Confirmed with Link: Penguins sign Matt Hunwick (3 years, $6.75 M | $2.25M AAV)

[The GM]

Can somebody tell me the difference between Kyle Quincy & Matt Hunwick? Would Quincy have been better?

Quincy can grow a beard.

 

[AgentM]

Just checking his stats and I noticed he regularly misses 10+ games a year so he should fit in just fine...

 

[BrookswasHere44]

I didn't realize he was 32.

 

[Cherpak]

Just checking his stats and I noticed he regularly misses 10+ games a year so he should fit in just fine...

Yep.

 

[BHD]

I was reading a breakdown posted by a Leafs fan, and this caught my attention...

We saw him use nifty plays to spin off pressure in the defensive zone. Also, as I’ll get to later, we also saw him use his skating ability to step up in the neutral and offensive zone as well.

Sound familiar? He should fit in if deployed properly.

 

[JTG]

This is the statement I think is ridiculous. If you have to give Matt Hunwick an extra year on a deal you walk away from it. He is the exact type of player that shouldn't get signed for more than one or two years. If Daley or Hainsey are "fringe" top four defensemen what does that make Hunwick? He's played top four minutes on two teams the 2012-13 Avs and the 2015-16 Leafs. Two of the worst teams in recent memory.

Then you're without a defenseman. The extra year will not kill us. Hunwick is a bottom pair defenseman than can play middle pair in a pinch. Team success has very little to do with how effective a player is. If anything, a ****** team makes him look bad, not vice versa.

So, Maatta gets saddled down with our worst defenseman yet again?

What happens if Schultz regresses?

What happens if Maatta regresses...further?

Who has actually watched Toronto and the Avs enough to make an educated opinion on Hunwick?

pixiesfanyo apparently...

 

[Penske]

Hunwick was very decent in the playoffs but that's only when I've watched him.

It's also a good move to have a very solid bottom pair guy locked up (at a good AAV) if Cole goes out to UFA and gets a big offer. I mean in all likelihood Cole is probably going to test the market for a nice payday we won't be able to match.

 

[Riptide]

Sound familiar? He should fit in if deployed properly.

I've been saying this for several days - including before we signed him.

 

[Riptide]

This is the statement I think is ridiculous. If you have to give Matt Hunwick an extra year on a deal you walk away from it. He is the exact type of player that shouldn't get signed for more than one or two years. If Daley or Hainsey are "fringe" top four defensemen what does that make Hunwick? He's played top four minutes on two teams the 2012-13 Avs and the 2015-16 Leafs. Two of the worst teams in recent memory.

Cole got a 3 year deal... they're very very similar players. 3 year deals are not the end of the world - especially when they're cheap and addressing a position of weakness.

 

[Brandinho]

Cole got a 3 year deal... they're very very similar players. 3 year deals are not the end of the world - especially when they're cheap and addressing a position of weakness.

Ian Cole was 26 when he signed that deal. Pretty significant difference.

 

[Riptide]

Ian Cole was 26 when he signed that deal. Pretty significant difference.

Not really. Hunwick just turned 32. And unless we're playing into the 3rd round+ 3 years from now, he'll be 34 when our season finishes.

It's a 3 year contract for less than 2.3m. This should be a non issue.

 

[JTG]

The 3rd year is sort of irrelevant to me at what Hunwick has as a cap hit. Somebody would take that contract. In all honesty, even if he turns into a 7...it's still not the end of the world.

 

[Penske]

The 3rd year is sort of irrelevant to me at what Hunwick has as a cap hit. Somebody would take that contract. In all honesty, even if he turns into a 7...it's still not the end of the world.

It'd be a moveable contract in that final year if he was a #7 by then too.

 

[vodeni]

everybody projects him as 5-6 guy, which translated in Penguins language means first pair when Tanger goes down,....
I stopped worrying about d-man long time ago

This team won the cup with Hainsey, another guy with the same money won't hurt

 

[Pengu]

Looks fine imo. JR said he'd do just as well as Daley and the AVV in the 3rd year is 1.75 million.
Not too old either.
If he can do similar to what he did for the Leafs in the 2nd half of the season it's a bargain.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

 

[Riptide]

everybody projects him as 5-6 guy, which translated in Penguins language means first pair when Tanger goes down,....
I stopped worrying about d-man long time ago

This team won the cup with Hainsey, another guy with the same money won't hurt

It's the Penguins. Ruhwedel who started the year as our what... 8-10D was playing 20 minutes a night down the stretch. I figure that Hunwick for at least 25+ games will be asked to play 20+ minutes a night in a top 4 role. And honestly? I'm not all that concerned about it. This will be a signing much like Coles that 12 months from now. The odd part is that there wasn't a single complaint about Cole's deal - unless you count IC and him complaining about 100k

 

[froods]

On the lighter side of things, does he wear 6 (college), 22 (Colorado), 44 (Rags), or 48 (Boston)?

 

[Jacob]

I noticed watching old clips that Kessel was on the ice for Hunwick's first career goal, and in fact fished the puck out of the net for him. I think they were on the 2005 US WJC team together too. So, neat connection there.

 

[Zen Arcade]

I noticed watching old clips that Kessel was on the ice for Hunwick's first career goal, and in fact fished the puck out of the net for him. I think they were on the 2005 US WJC team together too. So, neat connection there.

I was a thinking Hunwick would've​been too old to be on that team, then I realized it was 12 years ago.

Holy ****.

 

[JTG]

It'd be a moveable contract in that final year if he was a #7 by then too.

At any point in time, Matt Hunwick would be prime trade deadline fodder.

 

[Brandinho]

Not really. Hunwick just turned 32. And unless we're playing into the 3rd round+ 3 years from now, he'll be 34 when our season finishes.

It's a 3 year contract for less than 2.3m. This should be a non issue.

Yes, really. Cole was not yet in his prime, Hunwick is on the tail end of his, if not past it. That is a huge difference because Cole had a very good chance of hitting another level, which he ended up doing. Hunwick is almost certainly not getting any better and he may very well get worse. That doesn't mean that 3 years is a terrible decision or that you can't like the signing, but the comparison to Cole is pretty silly.

 

[Penske]

Yes, really. Cole was not yet in his prime, Hunwick is on the tail end of his, if not past it. That is a huge difference because Cole had a very good chance of hitting another level, which he ended up doing. Hunwick is almost certainly not getting any better and he may very well get worse. That doesn't mean that 3 years is a terrible decision or that you can't like the signing, but the comparison to Cole is pretty silly.

No coincidence that Cole started playing better under Sully. He was ok before that but nothing special. Hunwick deserves that chance too. Hunwick's game may improve just from being on a better team. He seems to have the right attributes for the role he'll play here.

 

[Brandinho]

No coincidence that Cole started playing better under Sully. He was ok before that but nothing special. Hunwick deserves that chance too. Hunwick's game may improve just from being on a better team. He seems to have the right attributes for the role he'll play here.

That's fair, but Cole was also a fairly highly touted prospect at one point whose development seemed to stall in St. Louis. No doubt that Sullivan helped him quite a bit and it's entirely possible that Sullivan can have a similar impact on Hunwick, but that seems considerably less likely given the disparity in age and pedigree. Of course I'll give Hunwick a chance. I'll give anybody a chance, no matter what I thought of them before they were a Penguin (well, aside from Evander Kane). I just don't think the comparison that was made before with Cole and Hunwick is even remotely valid, that's all.

 

[Gurglesons]

No coincidence that Cole started playing better under Sully. He was ok before that but nothing special. Hunwick deserves that chance too. Hunwick's game may improve just from being on a better team. He seems to have the right attributes for the role he'll play here.

He worked well with Yandle in New York. That was also three years ago. I think people expecting him to replace what Daley brings are kidding themselves though. He ultimately is a downgrade from who we've been running in our top six and he's only going to get worse as his contract goes on.

I see this playing out a lot like Jordan Leopold on the Blues in 2013-14. Hopefully, Hunwick stays healthy.