How to replace Olli Maatta?

[Dutchess]

http://twopadstack.net/will-penguins-replace-olli-maatta/

Click to read more...

 

[HandshakeLine]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say "with another defenseman".

 

[DawgPens]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say "with another defenseman".

Yeah, that's pretty much what the posted article said ...

And its author pushed for Ehrhoff and Letang, Martin and Scuds, and Despres and Bort as the #1, #2, and #3 lines ... I would prefer Martin and Letang, Ehrhoff and Despres, and Borts with Scuds.

 

[Woodrow]

When is Bort supposed to ready to play?

 

[IcedCapp]

When is Bort supposed to ready to play?

I believe the official time of return is, "as soon as another defenseman leaves the ice due to some medical issue, like, say, thyroid cancer"

 

[HandshakeLine]

Yeah, that's pretty much what the posted article said ...

And its author pushed for Ehrhoff and Letang, Martin and Scuds, and Despres and Bort as the #1, #2, and #3 lines ... I would prefer Martin and Letang, Ehrhoff and Despres, and Borts with Scuds.

I know.

Real talk-- My pie-in-the-sky dream would be they trade or scratch Scuderi and give Harrington or Dumo a look on the bottom pairing with Bortuzzo for a few weeks, just to gauge how they're developing. You hate to say there's an optimal time to get cancer, but to be honest, Olli's diagnosis and surgery comes at the best possible time outside of the off-season. (Or never.) I'd much rather we experiment with the defense pairings now than in April, plus it gives JR a chance to see what he's working with as far as assets for the trade deadline a few months from now.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

Yeah, that's pretty much what the posted article said ...

And its author pushed for Ehrhoff and Letang, Martin and Scuds, and Despres and Bort as the #1, #2, and #3 lines ... I would prefer Martin and Letang, Ehrhoff and Despres, and Borts with Scuds.

I'd be ok with this in November, if you even out the minutes. The most optimal from a performance perspective is to play your best 4 D men in your actual top 4. Which gives you the Bort/Scuds pairing, that you need to shelter.

 

[DawgPens]

I'd be ok with this in November, if you even out the minutes. The most optimal from a performance perspective is to play your best 4 D men in your actual top 4. Which gives you the Bort/Scuds pairing, that you need to shelter.

Agreed. That's why I dislike the preferred option of the writer of this piece, which puts Scuds in the top 4. Like Handshakeline, I would honestly prefer to get rid of Scuds and try out Harry on the third line. But that's probably not happening in the next month at least ...

 

[WVP]

Fortunate to have 6 legit top 6 guys + Harrington.

Although at this rate someone on the defense is going to get ebola next...

 

[Allie Kitsune]

The thing with Scuds is, even if he's not playing at the abysmal "Scudichar" levels he was playing at last year, the most important thing is to keep him off of the PK.

In fact, I'd make Letang a PK horse, if only because more PK time means he'll be less available for PP time, making Ehrhoff a more plausible possibility.

Maatta is just such a talent that nobody can really replace what he brings right now...

 

[HandshakeLine]

May the record show that I was glad to see Scuderi go and against bringing him back. I also firmly remember how mediocre he was in his prime, so I'm for anything that gets him relegated to the press box or moved as a vet leader to some young playoff team. (Go search my post history if you don't believe me. )

 

[HuskerTornado]

Lets see what Pouliot has...although he apparently hurt his neck a couple nights ago.

 

[HandshakeLine]

The thing with Scuds is, even if he's not playing at the abysmal "Scudichar" levels he was playing at last year, the most important thing is to keep him off of the PK.

In fact, I'd make Letang a PK horse, if only because more PK time means he'll be less available for PP time, making Ehrhoff a more plausible possibility.

Maatta is just such a talent that nobody can really replace what he brings right now...

Oh, the memories that name brings back.

 

[Mister Hockey]

Bortuzzo and Pouliot in and Skuderi out. That should even it out.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Put in Bort and Harrington, take out Scuds.

Voila.

 

[KIRK]

Put in Bort and Harrington, take out Scuds.

Voila.

I'll take a double of whatever you're drinking.

Despres emergence will help to mitigate things a little at ES. Interestingly, the thing that scares me-- and should scare everyone-- is how they replace Maatta on the PK. The PK suddenly got good when he and to a lesser extent Letang became the go-to-guys over Martin and Scuderi.

No Maatta at ES means more Despres. It will be ok. No Maatta on the PK means more Martin and Scuderi. I'm not so sure that will be.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I'll take a double of whatever you're drinking.

Despres emergence will help to mitigate things a little at ES. Interestingly, the thing that scares me-- and should scare everyone-- is how they replace Maatta on the PK. The PK suddenly got good when he and to a lesser extent Letang became the go-to-guys over Martin and Scuderi.

No Maatta at ES means more Despres. It will be ok. No Maatta on the PK means more Martin and Scuderi. I'm not so sure that will be.

Harry would thrive there - I think he's even better than Maatta on the PK - but I can't see him even getting on the ice with Bort returning, let alone taking on a significant PK role right away.

Maybe they give Bort some PK time, which I would be fine with.

 

[KIRK]

Harry would thrive there - I think he's even better than Maatta on the PK - but I can't see him even getting on the ice with Bort returning, let alone taking on a significant PK role right away.

Maybe they give Bort some PK time, which I would be fine with.

Borts definitely would be better, but I didn't mention him OR Harry because I don't see the staff going that way. I see more Martin and Scuderi being their solution.

At ES, I see more Despres actually happening, which is why I think the loss of Maatta can be partially offset at ES.

Thing is, after tomorrow night, the Pens are losing their best defenseman for about a month, so just saying 'well, next man up', Tomlin style (as some here, not you, but some, have), seems a little cavalier.

 

[jmelm]

Bortuzzo WILL replace Maatta in the line up. This is what I expect to see:

Ehrhoff--Letang
Despres--Martin
Scuderi--Bortuzzo

...with the only other possibility being Borts plays with Martin on the 2nd pair and Despres & Scuds stay together. And it wouldn't surprise me if those two pairs get changed up back & forth, while the Ehrhoff-Letang pair remains static.

AND, Harrington will be called up to act as the #7, but I don't expect he'll play. As much as we want him to, we need to give Borts his playing time. This is his training camp, and we need him to be in prime form when Maatta returns.......so we can Scuds out of the line up at that time

 

[Speaking Moistly]

I'll take a double of whatever you're drinking.

Despres emergence will help to mitigate things a little at ES. Interestingly, the thing that scares me-- and should scare everyone-- is how they replace Maatta on the PK. The PK suddenly got good when he and to a lesser extent Letang became the go-to-guys over Martin and Scuderi.

No Maatta at ES means more Despres. It will be ok. No Maatta on the PK means more Martin and Scuderi. I'm not so sure that will be.

The god damn PK is a pretty big concern in all of this, and they just got it working. Aside from what Maatta does independently you've got to worry about what's going on with Adams and Scuderi and their issues. Presumably it will be Bortuzzo and I like him but Jesus Christ will he not make up for one of them.

How many games is Maatta going to miss, again? This could be a blow, idek what to say about how valuable a 20 year old is to this team.

 

[Klifton]

Ehrhoff and Martin are still working on building chemistry. Let them keep working on it. When Maatta comes back, those two will likely be partners again. So they need to get in sync.

Put Despres with Letang while Maatta is out. The big question is, as I posted in the roster building thread, what happens if Despres is good there? At the very least, it will show whether he can step into Martin's spot if we ship him off for a winger. Hell, if he is good enough, it may even effect our plans in regards to extending Ehrhoff, or letting him go someplace else.

 

[KIRK]

The god damn PK is a pretty big concern in all of this, and they just got it working. Aside from what Maatta does independently you've got to worry about what's going on with Adams and Scuderi and their issues. Presumably it will be Bortuzzo and I like him but Jesus Christ will he not make up for one of them.

How many games is Maatta going to miss, again? This could be a blow, idek what to say about how valuable a 20 year old is to this team.

I don't know if it will be THAT catastrophic. I just wanted to emphasize the link between Maatta's increased usage, the decreased reliance on Martin and Scuderi, and the improvement in the PK.

First instinct from the coaches, I think, will be to up minutes for Martin and Scuderi on the PK. I'd rather try the other three options first.

 

[Darth Vitale]

NO shortage of options. It will be either Bort or Harrington or a mix of both IMO.

 

[roquay]

Let's just stuck to cloning.

 

[cheesedanish87]

Losing Maatta for a month might cost the pens a game or two in November, but i think it will be good in the long run for Maatta, the time out of the lineup should help him once the playoffs get going.