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

[dueling mullets]

besides, i'm not sure why people think niskanen/maatta automatically going to trainwreck. Nisky's flourished with a steady guy in scuderi...and maatta plays with similar sense of composure.

I almost choked I was laughing so hard at this gem I found in the first sentence. Then you compared a 19 year old rook to a proven vet, thanks for the free comedy entertainment.

 

[Waffle Fries]

For that matter, while people around here don't want to admit it because Bennett's the shiny new toy as opposed to the beat-up familiar ones, but Kunitz and Dupuis have been outperforming Bennett so far as well. Which means that Bennett's getting "demoted" is based on the merit of those above him, rather than simply because Bennett is younger than them.

Well, Bennett has been injured, so I would certainly hope that someone who was playing was outperforming someone who is sitting on IR. However, when Beau did play this year, during those games he certainly looked better than Kunitz and Dupuis who were absolutely atrocious to start the season (and while they are a little better, still aren't anywhere near where they should be).

I'm also not sure why you're talking about Beau being demoted based on merit. For one, he started the year on the third line and now he's injured so no demotion has taken place. Secondly, Bylsma is very set in his line combos, and the lack of promotion based on merit is my bigger concern. He certainly deserved one last year and never got it.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

The narrative of Bennett being benched and otherwise punished constantly is so ingrained that it persists despite him being injured and his ice time increasing in every game prior to the one in which he got hurt.

 

[stardog]

I almost choked I was laughing so hard at this gem I found in the first sentence. Then you compared a 19 year old rook to a proven vet, thanks for the free comedy entertainment.

Proven at what exactly. Matt Carkner is a proven vet too. Does that mean anything?

As far as Niskanen goes, composure is one of the last words that I would use to describe his game. He has zero composure. When the pressure is on, Niskanen folds in the D-Zone. I realize that the sample size is miniscul but composure is one of the first words that I would use to describe what I have seen of Määtta thus far. And despite his age, it is one of the primary reasons why he made a team with one of the deepest defensive units in the league which plays for a coach who has historically not played teenagers even a little bit.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Well, Bennett has been injured, so I would certainly hope that someone who was playing was outperforming someone who is sitting on IR. However, when Beau did play this year, during those games he certainly looked better than Kunitz and Dupuis who were absolutely atrocious to start the season (and while they are a little better, still aren't anywhere near where they should be).

I'm also not sure why you're talking about Beau being demoted based on merit. For one, he started the year on the third line and now he's injured so no demotion has taken place. Secondly, Bylsma is very set in his line combos, and the lack of promotion based on merit is my bigger concern. He certainly deserved one last year and never got it.

I'm the one who speaks about Bennett's demotion all the time, because it's true. Last season, he EARNED his place in the top six. Then we added a bunch of veterans (Iginla, Morrow, Jokinen) and he lost his job. This preseason, one vet stuck around (Jokinen) and naturally he got the job over Bennett. I keep being reminded that Jokinen earned the job with a hat-trick in PRESEASON...as if that is more impressive than Bennett's all-round strong performances amid a cluster^%$# of adversity on the team in the POSTSEASON last spring. Obviously to Dan Bylsma, it was.

The narrative of Bennett being benched and otherwise punished constantly is so ingrained that it persists despite him being injured and his ice time increasing in every game prior to the one in which he got hurt.

If Beau Bennett's ice time increases, but he's not playing with Crosby or Malkin, and has to anchor the third line next to an anchor (Sutter), that's not what I call a promotion. Also, how much PP time is Bennett receiving this year? Are we using his all-round skills to kill penalties?

 

[Fordy]

I'm the one who speaks about Bennett's demotion all the time, because it's true. Last season, he EARNED his place in the top six. Then we added a bunch of veterans (Iginla, Morrow, Jokinen) and he lost his job. This preseason, one vet stuck around (Jokinen) and naturally he got the job over Bennett. I keep being reminded that Jokinen earned the job with a hat-trick in PRESEASON...as if that is more impressive than Bennett's all-round strong performances amid a cluster^%$# of adversity on the team in the POSTSEASON last spring. Obviously to Dan Bylsma, it was.




If Beau Bennett's ice time increases, but he's not playing with Crosby or Malkin, and has to anchor the third line next to an anchor (Sutter), that's not what I call a promotion. Also, how much PP time is Bennett receiving this year? Are we using his all-round skills to kill penalties?

Did you forget Jokinen has a hat trick in the regular season too?

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Did you forget Jokinen has a hat trick in the regular season too?

Sure. Which happened after the decision was already made to use Jokinen on Malkin's line and not Bennett.

This regime is all about short-term gain, with absolutely no long-term vision whatsoever.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

Bennett has and will get plenty of playing time, he'll make the 3rd line really great, we'll get a lot more production out of Sutter that way. So can we please give up on this narrative?

 

[IcedCapp]

The narrative of Bennett being benched and otherwise punished constantly is so ingrained that it persists despite him being injured and his ice time increasing in every game prior to the one in which he got hurt.

did you watch last year?

He had good games with Malkin/Neal. Trade for Morrow. Had good games on the 3rd line. Trade for Iginla. Had good games on the 4th line. As soon as he had one bad game, he was perma-benched for Tyler Kennedy.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I'm talking only about this season so far. When he disappeared during the Tampa game, there was so much talk immediately about it being a benching that it became a myth, applied to other games this year, despite the facts.

People want to martyr Beau Bennett. He's too young and beautiful. He's not your symbol. I really don't care what happened last year. It was his first pro season and they acquired some guys who were destined to play above him. The problem is continuing that hand-wringing into this year when so far there's no reason for it.