Confirmed with Link: Going Full Rutherford (or: He Traded Elmer for The Reverend.)

[Riptide]

Click to read more...

 

[HuskerTornado]

Make it go away.

 

[MrBurghundy]

Brandon Sutter... not the problem...

Max Lapierre... not the problem...

Craig Adams... not the problem...

Rob Scuderi... not the problem...

Simon Despres.

The problem.

Beau Bennett, soon to be the problem.

 

[Waffle Fries]

Beau Bennett, soon to be the problem.

I'm sure Pouliot would also be the problem if he wasn't the coach's pet.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Kind of reminds me of when the Caps traded Forsberg for next to nothing and it was universally panned.

And that worked out for the Caps.

Oh wait.

 

[Pens1566]

Ugh, I would have been upset even if it was Dumolin for Lovejoy.

 

[stardog]

Haven't posted in awhile. New house out in the country side. Beautiful and secluded but leaves a lot to be desired for modern conveniences.

I do not like this trade.

If this trade was made for a "win now" mentality I don't think a guy like Lovejoy puts us all that much closer to said goal in relation to potential lost potential as well as yet another example of crappy asset management. I see far to many issues that will hinder this team from winning the cup that the addition of Lovejoy doesn't come close to making up.
Furthermore, if the team is selling this as a try to win now move, and they do NOTHING to account for the bigger issues (Scuderi, Kunitz Adams being given prominent roles which their play doesn't seem to be deserving of) then why make this move at all? Despres could have been a better option at a win now next year or the year after when the team is in a much better position to actually make a legit run than Lovejoy is now when the team isn't in a commanding position.

Lovejoy is a finished product for the most part. Despres is still evolving and still growing. And as much as his successes for the Ducks have been touted in this thread, he has digressed or stalled this season to the point of being a healthy scratch recently despite the Ducks banged up blueline. Yes, he made strides when he left the Pens...but took a step backwards this year which was why the Ducks have been trying to unload him.

I realize that it doesn't work this way literally, but we have turned a 2009 first round pick into Anthony Angello (the 4th rounder we got from the Ducks in the Lovejoy deal). Just crap asset management.

I see the potential of Despres and see what he could have possibly provided the Pens in a year or 2 and I see what Lovejoy gives us now...at a juncture when the cup is a longshot and this deal just reeks of a PR move...or a move by the "cool kids" in the organization, a group that Simon was never a part of. A PR move to sale to the dolts who think that Craig Adams is a proven and valuable defensive warrior/leader which every team would love to have.

Yeah, Benny is better defensively than Despres atm, but nowhere near to the degree that would make a cup run more feasible.

Furthermore, it's just another deal for an average vet who brings nothing which we don't already have that will potentially block the NHL development of players which we need to develop. It's a trade in an area that we have a strength of and it does ZERO to address our weaknesses.

 

[MrBurghundy]

I'm sure Pouliot would also be the problem if he wasn't the coach's pet.

That's kinda the point though isn't it?

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I mean it's a goofy trade but the whole "Obviously this means Despres was regarded as a/the problem" thing is goofier.

 

[Night Shift]

Make it go away.

IF.. the Ducks start benching Despres for said reasons (and maybe the same reasons) that we don't understand than maybe there was more to the story. I guess we will have to wait and see.

 

[Ugene Magic]

From previous thread.

Pretty much the only thing in question.

MrBurgundy:

And that somehow justifies only getting Lovejoy back in return?

The problem isn't Despres got traded, it's what they got, or more precisely didn't get, for him.

 

[gordie]

Let's see how Sutter and Lapierre perform in the playoffs before you dump on them. Fans that do that will be the first ones to sing their praises.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Seems like this one was a very last minute deal as well cuz Lovejoy was told he wasn't going to be traded.

My guess is, one of JR's underlings (Botteril, Guerin, Fitzpatrick) wanted Lovejoy back REAL BAD and not 1 of them stuck up for Despres when his name came up. Sad but true.

 

[Jacob]

to whoever said this:

...because we don't have an exact surplus of F prospects ready to contribute in the big show? DP is a different case since he is a d-man and Despres ended up being the odd man out of those quality guys. I don't think for a second that GMJR would have given e.g. Dumoulin straight-up for Lovejoy.

Dumoulin is the same age as Despres.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I'm still holding out hope for JR & Co. to solve this mess during the summer. While the Despres-Lovejoy trade was horrendous, the vast majority of his moves since being named GM have been fantastic.

If by October, we have a Perron/Hornqvist-caliber (or better) winger for Geno, and we've parted ways with Sutter, Scuderi, Kunitz, Adams, Martin and Ehrhoff, I will be ecstatic. We'll see what happens though.

For the record, I still don't really give a **** about the Bortuzzo trade. He was never going to be anything more than a bottom pairing guy here, if that. I liked his physicality, but he wasn't a good enough hockey player to deserve a consistent roster spot.

 

[Waffle Fries]

to whoever said this:



Dumoulin is the same age as Despres.

And worse at hockey.

 

[clefty]

I mean it's a goofy trade but the whole "Obviously this means Despres was regarded as a/the problem" thing is goofier.

Good God, yes.

 

[drpepper]

So next year:

Maatta-Letang
#2D-Lovejoy
Scuderi-#6D
#7D

So is Pouliot automatically in the top 4 next year? Does Scuderi move up to the second pairing?

Is Dumoulin actually part of this team's future? He gotten limited NHL time, and both Harrington and Pouliot have been called up before him and stayed longer.

Is Harrington up full-time next year?

Is Ian Cole re-signed?

 

[tinkezione]

@stardog: Kunitz, Scuderi et al. was not addressed because the return would not have been even serviceable players. We don't need picks for those guys when we need actual bodies on the rink in different roles. This year, I'd definitely play Scuderi over Harrington or Dumoulin and there is no such forward in the whole system available that could replace Kunitz in second/third line role. In 14 months, things certainly look different, but this year it is what it is. Very unfortunate with Määttä and Dupuis out.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

The way NHL management and NHL fans value veterans vs. young players is almost always inverse. So asking whether or not they got a good enough return for Despres seems kind of foolish to me.

Which isn't to say no one will be asking why they traded him for Ben Lovejoy if Despres is an all-star or unquestioned rock of Anaheim's defense soon. But as of right now his value around the league simply isn't that high.

 

[IcedCapp]

how does one get experience being a Penguin?

how many young players can you have at once?

If it's only one, how can DP, Harrington, Dumo, and Maatta all co-exist?

 

[Waffle Fries]

So next year:

Maatta-Letang
#2D-Lovejoy
Scuderi-#6D
#7D

So is Pouliot automatically in the top 4 next year? Does Scuderi move up to the second pairing?

Is Dumoulin actually part of this team's future? He gotten limited NHL time, and both Harrington and Pouliot have been called up before him and stayed longer.

Is Harrington up full-time next year?

Is Ian Cole re-signed?

I wasn't for it before, but after this trade I really hope we find a way to get Boychuk.

 

[Riptide]

In 2 months from now, would you have rather headed into the postseason with Despres than Lovejoy?

If I was looking at a 7 games series and not looking past this year at all? I think Lovejoy has a better defensive game. While I think Despres is better with the puck, better in transition, better in the offensive zone and significantly more physical. Honestly it would come down to more the makeup of the D and how much we needed each skill set. So for 1 playoff run I could see it being debated.

However given that the NHL isn't a 1 year thing, and that teams need to constantly develop talent, and based on their ages... Despres hands down.

I was fine with going into the playoffs with Despres as the 4-5 guy with either Ehrhoff or Scuderi. I would have been more comfortable with him on the 3rd pairing, but with his physical game, I could have lived with him on the 2nd pairing due to Maatta's injury.

Here's a better question. Does having Lovejoy over Despres suddenly put us over the top when it comes to winning a cup this season?

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

how does one get experience being a Penguin?

how many young players can you have at once?

If it's only one, how can DP, Harrington, Dumo, and Maatta all co-exist?

At least one of those guys is probably getting traded within the next couple years.

I'd guess Harrington first.

 

[BeautiPhil]

Last year, I took a year away from following hockey closely. My time was occupied with other hobbies as well as university and work.

I now know why I needed that break from hockey, because I really get too personally involved in my team, and I let the idiotic decision making of this organization infuriate me. Following the Penguins org "loosely" is just better for me. This trade is a reminder for me of that.