News Article: One thing the Penguins can always count on is Craig Adams in the lineup

[Coastal Kev]

Pittsburgh sports media is dumber than Bylsma and Shero. That is quite impressive. That is something that is nearly impossible to achieve.

The media is simply a mouthpiece for the organization. Probably Shero has seen the criticism of the Adams signings so he has this cow plant this story.

 

[Shrimper]

When was the last time Adams has been a healthy scratch in his career? Or in other words, when was the last time he had to fight for his job?

Oct 16th 2010.

http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2010020058

 

[Coastal Kev]

A few weeks ago Pierre McGuire raved about Adams. Pretty much he was full of it you all say?

Again, the media is so corrupt today. Shero probably reached out to Pierre and asked for him to gush about Adams. If you really want the truth, never look to the media. They always bought and paid for by someone.

 

[Winger for Hire]

The idea that "anybody can be taught to PK well" is just plain wrong. Some guys simply have a natural predisposition for it, and it isn't an automatic that anyone can pick it up.

We do, however, have a lot of guys who are good at it. That's the argument for moving Adams. The one thing he does pretty well isn't in short supply here.

I'm going to have to disagree. The only "natural predisposition" is being able to play hockey at an NHL level. It's not like you need a killer shot, you don't need blazing speed, you don't need crazy stick handling, you don't need to be able to make insane passes. You have to be able to move on skates, have eyes to see around you, have a stick to clear the puck.

There's no special skill set or type of player needed to kill penalties. Absolutely none.

 

[Coastal Kev]

I'm going to have to disagree. The only "natural predisposition" is being able to play hockey at an NHL level. It's not like you need a killer shot, you don't need blazing speed, you don't need crazy stick handling, you don't need to be able to make insane passes. You have to be able to move on skates, have eyes to see around you, have a stick to clear the puck.

There's no special skill set or type of player needed to kill penalties. Absolutely none.

Exactly, anyone who has ever laced them up knows this as a fact. I LOL when I hear any forward described as a great penalty killer. Defenseman are a bit different because they hold much more responsibility.

I still will never understand the signings of Scudud, Adams, Duper and Kunitz this past off season. The only one of them that has paid sort of dividends has been Kunitz, but he is 34 and has played a very rough style for allot of years. He could show up after the Olympics and be a complete disaster down the stretch. RAY FRIGGIN SHERO decided what this team needed was an infusion of age.

 

[MrBurghundy]

He's good on the pk. No matter how much we don't like him we can't take that away from the guy. He by far plays the most minutes of anybody on our team on the PK and it's the #1 ranked unit in the league. He isn't a threat to score short handed, which I don't like, but the unit is great at stopping other teams PP's and that's the most important thing.

We have plenty of good PK'ers. Nobody would ever know he was gone if he was replaced on the PK. We'd still continue on being just as good as we are now.

 

[MrBurghundy]

The idea that "anybody can be taught to PK well" is just plain wrong. Some guys simply have a natural predisposition for it, and it isn't an automatic that anyone can pick it up.

We do, however, have a lot of guys who are good at it. That's the argument for moving Adams. The one thing he does pretty well isn't in short supply here.

The fact is that PK'ing is a learned ability. Some guys care more about it than others which makes them better, but you don't need skill to PK. You just need the right mentality. That's why most bottom 6 scrubs do it.

 

[Crafton]

the penguins should show an even greater commitment to Craig Adams

[spoil]and boost his future coaching career by letting him observe from the press-box[/spoil]

 

[MrBurghundy]

Oct 16th 2010.

http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2010020058

That's ****ing ridiculous.

 

[Shady Machine]

A few weeks ago Pierre McGuire raved about Adams. Pretty much he was full of it you all say?

Yes he was absolutely full of it.

 

[Shady Machine]

The idea that "anybody can be taught to PK well" is just plain wrong. Some guys simply have a natural predisposition for it, and it isn't an automatic that anyone can pick it up.

We do, however, have a lot of guys who are good at it. That's the argument for moving Adams. The one thing he does pretty well isn't in short supply here.

I agree to an extent. That said, the PK is very system driven. It's all about skating to the right spot, communication, where to put your stick to block passing lanes, and the willingness to block shots. The one thing Adams and Glass have that make them good PK'ers, is they know how to block shots correctly (when to slide, how to slide, ets) and have the willingness to do it. That's valuable.

However, Adams' big problem is he has to resort to blocking more shots than a guy like Megna would, for example, because he can't skate fast enough to pressure the puck carrier. I would like to see us use some of these quicker guys to force turnovers and a shorthanded opportunity every once in a while.

 

[Shady Machine]

I'm going to have to disagree. The only "natural predisposition" is being able to play hockey at an NHL level. It's not like you need a killer shot, you don't need blazing speed, you don't need crazy stick handling, you don't need to be able to make insane passes. You have to be able to move on skates, have eyes to see around you, have a stick to clear the puck.

There's no special skill set or type of player needed to kill penalties. Absolutely none.

You are oversimplifying it. Anyone can be taught to kill penalties. 'Skate to this position, put your stick in the passing lane, pressure when the puck carrier's back is to you, block a shot, etc'. However, on ice awareness, vision, being able to read the play are skills that not every player possesses at the same level. Elite PK'ers are really intelligent players that can read the play and force the PP guys into low percentage situations.

It's why Lemieux was so dangerous on the PK and why Malkin could be. They are both adept at picking off passes because they see the ice so well. The challenge with guys like Lemieux and Malkin is they sometimes are too focused on turning it the other way for an offensive chance. Adams has the shot blocking, warrior part down, but he isn't going to be reading the plays correctly.

Guys like Staal, Sutter (to an extent), Bergeron are great PK'ers because they have the intelligence to read the play, but the awareness and focus to defense to understand when to pressure and when to contain.

 

[Shady Machine]

The main point though is that, due to it's structure, the Pens PK wouldn't suffer much for losing any particular forward PK'er.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I think that all sums it up extremely well.

I'm not saying the there aren't some qualities that make certain players potentially more effective at penalty killing than others. But those qualities are mostly ingrained in their personality... not their ability as a hockey player.

Penalty killing is almost all system, instruction and willingness.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I agree to an extent. That said, the PK is very system driven. It's all about skating to the right spot, communication, where to put your stick to block passing lanes, and the willingness to block shots. The one thing Adams and Glass have that make them good PK'ers, is they know how to block shots correctly (when to slide, how to slide, ets) and have the willingness to do it. That's valuable.

However, Adams' big problem is he has to resort to blocking more shots than a guy like Megna would, for example, because he can't skate fast enough to pressure the puck carrier. I would like to see us use some of these quicker guys to force turnovers and a shorthanded opportunity every once in a while.

DB wants Glass and Adams on the PK, because they won't go rogue. It's a catch 22, however. They are too slow to force the point or pressure the puck carrier.

It's just funny that people think a specialized PKer makes a big difference. This team lost Cooke, then Glass and Dupes, yet their PK was still one of the best in the league. It's your goalie, blueliners, system, coaching, and finally your fwds.

Any fwd can be taught to kill penalties by the right coaching staff. Adams and Glass aren't great PK guys anymore than they are ****** at it. They are decent and highly replaceable.

The thing I keep wondering is how many games in the playoffs change on a shortie? We all remember how Staal changed the complexion of the Det series with his shortie.

Adams and Glass will never push the issue or score a shortie... their big minutes on the PK and the Pens woeful lack of shorties is not a coincidence. The Pens have 2 shorties all season. That's good for 27th in the league.

It's worrisome and a direct correlation to Glass and Adams.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

HA!

Oh yeah... and you're goaltender, of course.

That's your real key to a great PK, right there. And it doesn't typically get much better than regular season Marc-Andre Fleury.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

He's good on the pk. No matter how much we don't like him we can't take that away from the guy. He by far plays the most minutes of anybody on our team on the PK and it's the #1 ranked unit in the league. He isn't a threat to score short handed, which I don't like, but the unit is great at stopping other teams PP's and that's the most important thing.

He's good on the PK but there are other options who are just as good, or better, that aren't a liability 5v5.

 

[DegenX]

Would be nice to see something like this

or this ...

 

[Shrimper]

That's ****ing ridiculous.

It is what it is.

The only other game he missed that season was the game before on the 15th October against the Islanders where we won in a SO.

With the Penguins he has missed 10 games out of a possible 367 games. That's 2.72% of games. And those games were all as a healthy scratch.

Most of those games came in the 2008-2009 Stanley Cup season where he missed a bunch of games in a row but all but two in April.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and Craig Adams being in the Penguins lineup.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I say let's be bold and find out if we can or can't live without Craig Adams on the PK!

 

[MtlPenFan]

I had a back and forth with Rorabaugh a while back when I was hammering him and the rest of them for not having the balls to ask about why Kobasew was continuously in the lineup.

After a few snide remarks (the guy does his best to be a troll), he realized that I wasn't some mouth breather fan, and actually told me that reporters have to frame questions in a certain way, or their press passes will be taken away. No joke.

The way I see it, there's a tiny amount of fear, but most the nonsense they write comes from that fact that they don't know **** all about hockey. It's as simple as that.

 

[specialized]

this forum is

 

[Winger for Hire]

this forum is

Thank you for that valuable input. You are now free to move about the internet.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

this forum is

BDSM + Furry/Bestiality necrophilia? It's a weird accusation, but you're entitled to your opinion.