Confirmed Trade: [MIN/PIT] Jason Zucker for 2021 1st round pick, Alex Galchenyuk, and Calen Addison

[Juicy Pop]

There's a certain thrill in having a vested interest in another team's failure.

Welcome to our club.

 

[Djp]

Makes sense. Pittsburgh will be good next season. Not gonna take much stock in this random wacky playoff play in.

Great top 3 Dmen in Letang/Marino/Dumo

Malkin and Sid down the middle.

Guentzel/Rust/Zukcker on the wings.

Jarry is a stud.

Penguins Aren't missing the playoffs next year.

Who is in the division?

This will be a difficult division with only the top 5 having a chance at a wild card. If everyone beats each other has a clear top 5 dominating the other 3 you could have only 3 make the playoffs.

Pittsburgh could have 96 pts and miss the playoffs and be a lottery pick.

 

[Spurgeon]

The Senators and Sharks are not the Pittsburgh Penguins, though.

Why don't we list out teams who traded future 1sts and didn't regret them? The Blues won a cup in 2019 after trading a 2019 1st for ROR in 2018. Plus they traded a 2018 1st for Schenn in 2017. The Penguins did the same thing when they acquired Kessel in 2015. The Flames traded a future 1st for Hamonic, and while they missed the playoffs, the pick still ended up only 12th overall. Yandle and Kane were also moved for 1st rounders that didn't become lottery picks.

People focus way too hard on the 2 examples where it backfired on good teams trading future 1sts, instead of focusing on the dozens of times that it didn't backfire.

What about the Hawks then? They had a sudden fall from grace.

 

[KIRK]

Who is in the division?

This will be a difficult division with only the top 5 having a chance at a wild card. If everyone beats each other has a clear top 5 dominating the other 3 you could have only 3 make the playoffs.

Pittsburgh could have 96 pts and miss the playoffs and be a lottery pick.

I don't see New Jersey doing much, but you're 100% right . . .

The Flyers and Carolina are ascending.
The Rangers are going to be better.
The Caps probably are starting a downward turn, but they still won the division.
The Isles . . . Trotz owns the Pens right now.
The Blue Jackets are trending in the right direction.

You've got 7 teams fighting for AT MOST 5 spots, so yes, the Pens could have 96 points and be a lottery team.

 

[66-30-33]

Good, now hopefully Pens go after Granlund for that Granlund-Zucker chemistry.

 

[Djp]

I don't see New Jersey doing much, but you're 100% right . . .

The Flyers and Carolina are ascending.
The Rangers are going to be better.
The Caps probably are starting a downward turn, but they still won the division.
The Isles . . . Trotz owns the Pens right now.
The Blue Jackets are trending in the right direction.

You've got 7 teams fighting for AT MOST 5 spots, so yes, the Pens could have 96 points and be a lottery team.

It depends on what NJ does this off-season.. they were around a 500 team. 500 to being in the wildcard means winning about 6 games you lost last year before deadline and you are WC contender fight post deadline on.

They didn’t get much from Hughes last year. Him making a step coukd make that difference.

They have cap room to make a couple of moves to improve their team.

Even them being 500 could real back e eryone taking away the 5th place from being a WV.

In the east you have Detroit and Ottawa everyone can feed off of raising their 4th enough to take one WC.

You see it in the nfl. Two divisions good top to bottom face each other they end up with teams around 8-8 and 9=7 with no wild cards. The other two division have two good and two bad teams so the second places end up 12-5 WC teams.

 

[Giskard]

It was a no brainier to keep this year 1st, what kind a message is if you're GM tells everybody that he thinks that next season his team will be worst? This is not a rebuilding team yet, so it is the right choice to keep this 1st, and I won't be shocked if GMJR trade this pick too for an immediate upgrade.

 

[BB88]

Makes sense. Pittsburgh will be good next season. Not gonna take much stock in this random wacky playoff play in.

Great top 3 Dmen in Letang/Marino/Dumo

Malkin and Sid down the middle.

Guentzel/Rust/Zukcker on the wings.

Jarry is a stud.

Penguins Aren't missing the playoffs next year.

Washington, Flyers, Carolina, Columbus, Rangers.

Metro is not going to be easy next year

 

[PensandCaps]

What about the Hawks then? They had a sudden fall from grace.

Hawks Didn't have a Malkin calber player after Kane.

They traded Panarin for Saad.

 

[AKL]

Hawks Didn't have a Malkin calber player after Kane.

They traded Panarin for Saad.

Why do y'all keep acting like Crosby and Malkin are going to shield you from anything bad happening? You just finished the year under .500 down the stretch and lost to the 24th place team in a 5 game series.

I understand you want to believe it can't happen to you, but the point is no one expected it to happen to teams like Chicago and San Jose either (regardless of whether they had a Crosby and Malkin or not), and then it did.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Why do y'all keep acting like Crosby and Malkin are going to shield you from anything bad happening? You just finished the year under .500 down the stretch and lost to the 24th place team in a 5 game series.

I understand you want to believe it can't happen to you, but the point is no one expected it to happen to teams like Chicago and San Jose either (regardless of whether they had a Crosby and Malkin or not), and then it did.

Chicago's salary structure caused their downfall. When Chicago was winning Cups, Kane and Toews' salaries weren't prohibitive to adding depth. Once those $10+ million deals kicked in, Chicago could no longer ice the kind of depth they had during their Cup years.

Pittsburgh doesn't have the same issue with Crosby and Malkin's salaries. So, theoretically speaking, they should be able to add the necessary depth to still compete.

 

[PensandCaps]

Why do y'all keep acting like Crosby and Malkin are going to shield you from anything bad happening? You just finished the year under .500 and lost to the 24th place team in a 5 game series.

I understand you want to believe it can't happen to you, but the point is no one expected it to happen to teams like Chicago and San Jose either (regardless of whether they had a Crosby and Malkin or not), and then it did.

well Crosby only played 41 games this year, Guentzel only played 39, Our best shutdown Dman in Dumoulin only played 28 games.


Penguins did pretty well considering the injuries they dealt with all year.

Assuming Dumoulin and Sid stay healthy next year, they should be better.

And we have Zucker all next year.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Can’t wait for Pittsburgh to suck next year. Wooo!!!

 

[57special]

Granlund would be a great pickup for PIT if he is available on a cheap, prove it, deal. Very smart middle six player, and if he regains some his mojo, is better than that. He and Malkin/Crosby on the same line...the mind boggles at the passing. Some lucky shooter could score 100 if he just kept his stick on the ice and shot the puck every time it was passed to him.

I have no clue how he failed so much in NSH.

 

[AKL]

Chicago's salary structure caused their downfall. When Chicago was winning Cups, Kane and Toews' salaries weren't prohibitive to adding depth. Once those $10+ million deals kicked in, Chicago could no longer ice the kind of depth they had during their Cup years.

Pittsburgh doesn't have the same issue with Crosby and Malkin's salaries. So, theoretically speaking, they should be able to add the necessary depth to still compete.

well Crosby only played 41 games this year, Guentzel only played 39, Our best shutdown Dman in Dumoulin only played 28 games.


Penguins did pretty well considering the injuries they dealt with all year.

Assuming Dumoulin and Sid stay healthy next year, they should be better.

And we have Zucker all next year.

Again, just a bunch of reasons why it couldn't possibly happen. No one has ever said it's going to, or that it's even likely, only that it's possible.

 

[PensandCaps]

Again, just a bunch of reasons why it couldn't possibly happen. No one has ever said it's going to, or that it's even likely, only that it's possible.

even if say the Penguins miss the playoffs by a few points. Odds are the pick is gonna be 11-16 Overall anyway.

where a #15 pick in this deep draft is better than a #11 pick next year.

 

[Sota Popinski]

Pittsburgh doesn't have the same issue with Crosby and Malkin's salaries. So, theoretically speaking, they should be able to add the necessary depth to still compete.

Yes. Theoretically speaking. Jarry or Murray and a backup are going to cost at least $4M-$5M. That leaves Pittsburgh $8M-$9M to re-sign McCann and fill out the rest of the roster. That isn't a lot of space to get 4-5 guys under contract. So maybe they add one decent veteran but I don't see how they improve the roster much.

even if say the Penguins miss the playoffs by a few points. Odds are the pick is gonna be 11-16 Overall anyway.

where a #15 pick in this deep draft is better than a #11 pick next year.

How can you possibly make that assertion a full year out? You can't know how deep next year's draft is going to be at this point.