Olli Määttä will stay with Pens (it's 40 roster games, not him playing 40.)

[JTG]

anyone read this interview with Jussi?





http://blogs.post-gazette.com/sport...-13?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

The experience that young man will get in the course of a year will be incredible. Ton of NHL action, Olympics, and hopefully a deep playoff run at 19 years old.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Agreed. How about this.

Orpik for Kuli+1st later in the season. Promote whoever among Despres and Dumoulin is best suited for a shutdown role and legit minutes.

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Kulemin-Malkin-Neal
Jokinen-Sutter-Bennett
Glass-Adams

Scuds-Letang
Despres/Dumoulin-Martin
Maatta-Nisky
Bort

Run 7 D in the postseason. We move on from a player we're not going to re-sign in the offseason, or at least shouldn't. And bring in someone we'd likely target in free agency, and who can be a longterm solution at wing, while getting another quality asset in return.

You have Letang and Martin playing 25+ minutes in the playoffs. Scuds tends to have his ice time go up as well. And you spread the ice time out around the future of our blue line.

Kumbaya 'n at.

Despres-Martin and Maatta-Niskanen would get absolutely annihilated in the playoffs. Those are not good pairings for a team with stanley cup aspirations.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Despres is better than Niskanen. Any extra mistakes are made up for by his size and better transition game. And the mistakes could be improved upon if he got to actually play. And lets not pretend Nisky doesn't make a ton of mistakes himself.

Nisky is an all around mediocre player. Despres is a work in progress whose strengths are much stronger than Niskanen's and his weaknesses are maybe half a notch behind Niskanen. And if he never gets to play, he will never get to improve on these problems. If Despres could play the rest of this season in the NHL there is no doubt in my mind that by May he would simply be a better player than Niskanen in nearly every possible way.

Eh, i strongly disagree. Despres has the potential to be better, sure, but he's not there yet. We'll have to agree to disagree.

I don't mind if Niskanen gets traded though, because his value is probably higher than it ever has been or will be. A Despres, Maatta, Bortuzzo platoon for the bottom pairing could work. And for whoever wanted to trade Orpik...not going to happen. No one can replace Orpik at the moment, so trading him is out of the question. Bortuzzo has a ways to go to get to that level.

 

[mpp9]

Despres-Martin and Maatta-Niskanen would get absolutely annihilated in the playoffs. Those are not good pairings for a team with stanley cup aspirations.

This board was ready to pencil Despres in with Letang just this past summer. DB even called him a top 4 D. If he improves his game in a shutdown role in WBS, why can't he move up the depth chart?

We have Maatta/Nisky/Bort to fill out the third pairing. I don't think they'll be getting annihilated, sorry. Unless you want Bort replacing Nisky, I don't follow your logic.

 

[66-30-33]

The experience that young man will get in the course of a year will be incredible. Ton of NHL action, Olympics, and hopefully a deep playoff run at 19 years old.

What about WJC? A chance to get 2 gold medals for his country in the same year.

2 gold medals and a stanley cup would look good on his resume.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

This board was ready to pencil Despres in with Letang just this past summer. DB even called him a top 4 D. If he improves his game in a shutdown role in WBS, why can't he move up the depth chart?

We have Maatta/Nisky/Bort to fill out the third pairing. I don't think they'll be getting annihilated, sorry. Unless you want Bort replacing Nisky, I don't follow your logic.

Do you remember how badly the Martin-Letang pairing got abused by Philly? Maatta-Niskanen have that same make-up as a pairing, but are collectively worse. There's no balance in that pairing. They would get destroyed by a decent forechecking team.

You really trust Despres to play in a shutdown role over Orpik in the playoffs?

 

[mpp9]

Do you remember how badly the Martin-Letang pairing got abused by Philly? Maatta-Niskanen have that same make-up as a pairing, but are collectively worse. There's no balance in that pairing. They would get destroyed by a decent forechecking team.

You really trust Despres to play in a shutdown role over Orpik in the playoffs?

Maatta-Nisky are a third pairing. Your comparison doesn't hold up. If you worry about there not being a big body in there, then you replace one of them with Bort. Easy.

As for Orpik being the difference between us getting annihilated or not, I don't buy it. Again, I'm not saying now. In a couple months, if Ray likes what he sees from Despres, call him up. See if he's ready for legit minutes.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Benching Bortuzzo to play Nisky with Maatta is just such horrible idea. Move him now before he has a rough patch and no one wants him for anything bit a mid to late pick.

 

[mpp9]

Benching Bortuzzo to play Nisky with Maatta is just such horrible idea. Move him now before he has a rough patch and no one wants him for anything bit a mid to late pick.

And I'd be fine with that. But I have little doubt Maatta/Nisky is a capable pairing.

 

[Shockmaster]

Maatta-Nisky are a third pairing. Your comparison doesn't hold up. If you worry about there not being a big body in there, then you replace one of them with Bort. Easy.

As for Orpik being the difference between us getting annihilated or not, I don't buy it. Again, I'm not saying now. In a couple months, if Ray likes what he sees from Despres, call him up. See if he's ready for legit minutes.

Better Orpik than Niskanen.

 

[JTG]

What about WJC? A chance to get 2 gold medals for his country in the same year.

2 gold medals and a stanley cup would look good on his resume.

Really? The WJC? The ****in guy will be battling for an Olympic spot, and you want to bring up the WJC?

 

[66-30-33]

Really? The WJC? The ****in guy will be battling for an Olympic spot, and you want to bring up the WJC?

I'm fine with both.

 

[JTG]

I will never get Canadians infatuation with the WJC.

 

[cygnus47]

I will never get Canadians infatuation with the WJC.

Its because they win it so often.

 

[66-30-33]

I will never get Canadians infatuation with the WJC.

I like watching the young players. I don't like the WC though.

 

[KIRK]

And I'd be fine with that. But I have little doubt Maatta/Nisky is a capable pairing.

Let's see how you feel after Saturday, when Randy Carlyle gets last change against that pairing.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I will never get Canadians infatuation with the WJC.

It's some fantastic ****ing hockey, man. New Year's Eve games between the US and Canada are some of the most enjoyable and memorable games I've ever seen, win or lose.

 

[MurphyDump]

Let's see how you feel after Saturday, when Randy Carlyle gets last change against that pairing.

I don't think they'll have a problem. Nisky has been playing his best hockey as of late and will be a solid bottom pairing guy. Maatta is just so clean in his play and well rounded that I can't see him hurting us at all. His skating is so good, he has a great stick and reads the game so well.

If anything, it will be Bylsma's refusal to even attempt to line match that will hurt us. He'll stay with whatever matchups are given to him and won't even attempt to get our best D out against their best players.

You see guys like Julien making sure that Chara is always on the ice versus Kessel, or Staal, or Malkin, etc. Even when they're on the road....this doesn't exist in Byslma's playbook.

 

[Muscles4Malkin]

anyone read this interview with Jussi?





http://blogs.post-gazette.com/sport...-13?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

"opening sports" "Jokinen, 33". It clearly wasn't the sharpest day for the guy who wrote that article.

 

[tinkezione]

It's some fantastic ****ing hockey, man. New Year's Eve games between the US and Canada are some of the most enjoyable and memorable games I've ever seen, win or lose.

I agree completely with above. WJC surpasses men's world championship by that famous country mile.

 

[stardog]

Don't like splitting up the Määtta/Bort pairing. Kind of lame actually considering the two compliment each other so well and has been lights out solid in their own end. When I think of Niskanen, the very last thing I think is lights out solid in his own end. I think of panicky and rushed. I think turnover and out muscled. I think how can a guy with that much skill be so absolutely void of an outlet plan by skating or using that passing ability? Instead he skates to the nearest wall and backhands it up the board to whomever almost every single time. It's like he doesn't WANT the puck under pressure. He doesn't want the responsibility and would rather someone else make the quick decision because he is unable or unwilling to make it (the last sentence being pure speculation on my part as to what is going through his head other than,"OH S***!!!".
That is my problem with Niskanen for the most part. I am hoping that Määtta doesn't defer to Nisky in the D zone or get caught out of position trying to cover for Nisky being lost when the forecheck comes his way.
That's also what I liked about Despres. He could get the puck out of the zone quickly against a suffocating forecheck.

 

[wej20]

What about WJC? A chance to get 2 gold medals for his country in the same year.

2 gold medals and a stanley cup would look good on his resume.

He wont be going to the WJC.

 

[QnebO]

I will never get Canadians infatuation with the WJC.

There is puck and 10 fast good players on the ice. Can't be bad.. I have been more intrested into WJC for last 5 years too than time before it.

 

[Ogrezilla]

And I'd be fine with that. But I have little doubt Maatta/Nisky is a capable pairing.

not as good as Maatta-Bort or Nisky-Bort would be.

 

[TheStinger]

If Maatta somehow makes the Finnish olympic squad (as unlikely as that may be) would that then affect whether he stays up, considering he will have played anywhere up to eight or nine extra games and as a kid that will wear on him by the end of the season?