Penguins reduce their roster by 6 players

[Freeptop]

Don't the cap pawns usually get assigned to Wheeling? :p

Usually they send them to Wheeling because they're technically required to have them physically report to where they were assigned. With Wheeling being closer to Pittsburgh, they'd drive them down there, then drive them back the next day (at least, officially). The team got on a plane for Dallas today, so there's really no benefit to using Wheeling for this purpose. My guess is Maatta is on that plane, though, rather than in a car on the way to WB/S.

I mean, he's just getting a connecting flight from Dallas to get him to WB/S tomorrow... it's a shame he won't make that flight due to being recalled tomorrow, though

 

[mpp9]

Also if Plotnikov works out as even a good third liner, this offseason will have been huge, given the wasted assets over the last several seasons.

If he can put up 40 or so points in the regular season, raise his game in the playoffs and help 87/71 play theirs, then I'd have him as lock in the top 6.

The top 6 needs his skillset badly, IMO. For a lack of better terminology, PH is a pain in the ass to play against, but Plotnikov could be the badass they lack alongside their stars.

 

[mpp9]

Yep. JR looks to have had a better summer than I possibly could have expected. Added Kessel without giving up anything that was necessary (Sprong made Kapenen superfluous for me). Added Plotnikov for nothing who, if nothing else, is a 200 foot hockey player with size and a mean streak. Then smoked Jim Benning in a Sutter trade.

Can't wait until people see what Fehr can do. People pencil him in on the fourth, but that ain't happening. Unless he has Melichar shoulder, there aren't 9 better forwards on this team and we're pretty deep at forward.

If Sprong can play up the lineup and Fehr is occupying opposing top lines, they'll be quite a group to watch. I dont' think a shutdown D-man would be required. Just another D who can move the puck well enough and give you 20 minutes.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

If he can put up 40 or so points in the regular season, raise his game in the playoffs and help 87/71 play theirs, then I'd have him as lock in the top 6.

The top 6 needs his skillset badly, IMO. For a lack of better terminology, PH is a pain in the ass to play against, but Plotnikov could be the badass they lack alongside their stars.

I'm hoping he ends up with Crosby and Malkin gets one of the skilled winger like Perron, BB or Sprong if he can stick and elevate his game.

Either way, even if he turns into a good third liner and Sprong can work out, that would really help offset the damage Shero did with his asset mgmt/one sided drafting.

I'm just being carefully optimistic because Malone is really the only top six fwd this team developed that wasn't a top two pick, since I've followed their farm in the mid 90s as a teen. So it's one of those deals where this org finding two top six guys in one summer isn't something I'm sure I can even process TBTH.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Plotnikov seems like a safe bet to be at least a good, physical 3rd line winger. His overall game is very well rounded, I didn't think he'd be as good defensively as he is. The thing that sucks is that Plotnikov would fit best on a line where Kessel is the LW, but I don't see Kessel being removed from Sid or Plotnikov being removed from Geno happening anytime soon. I hope he has a good season and that we lock him up for a semi-long term (like 3-4 years), he seems like he'd be an extremely valuable player to have, especially for a team as soft as we are.

 

[The Old Master]

Plotnikov seems like a safe bet to be at least a good, physical 3rd line winger. His overall game is very well rounded, I didn't think he'd be as good defensively as he is. The thing that sucks is that Plotnikov would fit best on a line where Kessel is the LW, but I don't see Kessel being removed from Sid or Plotnikov being removed from Geno happening anytime soon. I hope he has a good season and that we lock him up for a semi-long term (like 3-4 years), he seems like he'd be an extremely valuable player to have, especially for a team as soft as we are.

you have just passed our coach in hockey sense.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Plotnikov seems like a safe bet to be at least a good, physical 3rd line winger. His overall game is very well rounded, I didn't think he'd be as good defensively as he is. The thing that sucks is that Plotnikov would fit best on a line where Kessel is the LW, but I don't see Kessel being removed from Sid or Plotnikov being removed from Geno happening anytime soon. I hope he has a good season and that we lock him up for a semi-long term (like 3-4 years), he seems like he'd be an extremely valuable player to have, especially for a team as soft as we are.

The only thing that worries me is if he can stick handle a puck. I saw him hang onto it for 3-4 seconds in open ice maybe twice the entire pre-season. The first time it looked like he had a rabid dog chasing him, and the other time he looked like a Saturday night special with a hockey stick.

I think maybe he can carry the puck a little, but the small sample size suggests he was born without thumbs.

 

[HandshakeLine]

The only thing that worries me is if he can stick handle a puck. I saw him hang onto it for 3-4 seconds in open ice maybe twice the entire pre-season. The first time it looked like he had a rabid dog chasing him, and the other time he looked like a Saturday night special with a hockey stick.

I think maybe he can carry the puck a little, but the small sample size suggests he was born without thumbs.

I haven't seen him play on the smaller NA ice, but it could also be him overcompensating to try to get to the NA game. He didn't seem particularly bad when ever I saw him play in the KHL.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

If Sprong can play up the lineup and Fehr is occupying opposing top lines, they'll be quite a group to watch. I dont' think a shutdown D-man would be required. Just another D who can move the puck well enough and give you 20 minutes.

They need two D if we're talking Cup chances, to say nothing of how realistic that is. Nothing fancy. I don't even care if it's two UFAs in their thirties and past their prime as long as they can play the game and fill a hole in the time we have them. Our D is that bad.

As for who matches against top lines, off the top of my head I would think Bonino would be that guy. Fehr certainly could, but with injuries I can see him playing up and down the lineup. He played wing all over the place for the Caps IIRC, and I believe he can shoot the puck pretty well.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I haven't seen him play on the smaller NA ice, but it could also be him overcompensating to try to get to the NA game. He didn't seem particularly bad when ever I saw him play in the KHL.

That's good to hear.

I just need to see him actually handle the puck in space for a sustained time, aside from the 2-3 times he did it all preseason.

I seriously thought he was going to hurt himself the first time the awkward way he was handling the puck and trying to move fwd. That was his second shift or so in the NHL, so maybe nerves?

We'll see how he does when he handles the puck more.

At this point I'm relieved he skates so well. From people's description of his skating, I was expecting the love child of Robbie Brown and Jason Allison born with club foot.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I honestly don't know who those people were watching, Jiggy, 'cause he's never been a bad skater on the bigger ice here. But I figured it's better to undersell expectations than oversell.

 

[HandshakeLine]

On the topic of forwards vs. d, I'd rather we maximize our forward corps early in the season and then make moves for a blueliner or two as the season goes on. Our track record the other way was... not so spectacular.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

The only concern I have for Plotnikov is if he defers to Geno too much, and also overpass when clearly a shot would be the right play. Otherwise, he is gold.

 

[cygnus47]

On the topic of forwards vs. d, I'd rather we maximize our forward corps early in the season and then make moves for a blueliner or two as the season goes on. Our track record the other way was... not so spectacular.

IMO we should just commit to having this be a growth year rather than trying to win it all. All of our important pieces are locked up and moving one or two of Scuderi/Kunitz/Dupuis will open up any cap space necessary for next year. We can have our team improve next year without doing anything and at THAT point, our D will have matured enough (assuming things go ok) that we will be ready. We're in a position to compete for 3 or so years (starting next year) as long as we don't do something dumb and destroy all the depth we've acquired. I would only make a move for D this year if its Duper, Kunitz, Scuderi going the other way.

Then again, this is something we should have done 3 or 4 years ago but we could never get out of '"compete" every year!' mode. I see us doing something dumb and dropping Perron or Bennett for an overpaid #4 D that isn't really an improvement - re-opening holes in our forward ranks.

 

[jolly roger]

Rumors that the Pens are looking at trying to deal for Athanisciou ,the kid who got first star for the Wings in Pittsburgh the other night, and then turned around and was first star in Toronto, lead the Wings in preseason scoring, and then got sent down to the AHL.

My friends say he's the fastest skater in the NHL. He looked like it at Consol, scoring two goals and an assist in 10 minutes of ice time. That would be huge if they could swing it.

Far better than Sprong or our other pickups, imagine him on the Crosby Kessel line? Salivating over that possibility. Imagine him feeding Sid and Kessel. The speed alone opens up their play as somebody has to catch him. He's a big strong kid too.

Sorry to hear Dupuis injured and out. A really good guy.

But this could be THE MOVE.

 

[Asuna]

Rumors that the Pens are looking at trying to deal for Athanisciou ,the kid who got first star for the Wings in Pittsburgh the other night, and then turned around and was first star in Toronto, lead the Wings in preseason scoring, and then got sent down to the AHL.

My friends say he's the fastest skater in the NHL. He looked like it at Consol, scoring two goals and an assist in 10 minutes of ice time. That would be huge if they could swing it.

Far better than Sprong or our other pickups, imagine him on the Crosby Kessel line? Salivating over that possibility. Imagine him feeding Sid and Kessel. The speed alone opens up their play as somebody has to catch him. He's a big strong kid too.

Sorry to hear Dupuis injured and out. A really good guy.

But this could be THE MOVE.

lol where did you see this at?

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I honestly don't know who those people were watching, Jiggy, 'cause he's never been a bad skater on the bigger ice here. But I figured it's better to undersell expectations than oversell.

Most people have no clue how to really evaluate skating I've discovered. Nuck fans made Clendening sound like a slug as well.

It's my fault because I keep assuming people know wtf they are talking about, when they rarely do.

 

[Gurglesons]

lol where did you see this at?

BBC Sports.

Watch them trade Bennett for him.

 

[Asuna]

BBC Sports.

Watch them trade Bennett for him.

I don't know much about the guy, but he looked good against us.

 

[jolly roger]

BBC Sports.

Watch them trade Bennett for him.

That would be a steal for us. This kid's the REAL DEAL. Watch the highlight videos from the AHL and OHL. It's all over the place.

 

[Empoleon8771]

How the hell would a British news channel know that the Pens are interested in anyone? Pure BS

 

[Jules Winnfield]

That would be a steal for us. This kid's the REAL DEAL. Watch the highlight videos from the AHL and OHL. It's all over the place.

Meh. Highlights in the AHL and OHL don't mean jack. Ho-Sang should be Lemieux in the NHL if you went by his OHL highlight videos.

I will say though, the kid does look good. Dat speed.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

How the hell would a British news channel know that the Pens are interested in anyone? Pure BS

LOL for real...

 

[Randy Butternubs]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/hockey

 

[jolly roger]

Meh. Highlights in the AHL and OHL don't mean jack. Ho-Sang should be Lemieux in the NHL if you went by his OHL highlight videos.

I will say though, the kid does look good. Dat speed.

That's usually true, but 2 First Stars in a row in the NHL, even in preseason is outstanding. And he's got the same highlights in the NHL and AHL.

BBC is HUGE on hockey in Canada.