Confirmed with Link: Kap files for salary arbitration, still has no idea what he's doing in any zone

[Honour Over Glory]

I would wager we’ll see at least 1-2 PTO’s for that extra spot, lets just hope it’s a solid PTO because we know if it’s a grizzled veteran, they’ll get playing time and a contract.

I still don’t think the team is even 70% sold on keeping Marcus Pettersson (apparently he was the one dangled for Petry but they wanted the local lad and obvious upgrade over Pettersson).

So I would wager it’s either Pettersson or Dumoulin out and given the long term contracts Hextall has punted, I would put money on Pettersson still being dangled with POJ & Smith battling it out for the LD spot with Friedman or another UFA signing is coming in to help stabilize the D. If that’s the case, I would like to see another D moved out (Ruhwedel since Friedman should get his slot).

I still want Niku signed to like a 1yr deal, slide him to WBS and let him develop there or maybe he wins a spot. I like his skating and puck moving ability, but Reirden would really have his hands full then.

 

[tom_servo]

The fact is Sullivan came in as head coach and immediately started calling up youth from WBS. Fast forward and he wins two cups. Then he somehow turns into Bylsma and won't play youth. Zohorna and DOC both showed speed, grit, tenacity and hustle in the limited chances they got and still produced in those limited chances. It's not unreasonable for fans who understand the cap era to want to see more of that.

DOC and Zohorna are closer to the level of Tom Kuhnhackl than Rust, Sheary, or Jake. I'm pretty sure they could've won without Tom Kuhnhackl.

Claiming DOC produced even under those circumstances is generous.

If Sullivan lacked a history of success with young players I'd be more skeptical of his decisions. But I don't think they need to throw shit against the wall either. Players are evaluated in practice. We're just hungry for good young talent and we don't have much. That's the hard truth.

 

[tom_servo]

Ok…

Angello was someone I wanted to see up over seeing Boyle get played too much, but it was a name of many I had mentioned I wanted to see at least tried one or two games on the 4th line at the time - Bellerive was another, Gruden who I was impressed with in WBS with his mature 2-way game, Hollander a little raw but would have been interesting there too.

Heinen I was never a fan of but he was getting a lot of top 6 time for being a ghost for long stretches, he scored 6 goals his first month, then 3 goals the 2 month, then you have Rodrigues from Game 34 to Game 82 he was getting top powerplay time, top 6 time and put up 3 goals.

The point is that you don’t know what you have until you put them in a spot to see if they fit, if you don’t try it, you never know. Puustinen should have had more than 1 game. Drew O’Connor showed for a 5 game stretch he was capable of doing more but was basically stuck to Boyle most of his time up which is just not fair usage for a young lad that has higher upside than that, the coach was so busy trying to just win games to win games than actually making sure they don’t run into issues for a team that has major injury issues.

I was also the “annoying wanker“ that kept saying Tristan Jarry was getting over played and Sullivan was going to get him hurt - Low and behold, my f***ing shitty prediction came to fruition much to all of our disdain.

I think so many here forget how much of this is very familiar and want to lie to themselves that it isn’t the same because I guess it’s a coping method. But winning games during the regular season to only have the same result in the playoffs, while a lot is injuries and what not, there are things that could have been avoided. If Jarry didn’t have the craziest workload in the last 30 games of his regular season, he’d still be healthy. If we saw more of Puustinen, Doc, etc in different top 6 usage, when players went cold, we’d have something to see as options. If POJ was tried for more than a few games, we would see what the defense options could be if some blokes laid eggs or got hurt (Dumoulin).

You plan for contingencies and all possible scenarios and prep for the playoffs at a certain point, I feel like this coach f***ed us before the playoffs started and then the third goalie became the story. Without anyone realizing we should have never been in that position if Jarry wasn’t playing like 95% of the starts in his last 25-30 game stretch.

By that logic Casey DeSmith should've been super fresh. But no, he got injured. Random.

Can't believe you're blaming a coach for a goalie's broken bone. If Jarry simply wore down and had poor numbers I'd be with you.

Jarry wasn't even that overplayed. Even stretching his "crazy" streak over the entire season results in what, 65, 66 games played? It's amongst the league leaders but that's all.

 

[HandshakeLine]

DOC and Zohorna are closer to the level of Tom Kuhnhackl than Rust, Sheary, or Jake. I'm pretty sure they could've won without Tom Kuhnhackl.

Claiming DOC produced even under those circumstances is generous.

If Sullivan lacked a history of success with young players I'd be more skeptical of his decisions. But I don't think they need to throw shit against the wall either. Players are evaluated in practice. We're just hungry for good young talent and we don't have much. That's the hard truth.

Yes and no. It's not that any one of those depth guys was irreplaceable, but precisely the opposite. Those B2B teams relied pretty much on a stream of youngish, fresh bodies there. Once one gets injured or drops off, scratch 'em, send 'em down. Signing someone like McGinn to stay on L4 does nothing for us.

 

[tom_servo]

Yes and no. It's not that any one of those depth guys was irreplaceable, but precisely the opposite. Those B2B teams relied pretty much on a stream of youngish, fresh bodies there. Once one gets injured or drops off, scratch 'em, send 'em down. Signing someone like McGinn to stay on L4 does nothing for us.

Different problem in my mind, but I agree. They stuffed up the roster too much. We can see with the ongoing retention of picks and trading for young projects that there's a slightly different M.O. this year. At least I hope so.

Goddamn, Brock McGinn has three years left.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

By that logic Casey DeSmith should've been super fresh. But no, he got injured. Random.

Can't believe you're blaming a coach for a goalie's broken bone. If Jarry simply wore down and had poor numbers I'd be with you.

Jarry wasn't even that overplayed. Even stretching his "crazy" streak over the entire season results in what, 65, 66 games played? It's amongst the league leaders but that's all.

Having a reliable backup was another topic that me and of all people, Gurglesons, mentioned several times. Trading for even someone like Craig Anderson at the time.

But yes, his jump in games is different when he has never played that much before and after the year he's trying to erase, managing that would have been better. But then this staff has done that before. When Murray needed to be challenged, they threw him easy lobs which were obvious and he still f***ed those up.

Also it wasn't the workload it was the way it was spread out. It wasn't. The last stretch before he got hurt he had to come in for cds on his games off and was playing far too many too often and not getting a break and his numbers started to become inconsistent. That would indicate some breaks were needed to refocus and allowing the goalie to then get into a groove again to play out of funks. Which Jarry was more than capable of but he looked and played tired. Mistakes he were making were ones you see when it's tired mental mistakes.

I guess Sully really can do no wrong to you blokes. Apparently easy to ignore games you've watched entirely.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Different problem in my mind, but I agree. They stuffed up the roster too much. We can see with the ongoing retention of picks and trading for young projects that there's a slightly different M.O. this year. At least I hope so.

Goddamn, Brock McGinn has three years left.

I really don't mind Brock. I just don't like the idea of him being handcuffed to the 4th line when he should be used with Carter. But it is what it is. Brock was perfectly fine before his injury. The version of Brock we got back after his injury layoff was clearly still hindered.

What I like about Hextalls moves is he dumped term. Marino and Matheson had 5 and 4yrs left. Petry has 3 and a higher cap hit but at least he's serviceable.

Pettersson is the term I want gone.


Also I hate to say and think it out loud but Blueger is probably gone either this summer or before the trade deadline.

 

[tom_servo]

Having a reliable backup was another topic that me and of all people, Gurglesons, mentioned several times. Trading for even someone like Craig Anderson at the time.

But yes, his jump in games is different when he has never played that much before and after the year he's trying to erase, managing that would have been better. But then this staff has done that before. When Murray needed to be challenged, they threw him easy lobs which were obvious and he still f***ed those up.

Also it wasn't the workload it was the way it was spread out. It wasn't. The last stretch before he got hurt he had to come in for cds on his games off and was playing far too many too often and not getting a break and his numbers started to become inconsistent. That would indicate some breaks were needed to refocus and allowing the goalie to then get into a groove again to play out of funks. Which Jarry was more than capable of but he looked and played tired. Mistakes he were making were ones you see when it's tired mental mistakes.

I guess Sully really can do no wrong to you blokes. Apparently easy to ignore games you've watched entirely.

Sully can do plenty wrong as his team's performance in '19 and '20 perfectly demonstrates. I'm just not really seeing it with Jarry's broken foot (and "underplaying" whatever scraps we got in the cupboard.)
If Jarry had collapsed in the playoffs like he did in '21 then I'd agree. But that's not what happened.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Sully can do plenty wrong as his team's performance in '19 and '20 perfectly demonstrates. I'm just not really seeing it with Jarry's broken foot (and "underplaying" whatever scraps we got in the cupboard.)
If Jarry had collapsed in the playoffs like he did in '21 then I'd agree. But that's not what happened.

I think letting the team play undisciplined is something he'd have under control but yeah it's whatever. Still doesn't erase the other first round exits excluding the Isles and Rangers series the last two.

The lack of youth that should have had a longer look leaves a bad taste. Puus needs to be set free on the roster.

 

[tom_servo]

I think letting the team play undisciplined is something he'd have under control but yeah it's whatever. Still doesn't erase the other first round exits excluding the Isles and Rangers series the last two.

The lack of youth that should have had a longer look leaves a bad taste. Puus needs to be set free on the roster.

I'm with you on Puustinen. His debut was inspiring. Seemed to earn at least one more game directly after that. I'm hoping he and POJ get serious looks early on.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I'm with you on Puustinen. His debut was inspiring. Seemed to earn at least one more game directly after that. I'm hoping he and POJ get serious looks early on.

I really hope they have insane camps and Hextall makes room for them.

I still get the sense Blueger is not finishing the season as a Penguin.

 

[Pengu]

There is no way Hextall dumps Pettersson and throws Smith/POJ on the 2nd pairing. Pure delusion...
Only way he leaves is if another d comes the other way...

 

[Rakell67]

By that logic Casey DeSmith should've been super fresh. But no, he got injured. Random.

Can't believe you're blaming a coach for a goalie's broken bone. If Jarry simply wore down and had poor numbers I'd be with you.

Jarry wasn't even that overplayed. Even stretching his "crazy" streak over the entire season results in what, 65, 66 games played? It's amongst the league leaders but that's all.

I agree Jarry was being overplayed but DeSmith was dealing with something early in the season that he overcame and began playing much better. Domingue broke his foot at some point as well.
When Jarry got hurt I didn't understand why he was still playing so much. After the playoffs, I remember seeing about DeSmith that he got hurt with a month or so left in the season and was "dealing" with it but it became too much in G1.
Including Lindberg starting well in WBS and then getting hurt, it was a horrible season for Penguins goalies regarding injuries. Here's to hoping this year they have better luck.

 

[ronduguayshair]

Having a reliable backup was another topic that me and of all people, Gurglesons, mentioned several times. Trading for even someone like Craig Anderson at the time.

But yes, his jump in games is different when he has never played that much before and after the year he's trying to erase, managing that would have been better. But then this staff has done that before. When Murray needed to be challenged, they threw him easy lobs which were obvious and he still f***ed those up.

Also it wasn't the workload it was the way it was spread out. It wasn't. The last stretch before he got hurt he had to come in for cds on his games off and was playing far too many too often and not getting a break and his numbers started to become inconsistent. That would indicate some breaks were needed to refocus and allowing the goalie to then get into a groove again to play out of funks. Which Jarry was more than capable of but he looked and played tired. Mistakes he were making were ones you see when it's tired mental mistakes.

I guess Sully really can do no wrong to you blokes. Apparently easy to ignore games you've watched entirely.

You’re the greatest hindsight hockey mind I’ve ever witness. Your are my hindsight hero.

 

[jmelm]

The problem with Kapanen is that he's the guy where plays go to die. He doesn't have the hockey sense, playmaking ability, lack of pure finishing skills, lack of creativity and unpredictability. He does the same shit every time he enters the zone where he pulls up and looks for a trailer to pass to but never makes anything happen, and he refuses to drive to the net.

He's basically a square peg (energy forward with minimal offensive upside but refusal to drive to the net or go to the dirty areas like most bottom 6 forwards) who he and the team hopes/thinks he's actually a round peg (offensive player). Factor in his salary, our lack of cap space, and our overall lineup construction that has put him into a middle 6 role where he is unable to perform commensurately with his salary and role, and it's a recipe for disaster.

He would be fine if he was used in a 4th line role or paid like 4th liner. He didn't even shown he can be a consistent contributor on the 3rd line last year. That's why he has to go unless he's signing a 1 year deal for about $1.5M tops.

p.s. I'm tired of making excuses for McGinn. Yes, he looked really good in the first bit of the season, but he had A LOT of time post injury to get his game back together. I can understand needing 10-15 or even 20 games, but by the end of the season and the playoffs, he should have been able to get back to his early season form and didn't. I could make a similar statement about Blueger, who simply didn't step up to seize the opportunity when Malkin was out of the lineup in the regular season, or in the playoffs in general.

 

[Pens x]

Sleepy really needed to can Sully.

 

[HandshakeLine]

The problem with Kapanen is that he's the guy where plays go to die. He doesn't have the hockey sense, playmaking ability, lack of pure finishing skills, lack of creativity and unpredictability. He does the same shit every time he enters the zone where he pulls up and looks for a trailer to pass to but never makes anything happen, and he refuses to drive to the net.

Kapanen reminds me a lot of a cross between Pascal Dupuis and Carl Hagelin, to be honest. I'm actually kind of surprised we didn't try him with Sid whose game meshes a lot with those kind of straight ahead non-creative players.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Kapanen reminds me a lot of a cross between Pascal Dupuis and Karl Haglin, to be honest. I'm actually kind of surprised we didn't try him with Sid whose game meshes a lot with those kind of straight ahead non-creative players.

Those dudes were able to excel because they're smart players, particularly Dupuis, imo. Kap's like a better Rico Fata. All the tools to succeed but squirrel-brained.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Those dudes were able to excel because they're smart players, particularly Dupuis, imo. Kap's like a better Rico Fata. All the tools to succeed but squirrel-brained.

Hagelin is certainly not a smart player. At least not offensively.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

I'm not Sullys biggest fan anymore but I agreed with his angry look at Erod.

Anymore!?!?!?

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Hagelin is certainly not a smart player. At least not offensively.

Eh, smarter than Kap at least. That ain't exactly a towering hurdle to clear though.

-edit- I think the thing that makes me so annoyed with Kap is that he has the tools to be a really good, specialized player. He's just a f***ing dummy, and looks like he's a prospect trying to settle himself down and figure things out ad infinitum. Also, the coach refuses to use him as a Grabner-lite on the PK--which is bewildering, and aggravating, because it's like half of Kap's usefulness right out the window.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Yeah Kap has a ton of very useful tools and can’t figure out that the hammer is for nails and the screwdriver does not go in the light socket.

 

[The Old Master]

Yeah Kap has a ton of very useful tools and can’t figure out that the hammer is for nails and the screwdriver does not go in the light socket.

i think you might be under selling the guy a little. he seems to just have a big mental block. then he started to overthink everything and that only got worse as the year went on. seen it happen to some very smart guy's

 

[gopens66]

Hagelin is certainly not a smart player. At least not offensively.

At least he could stay onside, unlike Rico Fata.......

 

[Turin]

Hagelin is certainly not a smart player. At least not offensively.

He was a forechecking monster. He just didn’t have great hands and especially after his injury in 2017 he had a muffin shot.