Confirmed with Link: Penguins trade Scott Wilson + 2018 3rd rd. pick for Riley Sheahan + 2018 5th rd. pick

[Shaffer]

Shero had a chance with the two best players in the world to create a dynasty and failed. Having Crosby and Malkin in the line up can get yourself a victory by itself but Shero never developed the depth. Really good later round draft picks though.

 

[chethejet]

When Shero went to bat for Bylsma and gave him that extension. That was it. But not firing him after that series with the Flyers where Bylsma was so poor and that press conference was a disaster.

 

[Riptide]

Rutherford has had one summer where he had to make tough decisions and he basically gave two UFAs close to market value. Next year will go a long way in understanding if the last two years define a change and improvement in his management style or if just like Carolina he throws around assets and picks and hopes they stick.

Who? Schultz and Dumoulin were RFAs. The only UFA's we signed were Hunwick and Niemi, and the latter is off the books and cost us nothing.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I'm so happy we can like posts... but this needs quoted to remind us over and over and over again how good we got it.

And even if I dislike a Reaves or Sheahan deal, they are so small in comparison to the thought of feeling 2014 summer all over again.

I'll always be fine with the Reaves deal, no matter how it works out. JR did what he had to and got the Crosby of bodyguards. If I had my way, the NHL would be full of wise people who understand you protect your stars and the Pens would be running four skilled lines. But this league is full of dinosaurs who will never get it. So JR had to at least try and make his stars feel safer and find his own vigilante for when it's needed.

If Reaves doesn't help and people want to pound their chests they were right, cool. If that does indeed come to pass, there will be no winners, except for fans of other teams who want Crosby and Malkin to take an early retirement.

No matter what JR does going fwd, I will always understand and appreciate that he rescued my favorite hockey franchise from the depths of hockey purgatory.

 

[billybudd]

Have you enjoyed being a Pens fan at any point in time?

I've never seen so much doom and gloom from someone who follows a team that's won 3 Cups in the past decade. Reading your posts, I sometimes think I ended up on the Arizona or Florida boards with how disappointing so much of the past few years seem to be for you.

He/she is actually right (for once) about the early round picks, though. Those are the ones a GM has the most input on and Shero had a long list of reaches in that region who never amounted to anything. If you put Staal and Maatta aside and give Despres, Blueger and Jarry incompletes (too early to tell on the last two and the former will always be a ? as far as where he ultimately ended up), everybody else picked between 1 and 65 amounted to precisely nothing in the 8 years Shero presided over it. If not for Brian Strait--who's as underwhelming as it gets--it's not until you get in the 80 range until we start pulling actual NHLers in the draft. GMs have little feedback that late in the game.

I used to be real hard on the Pens scouting staff, but their work from 3rd round on suggests someone knew what he was doing. Maybe a lot of someones.

That they bombed so hard in rounds one and two--but hit home runs in round three--suggests to me that there was an additional factor in play early in these drafts. If not Shero, then what would it have been?

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Part of me wishes I posted in these threads more often (other than just the cap ones) so that I could look back on things after the fact.

I just posted it to put a perspective on things for people that hated a move and then quickly changed their tune, some are open about it and others say they never did and lie about it, which is whatever, but the thing is, in most of these cases, they just needed to chill the f*** out and let things play out.

 

[Pens x]

Have you enjoyed being a Pens fan at any point in time?

I've never seen so much doom and gloom from someone who follows a team that's won 3 Cups in the past decade. Reading your posts, I sometimes think I ended up on the Arizona or Florida boards with how disappointing so much of the past few years seem to be for you.

I expect competency from management, something Shero struggled with over his last several years here.

Look at his early draft pick results, it's almost impressive how often he missed. You'd think he would stunble upon one decent player here and there.

 

[HandshakeLine]

The word is "stumble", kid.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I expect competency from management, something Shero struggled with over his last several years here.

Look at his early draft pick results, it's almost impressive how often he missed. You'd think he would stunble upon one decent player here and there.

I've always wanted better scouting from the Pens and it's been hit or miss, but that's what drafting is, you do your research and you hope for the best that the player is put in the right environment with the willingness to work hard and you pair that with the talent they already have.

 

[#1GuinFan]

So that Sheahan kid looked alright tonight, seemed to get tossed from the dot alot though.

 

[Pens x]

I've always wanted better scouting from the Pens and it's been hit or miss, but that's what drafting is, you do your research and you hope for the best that the player is put in the right environment with the willingness to work hard and you pair that with the talent they already have.

Well Shero needed to change his research then. You don't miss that many first round picks for such a long period of time. His drafting alone made him a pretty poor gm. When you consider his unfettered loyalty to Adams, Dupuis, Kunitz, Bylsma, etc. he really was a trash gm in his later part of his tenure.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Well Shero needed to change his research then. You don't miss that many first round picks for such a long period of time. His drafting alone made him a pretty poor gm. When you consider his unfettered loyalty to Adams, Dupuis, Kunitz, Bylsma, etc. he really was a trash gm in his later part of his tenure.

And as much as folks like to give him credit for his picks that are now helping us win (and it's fair, they are) I will argue until I'm blue in the face that none of them would be playing on this team if Shero was still GM.

 

[Jacob]

Sheahan looked alright. Uses the points well in the O zone and likes going to the front of the net. Hopefully the touches and the assist he got give him a little confidence, seems like he really needs it.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I thought Sheahan looked good along the boards, and the parts of the game I saw (missed the first and a chunk of the second), he seemed to go to the net and set up shop in the goalie's grill.

At the very least, he'll help the cycle game, be solid on draws, and be a guy who can screen goalies/bang in rebounds.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Sheahan looked very good tonight I thought. His playmaking talent is obviously mediocre, but he looked like he could move well, he was engaged in the dirty areas, did well on faceoffs and was very responsible defensively, plus having a huge impact on Cole's goal. A very solid game from Sheahan IMO.

 

[SarahCrash]

Wow! He was an immediate impact and a very good player tonight.

 

[Captain Hook]

He looked fine tonight. The screen on the Cole goal was nice.

He obviously is going to have to produce more than he did in Detroit the past two years in order to fill the #3 center spot long-term.

The good thing is that we made the trade early enough to see how he produces over a significant period of time and it leaves us plenty of time to look for a more productive #3 center if he doesn't produce.

 

[Gurglesons]

From what I saw tonight Sheahan and Reaves seemed to have some chemistry which is awesome. if we can get a solid fourth line clicking with those two that'll be huge.

 

[Ogrezilla]

From what I saw tonight Sheahan and Reaves seemed to have some chemistry which is awesome. if we can get a solid fourth line clicking with those two that'll be huge.

It would be nice to get Reaves playing like he did last night with Sheahan regularly. He looked like the legit hockey player I expected him to be in their shifts together.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

Very happy with Sheahan last night. His skating looked more than fine to me.

 

[The Old Master]

So that Sheahan kid looked alright tonight, seemed to get tossed from the dot alot though.

he's been playing wing give him time.

 

[Fordy]

i also liked sheahan and reaves together. get a 3c

 

[Pengu]

I wasn't a fan of the Reaves trade and my initial thoughts on the Sheahan was kinda meh.
But in the grand scheme of things, these trade are imo very minor and the assets given up very small and won't impact the future.
JR has been a blessing for this club no matter how you slice and dice it.
Call it what you want but he came in and took over a failed dynasty. it was backbreaking watching many of those exits between 2010-2015.
It was a ****show and a huge waste of Crosby's and Malkin's prime.
Sure, I think Sullivan has a had a bigger impact on our fortunes, but all this what has transpired these past 2 years, won't happen unless there is a great working relationship
between the 2. JR didn't hesitate to can the abysmal " he who shall not be named". Finally he brought in players that fit the team and the tactics.
Shero failed just by the sheer fact that he hang on to Bylsma until the end of time. He practically didn't see a single of his draft picks come through during his tenure.
I am sure JR has looked at the market and come to the conclusion there are no trades out there for a C that makes sense and won't make us a weaker team.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

It would be nice to get Reaves playing like he did last night with Sheahan regularly. He looked like the legit hockey player I expected him to be in their shifts together.

What, you mean Reaves looks useful when he plays with a center that's more talented than Carter Rowney? What a shocker.

 

[Shady Machine]

What, you mean Reaves looks useful when he plays with a center that's more talented than Carter Rowney? What a shocker.

Just curious, are you being sarcastic against a particular point of view? I don't think anyone here would disagree that a winger is positively impacted by the quality of their center. The problem is we don't have two Sheahan or more quality bottom 6 centers. If and when we get another one, we can all rejoice.