Salary Cap: Salary Cap + Roster Building (Cap Details in First Post) | Roster Freeze Ends 12:01am Dec 28

[Honour Over Glory]

Re Seahan, no I would have been fine with keeping him as the 3c. We just needed center depth in the POs, and could have easily gone after Pleks to be the 4c. But as well as Sheahan was doing, I would have loved to see someone like JGP here. RHS, and brings most of what Sheahan does - while being cost controlled for another season. Use one of those guys as a L3 winger, and put Cullen or TB on 4c and go from there.

As for Dzingel, I'd love to have him... but only if we could realistically extend him. So unless we can trade Rust or Pearson for him, and then get him to sign a 4m contract (likely for 4/5 years), I'm hesitant to spend assets on someone you know will be a rental. And I don't think he'll be cheap.

I think we can get Dzingel in addition to Rust and Pearson on this team.

I think we could stand to lose a 4m/yr contract on D to accomplish it, maybe even a 2m one as well.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

The Sheahan is better than Brassard angle you are going for is one of the oddest arguments I’ve seen. Not saying you are wrong or right.

Sheahan is a 3C, Brassard is a 2C that isn't good in a 3C role (recently, we'll see), enough evidence to prove both to be correct, context is important.

 

[Empoleon8771]

As long as he signs him as an assistant coach im cool with it

Oh my child, be ready to be disappointed

 

[Ogrezilla]

Sheahan is a 3C, Brassard is a 2C that isn't good in a 3C role (recently, we'll see), enough evidence to prove both to be correct, context is important.

context is certainly important. Both have shown ups and downs in that role. Neither has shown enough to really prove it out one way or the other. Sheahan has shown he can be successful in that role with good enough wings. Brassard was doing very well with Sheahan and Kessel as his wings before he got hurt last year (41 ES point pace), let's see if he can get it back with Pearson and Kessel.

Also, how do you check zone starts per game or with certain linemates? I'd be curious to see the zone starts for Sheahan when he was with Jake and Phil. I can't imagine we had those 2 starting the way Sheahan did most of the year.

Anyway, ideally we can keep both Sheahan and Brassard imo. Extra centers are always nice to have around.

 

[Gurglesons]

Sheahan is a 3C, Brassard is a 2C that isn't good in a 3C role (recently, we'll see), enough evidence to prove both to be correct, context is important.

Brassard is performing well above Bonino’s rate in 15-16 while being used much differently.

We have Cullen and Sheahan who can take defensive zone starts.

I just don’t get the issue with Brassard. With the cap we have, you’re not getting better by moving him.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

It's pretty amazing that Schultz will probably end up 2nd in D scoring for us despite missing half the year.

Just shows how badly we need a guy who can move the puck. Which is why Riko should be a staple in the lineup. He's like the only good skating Dman after Letang and can shoot.

Again, I think people underestimate the handedness and how critical that feature is in our lineup and how we generate offense. Sid loves loves loves playing behind the goalline...guess the easiest way to get that puck to him from the point? Almost impossible to do it on your backhand without flubbing it and having a defender trying to stop you.

Schultz thrives here because of that...his shot and passing make Sid's life 10x easier, not to mention his transition game

No way I'm moving Schultz before his contract is up

 

[BHD]

The deal is the kind of contract you have to give to a good player that does good things. These are the type of non-superstar players you can get away with paying.

Agreed. It's the contracts to Johnson and Maatta that might put this team in a bind. Hopefully JR doesn't feel like he has to sign Brassard or Sheahan.

 

[Tom Hanks]

Define this please. If you're going to base it on points, he had more ES points then Malkin and the same as Kessel and overall was tied for 4th in ES points. Sure that still isn't great, but I'm not sure how else you can compare that when we were getting zero secondary scoring from anyone who wasn't on L1.

If you want to base it on his actual play, he was flying in the POs. Consistently getting brutal starts, but also consistently getting the puck into the OZ. No they didn't score much, but when no one was scoring outside of L1, I'm not sure how you fault him for that.

Malkin was severely hampered by injury (Kessel was injured too) and that’s when you need guys to step up. Sheahan didn’t.

Just because Malkin really struggled in the Caps series does that mean it’s ok for Sheahan to not do that well. Of course not. That’s when you need guys to step up and he’s not a player who did in the playoffs. If that’s him “flying” that’s not a real good argument for him as a player for us playing 3C minutes.

 

[Tom Hanks]

context is certainly important. Both have shown ups and downs in that role. Neither has shown enough to really prove it out one way or the other. Sheahan has shown he can be successful in that role with good enough wings. Brassard was doing very well with Sheahan and Kessel as his wings before he got hurt last year (41 ES point pace), let's see if he can get it back with Pearson and Kessel.

Also, how do you check zone starts per game or with certain linemates? I'd be curious to see the zone starts for Sheahan when he was with Jake and Phil. I can't imagine we had those 2 starting the way Sheahan did most of the year.

Anyway, ideally we can keep both Sheahan and Brassard imo. Extra centers are always nice to have around.

Natural Stat Trick

Under players and line tool. You can see neutral zone starts too. The ozs%/dsz% don’t include those in their percentages

 

[Ogrezilla]

Natural Stat Trick

Under players and line tool. You can see neutral zone starts too. The ozs%/dsz% don’t include those in their percentages

nice. So he went from 30% OZone starts to 46% with them. Still lower than I'd have guessed.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Brassard's are mostly lower than I'd have guessed.

42% with Kessel and Pearson.
38% with Rust and ZAR.
27% with Simon and Rust.
72% with ZAR and Kessel though

 

[Gurglesons]

Brassard's are mostly lower than I'd have guessed.

42% with Kessel and Pearson.
38% with Rust and ZAR.
27% with Simon and Rust.
72% with ZAR and Kessel though

It is why his production has struggled. It also started when he came back from injury when our record is great.

Which is why I don’t get the Rutherford comments. If I was Brassard, I’d tell him to go f*** himself.

 

[Peat]

Why not keep both?

The only issue with our forwards is whether Pearson and Simon work as top nine LW. If Brassard puts up a 30ish point pace with Kessel, I’m 100% fine.

This. Much as I have my doubts about fit and form for a few players, the ideal solution here is that our misfiring forwards turn it around and that we end up not needing to bring anyone in. This is a brutally strong team as is if that happens, and it keeps our powder dry for a stronger future/defence.

 

[Tender Rip]

I just don’t get the issue with Brassard. With the cap we have, you’re not getting better by moving him.

It depends what Brassard you are getting. For the majority of his time as a Pen, he has looked far below the player people hoped we were getting. Circumstances be damned, there has hardly been a three game period where you could say "There, that's the Brassard JR traded for".

With him being an impending UFA, there's always the consideration that you go to war with him in the playoffs given that he should be an impact player with a low cap-hit, but the more you see him not being that, it becomes meaningful to ponder what you could get for him that both helps now and/or makes sense asset management wise going forward. After all he should have the pedigree that a good deal of what we paid for him would be coming back.

Of course, you can hope the Detroit game could be what helps him turn things around, knock on wood, but even with those two goals, he has three points (all goals) in his last 10. A span of games the team has gone 7-2-1. That's an even worse pace than the dreadful one he has carried this season, and how a player like him manages zero assists in 10 games is almost bizarre.

In other words, I don't think is should be difficult to see why he is being talked about as an issue and/or potential trade pawn .

 

[Gurglesons]

It depends what Brassard you are getting. For the majority of his time as a Pen, he has looked far below the player people hoped we were getting. Circumstances be damned, there has hardly been a three game period where you could say "There, that's the Brassard JR traded for".

With him being an impending UFA, there's always the consideration that you go to war with him in the playoffs given that he should be an impact player with a low cap-hit, but the more you see him not being that, it becomes meaningful to ponder what you could get for him that both helps now and/or makes sense asset management wise going forward. After all he should have the pedigree that a good deal of what we paid for him would be coming back.

Of course, you can hope the Detroit game could be what helps him turn things around, knock on wood, but even with those two goals, he has three points (all goals) in his last 10. A span of games the team has gone 7-2-1. That's an even worse pace than the dreadful one he has carried this season, and how a player like him manages zero assists in 10 games is almost bizarre.

In other words, I don't think is should be difficult to see why he is being talked about as an issue and/or potential trade pawn .

Nick Bonino had 11 points through his first 40 games as Penguin. Brassard has 19 excluding playoffs when he was clearly hurt. Even then it’s around the same. He’s not performing offensively during the majority of those games since he came back because we’ve been down two top six wingers, meaning he was getting scraps.

He had 8 points in 12 games after the trade so I don’t know what this 3 games thing is. Honestly with how his time here has gone he’s never been given consistent wingers. So I’m not surprised he is completely out of wack. One game he gets 18 minutes the next he gets ten the next he’s with Sid on the wing the next he has ZAR and Rust as wingers.

The only trade that makes sense is a Statsny like deal for futures and I really doubt we do that. Otherwise we are bringing on salary or getting a player with less potential.

 

[The Old Master]

The only trade that makes sense is a Statsny like deal for futures and I really doubt we do that. Otherwise we are bringing on salary or getting a player with less potential.

futures are good. easily moved, or keep them and help in our rebuild.

 

[Gurglesons]

futures are good. easily moved, or keep them and help in our rebuild.

So you’re cool rolling into the playoffs with potentially having Sheahan, Grant or Cullen in a top 2C role at some point if injured?

 

[Riptide]

Malkin was severely hampered by injury (Kessel was injured too) and that’s when you need guys to step up. Sheahan didn’t.

Just because Malkin really struggled in the Caps series does that mean it’s ok for Sheahan to not do that well. Of course not. That’s when you need guys to step up and he’s not a player who did in the playoffs. If that’s him “flying” that’s not a real good argument for him as a player for us playing 3C minutes.

No one did. Good thing we already got rid of Hagelin and Sheary. Guess we just need to get rid of Rust, Brassard, Simon and ZAR now seeing how our measuring stick is how well they produced overall, not how well they produced in comparison to the rest of the team. Should probably ditch Hornqvist as well since he did nothing when not playing with Crosby.

So what was Malkin's excuse in the Philly series - he was healthy then and still not producing at ES?

Or you use a different measuring stick, and don't have different standards for what's acceptable and what isn't.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Win/win situation with Brassard. If he starts performing like he did last night then great...keep him for this run. But if hes putting up decent numbers but we can tell hes just not a good fit...his value goes up.

Alot of teams will ignore whats happened here and look at what he did previous years(when healthy...has the injury excuse here).

Id rather have a guy like Dzingel ...Sens obviously arent gonna do that but find someone similar and with term.

 

[Riptide]

Also, how do you check zone starts per game or with certain linemates? I'd be curious to see the zone starts for Sheahan when he was with Jake and Phil. I can't imagine we had those 2 starting the way Sheahan did most of the year.

Anyway, ideally we can keep both Sheahan and Brassard imo. Extra centers are always nice to have around.

Per game you can use NHL.com. Set the date range to include only the games you want (just figure out when those games were played) and then change the report to SAT Percentage. But you do not get any linemate info here.

 

[Gurglesons]

Win/win situation with Brassard. If he starts performing like he did last night then great...keep him for this run. But if hes putting up decent numbers but we can tell hes just not a good fit...his value goes up.

Alot of teams will ignore whats happened here and look at what he did previous years(when healthy...has the injury excuse here).

Id rather have a guy like Dzingel ...Sens obviously arent gonna do that but find someone similar and with term.

We could potentially get Dzingel. I assume he’ll price himself out.

 

[Tender Rip]

So you’re cool rolling into the playoffs with potentially having Sheahan, Grant or Cullen in a top 2C role at some point if injured?

That argument works if you say cover during a long season. For the playoffs specifically, it does not.

We are not winning anything in the post-season if we cannot count on Sid and Malkin being largely healthy. Brassard helps greatly if he makes the third line a weapon behind those guys, otherwise he's just papering over a crack, so its a false sense of security you're invoking.

Anyway, I am not saying he should be traded. I hope he gets hot, clicks with Kessel and we ride that.
Just that it isn't weird dealing him is on the list of many people's options given how he has been doing and his contract situation. Same goes for Sheahan of course, just less interesting to discuss given that he is that much less valuable.

 

[Empoleon8771]

The problem with comparing Brassard to Bonino is that Brassard is supposed to be better and the Penguins weren't happy with Bonino's performance as the 3C overall here. Outside of his run with HBK, he wasn't very good as the 3C here (and that is me being polite). It's why Rutherford didn't make him a serious offer for him to come back, it's because they weren't happy with his performance.

The problem with Brassard is that he isn't even outplaying what they got out of Sheahan last year. Considering his talent level and what they paid for him, they can't be satisfied with him just being better than the crap that Bonino was most of the time. Him being better than what they got out of a crappy Bonino or Sutter doesn't mean he has been good enough here.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Brassard is performing well above Bonino’s rate in 15-16 while being used much differently.

We have Cullen and Sheahan who can take defensive zone starts.

I just don’t get the issue with Brassard. With the cap we have, you’re not getting better by moving him.

It's because your measuring stick is Nick Bonino. Derick Brassard is a guy that is fully capable of putting up 50pts a season, even on the 3rd line, he can and we have seen a 3c produce at that rate before (Jordan Staal) BEHIND Malkin and Sid, so there's no excuse there. Brassard is a disappointment for what he was brought in for, but with his cap hit being eaten and him being a UFA, it's not even that much of an issue, if he hits 35-40pts, fantastic...he's not killing us next year with his contract or anything.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

context is certainly important. Both have shown ups and downs in that role. Neither has shown enough to really prove it out one way or the other. Sheahan has shown he can be successful in that role with good enough wings. Brassard was doing very well with Sheahan and Kessel as his wings before he got hurt last year (41 ES point pace), let's see if he can get it back with Pearson and Kessel.

Also, how do you check zone starts per game or with certain linemates? I'd be curious to see the zone starts for Sheahan when he was with Jake and Phil. I can't imagine we had those 2 starting the way Sheahan did most of the year.

Anyway, ideally we can keep both Sheahan and Brassard imo. Extra centers are always nice to have around.

It's just funny that people are like...

"Sheahan only produced because he had Jake and Phil...lmao n stuffs!"
Then it's...like, are those same people blind as to who Brassard's wingers have been for most of this season?