Confirmed with Link: Pearson For Gubranson

[Peat]

I don't particularly like this trade. But crucifying it before he plays a single minute and BURYING the team before they play a single game for trading a 12th forward for a 6th D is hilariously arrogant and dumb. Get a grip

The team has been burying itself. There's a few overreactions as to what this will mean short term, but there's not a lot arrogant about calling a continuation of the current path of travel. Or that getting one of the league's worst dmen won't end well.

 

[Will Hunting]

Yes they did. They acquired him solely because Letang and Dumoulin got hurt in the ways they did against the Flyers.

Nah, he said they were looking at him longer, and to his knowledge he only became available yesterday. He also believes we need him, he believes he is a good player and he believes he is gonna help us. That doesn´t scream an early exit for Gud here. He is signed longterm and it is likely that he is here at least at the start of the next season. Let´s not be naive and pretend that you believe that they know what they are doing. JR has lost his mind, let´s accept it.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

So are people going to rip Sullivan when he is left with no other option but to play Gudbranson and Wideman? This is eerily similar to when Shero signed nothing but plugs in free agency, and then Bylsma had to go with grinders.

As @The Greatest 101 said, he could have had Ian Cole (whose underlying numbers are still very good), but he talked to the media too much or something. Not that there's any evidence of saying anything remotely controversial.

Now we have big lummoxes on defense who don't say anything controversial, they just need a little help remembering which way to hold their sticks.

 

[AverageJoeFan]

JJ and Guds in the same lineup is gonna be fun.
I'm totally in the acceptance phase and any game they win from here on is a blessing.
Our draft position should rise and rise and rise.
Guds might punch Tom Wilson in the face and not get knocked out.
The little things...

Here's what I see, I could be way off base, but here it goes...
We somehow manage to get into the playoffs and draw TB. Unthinkably we win the series, but lose the next series. Our draft position is still meh, and GettinGud will be benched most of the POs. Phil scores 5 goals in the POs are management doesn't trade him. Sully, JR, Moorehouse all get to keep their jobs because we got "somewhere" and JR signs Cullen to another year cause he is "great for the room".

 

[Shady Machine]

they were also on the verge of getting run out of the building in that game 7 vs. washington. a preview of what happened the following year after when the caps ran us out of the building on their way to the cup.
If Fluery doesn't miraculously stand on his head that game, its 2 playoff series losses to a team they've lost to once in a dozen times inn their history.

I'm not saying Grub is the answer. But, what's wrong with having a skating skilled team thats can also play physical.
the caps play like that. winnipeg/san jose can play that way and they're all top teams in the league

Because our D can’t transtion the puck and it will be hemmed in our zone all night. Look at the Caps D. They can skate and move the puck.

 

[pistolpete11]

After sleeping on it, I've come up with a couple of positives:

-Gudbranson was apparently a perfectly serviceable #4/5 defenseman in Florida. His time in Vancouver was an absolute mess, with being plagued with injuries and bad play, but he was apparently solid with the Panthers. He even admitted to not playing well for Vancouver. That at least makes me think there is something there that is better than what he has shown in Vancouver. If he can get back to his old level, he'd be a useful player on the bottom pair.
-I'm treating Gudbranson like a rental until he's here after July 1st. I can't see any feasible way they keep Gudbranson without shipping out another defenseman, and I really can't see them shipping out any of their top-6 defensemen for Gudbranson. That is, unless Gudbranson is fantastic for the Penguins to end this year. I think a logical suggestion is that JR only brought in Gudbranson as a reaction to losing 2 defenseman to cheap shots in the outdoor game, and he doesn't plan on keeping him beyond the year. With that being said, I think I'd rather keep Gudbranson than Johnson beyond this year.
-The Penguins at least seem to know what Gudbranson is, so that makes me think they'd use him more appropriately. It seems like they realize he's a bottom pair enforcer type of defenseman, so I think he won't be used like Johnson has been used.
-The Penguins did only trade Pearson for him, so it's not like they really gave up anything that hurts them. If you view it as basically trading a spare $4 million forward for a spare $4 million defenseman, it's just whatever. Most people here don't seem to want Pearson playing anyway and Gudbranson probably won't play when everyone is healthy, so it seems like a wash from that point of view.

I still don't like the deal because there is a ton of risk with having a $4 million defenseman signed for multiple years on a team with multiple expensive defenseman, but I at least have some reasons for optimism that it won't be an issue beyond July 1st.

I don't think everyone is going to be healthy. I think Letang and/or Maatta are likely done for the season. Which means, JMFJ is going to be in the top 4 and Gudbranson will be on the bottom pair. Which means they have no shot. Which means they might as well have traded Pearson for a pick and let Riikola play.

 

[AverageJoeFan]

This started last year with Cole and for all intensive purposes it has culminated with this aberration of a trade.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I don't think everyone is going to be healthy. I think Letang and/or Maatta are likely done for the season. Which means, JMFJ is going to be in the top 4 and Gudbranson will be on the bottom pair. Which means they have no shot. Which means they might as well have traded Pearson for a pick and let Riikola play.

I think this is overly negative, especially with including Letang in it. There's no reason to think Letang is done for the year right now.

I do think Maatta may be out until April, so you could definitely see Letang, Dumoulin, Johnson, Schultz, Pettersson and Gudbranson as their regulars, but Maatta should be back by the time the playoffs roll around (if they make them).

 

[Shady Machine]

What a monumental shit show since the 2017 cup win. All he had to do was re-sign his Cup players and they’d be in a much better position.

 

[Peat]

Here's what I see, I could be way off base, but here it goes...
We somehow manage to get into the playoffs and draw TB. Unthinkably we win the series, but lose the next series. Our draft position is still meh, and GettinGud will be benched most of the POs. Phil scores 5 goals in the POs are management doesn't trade him. Sully, JR, Moorehouse all get to keep their jobs because we got "somewhere" and JR signs Cullen to another year cause he is "great for the room".

You leave Cullen out of this! Unless you wanted to add a nice silver lining

 

[zero8771]

This is the homer mentality justifying every trade or free agency signing.

This isn't a homer mentality. I dont like this trade. I don't think it's a good trade.

I do however think most of the responses here are incredibly dramatic from a bunch of people who at least some of them have never seen him play and certainly have never seen him play in a pens uniform

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

Prove it.

Come on, we all know why JJ is never a scratch. JR ran his mouth and put a lot of faith in JJ and essentially criticized Columbus for scratching him. If Sullivan scratches him in the first year of a 5 year contract it's going to make JR look even worse. JJ has been terrible by pretty much every metric yet he continues to see ice time. I don't think I'm telling any tales out of school here.

I don't altogether blame Sullivan, either. JR is his boss, he has the power to fire him. Why would he risk making JR look bad by scratching JMFJ when he can just scratch a younger guy and not have to feel the heat?

 

[AverageJoeFan]

I don't think everyone is going to be healthy. I think Letang and/or Maatta are likely done for the season. Which means, JMFJ is going to be in the top 4 and Gudbranson will be on the bottom pair. Which means they have no shot. Which means they might as well have traded Pearson for a pick and let Riikola play.

We really don't know that yet at all. Dumo has a concussion which can be longer term or it could be this week. Letang's could be longer if we are lied to like we were last year, but there's no way to know that yet. Maatta certainly will not be ready until April or close to it.
Now, where I do kind of agree with you at is that the UFA class coming up might have been worth saving for. There's some serious franchise level players without a contract this summer...So I would have been okay if we were net sellers if for that purpose...

 

[Shady Machine]

This isn't a homer mentality. I dont like this trade. I don't think it's a good trade.

I do however think most of the responses here are incredibly dramatic from a bunch of people who at least some of them have never seen him play and certainly have never seen him play in a pens uniform

Let’s chat after 10 games

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

I don't particularly like this trade. But crucifying it before he plays a single minute and BURYING the team before they play a single game for trading a 12th forward for a 6th D is hilariously arrogant and dumb. Get a grip

It's been ridiculed by both the local and the national media. The player fails the eye test, the stat test, has a terrible contract, puts us in cap trouble in the offseason, and is the opposite of both the team's need and the team's identity.

Why are we supposed to like/support this terrible move in the face of all of the evidence? Because OUR team did it? That, sir, is true arrogance.

Not to mention, much of the discussion/reaction/anger is not about this trade but is about JR openly talking about changing this team's identity to one destined for mediocrity.

 

[Icarium]

I do however think most of the responses here are incredibly dramatic from a bunch of people who at least some of them have never seen him play and certainly have never seen him play in a pens uniform

We got a guy who at best will be another JJ. I don't need to see him in a Pens uniform to consider this a terrible trade,

 

[Jacob]

It's weird how unproductive he is offensively. Even guys like Brandon Manning and Gudas easily hit double digits in points.

His stats line looks more like Ian Moran's.

 

[Anita L]

Little to late to get an enforcer now half the wimpy D are out of the lineup pens ARE the weakest team in the NHL when it comes to toughness and if you think finesse and fancy play get it done in this league look again at where they are in the standings with all that so called superstar talent...

 

[zero8771]

We got a guy who at best will be another JJ. I don't need to see him in a Pens uniform to consider this a terrible trade,

Okay. I guess your nights are free now since you don't need to watch the games to know what will happen. Where have I heard this before...

 

[PensandCaps]

Like honestly. Jack Johnson will look decent compared to this guy.

 

[Shady Machine]

Okay. I guess your nights are free now since you don't need to watch the games to know what will happen. Where have I heard this before...

Lol so we can’t watch the games because we know Gudbranson blows?

 

[Icarium]

Little to late to get an enforcer now half the wimpy D are out of the lineup pens ARE the weakest team in the NHL when it comes to toughness and if you think finesse and fancy play get it done in this league look again at where they are in the standings with all that so called superstar talent...

Or you can look at the Pens and Hawks winning six out of the last nine Cups.

 

[PensandCaps]

Widemand and Riikola are way better and will unfairly play behind this ogre.

 

[Peat]

Not to mention, much of the discussion/reaction/anger is not about this trade but is about JR openly talking about changing this team's identity to one destined for mediocrity.

This. In isolation, its a bad trade with a possible glimmer of hope as to whether he can get back to being the player he was in Tallon's Florida, and a glum realisation that this will probably not be the case and even if he does he isn't really a player cut out to thrive here.

The real anger is about Rutherford's moves as a whole. This is the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

[PensandCaps]

Or you can look at the Pens and Hawks winning six out of the last nine Cups.

Caps won too. Off skill and speed