Salary Cap: Salary Cap & Roster Building: SPEED, YOUTH, AND POSITIVITY!

[Andy99]

The casino pops back up. Classic Despres angle.

He's been playing poker before you acquired him. It wasn't an issue when we won Cups. Shocker.

Yep...truly a hit piece...have to believe this is coming out because they maybe have another trade option that's not on his 8-team list and he's not responding??? who knows but it's bs...I hate the games people play, and so does Alan Parsons

 

[K Fleur]

Rossi took a break selling ice cream this morning.

 

[SEALBound]

Yeah but no keep him around because he played well for us 3 years ago.

This will help the room.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Yeah he was better than expected at times, a solid defender...but let’s not forget that he still had a habit of just chucking the puck up the boards like a gernade, unnecessarily turning the puck over instead of even looking for an outlet.

I actually don't mind that, as long as he clears the damn zone. It's the lesser of two evils, avoiding a lethal turnover or extended zone time against. If you get it past the blue line, at least it buys your teammates time to position themselves properly, or get a much needed line change.

Pens last season were one of the worst teams I've ever seen in that regard. Killed us over and over. Weak/indecisive clears FTL.

 

[Beauner]

Yep...truly a hit piece...have to believe this is coming out because they maybe have another trade option that's not on his 8-team list and he's not responding??? who knows but it's bs...I hate the games people play, and so does Alan Parsons

Man I can't think that article is being pushed out by the front office. His value is already tanked as-is, you think they want to damage it any more by showcasing all of the off-ice baggage he comes with?

 

[K Fleur]

Gotta love that Kessel was somehow dragging down Guentzel with gambling. Not like Guentzel just had a huge season or anything.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Idk, if Malkin is being adversely affected because Kessel is pissing off the coaching staff, I think smear campaigns like this are completely warranted. At that point, it's no longer Kessel just getting the coaches mad, it's negatively impacting one of your superstars.

 

[pistolpete11]

I heard he eats a lot of hot dogs, too!!

Who cares if he gambles? That is the dumbest and most unnecessary point to bring up. The problem is his lazy play on the ice and apparent unwillingness to play away from Malkin. Those are the reasons a trade is being discussed.

 

[K Fleur]

We always have these smear campaigns when someone gets traded away and then wonder why no big free agents ever sign here.

 

[Tom Hanks]

The casino pops back up. Classic Despres angle.

He's been playing poker before you acquired him. It wasn't an issue when we won Cups. Shocker.

Was he up all night playing before an elimination game then though?

His teammates weren’t happy about it.

 

[Andy99]

Man I can't think that article is being pushed out by the front office. His value is already tanked as-is, you think they want to damage it any more by showcasing all of the off-ice baggage he comes with?

That's their MO...they did it before in order to get him to accept a trade with Minn...they're at the point where they appear desperate..

 

[ColePens]

Yep...truly a hit piece...have to believe this is coming out because they maybe have another trade option that's not on his 8-team list and he's not responding??? who knows but it's bs...I hate the games people play, and so does Alan Parsons

And this is why I like you, Andy. You are intelligent enough to see the true actions behind the fake words. It's such a joke. It is an action to get Kessel to want to leave.

 

[ColePens]

Was he up all night playing before an elimination game then though?

His teammates weren’t happy about it.

Was he the issue in the playoffs? Maybe all those guys who got a good night's sleep can show some effort.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

Was he the issue in the playoffs? Maybe all those guys who got a good night's sleep can show some effort.

Exactly. There were like 4 players who showed a pulse vs the Isles and Kessel was 1 of them

Maybe the whole team should've stayed up all night drinking whatever Phil was having

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think people are jumping to the conclusions they want to believe by saying this is just a smear campaign and seemingly absolving Kessel of everything. That's at least the impression I'm getting, it seems like people don't have any problems with Kessel doing things that are causing Malkin problems.

 

[Coastal Kev]

That's their MO...they did it before in order to get him to accept a trade with Minn...their at the point where they appear desperate..

A large part of the fanbase has a connection to Phil, so their slander campaign won't work. You can only destroy a person that you helped create or that people have no connection to.

 

[IcedCapp]

Yeah but no keep him around because he played well for us 3 years ago.

This will help the room.

edit: nm not worth

 

[Andy99]

And this is why I like you, Andy. You are intelligent enough to see the true actions behind the fake words. It's such a joke. It is an action to get Kessel to want to leave.

I like you too Cole, and your positivity (it's just all those damn loafers...)

 

[Peat]

Man I can't think that article is being pushed out by the front office. His value is already tanked as-is, you think they want to damage it any more by showcasing all of the off-ice baggage he comes with?

I feel like that's the sort of stuff you say when you've already got a handshake with another team and don't mind blowing off steam. Or maybe it's meant to annoy Kessel into going or something, I dunno.

Was he the issue in the playoffs? Maybe all those guys who got a good night's sleep can show some effort.

Don't like the whatabouttery of this. It doesn't matter what the other guys are doing, that doesn't excuse it at all, either he's professional when it matters most or he's not. If he's not, then he deserves heavy criticism.

 

[K Fleur]

I think people are jumping to the conclusions they want to believe by saying this is just a smear campaign and seemingly absolving Kessel of everything. That's at least the impression I'm getting, it seems like people don't have any problems with Kessel doing things that are causing Malkin problems.

It’s wholly transparent what this “report” is trying to do. Seems It’s working for some people

 

[Andy99]

A large part of the fanbase has a connection to Phil, so their slander campaign won't work. You can only destroy a person that you helped create or that people have no connection to.

Yeah, as Cole was saying though, I don't think the smear stuff is to change the fans' minds...I think it's to get Phil to not want to come back and accept a trade...

 

[Empoleon8771]

It’s wholly transparent what this “report” is trying to do.

Yes it's obvious what it's trying to do, but that's not the point I was making. People were seemingly excusing Kessel for this, despite it causing problems with Malkin. If it's causing problems for Malkin, that's a big issue.

If Sullivan and Kessel having a dick measuring contest is causing issues with Malkin, both of those guys are responsible for that. It may be a "smear campaign", but it's completely warranted if Kessel being himself is causing problems for his teammates. At that point, he's being a selfish locker room problem. They're both at fault, Sullivan for being a hard ass about how players have to be and Kessel for being selfish and refusing to consider how his actions impact his teammates.

 

[Tom Hanks]

Was he the issue in the playoffs? Maybe all those guys who got a good night's sleep can show some effort.

So you’d be ok with it then?

He wasn’t that good and it’s not really a good look. You’ve got a big game, you haven’t played that well so the thought he should stay out all night playing poker is what he does.

 

[K Fleur]

Yes it's obvious what it's trying to do, but that's not the point I was making. People were seemingly excusing Kessel for this, despite it causing problems with Malkin. If it's causing problems for Malkin, that's a big issue.

If Sullivan and Kessel having a dick measuring contest is causing issues with Malkin, both of those guys are responsible for that. It may be a "smear campaign", but it's completely warranted if Kessel being himself is causing problems for his teammates. At that point, he's being a selfish locker room problem. They're both at fault, Sullivan for being a hard ass about how players have to be and Kessel for being selfish and refusing to consider how his actions impact his teammates.

Well it’s trying to do two things. One you’re eating right up. The other we won’t know if it worked unless Phil waives for a trade.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Well it’s trying to do two things. One you’re eating right up. The other we won’t know if it worked unless Phil waives for a trade.

What basis do you have for believing it's false? That is a completely reasonable suggestion, you're just trying to act woke to say that it's false and you can obviously see through it.