GDT: Penguins Training Camp

[Peat]

https://nhl.bamcontent.com/images/assets/binary/309398994/binary-file/file.pdf

Pens have reduced the roster to 27 players.

Marino and AJ still here. Lafferty and PO sent down.

Mildly interesting to see Trotman survive. Not sure it means ought.

AJ mightn't mean too much either. But Marino? go kid go!

 

[Malkinstheman]

Id love for Marino to make it but I think its best for him to play in the AHL. The last couple of years hes only played 35 games and theres 3 very expensive RHD infront of him.

 

[Peat]

Id love for Marino to make it but I think its best for him to play in the AHL. The last couple of years hes only played 35 games and theres 3 very expensive RHD infront of him.

Agreed, but the more he knows about what he needs to be and the coaches can direct him the better. Push him all the way then tell him if he dominates the AHL, good things will happen

 

[Shrimper]

So between AJ and ZAR for that last spot.

Trotman, Marino, Ruhwedel for the #7

I'm pretending Johnson doesn't exust

 

[Jacob]

Is Johnson waiver-eligible?

Marino looks like a good, cheap replacement for Gudbranson when his deal is up or sooner. Paying the 3rd pair + 7th under 3 million but still getting the same returns would be cool.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I don’t think we have to sacrifice a good looking young D to do so. Patience with the WB/S kids has nearly always paid off. Nobody gets worse from playing in the minors too long.

I have no problem developing players in WBS, but my overriding concern is the Pens putting out their best roster every night in a season where there's probably going to be a very slim margin for error.

JJ shouldn't see the ice. He could be the difference between making the playoffs or not.

 

[Empoleon8771]

The Penguins went more aggressive with cuts than I expected them to. I'm really not sure why Lafferty, Poulin and Legare were sent to WBS, I'm really surprised all of those guys got sent down. I'm also not sure why POJ got sent down but Trotman stayed up.

I would have kept up Lafferty to give yourself 5 full lines. Have something like Simon-Lafferty-Johnson as the 5th line for now.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Adam Johnson and John Marino really the only guys who survived cuts that we didn’t maybe already expect to.

I think AJ has a real chance to push ZAR here. Not sure if there’s a path for Marino but he’s clearly making himself hard to cut.

Enh. I imagine he's only still up because of the injury.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Is Johnson waiver-eligible?

Marino looks like a good, cheap replacement for Gudbranson when his deal is up or sooner. Paying the 3rd pair + 7th under 3 million but still getting the same returns would be cool.

Adam Johnson?

Yeah he is still exempt for one more season (or 54 NHL games), as far as I can tell.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Is Johnson waiver-eligible?

Marino looks like a good, cheap replacement for Gudbranson when his deal is up or sooner. Paying the 3rd pair + 7th under 3 million but still getting the same returns would be cool.

Marino isn't a replacement for Gudbranson, he's going to be Schultz's replacement when Schultz walks after this year.

Enh. I imagine he's only still up because of the injury.

Yeah, the same thing happened with Tom Kuhnhackl back in 2015. He was kept up through the entire training camp while injured and wasn't assigned to WBS until he was cleared. I imagine something is similar with Johnson here, especially with Lafferty (who has the best chance of pushing for a roster spot) getting sent down.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

I have no problem developing players in WBS, but my overriding concern is the Pens putting out their best roster every night in a season where there's probably going to be a very slim margin for error.

JJ shouldn't see the ice. He could be the difference between making the playoffs or not.

My point is mostly that a green Marino is very likely not a part of the best roster we can ice right now and the Pens can scratch or waive Johnson while also sending Marino down. They’re two things that don’t have to be tied to each other.

 

[Shady Machine]

Marino isn't a replacement for Gudbranson, he's going to be Schultz's replacement when Schultz walks after this year.

Possibly. I wouldn't put anything in pen at this point. If you asked me, I'd much rather have Letang-Schultz-Marino for a few MM more than Letang-Guds-Marino, but cap may dictate otherwise.

 

[Jacob]

The Q season is already under way so might as well get Legare and Poulin into some meaningful games.

Adam Johnson?

Yeah he is still exempt for one more season (or 54 NHL games), as far as I can tell.

I think there’s our answer then.

 

[Freeptop]

Isn't Adam Johnson still DTD?

He is. They can't send him down until he's recovered from his injury, so I wouldn't read anything into him not having been sent down yet. If he's not ready to go to start the season, they'll retroactively put him on LTIR for cap relief. Either way, he's going to be "injured, non-roster status" until such time as he's recovered enough to be sent down.

With him missing most of training camp, there's no chance he's threatening to take over ZAR's roster spot. They'll want him to play in WB/S first, at this point.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Possibly. I wouldn't put anything in pen at this point. If you asked me, I'd much rather have Letang-Schultz-Marino for a few MM more than Letang-Guds-Marino, but cap may dictate otherwise.

To me, Schultz is already gone because the Penguins can't afford the price he's going to get as a free agent. You're talking $2.5-$3 million more than what Gudbranson is earning for a guy who hasn't been good since 2017, I just don't see a reason to do that. If they're spending that kind of money, I'd rather look elsewhere.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

My point is mostly that a green Marino is very likely not a part of the best roster we can ice right now and the Pens can scratch or waive Johnson while also sending Marino down. They’re two things that don’t have to be tied to each other.

Yep, and I'm on board with all that. Only saying that if it came down to that, it would be preferable to JJ playing.

That should be avoided at all costs. It probably won't be, but it should.

 

[Shady Machine]

To me, Schultz is already gone because the Penguins can't afford the price he's going to get as a free agent. You're talking $2.5-$3 million more than what Gudbranson is earning for a guy who hasn't been good since 2017, I just don't see a reason to do that. If they're spending that kind of money, I'd rather look elsewhere.

I think some here are talking in too strong of terms about player's performance and replacement projections. Dude broke his leg last year and had to carry around an anchor. He had a tough year, but the year before I thought was good, even though his production dropped. I am all for considering other options out there via trade or free agency if it makes sense, but I am not okay with a Letang-Guds-Marino defense unless there is a material upgrade on the left side to offset or MP takes off this year.

This year will tell a lot about the future roster make up.

 

[EVGENIMERLIN]

Is Johnson waiver-eligible?

Marino looks like a good, cheap replacement for Gudbranson when his deal is up or sooner. Paying the 3rd pair + 7th under 3 million but still getting the same returns would be cool.

This is a good question about AJ. I was surprised he was still up when he's hurt and guys like Lafferty are showing a lot of potential. They might be worry about exposing him hence why he is still here? I don't think AJ is taking ZAR's spot as of right now.

 

[Peat]

This is a good question about AJ. I was surprised he was still up when he's hurt and guys like Lafferty are showing a lot of potential. They might be worry about exposing him hence why he is still here? I don't think AJ is taking ZAR's spot as of right now.

Might simply be they've seen what they wanted from Lafferty but couldn't with AJ because he was injured, so he stays so they can have a look.

 

[Gurglesons]

The Penguins went more aggressive with cuts than I expected them to. I'm really not sure why Lafferty, Poulin and Legare were sent to WBS, I'm really surprised all of those guys got sent down. I'm also not sure why POJ got sent down but Trotman stayed up.

I would have kept up Lafferty to give yourself 5 full lines. Have something like Simon-Lafferty-Johnson as the 5th line for now.

AHL preseason started.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think some here are talking in too strong of terms about player's performance and replacement projections. Dude broke his leg last year and had to carry around an anchor. He had a tough year, but the year before I thought was good, even though his production dropped. I am all for considering other options out there via trade or free agency if it makes sense, but I am not okay with a Letang-Guds-Marino defense unless there is a material upgrade on the left side to offset or MP takes off this year.

This year will tell a lot about the future roster make up.

Even if you want to take out the "he hasn't been good since 2016-2017", the more important part is that he has not been a $6+ million defenseman since 2016-2017. Whether he was good or not matters less than whether he played like a guy deserving of the next contract he's going to get. He hasn't shown that at all recently. I'm not penciling in Marino to be Gudbranson's replacement because I see more reasons to keep Gudbranson than Schultz right now.

AHL preseason started.

Let me rephrase, I don't know why Trotman is still up then.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Might simply be they've seen what they wanted from Lafferty but couldn't with AJ because he was injured, so he stays so they can have a look.

Like Freeptop said, pretty sure AJ can't get sent down while injured. I wouldn't read anything more into it than that.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Even if you want to take out the "he hasn't been good since 2016-2017", the more important part is that he has not been a $6+ million defenseman since 2016-2017. Whether he was good or not matters less than whether he played like a guy deserving of the next contract he's going to get. He hasn't shown that at all recently. I'm not penciling in Marino to be Gudbranson's replacement because I see more reasons to keep Gudbranson than Schultz right now.



Let me rephrase, I don't know why Trotman is still up then.

I think you're under rating the impact that swapping out Guds for Schultz would have on this team. We're talking about moving out a very productive 2nd pair defenseman for one who's cracked double digits twice...and barely both times.

Points aren't everything but that is a stark contrast.

EDIT: This should be moved to the cap thread if we want to continue.

 

[Gurglesons]

Even if you want to take out the "he hasn't been good since 2016-2017", the more important part is that he has not been a $6+ million defenseman since 2016-2017. Whether he was good or not matters less than whether he played like a guy deserving of the next contract he's going to get. He hasn't shown that at all recently. I'm not penciling in Marino to be Gudbranson's replacement because I see more reasons to keep Gudbranson than Schultz right now.



Let me rephrase, I don't know why Trotman is still up then.

They probably don’t care about Trotman and can use him in preseason games and want POJ getting used to our system.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think you're under rating the impact that swapping out Guds for Schultz would have on this team. We're talking about moving out a very productive 2nd pair defenseman for one who's cracked double digits twice...and barely both times.

Points aren't everything but that is a stark contrast.

That's not the swap, the swap is Schultz for Marino and saving $5-$6 million by making the swap.