe NHL talent for the last 4 years. He is as easily replaceable of a player as you can get. Pens get better when he isn't playing...that should tell you something.

I just can't believe the Pens are benching a young, near PPG, AHL player in preference of Adams.

Chicago is completely out of the picture at this point. I don't know the exact rules on waivers like that, but I know it doesn't last 4 years.

As far as your assessment of him playing over Jeffrey, I 100% agree. There is no good reason for it.

 

[ColePens]

Thank you for posting this. I was seriously just planning to log-on to these boards and post the "Official Dustin Jeffrey Appreciation Thread" (which I think you should rename this thread to, please)


I say this because I truly believe that this is a topic, and hence thread, that will be revisited throughout the season. I have been a big Jeffrey supporter since his last year or two in the AHL, and then his call-up in NHL as a rookie in which he performed admirably, and may very well have been the difference in what was a very small margin of error series against Tampa Bay, had he not been injured.


Last year was a write-off for Jeffrey because he didn't quite come back as quickly into full health as Geno, and not being Geno, he did not get the automatic re-introducton into our line-up. Now, after lots of time to heal, a productive time in Europe, and to see that he has not lost any of the speed that he has gained over the years of working on his skating, I think this guy has real serious potential. I posted a week or two ago about Jeffrey's versatility and how he has the ability to QB a PP from either the half-wall or from the point, like Ron Francis did for us, and then he showed us just that very touch, by being part of a beautiful play from the point the other night in the instra-squad game.


The fact remains: Jeffrey still has amongst the VERY best (I would say top-5) hockey sense among all Penguin players within the organization, and is extremely versatile as you suggest. And no: he is not going to supplant Brandon Sutter as the 3rd line C here in Pittsburgh, and it remains to be seen to what degree he can translate his game to LW and whether or not he will out-perform Tangradi in the role of LW on either Geno's line, or perhaps even Sid's line. But at the very least, I believe he should be our 4th line centre (and is more than capable of being double-shifted to create extra offense with Sid or Geno and has the skill & smarts to play with those guys), while being flanked by Glass on LW and Vitale on RW, with the latter taking draws on certain sides of the ice. And he is the only guy right now in our organization at the centre-ice position who has the legitimate ability to step up to a top-6 or top-9 role in the event of injury (Blueger may be there in 3 or 4 years, but isn't there now).


I think on a lot of other treams, Jeffrey could not only be a VERY good 3rd line centre, but may even prove worthy of being a quality top-2 line centre in the NHL someday. I am thrilled to have him locked up in our organiziation at a great cap hit, and if he gets the ice time and 2nd unit PP time he deserves, I think he could make a very good impact and be a really good player for us over the next few seasons -- and may ultimately bring us a VERY good return in a trade in a few years if our top guns are healthy and if Jeffrey proves to be capable of a higher role than he can attain in Pittsburgh. I do, indeed, hope this is a thread and a topic we revisit often throughout the course of this season, and hopefully a deep playoff run. He has the chance to be a real impact player for us, both in terms of offense, and in terms of the PK and other "little" things within the game. Fingers crossed.

I will give you credit for your analysis and your love for Jeffrey's game, but I can't agree with you one bit regarding his overall value. There is no way he is a second line center from what we've seen on any team. Not even close.

I think his awareness on the ice, as you mentioned, is definitely worth being noted. He's a very intelligent player. I also will even say I wish he was given a chance on a 3rd line to play. Unfortunately, I'm not ever giving him Sutter's spot, so he's on the wrong team. It's guys like Letestu/Jeffrey/Strait/Reese/etc. that I hope go to different teams to get an actual shot to show their skills. I think Jeffrey is AT BEST a 3rd line center due to his hockey sense.

Here is where we start the argument. DJ is not fast enough or strong enough at this point in time. I can blame some of that on the injury. He gets pushed around and beaten to pucks. His hockey sense usually helps him outsmart oppositions and be in the right place, but it does not make up fully for what he cannot do. I'm not trying to be mean, but he's an average player at best right now. If we lose him, I could see him floating around to team to team and not being used correctly.

I agree with you he should be centering that 4th line w/ Glass and Vitale. Why? Because Glass/Vitale are the grit we need and Jeffrey can make defensive plays that we need. I'd trust that line out there no matter what. How Adams keeps getting ice time is beyond me. I can't stand it. He's a perfect spot there but he will only ever be a 4th line center on this team. He'll never be a top 6 winger like some people want to try. He will never be the 3rd line center. He doesn't have the skill.

So to me.. put him on the 4th line or trade him. He's not being used correctly and serves no purpose floating in/out of a line up. He's a smart player. Smart players play every night. They don't come in and shine playing 1-2 shifts.

 

[jmelm]

How does DJ's skating look this year? Back to where it was before the knee injury?

I would personally like to see Jeffrey in the line-up with Adams as the 13th.

From the few glimpes that I saw when he got into game action last year, I remember saying to myself "wow, it doesn't look like Jeffrey's skating took a hit from the injury at all", and was generally impressed that the speed he seemed to gain from all the work he put in before the ACL injury was still pretty much present. I imagine his skating would be as good or better now that he has had more time since then to train and play, but guys here who have seen him live or more often could better comment than me.

Before his injury, a lot of the board was pretty high on him as a two-way player - even projecting him as a good 3rd line center down the road.

If he can get back to that form, we'll have some nice scoring depth and flexibility moving forward.

I remember getting reemed out hard 2 or 3 years ago saying that Jeffrey could one day make a great replacement as a 3rd line C for Staal, if the latter got moved. Now, clearly, Jeffrey isn't going to steal Brandon Sutter's spot, so I think we will give him the chance to succeed here as both a centre on the 4th line, on the 2nd PP, as well as the chance to play wing on one of the top-2 lines. If he can only find success at the C position and doesn't work well on wing, and yet produces as well as some of us hope he does, he will outgrow his role here and we'll have to trade him, but as we know, centres have probably the best trade value in the NHL.

I will give you credit for your analysis and your love for Jeffrey's game, but I can't agree with you one bit regarding his overall value. There is no way he is a second line center from what we've seen on any team. Not even close.

I should clarify my statement. What I meant was: if Jeffrey is able to continue the upward trajectory he was on pre-injury, I believe he could be a top-6 centre on a lot of teams. In the past I compared him to Mikko Koivu (or at least a poor-man's MK). If I was a team like Calgary who needs a C for Iginla, Toronto who needs a playmaking C for Kessel, or Phoenix who need centremen badly period, I would be seriously looking at this player.


Now again, that was pre-injury of course. But his ascenson & progression at the AHL level was spectacular, and he carried it right through and didn't look out of place here when he was forced to play on one of the top-2 or 3 lines. If he can do that, he could be a key contributor in Pittsburgh for the next couple of years, and eventually could be a really nice trade chip.

 

[Sivek]

Jeffrey is definitely a better player than Tangradi but just can't catch a break with the coaching staff. I can see him ending up with some other team next year that gives him regular playing time and end up a very solid player for a low cost. I have little doubt that he would outproduce Tangradi while playing on Geno's line.

With the Pens, he's likely to be scratched in favor of Adams.

Jeffrey's produced and exceeded expectations at every level and looked very solid during his 2010-11 NHL stint before getting hurt. I would be very surprised to see him not become a solid NHL level player with some team. He's a smart player that's defensively responsible and can provide more offense than most bottom-6'ers of a similar profile. Really seems like the kind of player DB would be all over.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

I have a feeling my hate for Craig mother****ing Adams is going to reach new heights this season.

Wait til he becomes our next head coach !!!