Post-Game Talk: Pens 3, Rangers 2 - The Fat Lady's Not Singing Edition

[Shwag33]

Dupuis is not damn good with Crosby given any situation. What is the situation that makes Dupuis damn good with Crosby?

He's good as 3rd wheel.... dupuis is was top 10 in ES points with crosby. I'm not sure how much more you can ask for.

We have 2 #1 centers, you're never going to be able to load up top talent on both lines.

 

[Sypher04]

I don't feel Dupuis' game changed at all between being on Crosby's wing or Malkin's this year. I DO feel however that moving Hornqvist was a mistake. Instead of having one line killing it and one not doing as well. We now have two lines that have gone a bit cold.

Hornqvist and Malkin has zero chemistry.

 

[penguins2946*]

yeah I'm not gonna play this game. if you seriously don't want to answer that question then stop responding

I was never responding to the original claim in the first place. All I said was that your view of Dupuis is as dumb as Dupuis lovers' view of Dupuis.

 

[Shady Machine]

He's good as 3rd wheel.... dupuis is was top 10 in ES points with crosby. I'm not sure how much more you can ask for.

We have 2 #1 centers, you're never going to be able to load up top talent on both lines.

He's a fine 3rd wheel but Kunitz and Hornqvist are also ideally 3rd wheels. You actually can load up on talent if you make it a priority through the draft.

Additionally, it can be done by opening up cap space through trading defense. There are plenty of options for Dupuis to not be in the top 6. I get that trading for top 6 wingers is hard, I just think that for whatever reason, the org doesn't think moving Dupuis out of the top 6 should be a priority.

 

[Shady Machine]

I was never responding to the original claim in the first place. All I said was that your view of Dupuis is as dumb as Dupuis lovers' view of Dupuis.

Right but you can still answer the question. I guess you don't have to either.

 

[penguins2946*]

Right but you can still answer the question. I guess you don't have to either.

Fine. False, he wasn't dogging it, he was just slumping. When he was put back on Crosby's line, he stopped slumping.

 

[Shwag33]

He's a fine 3rd wheel but Kunitz and Hornqvist are also ideally 3rd wheels. You actually can load up on talent if you make it a priority through the draft.

Additionally, it can be done by opening up cap space through trading defense.

Haha, not that i disagree but its a moot point right? Any forwards we draft are most likely 3 years away.

I disagree with hornqvist being a 3rd wheel, maybe on an absolutely stacked team that has a ton of ELC that's really the only way. I think dupuis and hornqvist on the same line with crosby gives that line a little bit of everything.

Kunitz yeah he's heading towards that 3rd wheel territory seems to be slowing down. Need a 2nd guy for Malkin; not sure who would be the right fit though that would be reasonable.

 

[IcedCapp]

Hater

Fordy does make an interesting point about Duper, though. His play did improve noticeably once he was with Crosby. As for why, well, lots of possibilities, I suppose.

I believe Dupuis could be part of the best 3rd line in the NHL. He's an nhl player. He should be getting 10-12 ES minutes a night and pk time. He shouldn't be getting top-6 minutes or pp time.

This team refuses to use him properly. Ergo they'd be better off without him and his contract.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

I believe Dupuis could be part of the best 3rd line in the NHL. He's an nhl player. He should be getting 10-12 ES minutes a night and pk time. He shouldn't be getting top-6 minutes or pp time.

This team refuses to use him properly. Ergo they'd be better off without him and his contract.

This. Just because they've convinced themselves he's a top 6 winger doesn't make him one and the commitment to that delusion is awful. He also seems to have only bothered to try when he was in his rightful spot this season after the first game. That's unacceptable.

Also, if they insist on treating him like a top 6 winger I'm going to judge him as one.

 

[Shady Machine]

Haha, not that i disagree but its a moot point right? Any forwards we draft are most likely 3 years away.

I disagree with hornqvist being a 3rd wheel, maybe on an absolutely stacked team that has a ton of ELC that's really the only way. I think dupuis and hornqvist on the same line with crosby gives that line a little bit of everything.

Kunitz yeah he's heading towards that 3rd wheel territory seems to be slowing down. Need a 2nd guy for Malkin; not sure who would be the right fit though that would be reasonable.

For the record, I'm fine with a Dupuis-Crosby-Hornqvist line. I'm not happy if that's our line heading into the playoffs, but if Malkin's line is significantly upgraded so that it's Kunitz-Malkin-trade, then I can be good with it. We would still have options to move players up and down, if they struggle. The problem then is really that nobody seems willing to break up Kunitz-Crosby. Additionally, we have to see if we have a coach that will break tradition (KCD) to make the team better.

 

[Sypher04]

Kunitz and Crosby should stay together. And Hornqvist should also be put back on the top line.

A trade should be made for a top 6 winger to go with Bennett and Malkin.

 

[Fordy]

Fine. False, he wasn't dogging it, he was just slumping. When he was put back on Crosby's line, he stopped slumping.

so as part of that slump he forgot how to hit?

there's slumping, there's snakebit, there's gripping the stick too hard. none of which are what dupuis was doing

**** i reject the whole thing. dupuis doesn't have the skill or mind to slump. he's a bottom six player. bottom sixers don't have slumps. they play a grinding game, they make hits and simple plays. that's pascal dupuis's game. you don't go through hitting slumps where you juuuuust can't manage to find anyone to ****ing check. you have to have skill to lose it. when good players go through slumps how do they get out of it? they simplify, they play physical, and they know it'll come. dupuis doesn't have **** to come. he doesn't have anything to simplify. nick spaling doesn't go through slumps. he's a bottom six player. dupuis doesn't either

dupuis's "slump" doesn't look a whole lot like a slump. it looks like someone stopped caring, stopped trying, because they weren't with their buddy. throwing hits and getting open is not something you slump. that's just something you have to want to do

 

[Sypher04]

so as part of that slump he forgot how to hit?

there's slumping, there's snakebit, there's gripping the stick too hard. none of which are what dupuis was doing

**** i reject the whole thing. dupuis doesn't have the skill or mind to slump. he's a bottom six player. bottom sixers don't have slumps. they play a grinding game, they make hits and simple plays. that's pascal dupuis's game. you don't go through hitting slumps where you juuuuust can't manage to find anyone to ****ing check. you have to have skill to lose it. when good players go through slumps how do they get out of it? they simplify, they play physical, and they know it'll come. dupuis doesn't have **** to come. he doesn't have anything to simplify. nick spaling doesn't go through slumps. he's a bottom six player. dupuis doesn't either

dupuis's "slump" doesn't look a whole lot like a slump. it looks like someone stopped caring, stopped trying, because they weren't with their buddy. throwing hits and getting open is not something you slump. that's just something you have to want to do

Dupuis' game on Sid's wing has been exactly what it was on Malkin's wing. He was doing all the same things.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I believe Dupuis could be part of the best 3rd line in the NHL. He's an nhl player. He should be getting 10-12 ES minutes a night and pk time. He shouldn't be getting top-6 minutes or pp time.

This team refuses to use him properly. Ergo they'd be better off without him and his contract.

Kunitz and Crosby should stay together. And Hornqvist should also be put back on the top line.

A trade should be made for a top 6 winger to go with Bennett and Malkin.

Yeah I'd be down with that.

 

[Fordy]

Dupuis' game on Sid's wing has been exactly what it was on Malkin's wing. He was doing all the same things.

absolutely not. he got open more in one game than he did in all the games with malkin. made more passes. threw more hits. won more battles.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I can understand if people were to say that Dupuis looked off because he was playing on an unfamiliar wing with a bad fit at center for him. But that doesn't cover his lack of effort or physicality. I just can't agree that he was bringing that every night on L2.

I had thought it was possibly a post-injury/aging thing. But then he went back to "old Dupuis" as soon as he was bumped up. So...

 

[WayneSid9987]

Kunitz has looked like *** though for the majority of the games minus 1. Dupuis has looked better beside Crosby than him.

The K-C pairing has gotten super stale and Kunitz would benefit playing with Geno for awhile. Just get him playing well consistently then put him back with Sid for all i care.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I can definitely agree that Kunitz has been one of the most disappointing Penguins so far, this year. I'll give him a little longer since he's almost as slow a starter as Malkin. But his act is getting old and I fully endorse a shakeup, there. That's what should have been done instead of moving Horns off Crosby's line, IMO.

Though I think Dupuis should be bumped down to L3, regardless.

But yeah... this might actually be "that year" for Kunitz. Which... ugh.

 

[The Old Master]

I can definitely agree that Kunitz has been one of the most disappointing Penguins so far, this year. I'll give him a little longer since he's almost as slow a starter as Malkin. But his act is getting old and I fully endorse a shakeup, there. That's what should have been done instead of moving Horns off Crosby's line, IMO.

Though I think Dupuis should be bumped down to L3, regardless.

But yeah... this might actually be "that year" for Kunitz. Which... ugh.

all the more reason we need to get moving on a trade to get some good wingers.

 

[Shwag33]

all the more reason we need to get moving on a trade to get some good wingers.

This team is in a hole... when it comes to assets. Unless you're trading Letang or a big package with pouliot; we're not getting the wingers people want.

 

[The Old Master]

This team is in a hole... when it comes to assets. Unless you're trading Letang or a big package with pouliot; we're not getting the wingers people want.

think good thoughts .......keep those good vib's coming!

 

[Shwag33]

think good thoughts .......keep those good vib's coming!

Haha, well i'm a realist, so while I wish most of the things that people propose (vokouna and a few others) actually happen. It's clearly not baring some miracle.

I really don't like to be a consistently attacking people with what they say, but the board as shifted so far from reality on what can actually happen on what they post; then people actually believe that it would be "Just this easy!". Then nothing happens and people are furious at the GM because he didnt trade our bad players for top 6 wingers.

It's hard to make good trades 95% of the trades proposed on this board there's no way I see the other team accepting.

 

[The Old Master]

Haha, well i'm a realist, so while I wish most of the things that people propose (vokouna and a few others) actually happen. It's clearly not baring some miracle.

I really don't like to be a consistently attacking people with what they say, but the board as shifted so far from reality on what can actually happen on what they post; then people actually believe that it would be "Just this easy!". Then nothing happens and people are furious at the GM because he didnt trade our bad players for top 6 wingers.

It's hard to make good trades 95% of the trades proposed on this board there's no way I see the other team accepting.

what's a realist doing on these boards? remember 95%-100% of the people on these boards aren't the ones really making the trades. as far as proposal's go,... the guy's on the pen's boards I have found to be "usually" far more closer than not..... we may start out asking a lot, but we end up fairly close to what actually happens. imo..... and of Corse I'm not talking about the trades that come out of the blue.

 

[NMK11]

Sorry, I stopped believing in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and Mythical Top Six Winger Trades a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago.

If Neal and Hornqvist - a sniper and a hard working grinder - aren't good fits for Sidney Crosby, there is literally no player in the league the Pens can acquire given their available assets that will be "better" than the perception of how good/important Pascal Dupuis is (clearly not going to be a young player, as no young player can take his spot, clearly can't be a Neal or Hornqvist type, as neither of them, the very elite at what they provide, could replace him).
]
Evander Kane, Patrick Kane (no one named Kane), Corey Perry, James Van Riemsdyk, Bobby Ryan, etc... aren't walking through that door. And if they did, they'd probably go to Malkin's LW. James Neal and Patric Hornqvist walked through the door and couldn't unseat Dupuis.

This board lives in a fantasy world, constantly projecting THEIR wants, thoughts, and desires for this team onto the front office staff.

If we look at their actions (just like the actions of the previous regime), it's pretty clear to see what they want and how they're getting there. You can fool yourselves if it makes you feel better.

...did you even read what I wrote? You said everyone on these boards thinks Dupuis is a top 6 winger. That's just blantantly not true, most people think that AT BEST he's a very good tweener and want him out of the top 6. My post made zero comments on how the coaching staff is handling distributing wingers between Crosby and Malkin or how he should, as one of your other posts says, be a part of the best third line in hockey.

The sad truth is he's our third best winger after Hornqvist, Kunitz, and Bennett. No one wants him in the top 6, but unless we try some other people out (which I'd be all for) and they catch fire, we don't have anything else unless we get our Mythical Top 6 Winger Trade (c). Sucks, but that's the facts. And again, none of that was relating to what I originally wrote, but you went off on it anyway.

You have this amazingly ridiculous habit of taking something really benign and twisting it until you can find something to feel indignant about, and then making these childish comments about it. I just don't get it.

 

[DegenX]

I believe Dupuis could be part of the best 3rd line in the NHL. He's an nhl player. He should be getting 10-12 ES minutes a night and pk time. He shouldn't be getting top-6 minutes or pp time.

This team refuses to use him properly. Ergo they'd be better off without him and his contract.

It's not just that the team refuses to use him properly. If he's bumped down to the third line, where does Spaling go? $2M and change is a pretty spendy 4th liner. Not as much as the Kings are paying, true, but more than we should be paying. One of the two needs to be part of a trade package. Since both have worked well with Sutter, it makes more sense to move the guy that's make $1.5M more and is almost 10 years older.