Confirmed with Link: Penguins re-sign Derrick Pouliot (1 yr/$800k) and Josh Archibald (2 yrs/$675k per)

[Dipsy Doodle]

You don't become a 25 minute a night, 60+ point Dman without having hockey IQ.

I dunno. I think we saw 2 of 'em go head-to-head in the '16 Finals.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Top 10 players are usually closer to NHL ready than later round picks. That's why Pouliot made his NHL debut as a 20 year old. Unfortunately it seems like he's done zero development in the past 3 years.

I get that, and often show draft position along with chance of making it to the NHL, or having a career of more than a year. Far more bust than people think.

I am just saying that after this length of time it does not really matter where one was drafted.

Pouliot does not have a lesser chance of putting it together in his mid 20's than someone drafted in a lower round or undrafted at all. Nor a better chance. Draft position at this point is irrelevant.

As an aside though talking about draft position even though I said that it is irrelevant. He is just the kind of player that the Pens have had success plucking from other teams. Mid-round to late round firsts who haven't put it together. I say mid to late firsts as that is where he should have been drafted. If they have success turning around players like that from other teams, let's hope one last look this year works with him. They certainly could use him if he does finally put it together.

 

[Shady Machine]

I get that, and often show draft position along with chance of making it to the NHL, or having a career of more than a year. Far more bust than people think.

I am just saying that after this length of time it does not really matter where one was drafted.

Pouliot does not have a lesser chance of putting it together in his mid 20's than someone drafted in a lower round or undrafted at all. Nor a better chance. Draft position at this point is irrelevant.

As an aside though talking about draft position even though I said that it is irrelevant. He is just the kind of player that the Pens have had success plucking from other teams. Mid-round to late round firsts who haven't put it together. I say mid to late firsts as that is where he should have been drafted. If they have success turning around players like that from other teams, let's hope one last look this year works with him. They certainly could use him if he does finally put it together.

Those players (Niskanen, Cole, Schultz) were all proven NHLers that went through tough stretches and the Pens resurrected their careers. I'm not saying it can't happen with Pouliot. I'm just pointing out that it's a different situation.

I am still cautiously optimistic about Pouliot. This year is his last big chance with the Pens. Hope he takes advantage of it.

 

[jmelm]

Those players (Niskanen, Cole, Schultz) were all proven NHLers that went through tough stretches and the Pens resurrected their careers. I'm not saying it can't happen with Pouliot. I'm just pointing out that it's a different situation.

I am still cautiously optimistic about Pouliot. This year is his last big chance with the Pens. Hope he takes advantage of it.

The 2 primary things that are different are: first, that all 3 of those other guys are better skaters than Pouliot (still his biggest weakness, IMO); and second, that those 3 guys all had fresh starts with a new team.


I am absolutely an advocate of giving Pouliot one more chance with this team, but I definitely feel that it's more likely he would find more success with a fresh start. Part of this is just standard practice and human psychology, but another key factor is that Mike Sullivan is clearly not a fan of Pouliot. So not only does Poo have an uphill climb to establish himself as an NHLer in general, but an even steeper climb trying to prove himself with Mike Sullivan. Fingers crossed that it works out here though.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

The issue I take with the Dumo comparison is that Dumo was never "all or nothing" as a player. Pouliot is "offensive/PP specialist or bust." Nobody expected great things defensively, and he's looked absolutely atrocious in that respect, but outside of a couple of games in the ~60 or so he's played at the NHL level, he's been an absolute non-factor offensively or in transition.

Again, hoping he proves me and a lot of people wrong, but it's gonna take a Hell of a jump in his development/conditioning/intensity for him to even sniff the NHL on a regular basis. The dude has been flat-out trash for the vast, vast majority of his time with the big club.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

The issue I take with the Dumo comparison is that Dumo was never "all or nothing" as a player. Pouliot is "offensive/PP specialist or bust." Nobody expected great things defensively, and he's looked absolutely atrocious in that respect, but outside of a couple of games in the ~60 or so he's played at the NHL level, he's been an absolute non-factor offensively or in transition.

Again, hoping he proves me and a lot of people wrong, but it's gonna take a Hell of a jump in his development/conditioning/intensity for him to even sniff the NHL on a regular basis. The dude has been flat-out trash for the vast, vast majority of his time with the big club.

I don't agree with that. Prior to last year, Pouliot had 14 points in 56 games with little in the way of PP time, which is a fine start offensively.

I think there's some recency bias against Pouliot based on his poor season last year.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Nah, Pouliot's been trash outside of a couple of games--most notably one against the Sharks a couple years ago, and I think against the Rangers (?) where he scored a nice goal finding open ice behind the play.

It's not recency bias, the kid's just sucked for damn near all of his time in the NHL. Call it a confidence issue, call it an intensity issue, call it whatever. He's just been bad. Hopefully he has a huge breakout and does a complete 180, but I highly doubt it happens. I'd love for him to prove my opinion of him wrong, but he's nothing more than a career AHLer to me right now on his best days.

 

[Peat]

Fair enough if you've always believed that but I don't believe every Pens fan saying Pouliot's never shown anything in the NHL always believed that. There were too many people worrying about him getting taken in the expansion draft and thinking he was hard done by to have got passed over for Schultz at the start of the season for that to be likely.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I don't agree with that. Prior to last year, Pouliot had 14 points in 56 games with little in the way of PP time, which is a fine start offensively.

I think there's some recency bias against Pouliot based on his poor season last year.

On the flip side, I think there's also a tendency for some to remember his play in Portland when evaluating what he is now.

He's looking more like our version of Ryan Murphy than he is the future PP QB people envisioned when he was first drafted.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

I don't agree with that. Prior to last year, Pouliot had 14 points in 56 games with little in the way of PP time, which is a fine start offensively.

I think there's some recency bias against Pouliot based on his poor season last year.

Agreed. He had some solid performances the previous two years.

 

[JTG]

Pouliot sucking has spanned a couple administrations now. Hopefully he can come in this season with a bit of fire being that he's on a one way deal and he knows he'll be here.

His value is so low that you almost can't flip him. He's also one of those candidates that could leave a team and be a monster somewhere else. He seems like a player that would fit in really well out west.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Hopefully we see some more of Archibald this year. Pouliot....man, he really has to take a step forward. Gonch, work your magic, please.

Not a bad idea...he certainly can't play defence...

 

[Dinfire]

Pouliot is the prototypical Pens D man. Good hands, pretty fast, not a ton of size/strength. He tears up the AHL. His problem is that he has mental lapses and bad luck. Just about every mistake he's made in the NHL has cost the team. If he can stay focused he can absolutely become a valuable member of the NHL team.

 

[jmelm]

Pouliot is the prototypical Pens D man. Good hands, pretty fast, not a ton of size/strength. He tears up the AHL. His problem is that he has mental lapses and bad luck. Just about every mistake he's made in the NHL has cost the team. If he can stay focused he can absolutely become a valuable member of the NHL team.

No he's not. It's his biggest physical weakness. Aside from Maatta, he would be the slowest of our Dmen on our roster next season. He has never had that extra gear, and as he's climbed the ranks from junior to the AHL to the NHL, it has become more and more of a liability. Among improving other aspects of his game, I really hope with proper training and skating coaches Poo can improve this, otherwise it's really going to diminish his chances of being an effective Dman in the NHL.

 

[ColePens]

Pouliot is the prototypical Pens D man. Good hands, pretty fast, not a ton of size/strength. He tears up the AHL. His problem is that he has mental lapses and bad luck. Just about every mistake he's made in the NHL has cost the team. If he can stay focused he can absolutely become a valuable member of the NHL team.

Unfortunately I can only speak to his NHL play, but he's not fast at all. In fact he's quite slow on his skates at the NHL level. He's flat footed a lot. He got burned by Hartnell, who at this age is not great by any means. And he's having mental lapses pretty much every shift.

He's not dead, but he's now playing for his NHL career. If he fails to deliver this year, I doubt many teams are going to give the guy a shot.

 

[clefty]

He doesn't tear up the AHL, either. Not at all.

 

[Tender Rip]

I'd have higher hopes for Despres coming back from his hellish concussion history than Pooh making it to "useful" for us.

Hope I am wrong.

 

[NORiculous]

Most here don't seem too optimistic. Why would managment sign him to a one way if they are, as here, not optomistic? I know its just a one year deal but still.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Most here don't seem too optimistic. Why would managment sign him to a one way if they are, as here, not optomistic? I know its just a one year deal but still.

I'm guessing we could keep the cap hit even lower that way, and if we waive him he'll likely be getting claimed anyway.

 

[Hockeyholic]

I have a feeling DP is gone if he struggles again. Would be six years. At some point you've gotta see improvement.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

On the flip side, I think there's also a tendency for some to remember his play in Portland when evaluating what he is now.

He's looking more like our version of Ryan Murphy than he is the future PP QB people envisioned when he was first drafted.

This is based only on last year, where he obviously struggled.

Granted we were all hoping that Pouliot would be taking a step forward at that crucial time instead of taking a step back, but his performance from the 2012 draft through to the spring of 2016 at every successive level (Jrs, Int'l, AHL, NHL) was what you expect from a top 10 pick. When we acquired Schultz, Pouliot looked like an NHL defenseman.

For me, that progression is enough to make me want to see if last year was an aberration or the start of a Murphy-esque slide into obscurity, especially since it pretty much costs us nothing to do so. Maybe I'm reading the board wrong, but the decision to re-sign Pouliot seems to be characterized as a total waste by a lot of posters.

Agreed. He had some solid performances the previous two years.

For many, last year whitewashed a lot of the good Pouliot had done prior to last season, IMO.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

This is based only on last year, where he obviously struggled.

Granted we were all hoping that Pouliot would be taking a step forward at that crucial time instead of taking a step back, but his performance from the 2012 draft through to the spring of 2016 at every successive level (Jrs, Int'l, AHL, NHL) was what you expect from a top 10 pick. When we acquired Schultz, Pouliot looked like an NHL defenseman.

For me, that progression is enough to make me want to see if last year was an aberration or the start of a Murphy-esque slide into obscurity, especially since it pretty much costs us nothing to do so. Maybe I'm reading the board wrong, but the decision to re-sign Pouliot seems to be characterized as a total waste by a lot of posters.

For me, I'm indifferent about the signing. It's not a lot of money, and I'm still okay with them giving him a shot. The problem is, will he even get a shot? With a healthy defense, he's #8 on the depth chart, and based on his play last year, he's not the type of player who can excel if he's sitting in the press box 5 games, plays 1 game, sits another 3, plays 2, etc.

To be honest, though, I've never been high on his performance. Even at his very best in the NHL, all I saw was someone who could perform like Chad Ruhwedel. And that was at his very best. I never saw a guy who looked like he had the potential to be a legitimate top four defenseman, and I certainly never saw this high-end offensive ability. At best, his puck moving was good. But I never saw any actual offense.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

For me, I'm indifferent about the signing. It's not a lot of money, and I'm still okay with them giving him a shot. The problem is, will he even get a shot? With a healthy defense, he's #8 on the depth chart, and based on his play last year, he's not the type of player who can excel if he's sitting in the press box 5 games, plays 1 game, sits another 3, plays 2, etc.

To be honest, though, I've never been high on his performance. Even at his very best in the NHL, all I saw was someone who could perform like Chad Ruhwedel. And that was at his very best. I never saw a guy who looked like he had the potential to be a legitimate top four defenseman, and I certainly never saw this high-end offensive ability. At best, his puck moving was good. But I never saw any actual offense.

I mean, we'll see. Pouliot's worth it as a scratch ticket, at the very least.

When he has the puck, I like how he can find and exploit seams in transition and in the other team's end. He processes the game well and doesn't need the puck long to make something happen. It's just a matter of whether he can tighten up in his own end so he has the confidence to make those offensive plays at the highest level. If he's regularly turning the puck over and second-guessing, he's going to play a reserved game that neutralizes what he does best, as we saw for most of last year.

 

[ColePens]

You have to go with what you've seen. Can DP turn it around? Hell yes. I've seen crazier turnarounds. Is it likely he will turn it around? No. It's not likely at all. His game had so many flaws that he needs a downright miracle to get his confidence back up. He also needs a miracle for the situation to allow itself for him to play (unfortunately injuries).

And he also just needs a tad bit of luck on the ice. So many of his mistakes turned into goals. Sometimes you can make mistakes and not pay for them. And sometimes you are just out there for goals that your team is scoring getting some easy assists and some easy +s on your side. He needs that. Gain some confidence and continue moving forward.

But if you had to put odds on it, more than likely he's going to be waived or moved for pennies. But let's hope the underdog rises up on this one and prove everyone wrong.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

You have to go with what you've seen. Can DP turn it around? Hell yes. I've seen crazier turnarounds. Is it likely he will turn it around? No. It's not likely at all. His game had so many flaws that he needs a downright miracle to get his confidence back up. He also needs a miracle for the situation to allow itself for him to play (unfortunately injuries).

And he also just needs a tad bit of luck on the ice. So many of his mistakes turned into goals. Sometimes you can make mistakes and not pay for them. And sometimes you are just out there for goals that your team is scoring getting some easy assists and some easy +s on your side. He needs that. Gain some confidence and continue moving forward.

But if you had to put odds on it, more than likely he's going to be waived or moved for pennies. But let's hope the underdog rises up on this one and prove everyone wrong.

I think his flaws have been severely overblown. His most pressing problem was his urgency under pressure, and that didn't seem to be a dealbreaking issue by Spring 2016. Then he got injured early last season until December, and his problems became compounded.

I guess I'm more optimistic about a turnaround than most. Last season was the only season where Pouliot didn't progress. I don't see any reason why he couldn't become a bottom pairing defenseman for us next year if he returns to the form he showed before we acquired Schultz.