GDT: The SS Kessel has Landed: Pens vs Hurricanes

[TheSniper26]

Alright, you're going a bit too fast for me right now. You're trying to tell me that Sid, the team's captain who never says anything bad about his teammates, said something positive about Dupuis when asked about him? I honestly don't believe it.

Yeah I always get a chuckle out of people using player quotes as an indication of... anything. Hockey players are by far the least candid of all athletes. They'll basically say whatever kicks up the least amount of fuss and ends the interview the quickest. It's just hockey culture. I'm sure, if asked, Crosby would say pretty much glowing things about every single guy in the league.

 

[Houston Penguin]

1st. Kunitz's role changed for multiple reasons. Age, lack of quality wingers to fill the top 6, and they needed more offense out of him being the go to winger on that line.

2nd. People around here went and are going too far north on the youth movement, especially this year. They are here. They have what seems could be a healthy mix. It's a matter of working out the kinks.

3rd. People trash Kunitz for a half season he probably had no control over its making.

4th. Maybe if people would have a deeper understanding of Kunitz's role to the team and just wash away the fact Kunitz can't be a demolishingman for 60 minutes a game and 82 games a season they would not complain bordering on being ingrates, though some have and are past that. Some seem like they don't even know what side of the coin they are on. They say something and somebody says something completely opposite to their tune and they flip a switch of their own tune. (two faced) It is all about pushing the latest and newest whippingboy.


Lets this be clear, I'm no Kunitz apologist for the last half season, who knows all the full truths, but some around here make it very easy to take his side on the matter.

Even mentioning all the whipping boys in the past has no merit when you are comparing them to, Kunitz. None. Trash when he's injured has no bearing or comparison to when he's healthy. This also holds true to the young guys.

It's not the teams fault that for 7 years of this kids development was put to waste, while also noting it's not Bennett's fault he's so brittle. Them's the breaks. The Pens higher archly are not parading that he's been so injured, they don't/didn't wish it. Stop blaming them for his and their misfortune he is so injured and lost years of development.

Accept Kunitz for what he did to change, to make himself still relevant in the top six. And that is a playmaker who can score goals, points and dish out the occasional punishing hit, plus... stick up for his line-mates/team.

I'm sorry. That screams a top six winger whether you like him or not.

I assure you all 'The HoneyBadger still don't care what you think' of him at his age outside of the locker room.

Get behind Kunitz in the fold, black and gold. Teams have and never won or lost on the merits of a single player.

Edit: If you feel I'm aiming anything directly at you, I'm not. sorry if I worded anything that way.

THANK YOU!!!! The way some of these guys rail against Kunitz one would think they walked into the room with Kunitz on top of there girlfriend!

Could we give the staff a chance to let **** play out? We have better depth this year so there are ample replacements should Kunitz or anyone else NOT be what we need on any line.

Hell, the only example we have right now shows Kunitz was able to do something for that line. Expecting 2009 Kunitz is stupid and expecting 2014 Kunitz is as well.

Y'all really can not break out of the Blysma era, can you?

 

[Whambino]

THANK YOU!!!! The way some of these guys rail against Kunitz one would think they walked into the room with Kunitz on top of there girlfriend!

Could we give the staff a chance to let **** play out? We have better depth this year so there are ample replacements should Kunitz or anyone else NOT be what we need on any line.

Hell, the only example we have right now shows Kunitz was able to do something for that line. Expecting 2009 Kunitz is stupid and expecting 2014 Kunitz is as well.

Y'all really can not break out of the Blysma era, can you?

People just love to have someone to rib on. He could score 70+ points and people here will still say he's awful. In all honesty, he looked really good in that preseason game. He had grit, played good D, and made a few really nice offensive plays (like the one-touch pass to Kessel for the goal, or the backhand pass to spring Sid on a breakaway). Im not sure what else you need or could want out of Sid/Kessel's third wheel. If he can continue to play like he did then I am totally ok with him on that line.

 

[Shady Machine]

Man things really got out of hand here last night. Trade Hornqvist for Yak. Yeah that strikes me as a move that would translate to more playoff type hockey.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

It's become apparent to me that not everyone is aware there is an ignore list feature.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

To me, Hornqvist is a non-issue. mpp9 seems to agree, as well.

Wherever he plays, on whatever line, he'll always play the same style. He's as low-maintenance as they come. As long as he is on the first PP unit in front of the net, the rest is fine. If we have better options to play with Geno, we should explore them. Horny could head a killer third line. Ultimately, it could make the team better because we'd be that much deeper.

Plus, that seems to be what JR wants and has been preaching all summer.

 

[Coastal Kev]

Alright, you're going a bit too fast for me right now. You're trying to tell me that Sid, the team's captain who never says anything bad about his teammates, said something positive about Dupuis when asked about him? I honestly don't believe it.

People can't respond without insults.


I asked a legit question about Hornqvist and him being a perfect winger for either Geno or Sid.

 

[Coastal Kev]

To me, Hornqvist is a non-issue. mpp9 seems to agree, as well.

Wherever he plays, on whatever line, he'll always play the same style. He's as low-maintenance as they come. As long as he is on the first PP unit in front of the net, the rest is fine. If we have better options to play with Geno, we should explore them. Horny could head a killer third line. Ultimately, it could make the team better because we'd be that much deeper.

Plus, that seems to be what JR wants and has been preaching all summer.

Thank you, this was the only point that I tried to make in my initial post.

 

[drpepper]

I think Malkin-Hornqvist will look good as long as there is a defender on ice to put the puck on the net which means fine with the top pairing (Maatta/Letang) and likely second pairing if it contains Cole or Pouliot. The third pairing is a little dicier if its any combination of Dumoulin, Lovejoy, and Scuderi until Dumoulin gets his confidence up.

That allows Malkin to carry the puck and play make, Hornqvist to go net-front, and the defender to get a shot off.

It's also why I like the idea of Perron on the line as someone else who will take shots & is decent along the boards.

I don't think the team who finally got top 6 wingers in Perron, Hornqvist & Kessel should relegate any of them to the 3rd line.

 

[Fordy]

THANK YOU!!!! The way some of these guys rail against Kunitz one would think they walked into the room with Kunitz on top of there girlfriend!

Could we give the staff a chance to let **** play out? We have better depth this year so there are ample replacements should Kunitz or anyone else NOT be what we need on any line.

Hell, the only example we have right now shows Kunitz was able to do something for that line. Expecting 2009 Kunitz is stupid and expecting 2014 Kunitz is as well.

Y'all really can not break out of the Blysma era, can you?

you chose 1. a borderline incoherent rant about nothing 2. a random preseason game to hang your hat on. nice one

 

[Fordy]

People just love to have someone to rib on.He could score 70+ points and people here will still say he's awful.

no he can't

In all honesty, he looked really good in that preseason game. He had grit, played good D, and made a few really nice offensive plays (like the one-touch pass to Kessel for the goal, or the backhand pass to spring Sid on a breakaway).

oh boy! i'm so excited for kunitz this season. what a great preseason game against carolina's scrubs

Im not sure what else you need or could want out of Sid/Kessel's third wheel. If he can continue to play like he did then I am totally ok with him on that line.

a good player that can make real contributions other than an occasional good pass? we have a lot of players that can make passes

 

[vikingGoalie]

I'm gonna talk crazy here. But I'm gonna wait and see how this plays out.

Kunitz *was* demoted last season. But Perron went in the tank Winnik wasn't exactly gonna be a top 6 guy. Dupuis was out. Both of Bennett's knees got wrecked, Comeau's wrist exploded, unsurprisingly Kunitz was the warm (iron deficient) body left standing so he he occupied the spot, despite being high on the suck-meter.

I do not think MJ will put Kunitz in for an extended time in a top 6 role if he is under performing and someone else is performing better.

Why do I say such a crazy thing? Because that's what he did last season.

just sayin...

 

[Shady Machine]

I think Malkin-Hornqvist will look good as long as there is a defender on ice to put the puck on the net which means fine with the top pairing (Maatta/Letang) and likely second pairing if it contains Cole or Pouliot. The third pairing is a little dicier if its any combination of Dumoulin, Lovejoy, and Scuderi until Dumoulin gets his confidence up.

That allows Malkin to carry the puck and play make, Hornqvist to go net-front, and the defender to get a shot off.

It's also why I like the idea of Perron on the line as someone else who will take shots & is decent along the boards.

I don't think the team who finally got top 6 wingers in Perron, Hornqvist & Kessel should relegate any of them to the 3rd line.

Agreed. Plus it's not like we don't have a good collection of bottom 6/tweener options anyway.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

I think Malkin-Hornqvist will look good as long as there is a defender on ice to put the puck on the net which means fine with the top pairing (Maatta/Letang) and likely second pairing if it contains Cole or Pouliot. The third pairing is a little dicier if its any combination of Dumoulin, Lovejoy, and Scuderi until Dumoulin gets his confidence up.

That allows Malkin to carry the puck and play make, Hornqvist to go net-front, and the defender to get a shot off.

It's also why I like the idea of Perron on the line as someone else who will take shots & is decent along the boards.

I don't think the team who finally got top 6 wingers in Perron, Hornqvist & Kessel should relegate any of them to the 3rd line.

Yeah. What needs to keep being mentioned is that you're supposed to have 4 top 6 wingers and right now the Pens have 3 guaranteed ones. That means they all need to be in the top 6 to not destructively "clever" and into depth/balance. It's not like they have 5, they have 3 and an iron deficient 36 year old who has been declining for awhile, a very good 3rd liner who hasn't played much in two seasons because of serious health problems, a guy with one preseason NHL game, a young player with potential and an injury history. And I guess Fehr and Bonino if we're throwing everyone into the discussion. None of those are guaranteed top 6 wingers and none of them will probably be legitimate ones right now and it's not enough to push Perron, or now Hornqvist is in the discussion for some reason, down.

I don't know why having Kessel has brought out the desire to lose a top 6 winger or put him on the 3rd line when it was years of complaining about not having enough.

 

[Shady Machine]

Yeah. What needs to keep being mentioned is that you're supposed to have 4 top 6 wingers and right now the Pens have 3 guaranteed ones. That means they all need to be in the top 6 to not destructively "clever" and into depth. It's not like they have 5, they have 3 and an iron deficient 36 year old who has been declining for awhile, a very good 3rd liner who hasn't played much in two seasons because of serious health problems, a guy with one preseason NHL game, a young player with potential and an injury history. And I guess Fehr and Bonino of we're throwing everyone into the discussion. None of those are guaranteed top 6 wingers and none of them probably will be, not right now and it's not enough to push Perron, or now Hornqvist is in the discussion for some reason, down.

I don't know why having Kessel has brought out the desire to lose a top 6 winger or put him on the 3rd line when it was years of complaining about not having enough.

Yeah it's weird. I mean I get it with Sid-Kessel. You don't necessarily put your next most offensively talented guy with them. I certainly wouldn't not try it though, which is what this team seems to do.

That said, with Malkin-Hornqvist, Perron to me seems like the obvious best fit. Plots, IMO, at least projects to be too similar of a player to Hornqvist and I think Bonino-Bennett could be a really good combo (and Beau is better on right wing).

I think the views on Perron on this board is one of the weirder things I've seen in my time here. A lot of posters really don't like the guy based on a pretty small sample size.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Yeah it's weird. I mean I get it with Sid-Kessel. You don't necessarily put your next most offensively talented guy with them. I certainly wouldn't not try it though, which is what this team seems to do.

That said, with Malkin-Hornqvist, Perron to me seems like the obvious best fit. Plots, IMO, at least projects to be too similar of a player to Hornqvist and I think Bonino-Bennett could be a really good combo (and Beau is better on right wing).

I think the views on Perron on this board is one of the weirder things I've seen in my time here. A lot of posters really don't like the guy based on a pretty small sample size.

Perron thing isn't that weird TBTH. Go look at the circle jerk on this board for Perron when he was doing well, and BB his rookie year. It's what fans do, they turn on guys when things aren't going well. I even heard people on the radio asking for Crosby to be stripped of his C a couple of years ago.

Now Perron sucks. BB is Boo Boo Beau Bust and I read on here he is one of the top 5% worst skaters in the NHL (where do people come up with this BS?).

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Yeah it's weird. I mean I get it with Sid-Kessel. You don't necessarily put your next most offensively talented guy with them. I certainly wouldn't not try it though, which is what this team seems to do.

That said, with Malkin-Hornqvist, Perron to me seems like the obvious best fit. Plots, IMO, at least projects to be too similar of a player to Hornqvist and I think Bonino-Bennett could be a really good combo (and Beau is better on right wing).

I think the views on Perron on this board is one of the weirder things I've seen in my time here. A lot of posters really don't like the guy based on a pretty small sample size.

Crosby-Kessel is more about fit than having the 2nd best winger there, and the Malkin-Hornqvist pairing should have precedence on getting a skilled guy on the other side. I wouldn't say no to Perron on the other side, but PMH should be a better use. I've listed why I'd try Bennett opposite Kessel and not Hornqvist, I'd try him in the top 6 before putting him with Bonino because getting the top 6 settled is more important. If that doesn't work Bennett on the 3rd line is good, that's pretty much my view that spot in general. Try Bennett there, try Plotnikov, try whoever, if it doesn't work put them in the bottom 6 and you still have Kunitz and Dupuis hanging around.

X-Crosby-Kessel
X-Malkin-Hornqvist
X=Perron, Bennett, Plotnikov

Cycle through starting with Perron with MH. But that won't happen, Kunitz's sad face is heartbreaking.

The board has gone insane, though.

Perron thing isn't that weird TBTH. Go look at the circle jerk on this board for Perron when he was doing well, and BB his rookie year. It's what fans do, they turn on guys when things aren't going well. I even heard people on the radio asking for Crosby to be stripped of his C a couple of years ago.

Now Perron sucks. BB is Boo Boo Beau Bust and I read on here he is one of the top 5% worst skaters in the NHL (where do people come up with this BS?).

I'm pretty sure that's happened on the board, too.

Perron is weird because in contrast we have the "Kunitz will have a bounceback year and deserve his 1LW spot" contingent, that's what is making it truly weird. Kuntiz and Dupuis will be great in the top 6, but that 27 year old is a failure that won't be better and he needs to go. Very weird. We needed top 6 wingers, we needed to get younger, we needed more skill... ditch that and go back to Kunitz and Dupuis!

This place has a lot more in common with the things people here like to look down on than anyone wants to admit; more in common with Bylsma and Shero, too. Not everyone but enough people to be weird af, and I'm not the perfect poster but good lord.

 

[Headshot77]

Yeah it's weird. I mean I get it with Sid-Kessel. You don't necessarily put your next most offensively talented guy with them. I certainly wouldn't not try it though, which is what this team seems to do.

That said, with Malkin-Hornqvist, Perron to me seems like the obvious best fit. Plots, IMO, at least projects to be too similar of a player to Hornqvist and I think Bonino-Bennett could be a really good combo (and Beau is better on right wing).

I think the views on Perron on this board is one of the weirder things I've seen in my time here. A lot of posters really don't like the guy based on a pretty small sample size.

It isn't all the surprising. The people on these boards are very fickle. The only reason it has gotten so insane as it pertains to Kunitz and Perron is that they really disappointed late last season, and we have had a whole offseason to over-analyze it.

Plus, for some reason these boards, and I suppose sports boards in general, are very negative places. The players that don't achieve expectations get talked about more than those that do, usually. I remember that the hate for Fleury on this board was at unreasonable levels for many years just because he wasn't a Vezina candidate and the goaltender tends to get a lot of heat.

 

[Shady Machine]

Perron thing isn't that weird TBTH. Go look at the circle jerk on this board for Perron when he was doing well, and BB his rookie year. It's what fans do, they turn on guys when things aren't going well. I even heard people on the radio asking for Crosby to be stripped of his C a couple of years ago.

Now Perron sucks. BB is Boo Boo Beau Bust and I read on here he is one of the top 5% worst skaters in the NHL (where do people come up with this BS?).

I mean among the general population of fans I get it. Here, we usually get a more knowledgeable group. At least with Bennett, he doesn't have a huge track record of success in the NHL (limited because of injuries of course). Perron has been pretty consistently around a 50 point player when playing close to a full season (last year being the exception). I just can't wrap my head around the hate he gets on here.