Salary Cap: Pittsburgh Penguin Salary Cap Thread: Suspense is Terrible, Hope It'll Last...

[Honour Over Glory]

Isn’t ZAR still under contract? And recuperating?

Can you recuperate from a lack of talent?

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I do think our bottom-6 is fine, or as good as it can be. The combinations are the bigger issue than the personnel available, imo.

I'd have liked to land Fast. I'd like to have landed Haula. That being said, I think a McCann-TB-Kapanen/Poulin 3rd line and a Tanev-Jankowski-Sceviour 4th line are better, or have the potential to be better, than what we've run as a bottom-6 for a few years. Not perfect, not really spectacular, but they have the potential to be just fine.

The only real glaring issue I see with this lineup is backup goalie, and maybe 3RD if Riikola/Ruhwedel prove incapable.

 

[Gurglesons]

This. There was absolutely no reason to rush to make that deal. Everyone knew this free agency would be advantageous for teams and that the cap was decreasing. Toronto had to dump Kapanen for cap reasons, but yet they were able to pawn off almost $4.5 million AND got the 15th pick. Why the f*** did JR agree to take Sceviour on top of everything?

Kapanen costs 4.2 million in real cash over the next two years total. You're way off base in terms of the financial implications.

 

[Tom Hanks]

Player Season Totals - Natural Stat Trick

# 2. Ekblad
# 3. Matheson
# 5. Yandle

In terms of Giveaways by defenseman over the last two years. This must just be when Matheson is on the ice though...

Ekblad is a much better player and has bigger positives.

Wouldn’t want Yandle and his contract on this team either.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Hahaha... nah... thankfully they finally swallowed their pride, broke out the poop-knife and sent the REAL pipe-jammer on it's way.

Blueger is the poop knife that allows that turd ZAR, to flush.

 

[Gurglesons]

Ekblad is a much better player and has bigger positives.

Wouldn’t want Yandle and his contract on this team either.

You're missing the point which is odd because you rarely do.

The three top defenders in terms of TOI are all leaders in giveaways over the last couple years. It isn't solely on the players at that point. They are being told to play that style of hockey. Which if you ever watch Florida makes complete sense. They are like watching a fire wagon run into a train wreck systematically.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Then treat Tanev-Blueger-Sceviour as your 3rd line and McCann-Jankowski-ERod/Poulin as your 4th line. The bottom-6 is going to basically be a 3A and 3B line anyway, so if you'd feel more comfortable with Tanev-Blueger-Sceviour being the designated 3rd line, that's fine too.

I don't think McCann has the ability to improve given 4th line minutes/role, though. I've never really been sold on TB as the 3C, but I do think he's a better option than Jankowski for that spot. Don't really think Poulin does much of anything as a 4th liner either.

I get the 3A, 3B stuff, I do, but I think with the guys available there is, and should be, a very definite 3rd line and a very definite 4th line.

 

[pistolpete11]

In my mind, McCann-Blueger-Tanev is the third line until Jankowski, E-Rod, Poulin, etc. force their way into the top 9. But unfortunately, Sully is going to Sully, so who knows what we get.

McCann-Blueger-Tanev used as third line, I think each are good for a 30 point pace. McCann probably closer to 40 with some 2PP time and some top 6 time due to injuries. That might not be a strength per se, but it's not going to be the reason they lose. Especially since that line should be pretty good defensively, too.

The 4th line would be throwing a bunch of shit into a blender until you find something that works, but there are some pieces there to at least make a decent defensive line.

This is all fine provided the top 6 and PP are clicking. And without JMFJ and Schultz, the defense is significantly better even if Matheson is a question mark and Ruhwedel isn't the ideal #6. At least Sully won't play them over Petts-Marino like he did JMFJ-Schultz.

I still have a lot of questions outside of the bottom 6 and the bottom pair, but I'm more in the let's see how things come together camp than I am in the all hope is lost camp.

 

[mpp9]

Like I said, it'd be nice if we hadn't already spent them on a question mark in Kapanen.

But here we are.

Eh. I love Gallagher but MTL fans want to sell him off because he's a midget who plays like PH. His dropoff will be bad in his 30s.

As a short term solution and on the cheap, I'm down.

 

[Gurglesons]

Eh. I love Gallagher but MTL fans want to sell him off because he's a midget who plays like PH. His dropoff will be bad in his 30s.

As a short term solution and on the cheap, I'm down.

You're missing Soggy's obsession with having a RH goal scorer and how it'll fix every ailment this team has.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I don't think McCann has the ability to improve given 4th line minutes/role, though. I've never really been sold on TB as the 3C, but I do think he's a better option than Jankowski for that spot. Don't really think Poulin does much of anything as a 4th liner either.

I get the 3A, 3B stuff, I do, but I think with the guys available there is, and should be, a very definite 3rd line and a very definite 4th line.

I don't see an issue with running with a 3A and 3B line. I don't really mind either way, though. If they want to stack the 3rd line and make it McCann-Blueger-Tanev and make the 4th line whoever else they have left, I'm fine with that. You can let McCann-Blueger-Tanev eat defensive minutes against the top lines of other teams, and I think that line is a completely legitimate cup caliber 3rd line. It actually reminds me of Copp-Lowry-Tanev a little bit. But I'm also fine with running with 2 similar 3A and 3B lines, I don't see either of those as an issue.

I want this team to be able to run 4 lines, whether it's with 2 equal bottom-6 lines or a 3rd line and 4th line doesn't really matter to me.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I find it odd that the same person who insisted on losing Kessel was a problem is advocating for Gallagher right now, tbh. I like Gallagher, I think he's a really good player, but he doesn't replace what they lost with Kessel at all. This is a gross oversimplification, but Gallagher is more of a better version of Kapanen. I can see an argument for how they should have signed Granlund over trading a lot for Kapanen because Granlund does fill that Kessel gap, but Gallagher is more of a Hornqvist replacement than a Kessel replacement. He's not similar to Kessel outside of being a RHS.

 

[mpp9]

You're missing Soggy's obsession with having a RH goal scorer and how it'll fix every ailment this team has.

I think it's fair to say blowing our wad early on Kap may prove foolish with his unproven track record as a top 6/PP guy and apparently half the league may sell off players for nothing.

But, in terms of building a team, I like Kap. So I'll let it play out.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I don't see an issue with running with a 3A and 3B line. I don't really mind either way, though. If they want to stack the 3rd line and make it McCann-Blueger-Tanev and make the 4th line whoever else they have left, I'm fine with that. You can let McCann-Blueger-Tanev eat defensive minutes against the top lines of other teams, and I think that line is a completely legitimate cup caliber 3rd line. It actually reminds me of Copp-Lowry-Tanev a little bit. But I'm also fine with running with 2 similar 3A and 3B lines, I don't see either of those as an issue.

I want this team to be able to run 4 lines, whether it's with 2 equal bottom-6 lines or a 3rd line and 4th line doesn't really matter to me.

There's definitely a lot of versatility among this forward corps. Even in the top-6; Jake and Zucker can play with both centers, Rust can play with both centers, Kapanen's a guy who can play on any of the top-9 lines--though I have always thought he'd be a phenomenal replacement for Hornqvist on the 3rd line.

We've run with bigger names. That hasn't worked. I think it's been about the mix of players, and while I'm not exactly sold on this bottom-6, I don't have a huge issue with it. A lot hinges on how Poulin can acquit himself in camp/pre-season, how McCann plays as a full-time winger and if he can take the next step offensively like Rust has recently, and whether or not guys like TB and Tanev can succeed in a more two-way role as 3rd liners as opposed to simply playing a purely defensive style.

 

[Gurglesons]

I think it's fair to say blowing our wad early on Kap may prove foolish with his unproven track record as a top 6/PP guy and apparently half the league may sell off players for nothing.

But, in terms of building a team, I like Kap. So I'll let it play out.

I don't really get the reality of Kapanen being an overpay. No player of his ilk has gone for cheap so far.

Like, we could've got a much more questionable player via trade like Kunin or a 30 year old like Smith or Toffoli in UFA that is a better "proven" player. But, Kapanen has been a 40pt pace player in two consecutive seasons and if you are going to argue he did that in 3rd line minutes well. He did that in 3rd line minutes so we have a 40 pt pace 3rd liner. And literally nobody in the league possesses the speed and quick acceleration ability of Kapanen besides like McDavid and MacK.

 

[Tom Hanks]

You're missing the point which is odd because you rarely do.

The three top defenders in terms of TOI are all leaders in giveaways over the last couple years. It isn't solely on the players at that point.

I do get the point (thanks for the compliment though).

I think that’s part of Matheson’s IQ level and think it’s very risky given his contract. Obviously his skating and offense is going to be a positive but I’m skeptical it’ll outweigh his negatives - IQ, pretty average in D zone.

I won’t bring up his contract again (probably) because what’s done is done but I’m not sold on his overall game and how much he’ll improve here. It’s my bias against low IQ players

 

[Empoleon8771]

The only comment I'll make is that if you run with a stacked 3rd line of McCann-Blueger-Tanev, I think that likely pushes Poulin off the team. My thought is that they wouldn't want to have him burn a year of his ELC on a 4th line with guys like Jankowski, Sceviour and Rodrigues, even if he does have the skillset that is suited for the role. I think they really like the Blueger-Tanev duo and wouldn't want to split that up, and frankly I don't want to split it up either. I don't know if that's going to be a big deal for most people here, but I figured it's worth pointing out.

 

[Ryder71]

It’s good for the other 30 teams that get to play against that pairing.

I think Marino is the best guy to play with MM IF he's coming as advertised. We need a solid and stable guy on the other end to aptly cover for him.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Tbh, I feel like the easiest solution with the defense was just not re-signing Riikola and giving Riikola's money to someone like Bogosian, TVR or Koekkoek, which would let you run with Pettersson-Marino and Matheson-FA with Ruhwedel as an extra. But that's just me beating a dead horse at this point.

 

[Gurglesons]

Tbh, I feel like the easiest solution with the defense was just not re-signing Riikola and giving Riikola's money to someone like Bogosian, TVR or Koekkoek, which would let you run with Pettersson-Marino and Matheson-FA with Ruhwedel as an extra. But that's just me beating a dead horse at this point.

But if we let Riikola walk people would be complaining how we didn't ever give him a chance and Sullivan was behind it.

Also, the more I've looked into TVR, he is basically Ruhwedel.

 

[Ryder71]

Somebody needs to start a new thread. Make yourselves useful.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I'm fine bringing Riikola back. I think he should be just fine so long as he isn't always worried about being scratched for making a mistake that the rest of the roster gleefully makes 5 times a shift with no consequences.

But the big caveat is that I'm fine with bringing him back so long as they play him. Otherwise yeah... it's a total waste of money and everyone's time.

 

[Empoleon8771]

But if we let Riikola walk people would be complaining how we didn't ever give him a chance and Sullivan was behind it.

Also, the more I've looked into TVR, he is basically Ruhwedel.

I don't mind that, I don't hate Ruhwedel and think a simple DFD would complement Matheson well, so I would be fine with a more proven Ruhwedel being their #6D.

I'm fine bringing Riikola back. I think he should be just fine so long as he isn't always worried about being scratched for making a mistake that the rest of the roster gleefully makes 5 times a shift with no consequences.

But the big caveat is that I'm fine with bringing him back so long as they play him. Otherwise yeah... it's a total waste of money and everyone's time.

The problem I have with Riikola is that he's basically the same player as Matheson, so I don't want them playing together.

I like Riikola on a Pettersson-Riikola pair, but if Matheson's on the bottom pair, I'd rather get a steady RD to play with him. Why do you even need to keep Riikola with Matheson as your 3rd pair LD and POJ as your most NHL ready D prospect?

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I don't think Riikola is like Matheson at all, for one, we don't get to see Riikola enough thanks to the incredibly irresponsible and idiotic usage of Johnson and so many other things, but there were times Riikola looked like a more complete defenseman than most people thought. He wasn't afraid to hit (had a nice snarl to his game), wasn't a nightmare when pressured in the d-zone, has a fantastic shot, active on the backend (hey-yooo) and wasn't that bad defensively and the games that people wanted to harp on Riikola, Ruhwedel was his partner and was an absolute nightmare and abomination with him which is ridiculous how quickly people forget that.

Am I saying he's a #1? f*** no. But he has it in him to be a damn solid #4/5 and blokes like that need to play, whatevers like the Ruhwedels and Trots are used to sitting for long stretches as that's just their journey in the NHL and it's something they've had YEARS to get used to. Riikola should be a regular. His game has been far more compelling to me than Pettersson's and I've seen enough to not change my mind on that.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Somebody needs to start a new thread. Make yourselves useful.

Done...