Post-Game Talk: Penguins 6, Islanders 2 - In Memory of He Who DegenX Says Shall Not Be Named

[ImporterExporter]

This is the best and most complete Sidney Crosby I've ever seen. I'm being serious.

200 foot player. His line has been dominating possession most nights. Getting back to being a dominant face off guy like he was in his prime. He really is adapting his play much like Yzerman (boyhood idol) did under Bowman post 30 years of age.

 

[Gurglesons]

I exaggerate my hate for ZAR but Rust is 10x worse this year. Every player has their role. ZAR is a cheap bottom 6 plug. Rust is being paid to produce now. Rust is by far the worst Penguin, right there with Maatta, for their output vs role vs cost.

Maatta and Rust being 7m is ridiculous. Ill take riikola and a 6m player who will actually produce.

Even the last three games? For Rust.

 

[Shwag33]

Rust has looked better the last week or two, but he's still snakebitten. He's hustling, i think he'll get it back.

 

[vodeni]

His SH% is low -- however, I'm racking my brain to think of many high-danger chances he's generated. There's a reason it's low. Maybe not that comically low, but low nonetheless.

there is some truth to this too....

 

[vodeni]

This is the best and most complete Sidney Crosby I've ever seen. I'm being serious.

200 foot player. His line has been dominating possession most nights. Getting back to being a dominant face off guy like he was in his prime. He really is adapting his play much like Yzerman (boyhood idol) did under Bowman post 30 years of age.

spot on, I think we all are seeing it...I used to hate empty platitudes by the suck up PGH media about Sid, how he works hard and do little things (usually when he would get through minor slumps) but what we are witnessing now is (and I cannot come up with a better word) truly a complete game: Check him out how he singlehandidly slows down defens, win pucks and create offense, he is setting things up, scoring etc...He is just a joy to watch

 

[Shady Machine]

Yup. And you're asking poor little sweat pea Rust to please score a couple to make us all feel better about him.

It's why I'm angry at the Pens organization, he is the poster child for the difference in treatment that they handle certain players. I don't hear Recchi bad mouthing Rust to his minions in the press. I don't see Sully cutting his PT???

Arrogant... I simply don't like those who rule the day currently. I hate them more than the DB era circa 2012.

Why would Recchi badmouth a player that plays a good 200 foot game and is busting his ass, but can't score? Everybody knows Rust needs to produce more, including Rust. If there was an effort issue, then yeah, call him out. It's not that, from what I can see.

 

[Peat]

I exaggerate my hate for ZAR but Rust is 10x worse this year. Every player has their role. ZAR is a cheap bottom 6 plug. Rust is being paid to produce now. Rust is by far the worst Penguin, right there with Maatta, for their output vs role vs cost.

Maatta and Rust being 7m is ridiculous. Ill take riikola and a 6m player who will actually produce.

I don't know what your expectations for Maatta's output is, but considering that he's straight up outproducing Rust, it seems pretty harsh to group him there.

 

[Pancakes]

I exaggerate my hate for ZAR but Rust is 10x worse this year. Every player has their role. ZAR is a cheap bottom 6 plug. Rust is being paid to produce now. Rust is by far the worst Penguin, right there with Maatta, for their output vs role vs cost.

Maatta and Rust being 7m is ridiculous. Ill take riikola and a 6m player who will actually produce.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Rust gets hot at some point and gets back up to his normal production. He's always been streaky. Hopefully this is just a slump.

 

[ncm7772]

Pretty well-played game top to bottom from the Penguins. It was odd to see Sheahan with Malkin. Are they really that opposed to playing Rust on LW? Is it Rust that doesn't want to? Is he just in the doghouse?

I don't think he (Rust) really deserves it.

Do people still have issues with Rust’s game? I feel like he is getting back to his usual level. Just needs to score a couple.

I thought last night was a relatively poor game from him. I agree, most of the year he's been ok, sans the 1 goal.

BUT, speaking of all that, he has 1 goal. In 27 games. Making $3.5M as a forward. Simply awful.

 

[Pancakes]

This is the best and most complete Sidney Crosby I've ever seen. I'm being serious.

200 foot player. His line has been dominating possession most nights. Getting back to being a dominant face off guy like he was in his prime. He really is adapting his play much like Yzerman (boyhood idol) did under Bowman post 30 years of age.

2010 Sid was the best offensively I've ever seen him but yeah I'd agree he's never been more complete. Looks so calm and in control on the ice.

Reminds me a bit of Mario in his 30s where Mario lost a step in terms of speed but it was counterbalanced by him becoming even more dynamic in terms of how he thought the game. Sid is just outthinking his opponents right now. It's a pleasure to watch.

 

[PensandCaps]

Rust still helps you if he ain't scoring.

He won us two cups, has had two good reg seasons, he gets a bit of a longer leash.

He just didn't forget to play hockey well.


You don't go from two season in a row of 45 EV point pace, to a 4th line player overnight.

 

[PensandCaps]

Rust is shooting 2.5%.

He was shooting 12% the past two seasons. I think it's clearly a slump and will turn it around.

He's hit a few posts aswell.

 

[Pancakes]

This is the best and most complete Sidney Crosby I've ever seen. I'm being serious.

200 foot player. His line has been dominating possession most nights. Getting back to being a dominant face off guy like he was in his prime. He really is adapting his play much like Yzerman (boyhood idol) did under Bowman post 30 years of age.

Crosby's CF rel of nearly 10 is the highest he has ever had in his career. His 1.33 PPG is the highest it has been since 2013-14 when he last won a scoring title.

You can certainly make a case this one of his best seasons ever if he manages to keep this up. He has been simply fantastic.

 

[cheesedanish87]

I know people like to complain about Sheahan, but hes on pace for 12 goals now.

Considering hes been on the 4th line playing with bums like Wilson Sprong and Grant that's not to bad.

 

[Shady Machine]

I know people like to complain about Sheahan, but hes on pace for 12 goals now.

Considering hes been on the 4th line playing with bums like Wilson Sprong and Grant that's not to bad.

Yup he's been a lot better of late. Like the rest of the depth players, he sucked for a while. He's heating up now which is much appreciated. I'm sure he will cool off again, but this is what we need from him to be a successful team.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

BUT, speaking of all that, he has 1 goal. In 27 games. Making $3.5M as a forward. Simply awful.

And that's with being gifted many games next to a beast-mode Sid.

 

[Slaaapshuter]

I exaggerate my hate for ZAR but Rust is 10x worse this year. Every player has their role. ZAR is a cheap bottom 6 plug. Rust is being paid to produce now. Rust is by far the worst Penguin, right there with Maatta, for their output vs role vs cost.

Maatta and Rust being 7m is ridiculous. Ill take riikola and a 6m player who will actually produce.

I know Rust ticks (ticked?) a whole lotta boxes (I might have been his first, not biggest, but first fan on the board), but looks like another example of the don't overcommit to supporting cast if you want success angle.

 

[pistolpete11]

Yup. And you're asking poor little sweat pea Rust to please score a couple to make us all feel better about him.

It's why I'm angry at the Pens organization, he is the poster child for the difference in treatment that they handle certain players. I don't hear Recchi bad mouthing Rust to his minions in the press. I don't see Sully cutting his PT???

Arrogant... I simply don't like those who rule the day currently. I hate them more than the DB era circa 2012.

His TOI is down nearly 2 full minutes from last season.

 

[ColePens]

Rust still helps you if he ain't scoring.

He won us two cups, has had two good reg seasons, he gets a bit of a longer leash.

He just didn't forget to play hockey well.


You don't go from two season in a row of 45 EV point pace, to a 4th line player overnight.

Did he help in the past and in those postseasons.. yes. 100000 percent. Is he helping this year when not producing. HELL NO. No way.

Im willing to be patient. He deserves it. But call a spade a spade.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

If he gets over 60 points, he's going to get Nylander money...

He's definitely getting north of 6m/yr.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Rust is shooting 2.5%.

He was shooting 12% the past two seasons. I think it's clearly a slump and will turn it around.

He's hit a few posts aswell.

Rust is a 3rd wheel player who took advantage of playing for a stacked team allowing them to take advantage of worn down teams. Now that you have paid them like proven starters (mind you Rust has never played an entire season) I think it was a dumb move giving him 3.5 per for 4 years. Nothing but accumulating points while scoring less goals then the year before playing more games tells me they just gave 3.5 to a 3rd liner who hasn't proved he's more than that by stacking a couple years of full service and 40/50 points. Even with the cup success he should have been in the area of 2/3 years at 2.5 max.

This team didn't want to spend that kind of coin on guys who bounced up and down the lineup before. Why now?

He's not a goal scorer, and he isn't a gifted passer, he's a put his head down skate north and weasel his way to the net. Even when he played on the 4th with Cullen they produced. Why's that? The team surrounding him.

In the end, viewing him as a main cog was terribly wrong, and he was no more than a 3rd wheel/3rd liner.

Now when they need to count on him as more than he is.....*Crickets*

 

[Peat]

Rust is a 3rd wheel player who took advantage of playing for a stacked team allowing them to take advantage of worn down teams. Now that you have paid them like proven starters (mind you Rust has never played an entire season) I think it was a dumb move giving him 3.5 per for 4 years. Nothing but accumulating points while scoring less goals then the year before playing more games tells me they just gave 3.5 to a 3rd liner who hasn't proved he's more than that by stacking a couple years of full service and 40/50 points. Even with the cup success he should have been in the area of 2/3 years at 2.5 max.

This team didn't want to spend that kind of coin on guys who bounced up and down the lineup before. Why now?

He's not a goal scorer, and he isn't a gifted passer, he's a put his head down skate north and weasel his way to the net. Even when he played on the 4th with Cullen they produced. Why's that? The team surrounding him.

In the end, viewing him as a main cog was terribly wrong, and he was no more than a 3rd wheel/3rd liner.

Now when they need to count on him as more than he is.....*Crickets*

3.5m is a pretty standard payment to a 3rd wheel in this league once UFA years start getting brought and guys who put up 40/50 points for a couple of years before hand usually get a decent whack more. Its also a perfectly acceptable payment to a 3rd liner when there's 160 better paid forwards in the league. If Rutherford had tried to sign him for 2.5m max, then he'd have either gone to arbitration or had to trade him.

So no, they don't need to count him to be more than he is. They just need him to be what he's been for the past two years (which is more than a 3rd liner by a lot of metrics but whatevs) and what they paid him to be - a 2nd/3rd tweener third wheel.