Matt Cooke and Brenden Morrow Q's

[rkhum]

Cooke is gone because his past was still hurting the team. Had they wanted to keep him they very well could have depending on what he would take here, not what he got out there.

Bingo, that is what I thought.
I feel this is the truth, Pens offered him a deal but it was more of a courtesy and if he took it, a bonus.

I think they set him as their latter priority due to his reputation and unlike Duper, he was going to have to come back on their full terms.

 

[j0e]

Brenden Morrow did not suck, he was playing with a split knee cap, I doubt he was coming back though. I think Dupuis and Scuderi basically forced Cooke out, which is a shame.

 

[MonsterSurge]

How did the first two people in this thread misspell 'Brenden'?

 

[Gwydyr]

How did the first two people in this thread misspell 'Brenden'?

At least Brandon Morrow isn't half as bad as Brent Sutter. Those "B" names are always giving people trouble I guess

 

[Ugene Magic]

C'mon...It's Brunden, damit.

 

[Gwydyr]

At least Brandon Morrow is almost understandable though. Not like Nick Fleury, which is what my roommate calls Marc-Andre Fleury. Maybe confused it with McFlurry? Otherwise, I just don't know

 

[Ogrezilla]

Brenden Morrow did not suck, he was playing with a split knee cap, I doubt he was coming back though. I think Dupuis and Scuderi basically forced Cooke out, which is a shame.

he sucked. Obviously the knee didn't help, but he was the slowest forward on the team before he got injured. Unless of course he got injured in 2012 sometime

 

[j0e]

He wasn't that bad, he played really well for a short period of time before he got injured.

 

[Ogrezilla]

He wasn't that bad, he played really well for a short period of time before he got injured.

that's great. He had like 2 good weeks surrounded by a year of being a pretty bad hockey player. The only time he looked good is when he was placed on offense driven lines because he could simplify his game and go to the net. He cannot play any other role, the wheels just aren't there. He is absolutely atrocious in his own end every single time he was there. He simply isn't fast enough to play defense anymore. His starting and stopping is as bad as Murray, except he's expected to cover the points.

 

[Gwydyr]

He wasn't that bad, he played really well for a short period of time before he got injured.

I concur. He understandably struggled a bit when we first got him because he was adjusting to a new team. But then he made a relatively significant impact on the team in the weeks leading up to the playoffs. He played extremely well in those weeks.

Regardless, I doubt he returns. Unless he takes a 1 year $1 M deal to replace Glass

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Bennett-Malkin-Neal
Jokinen-Sutter-D'Agostini
Morrow-Vitale-Adams

Looks pretty exciting if not a bit soft.

 

[Fire Shero*]

I could see Morrow signing with Edmonton or Montreal, both desperately need some physical forwards. I am sure Edmonton could use a grizzly vet in the locker room. Morrow might be dirt cheap as well. But I would much rather take a chance on Penner.

I would not want Morrow playing for the Pens for 82-games. That has bad idea written all over it. It makes as much sense as keeping Fleury and starting him in the playoffs again

 

[Fire Shero*]

I concur. He understandably struggled a bit when we first got him because he was adjusting to a new team. But then he made a relatively significant impact on the team in the weeks leading up to the playoffs. He played extremely well in those weeks.

Regardless, I doubt he returns. Unless he takes a 1 year $1 M deal to replace Glass

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Bennett-Malkin-Neal
Jokinen-Sutter-D'Agostini
Morrow-Vitale-Adams

Looks pretty exciting if not a bit soft.

You know disco is incapable of scratching Tannfer ****ing Glass

 

[Waffle Fries]

You know disco is incapable of scratching Tannfer ****ing Glass

Which is why he only played 5/15 of our playoff games, right?

Bylsma deserves a lot of the criticism he gets, but your statement has been proven to be incorrect.

 

[Gallatin]

I could see Morrow signing with Edmonton or Montreal, both desperately need some physical forwards. I am sure Edmonton could use a grizzly vet in the locker room. Morrow might be dirt cheap as well. But I would much rather take a chance on Penner.

I would not want Morrow playing for the Pens for 82-games. That has bad idea written all over it. It makes as much sense as keeping Fleury and starting him in the playoffs again

And having a notoriously lazy and uninspired Dustin Penner on the downside of his career for 82 games make sense?

 

[Gwydyr]

You know disco is incapable of scratching Tannfer ****ing Glass

Well, in this situation, he's traded or buried, so I think even Bylsma would have a tough time getting him in the lineup, given the scenario.

 

[Zbynek]

Basically my view there. I miss him, but I don't miss the phantom penalties, teams having free rein to do whatever the **** they pleased to him, or the general headaches that go along with supporting a team that employed him.

His bad reputation is fairly well deserved, but not to the degree people take it. There are way too many people out there that believe that Cooke is the only reason Savard's career ended...not the 4 or 5 other concussions, including one that happened after he came back after lying about being symptom free.

We're certainly not a better team without him, but for $2.5 a year over 3 years at this stage of his career I'm fine moving on.

This is a really good summary of Matt Cooke with his incoming UFA. Completely agreed here. He was a really good fit for this team, but not worth the 2.5/3 years he was looking for.

 

[AquaticBirdman]

In Cooke's case it definitely came down to numbers. If you think about over the years we've had Cooke at somewhat of a contractual "steal" as he never made more than 1.5 mill per season with us, and that was even in spite of the fact that he was a huge part of the "best third line" in hockey. He was also one of the top penalty killers/energy guys during that time. Cooke took a hometown discount to stay with us the last time he renewed his contract, so it was just a matter of time before he left for a nice pay raise, especially considering his current age. Personally however I don't think he's slowed down in the slightest, but rather has become a better overall player. Definitely gonna miss him...

As for Morrow, I think the fact that he was virtually invisible in the playoffs hurt his chances of being re-signed. This is even in spite of the fact that he looked great for us during the regular season when we traded for him. I'm hearing that he was actually playing with a cracked knee during the playoffs, which would obviously affect anyone's play. Personally I wouldn't have minded bringing him back for 1 more year at 1.2 - 1.4 million. However with the acquisition of D'Agostini and our very limited cap space that doesn't appear to be likely.

 

[shizno*]

Cooke probably got sick of being the only player who cared.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

At least Brandon Morrow is almost understandable though. Not like Nick Fleury, which is what my roommate calls Marc-Andre Fleury. Maybe confused it with McFlurry? Otherwise, I just don't know

Is he a comic book nerd? Might be a play on this guy's name:

 

[Zirakzigil]

Kinda mad both are gone. The bottom 6 is one of the softest in the league now. I still think Morrow could be effective on the third line depending on the price. Its not like the Penguins dont have the speed from others. Roberts wasnt the fastest guy around when he was here and he was a huge piece on the team.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Kinda mad both are gone. The bottom 6 is one of the softest in the league now. I still think Morrow could be effective on the third line depending on the price. Its not like the Penguins dont have the speed from others. Roberts wasnt the fastest guy around when he was here and he was a huge piece on the team.

price is the key. We didn't sign D'Agostini because we want him as much as because we can afford him.

 

[PensBandwagonerNo272*]

1. Money
2. He's a free agent.

tl;dr

 

[regard]

Is he a comic book nerd? Might be a play on this guy's name:

This is what I was about to say. Good work.

 

[LostLiquorLicense]

that's great. He had like 2 good weeks surrounded by a year of being a pretty bad hockey player. The only time he looked good is when he was placed on offense driven lines because he could simplify his game and go to the net. He cannot play any other role, the wheels just aren't there. He is absolutely atrocious in his own end every single time he was there. He simply isn't fast enough to play defense anymore. His starting and stopping is as bad as Murray, except he's expected to cover the points.

With the third line shifting it's focus from a shut-down line to a more scoring-oriented line, he could still be effective playing that simplified drive the net style(at the right price).