Salary Cap: Salary Cap+Roster Building: 'twas a great run....

[KIRK]

I wouldn’t say not close but I wouldn’t say he’s a solid #3 most games either. He should be a 4 with a solid partner.

That's fair.

That's also not what a team should be paying 5.5M per for.

 

[KIRK]

Sullivan to JR's quote "challenge accepted"

RIP Teddy, it was nice knowing you and enjoy your natchos.

4 MORE YEARS . . . of Cullen . . .

 

[66-30-33]

4 MORE YEARS . . . of Cullen . . .

DAD!!!!!

 

[KIRK]

DAD!!!!!

Actually, at the end of another 4 years, he'll be GRANDPA.

 

[Jacob]

Reading between the lines..

“Teddy Blueger [is] done,” Rutherford said. “I’ve seen...enough."

 

[JRS91]

Trading Kessel and Maatta is pretty major surgery.

That's true, but both have been speculated to be on the move for the past couple years.

Last year people thought Kessel would be dealt and Maatta has been talked about potentially being moved for years. When I think of a major shakeup, I think of a suspected unmovable player gets traded. People have been anticipating a Kris Letang trade since 2012.

How many players on the 2016 cup championship team were with the Pens were on the team 20 months earlier to open the 2014-2015 season? JR cleaned house. Not immediately, but over the following 16 months, by the 2016 trade deadline, he certainly had.

Right, but it didn't happen in one season.

I think if Kessel and Maatta get moved this year. If next season has similar results to this season, I expect more moves to be made. I just don't expect them to clean house right away. Don't get me wrong, trading Kessel and Maatta are big moves but when you're as talented as this team is, they're expendable talent.

 

[Turin]

I don’t miss Fleury at all watching him under pressure.

Wrong thread but true

 

[SEALBound]

I don’t miss Fleury at all watching him under pressure.

Wrong thread but true

Hopefully it puts to bed any possible Murray for Fleury ideas.

 

[Human]

trade everybody (except Geno, Sid, Guentzel, Murray)
sign Erik Karlsson
?
profit

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Would anyone want to hire Mike Babcock if he is fired from the Leafs?

Maybe the local youth hockey club?

He'd be a great hire for a team like the Oilers that lack.....any semblance of self respect and "functional organizational behaviors."

 

[CascadiaPenguin]

Boston will go as far as Rask takes them.

Sadly, Caps own the Bruins. But maybe the well-rested Isles have something to say about this?

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Nice knowing you TB...

My man just got Spoulioted:



How Jim Rutherford thinks the Penguins can get faster

I wonder how many positive quotes JR can throw out there for how his coach constantly misuses the f*** out of the line-up. I hope JR goes and gets amazing returns on players and fixes all of the problems he has had a big hand in causing and Sully as well, only to see Sullivan continue to misuse the f*** out of them and then people turn on JR for everything.

Hopefully it puts to bed any possible Murray for Fleury ideas.

There was never any serious or even any murmurs of wanting Fleury for Murray, even last year. The idiocy of that thought process by many, is astounding. Even more so by the people that actually did want that move made (maybe 2-3 people here? Mostly facebook morons?)

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Sadly, Caps own the Bruins. But maybe the well-rested Isles have something to say about this?

Playoffs are a different beast. I think the B's have youth on their side that fuels them and beating a team like the Leafs in 7 is a huge win for a lot of the kids on that team.

 

[CascadiaPenguin]

I don’t miss Fleury at all watching him under pressure.

Wrong thread but true

Fleury was pretty freaking amazing in OT. Who saw secret weapon Goodrow?

 

[66-30-33]

Actually, at the end of another 4 years, he'll be GRANDPA.

GRAMPS!

 

[Honour Over Glory]

@Mr Jiggyfly - The best thing about that entire article is that JR basically talks about the right things, but he's directly talking about the coaching and the style and then he says he likes the defense.

There's some clear stuff being said there, that the team does not need a bunch of burners, they played a faster game because of the way they functioned as a 5 man unit (something I have argued to death about how this team has veered very far away from the last 2 seasons).

JR can go get every fast player available and add them to the roster, speed isn't just skating super fast. It's about how quickly to push that puck up the other way and support it, including team defense which was just so lackluster all season and last. We were constantly getting blown the hell out of the water by teams early on. Pens, after the 2nd cup, completely lost that ability and this goes before JJ and after JJ, so a certain someone can calm his ass about that crap.

I am all for changes, I think this team needs a couple of new faces and to boot some familiar faces from last season - the f*** out.

But if he's mentioning coaching, he needs to point out coaching issues. Don't grow a back bone and then wuss out.

 

[CascadiaPenguin]

Playoffs are a different beast. I think the B's have youth on their side that fuels them and beating a team like the Leafs in 7 is a huge win for a lot of the kids on that team.

Yes, I did think the Leafs had them, but now that the Caps are tested and without the Western PA monkey on their back, it could be interesting. And BOS hasn't surged for a few years now. But for all (very little) I know, it could be CBJ v Carolina in the ECF. I'm not sure I'd even watch. Then again, I just watched VGK / SJ and it was one of the greatest playoff games I've ever seen.

 

[Peat]

That's fair.

That's also not what a team should be paying 5.5M per for.

Who are you going to get who's a better dman costing 5.5m or less though?

 

[Tacitus Kilgore]

I hope JR sees Blueger like Sundqvist currently and its like oh shit i kinda need(ed) that

 

[pistolpete11]

@Mr Jiggyfly - The best thing about that entire article is that JR basically talks about the right things, but he's directly talking about the coaching and the style and then he says he likes the defense.

There's some clear stuff being said there, that the team does not need a bunch of burners, they played a faster game because of the way they functioned as a 5 man unit (something I have argued to death about how this team has veered very far away from the last 2 seasons).

JR can go get every fast player available and add them to the roster, speed isn't just skating super fast. It's about how quickly to push that puck up the other way and support it, including team defense which was just so lackluster all season and last. We were constantly getting blown the hell out of the water by teams early on. Pens, after the 2nd cup, completely lost that ability and this goes before JJ and after JJ, so a certain someone can calm his ass about that crap.

I am all for changes, I think this team needs a couple of new faces and to boot some familiar faces from last season - the **** out.

But if he's mentioning coaching, he needs to point out coaching issues. Don't grow a back bone and then wuss out.

I agree with everything you said, but I think how fast they can play would still be limited by Maatta, JMFJ, and Gudbranson. Petterson is fine, but he shouldn't be the best puck mover on his pairing.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I agree with everything you said, but I think how fast they can play would still be limited by Maatta, JMFJ, and Gudbranson. Petterson is fine, but he shouldn't be the best puck mover on his pairing.

I don't think it's a problem for Pettersson to be the best puck mover on his pair. A Pettersson-Gudbranson pair would be perfectly fine, in terms of puck moving, on a fast team reliant on puck moving and it's a good bottom pair overall. The problem is when your 2nd pair is a disaster when it comes to their transition game. Schultz has never been a particularly great transition defenseman (he's an OFD, not a puck mover) and Johnson's rock level hockey IQ makes him an incompetent puck mover.

The Penguins 1st and 3rd pairs are both good, there isn't much of a reason to complain about them. The problem is with their 2nd pair, and that's for both members of their 2nd pair. I think your 2nd pair would vastly improve by either adding a solid puck mover (someone on Cole's caliber) to replace Johnson or by adding a great puck mover (someone on younger Goligoski's caliber) to replace Schultz.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

There is no reconciling a desire to play fast and keeping either of Johnson or Maatta.

Also, that Blueger quote is gold.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

@Mr Jiggyfly - The best thing about that entire article is that JR basically talks about the right things, but he's directly talking about the coaching and the style and then he says he likes the defense.

There's some clear stuff being said there, that the team does not need a bunch of burners, they played a faster game because of the way they functioned as a 5 man unit (something I have argued to death about how this team has veered very far away from the last 2 seasons).

JR can go get every fast player available and add them to the roster, speed isn't just skating super fast. It's about how quickly to push that puck up the other way and support it, including team defense which was just so lackluster all season and last. We were constantly getting blown the hell out of the water by teams early on. Pens, after the 2nd cup, completely lost that ability and this goes before JJ and after JJ, so a certain someone can calm his ass about that crap.

I am all for changes, I think this team needs a couple of new faces and to boot some familiar faces from last season - the **** out.

But if he's mentioning coaching, he needs to point out coaching issues. Don't grow a back bone and then wuss out.

As long as JR sees Schultz as the answer to the second pair in terms of a puck mover and thinks like a dinosaur with his "pushback" mantra, I doubt things get fixed.

Get a legit top four guy that can really skate and transition the puck well, get some young legs that can skate and have puck skills.... then you will be well on your way to fixing things.

However, its like an addict in recovery... JR has to admit he has a problem before he can fix the mess he's made. Unfortunately, what he's said makes me feel like he doesn't understand where the real issues are. He reminds me of some of my old strung out buddies that insisted they didn't have a problem... denial can really be a dangerous thing.

 

[pistolpete11]

I don't think it's a problem for Pettersson to be the best puck mover on his pair. A Pettersson-Gudbranson pair would be perfectly fine, in terms of puck moving, on a fast team reliant on puck moving and it's a good bottom pair overall. The problem is when your 2nd pair is a disaster when it comes to their transition game. Schultz has never been a particularly great transition defenseman (he's an OFD, not a puck mover) and Johnson's rock level hockey IQ makes him an incompetent puck mover.

The Penguins 1st and 3rd pairs are both good, there isn't much of a reason to complain about them. The problem is with their 2nd pair, and that's for both members of their 2nd pair. I think your 2nd pair would vastly improve by either adding a solid puck mover (someone on Cole's caliber) to replace Johnson or by adding a great puck mover (someone on younger Goligoski's caliber) to replace Schultz.

I recant that Petterson shouldn't be the best puck mover on his pairing, but I don't think he's a good enough puck mover to carry someone like Gudbranson.

There's really no easy way to fix the defense. The least amount of moving parts might be to pair Petterson-Schultz and find a real pucker mover to pair with Gudbranson, but Petterson-Schultz is rather soff and a good puck mover is expensive. And it still requires getting rid of Maatta and JMFJ.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

The blueline really is just a colossal, and realistically insurmountable, problem. We need to replace two guys in JJ and Maatta and replace them with better fits. We have another guy in Gudbranson making $4 million to be a pretty ineffective guy against speed himself as a bottom pairing guy. We have Schultz making $5.5 million, while essentially requiring a better partner than we can give him. That's four guys who require differing degrees of attention.

That doesn't take into account the Phil or Horny situations, and the resulting issues in our top-9. In a perfect world, McCann and Rust would be flanking Bjugstad on that third line. More realistically, one of them should probably be on Geno's wing while the other is on that third line. Still need to find Geno his version of Jake either way.

Lots of work to do if this team is serious about fixing things. Lots. But it's probably all for nothing because JR doesn't see a problem with this blueline and I'm getting less certain about Phil being moved, so we're intent on letting he and Geno ruin each other at ES all year again.