is it happening that Crosby/Malkin penguins are falling from contender status to a mediocre team??

PuckMasterZero

Registered User
Mar 3, 2019
171
154
It could go either way tbh. Sid and Malkin should still be effective enough to build a team around. The prospect pool isn't as bad as people make it out to be but there aren't any surefire superstars in the pipeline. Pittsburgh drafts well in the later rounds and is good with college free agents. We have seen this before where people thought the penguins were on the downswing and they went on to win back to back cups. It comes down to how well GMJR is able to retool and if he continues to make baffling decisions. He is sort of hit or miss with his moves and signings.
 

CartographerNo611

Registered User
Oct 11, 2014
3,049
2,933
Crosby- Looks fine to me
Guentzel- Looks fine to me
Murray- Looks fine to me
Petersson- Looks fine to me
Mccann- Looks great to me
Bugsted- Was always a meh giant marsh mellow
Dummo- Looks fine to me.
Schultz- Looks fine to me but has that Oiler stink in his veins
Gudbranson- Overpaid but is still a solid bottom pairing D
Rust- Came back down to earth, a 3rd liner who can chip in.

Maata- The Finland Cam Barker, a d-man who cant skate backwards lol.

Letang- Always had low hockey IQ, over reliance on forwards to inflate his numbers. Isles shutting down Pens stars exposed him hard for once. Declining a bit.

Malkin- Weak minded, gripping the stick and getting frustrated easily. Talent is still there but is a 13 year old boy stuck in a mans body who skips leg day too much. Declining a bit


Hornqvist- Wear and tear catching up to him. Declining.

Kessel- 30 years old and drinking coca cola all the time. DECLINING

Everyone else is lol. Pens are going to be the post cup Redwings, makes the playoffs for like 5 years in a row but is no real threat for the cup.
 

Iapyi

Registered User
Apr 19, 2017
5,072
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Canadian Prairies
Crosby and Malkin are still good enough to build a championship team around, but it would have to resemble more like 2016 when Crosby was merely required to be just another contributor.

The Pens made some nice moves in picking up Kessel, Hagelin, Bonino, etc. and that line carried Crosby when needed. I don't see why something like that couldn't happen again.

Certainly Crosby is still good enough to play at the same 65 point / 21 goal pace as a minus player (with zero goals and half a primary point per game in the finals) that he did in the 2016 playoffs.

Adorable. Daft but adorable.
 

sharkhawk

Registered User
Jun 1, 2013
1,933
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Aurora, IL
They need more young talent. You can Crosby and malkin but you need kids coming in to fill the depth roles. They hit a home run with guentzal, it they traded away a lot of picks to be able to win those last two cups. It was totally worth it, but they need to retool a bit. Rutherford is not the man for the job, trading for reeves and signing JJ shows that.
 

Sidney the Kidney

One last time
Jun 29, 2009
55,519
46,242
They need more young talent. You can Crosby and malkin but you need kids coming in to fill the depth roles. They hit a home run with guentzal, it they traded away a lot of picks to be able to win those last two cups. It was totally worth it, but they need to retool a bit. Rutherford is not the man for the job, trading for reeves and signing JJ shows that.

Rutherford seems to be one of those GMs who is very good at finding that last piece or two to build a Cup winner, but who struggles when a team has a lot of holes it needs to fill.

He's great at tweaking a contender to put it over the top, but not so good at fixing a flawed roster that needs more than 1 or 2 moves to turn it into a Cup favorite.
 

82Ninety42011

Registered User
Jul 2, 2011
7,527
5,456
Abbotsford BC
They have had a great run but they haven't kept the kids coming and the team is top heavy and nothing in the depth department with the stars getting older as well now. They are far from done but need some kids to start producing as well and give Crosby/Malkin some secondary scoring as well as need someone to step up on defense.
 

PensandCaps

Beddy Tlueger
May 22, 2015
27,612
17,954
No. They got what every contender needs.

The elite #1C- Crosby and Malkin
The elite #1D- Letang
The Rock solid goalie- Murray.


So the Pens have every important position locked down, what they need is depth and speed, and that's easy to acquire with the right moves. They got the Dman,the goalie and the two centres in place. Thats very easy to build around.

I think trading Kessel for depth pieces is a way to go.


Blueger and McCann is a good start in having cheap good players in the top 9 to help Crosby and Malkin. Need more.
 
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Foppberg

Registered User
Nov 20, 2016
24,089
26,539
Summerside, PEI
Nah, but their days of contenders are over. Maybe another conference final or two, Crosby/Malkin are getting up there in age. I wouldn't be shocked to see them win one more if they can make some great trades/signings, but they're in the beginning phase of the early 2010 Wings.
 

BrockLobster

Registered User
Feb 11, 2013
9,769
8,154
Long Beach, NY
No. They got what every contender needs.

The elite #1C- Crosby and Malkin
The elite #1D- Letang
The Rock solid goalie- Murray.


So the Pens have every important position locked down, what they need is depth and speed, and that's easy to acquire with the right moves. They got the Dman,the goalie and the two centres in place. Thats very easy to build around.

I think trading Kessel for depth pieces is a way to go.


Blueger and McCann is a good start in having cheap good players in the top 9 to help Crosby and Malkin. Need more.

Obv i only watch the pens 4x a year. Well 8 times this year. But if letang is a #1 d man then oooof
 

Iapyi

Registered User
Apr 19, 2017
5,072
2,361
Canadian Prairies
No. They got what every contender needs.

The elite #1C- Crosby and Malkin
The elite #1D- Letang
The Rock solid goalie- Murray.


So the Pens have every important position locked down, what they need is depth and speed, and that's easy to acquire with the right moves. They got the Dman,the goalie and the two centres in place. Thats very easy to build around.

I think trading Kessel for depth pieces is a way to go.


Blueger and McCann is a good start in having cheap good players in the top 9 to help Crosby and Malkin. Need more.

Having guys who are clutch performers is important, I'm sure you agree? :naughty:
 

PensandCaps

Beddy Tlueger
May 22, 2015
27,612
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Obv i only watch the pens 4x a year. Well 8 times this year. But if letang is a #1 d man then oooof

Letang was great this year aside from the playoffs. At worst top 5 Dman this year based on his play and the metrics.
 

Iapyi

Registered User
Apr 19, 2017
5,072
2,361
Canadian Prairies
Do you dispute that the Pens' third line carried the team when necessary in 2016 - at times when Crosby was contributing very little?

Yes I do. This bullpoop story line that inexperienced fans try to perpetrate is just that, bullpoop.

Crosby won, and deserved, the Conn Smythe Trophy that year. Him needing to be "carried" by anyone, let alone a soft lazy floater, is hogwash.
 

DearDiary

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Obv i only watch the pens 4x a year. Well 8 times this year. But if letang is a #1 d man then oooof

70 point pace while being the Pens top defensive player and #1 pker. LOL at not being a #1 defensemen, Letang is atleast a top 5 Dman this season. Read the articles on NHL.com, he was in every Norris discussion
 
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DearDiary

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Aug 29, 2010
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Like i said...i dont watch him often...but he was awful v nyi

I've watched 3 Oiler games this season and McDavid looked bad in all 3. If anyone says he's a #1C then oooof
 
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PensandCaps

Beddy Tlueger
May 22, 2015
27,612
17,954
Maybe he was great offensively. But as a D man? Idk. Youd know better. Im just basing my opinion off that 4 game sweep

Letang plays tougher mins than most top tier Dmen in the league.

He got 50/50 Zone starts and PKed a bunch. He was a shutdown Dman this season.

Guys like Burns and Rielly don't PK as much as Letang or get as many Dzone starts. Letang being just an offensive guy is one of the biggest myths on here...he did everything great this year.


Yah last year....he was horrible. But not this year, Great bounce back year for Letang away from and with the puck.
 

PensandCaps

Beddy Tlueger
May 22, 2015
27,612
17,954
70 point pace while being the Pens top defensive player and #1 pker. LOL at not being a #1 defensemen, Letang is atleast a top 5 Dman this season. Read the articles on NHL.com, he was in every Norris discussion

It's amazing that Letang is one of the most underrated players in the world. People have zero idea how good he is and only pay attention when he is having a bad game(every #1Dman is due to have a few bad games based just on how much TOI they get)
 

Midnight Judges

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Feb 10, 2010
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Yes I do. This bullpoop story line that inexperienced fans try to perpetrate is just that, bullpoop.

Crosby won, and deserved, the Conn Smythe Trophy that year. Him needing to be "carried" by anyone, let alone a soft lazy floater, is hogwash.

So when Crosby had 2 secondary assists and 1 ES point against the Capitals as a minus player, and HBK combined for 17 points - that's not being carried in your opinion?!?

You are entitled to your opinion that Crosby deserved a Conn Smythe while playing at a 65 point / 21 goal pace as a minus player, over another player who was playing at a 103 point / 34 goal pace as a plus player.

I do not see how that is remotely justifiable, especially given Crosby's terrible defensive play, but these things are subjective after all.
 
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Sidney the Kidney

One last time
Jun 29, 2009
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So when Crosby had 2 secondary assists and 1 ES point against the Capitals as a minus player, and HBK combined for 17 points - that's not being carried in your opinion?!?

You are entitled to your opinion that Crosby deserved a Conn Smythe while playing at a 65 point / 21 goal pace as a minus player, over another player who was playing at a 103 point / 34 goal pace as a plus player.

I do not see how that is remotely justifiable, especially given Crosby's terrible defensive play, but these things are subjective after all.

If you're talking about Kessel, your math skills are almost as horrendous as your arguments against Crosby. Might want to re-check what 22 points in 24 games works out to over an 82 game season (hint: it's not a 103 point pace).
 

Novak Djokovic

#24 and counting... #GOAT
Dec 10, 2006
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Ok, yes, Crosby did not have a great series in 2016 against the Capitals, but he was no doubt the better player than Kessel in the SCF (and arguably against TB - scoring 3 GWG in that series). Games 1 and 2 of SCF were some of Crosby's greatest playoff games ever. Then again, the biggest game of the entire playoffs (Game 6 of SCF), guess who was better? Crosby.

So no, HBK did not carry Crosby.
 

Iapyi

Registered User
Apr 19, 2017
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Canadian Prairies
So when Crosby had 2 secondary assists and 1 ES point against the Capitals as a minus player, and HBK combined for 17 points - that's not being carried in your opinion?!?

You are entitled to your opinion that Crosby deserved a Conn Smythe while playing at a 65 point / 21 goal pace as a minus player, over another player who was playing at a 103 point / 34 goal pace as a plus player.

I do not see how that is remotely justifiable, especially given Crosby's terrible defensive play, but these things are subjective after all.

You are clearly jaded by factors not determined by the actual play of players.

Saying Crosby is a terrible defensive player is out and out ludicrous and suggests that one may be better off discussing actual hockey with someone else.
 

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