Recalled/Assigned: Pens recall Andrew Ebbett

[Dipsy Doodle]

We're talking about young call ups from the A. Unless JR can hop in his time machine and draft some forwards for us five years ago, he's not going to be able to fix that in one draft. Keep in mind, Shero already pissed away our mid round picks this past year too. At least JR had the sense to just sign Goc and Comeau in the offseason rather than piss way assets on those kinds of players at the deadline.

Actually, we were talking about general forward depth.

 

[Boocock]

Actually, we were talking about general forward depth.

Forward depth = calling up guys from the AHL for cap-crunched teams.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Forward depth = calling up guys from the AHL for cap-crunched teams.

Also, having quality players throughout line-up for when injuries hit. We had Sill and Adams on our opening night roster, man.

Anyway, enough of the Red Herring blame game. Hopefully Ebbett adds a little skill to the 4th line.

 

[billybudd]

He could have.

And Rutherford could have done it this summer, too. He didn't. That isn't Shero's fault.

Shame on Rutherford for not giving Nik fricking Kulemin $5 million dollars per year, as if that would have been anything but a terrible idea.

Maybe if Shero had managed to pick one freaking useful forward in the last 7 we wouldn't be in a position to pine for such a stupid signing as that one.

 

[Boocock]

Also, having quality players throughout line-up for when injuries hit. We had Sill and Adams on our opening night roster, man.

Sill sucks and the consecutive games streak is a lie. While Adams has a one-way, 35+ contract, there's no excuse for Sill remaining on the club.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Shame on Rutherford for not giving Nik fricking Kulemin $5 million dollars per year, as if that would have been anything but a terrible idea.

Maybe if Shero had managed to pick one freaking useful forward in the last 7 we wouldn't be in a position to pine for such a stupid signing as that one.

4.2 mil. And yes, shame on him.

But we've already beat that horse to death.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Sill sucks and the consecutive games streak is a lie. While Adams has a one-way, 35+ contract, there's no excuse for Sill remaining on the club.

You phrase this like it's opposing what I said, haha.

 

[Boocock]

You phrase this like it's opposing what I said, haha.

No no no, I was emphatically agreeing with your commentary on Sill and Adams (OSU fan, JT Barrett just went down. Throw me a freakin' bone here haha).

If Ebbett turns out to be a more effective player than Adams, does he take Craig's spot when Bennett and Goc return?

 

[mpp9]

4.2 mil. And yes, shame on him.

But we've already beat that horse to death.

You've brought it up in damn near every thread. So yeah, it has been beaten to death.

One signing JR passed on vs 8 years worth of Shero failing to build the top 6 properly. No one has said JR has fixed the top 6. I have no clue why you're going Rossi on us.

 

[DegenX]

We could have prioritized getting better quality forwards in the summer. Instead we signed a 4 mil per defenseman.

There comes a time when you stop blaming the boogeyman for all your shortcomings. That time is when the new guy has an opportunity to address the issue and chooses not to.

OK, RRP, I'll play ...

Working under the premise that Tocchet wanted Downie signed and the FO wanted to move Neal for whatever reason ... Let's say instead of Spaling, they got a pair of picks 2nd round or later. They use one of those picks to move Scuds (not unreasonable since Buffalo was buying contracts, as was Burke) and Adams was moved in either trade. They don't sign Erhoff, and sign Grabo and Kule ...

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER

FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Patric Hornqvist ($4.250m)
Mikhail Grabovski ($5.000m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / Nikolai Kulemin ($4.188m)
Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.300m) / Beau Bennett ($0.900m)
Forward Prospect ($0.750m) / Forward Prospect ($0.750m) / Steve Downie ($1.000m)
13th Forward ($0.550m)

DEFENSEMEN
Olli Maatta ($0.894m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Simon Despres ($0.900m)
Defensive Prospect ($0.650m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
7th Defenseman ($0.550m)

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Thomas Greiss ($1.000m)

------
BONUS OVERAGE $0
SALARY CAP: $69,000,000; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $726,422

That's what the team would have been heading into training camp. One of those prospects could have been Comeau instead, I suppose, or they could have just let the kids battle it out for the spots and let them get a bit of experience. The fourth line has been pretty sheltered so far this season anyway.

When BB got hurt, they could have moved someone up from the fourth line or recalled someone, since there's a little bit of cap space. Losing Duper would hurt, but it has to be easier to acquire a 3rd liner than someone for the top six ... plus we'd have been able to actually showcase some of our D prospects and increase their trade value.

OK, how'd I do?

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

You've brought it up in damn near every thread. So yeah, it has been beaten to death.

One signing JR passed on vs 8 years worth of Shero failing to build the top 6 properly. No one has said JR has fixed the top 6. I have no clue why you're going Rossi on us.

I bring it up when people blame Shero for Rutherford's issues. Shero's gone. He's not to blame for issues that could have been addressed this summer. He's not some Jacob Marley-esque ghost who's affecting JR's decision-making from beyond the GM grave.

OK, RRP, I'll play ...

Working under the premise that Tocchet wanted Downie signed and the FO wanted to move Neal for whatever reason ... Let's say instead of Spaling, they got a pair of picks 2nd round or later. They use one of those picks to move Scuds (not unreasonable since Buffalo was buying contracts, as was Burke) and Adams was moved in either trade. They don't sign Erhoff, and sign Grabo and Kule ...

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER

FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz ($3.850m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / Patric Hornqvist ($4.250m)
Mikhail Grabovski ($5.000m) / Evgeni Malkin ($9.500m) / Nikolai Kulemin ($4.188m)
Pascal Dupuis ($3.750m) / Brandon Sutter ($3.300m) / Beau Bennett ($0.900m)
Forward Prospect ($0.750m) / Forward Prospect ($0.750m) / Steve Downie ($1.000m)
13th Forward ($0.550m)

DEFENSEMEN
Olli Maatta ($0.894m) / Kris Letang ($7.250m)
Paul Martin ($5.000m) / Simon Despres ($0.900m)
Defensive Prospect ($0.650m) / Robert Bortuzzo ($0.600m)
7th Defenseman ($0.550m)

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.000m)
Thomas Greiss ($1.000m)

------
BONUS OVERAGE $0
SALARY CAP: $69,000,000; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $726,422

That's what the team would have been heading into training camp. One of those prospects could have been Comeau instead, I suppose, or they could have just let the kids battle it out for the spots and let them get a bit of experience. The fourth line has been pretty sheltered so far this season anyway.

When BB got hurt, they could have moved someone up from the fourth line or recalled someone, since there's a little bit of cap space. Losing Duper would hurt, but it has to be easier to acquire a 3rd liner than someone for the top six ... plus we'd have been able to actually showcase some of our D prospects and increase their trade value.

OK, how'd I do?

Pretty good, but I don't think we'd need to count on that many "what ifs".

No no no, I was emphatically agreeing with your commentary on Sill and Adams (OSU fan, JT Barrett just went down. Throw me a freakin' bone here haha).

If Ebbett turns out to be a more effective player than Adams, does he take Craig's spot when Bennett and Goc return?

 

[Boocock]

Adams will have "broken" the consecutive games streak "record" by that point, yes?

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Adams will have "broken" the consecutive games streak "record" by that point, yes?

I don't think Adams is playing because of that record. The guy's being treated like a PK god.

 

[mpp9]

I bring it up when people blame Shero for Rutherford's issues. Shero's gone. He's not to blame for issues that could have been addressed this summer. He's not some Jacob Marley-esque ghost who's affecting JR's decision-making from beyond the GM grave.

You're just as bad as the Shero haters at this point man. Your answer to everything with our issues at forward is JR passing on Nikolai Kulemin.

JR took over with garbage on wing, but its his fault we're in this situation b/c he didn't sign Kulemin. You know how ridiculous you sound?

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I bring it up when people blame Shero for Rutherford's issues. Shero's gone. He's not to blame for issues that could have been addressed this summer. He's not some Jacob Marley-esque ghost who's affecting JR's decision-making from beyond the GM grave.

I haven't liked everything that has been done, to date. But even I understand that this is going to take some time. I know that (for some reason) you don't want to entirely come clean with it... but Shero left this team a total trainwreck and it will take longer than a few months to sort it out. The fact alone that every friggin' player seems to have movement limitations written into their contracts is a major roadblock.

I feel like they should have been much more diligent in dealing with their top six this past offseason but really... the options weren't that outstanding. I have zero interest in Kulemin at 4+ million dollars at term, for instance. Good enough player, I guess... but that's silly. That's the exact kind of move I want to see them avoid, TBH. If it takes a little extra time to make moves that make sense... so be it. There is no point in untying your hands only to stick them in the fire. Or something.

 

[wheelz87]

Ebbett has been really good for WBS this year. I don't understand the complaining here.

Because he's a terrible Nhler

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

You're just as bad as the Shero haters at this point man. Your answer to everything with our issues at forward is JR passing on Nikolai Kulemin.

JR took over with garbage on wing, but its his fault we're in this situation b/c he didn't sign Kulemin. You know how ridiculous you sound?

It's not ridiculous. How much better does the team play when both Geno and Sid are engaged, something that doesn't happen unless Hornqvist is on one of their lines?

If we had one more scoring winger to start the season, things could have looked much different.

I haven't liked everything that has been done, to date. But even I understand that this is going to take some time. I know that (for some reason) you don't want to entirely come clean with it... but Shero left this team a total trainwreck and it will take longer than a few months to sort it out. The fact alone that every friggin' player seems to have movement limitations written into their contracts is a major roadblock.

I don't think the team's a trainwreck in the slightest. Shero's "albatrosses" are miniscule compared to what almost every other GMs around the league has signed, and should be relatively easy to move outside of Dupuis for obvious reasons.

I feel like they should have been much more diligent in dealing with their top six this past offseason but really... the options weren't that outstanding. I have zero interest in Kulemin at 4+ million dollars at term, for instance. Good enough player, I guess... but that's silly. That's the exact kind of move I want to see them avoid, TBH. If it takes a little extra time to make moves that make sense... so be it. There is no point in untying your hands only to stick them in the fire. Or something.

Well BWM, if you think paying 4.2 mil for an established fit with Geno is too much, I don't know what to tell you. FAs aren't going to get any cheaper, and the trade route is going to cost us considerable assets for a guy who probably isn't going to be much of an improvement, if any.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Alright then. I can see this is pointless.

If you can't see how bad the guy ****ed the dog the last couple of years, in particular... then I don't know what to tell you. It's written all over the roster.

And I thought I was impatient.

 

[Killahpunk]

Ebbett can't be any worse then Adams or Sill.

 

[billybudd]

It's not ridiculous. How much better does the team play when both Geno and Sid are engaged, something that doesn't happen unless Hornqvist is on one of their lines?

If we had one more scoring winger to start the season, things could have looked much different.



I don't think the team's a trainwreck in the slightest. Shero's "albatrosses" are miniscule compared to what almost every other GMs around the league has signed, and should be relatively easy to move outside of Dupuis for obvious reasons.



Well BWM, if you think paying 4.2 mil for an established fit with Geno is too much, I don't know what to tell you. FAs aren't going to get any cheaper, and the trade route is going to cost us considerable assets for a guy who probably isn't going to be much of an improvement, if any.

So the long and short of it is, that it's okay in your mind to pay $4.2 million (incidentally, merely matching the Islanders' overpayment of Kulemin would not necessarily have gotten it done) for "an established fit" with Geno but you wanted to move a better player who is an established fit with Crosby--who makes less money--one paragraph earlier.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Alright then. I can see this is pointless.

If you can't see how bad the guy ****ed the dog the last couple of years, in particular... then I don't know what to tell you. It's written all over the roster.

And I thought I was impatient.

I'm not being impatient. I'm giving Rutherford time, but he'd better be pulling some kind of rabbit out of his hat.

I'm saying that people criticizing the lack of forward depth so far this year are blaming the wrong person. If we wanted it badly enough to start the year, it was there for the taking.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

So the long and short of it is, that it's okay in your mind to pay $4.2 million (incidentally, merely matching the Islanders' overpayment of Kulemin would not necessarily have gotten it done) for "an established fit" with Geno but you wanted to move a better player who is an established fit with Crosby--who makes less money--one paragraph earlier.

I don't think Dupuis is a great fit with Sid, he's simply better there than he is with Geno. By rights he should be on the 3rd line, but that will never happen here.

I think Kulemin would have been a much better asset to this team with Malkin than Dupes with Sid.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Because he's a terrible Nhler

It's not so much that for me. It's that he's a terrible bottom-six option at any level, really. Smallish, somewhat skilled. We're building a fourth line that's completely wrong this season.

Actually, nothing has changed and that's disappointing.

 

[Shrimper]

Oh god. Not this again.

 

[wheelz87]

It's not so much that for me. It's that he's a terrible bottom-six option at any level, really. Smallish, somewhat skilled. We're building a fourth line that's completely wrong this season.

Actually, nothing has changed and that's disappointing.

Right. Obviously not skilled enough for the top 6. Too small, zero physicality for the bottom 6. Our 4th line is going to be atrocious tonight. Nothing new, yet somehow worse.