2018-19 Penguins and NHL Offseason

[Uncle Ben]

I'm starting to believe Sullivan has developed a stubbornes. Rightfully so, but it has impacted the chemistry of this team.
A new season and some extended time away from hockey will do wonders for the guys though.

I agree, stepping away hopefully leads to a better perspective. His system is proven but it lacks the flexibility to develop as other teams learn to exploit. Mistakes made/forced with the locker room have been partially corrected, Cullen may not be huge on the ice but he is a leader off. Johnson has been horrible on the ice but is a vet. JJ is Sid's BFF and when Sid is happy he plays at another level. Both Cullen and Johnson play with some grit.

It will be interesting to see if Kessel becomes a victim of the system. Sully has said no but that was in one of those " tell us what we want to hear" interviews.

I would love to see Karlsson come to the Pens. I just don't think we have enough pieces that would be of interest. We sure as hell don't have the cap room without moving Kessel or Letang. Only an idiot would take Letang at his cap hit and play level. Phil's 90 points would be difficult to replace. Looking back, the deals we made last year didn't help us this year.

Mooseknuckle, I'm so sorry you guys didn't share this sooner. I could have had so much fun with this. I'll also miss his sitting on the bench and mouthing the pregame call of the line up.

 

[Uncle Ben]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-MIYEqLfF30" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Good Luck Mooseknuckle !

 

[Djfan]

Video is great. Well played Uncle Ben!

 

[Uncle Ben]

It's been pretty dull lately. Finally some news. The Pens resigned Oleksiak. The contract is $2.137M for 3 years. I think at this point the price is a little high but if he continues to develop, year 3 will be a huge bargain. This avoids the potential bad blood in arbitration and holds on to some toughness. The Pens are paying a high bill for defense. I hope it pays off.

 

[Tommy8Maddox]

Too bad that money couldn't go to lock down Cole. Maybe with a different role than he had in CBJ he can turn the lights on. Sid's leadership should help, too.

Trading Jarry makes sense. Hope folks don't get too mad over it.

I think Jarry is better than DeSmith. He has a greater upside and has played better than DeSmith when called on. We need a reliable backup goalie. I believe that is Jarry.

 

[MTC]

I think Jarry is better than DeSmith. He has a greater upside and has played better than DeSmith when called on. We need a reliable backup goalie. I believe that is Jarry.

When DeSmith gets going, he gets going.
But he'a also prone to bad stretches as well. He's a poor man's MAF.

Jarry, has more upside, therefore more value in a trade bait situation.

The Pens need to solidify the one ice puck stuff. The team can avoid exposing whomever is net to get hung out to dry.
I think the signing of Johnson and resigning big Rig, is a message by Rutherford he wants more aggressive defensive play.

 

[steel dino]

Off season will not be a success until they move on from Letang...

he's stealin' money...

 

[thesteelcity]

Off season will not be a success until they move on from Letang...

he's stealin' money...

yea, the org loves him for some reason. I don't know if they think he'll get back to his old form or don't think he has real value on the market.

 

[Tommy8Maddox]

When DeSmith gets going, he gets going.
But he'a also prone to bad stretches as well. He's a poor man's MAF.

Jarry, has more upside, therefore more value in a trade bait situation.

The Pens need to solidify the one ice puck stuff. The team can avoid exposing whomever is net to get hung out to dry.
I think the signing of Johnson and resigning big Rig, is a message by Rutherford he wants more aggressive defensive play.

Jarry is 4 years younger than DeSmith. He also has more big league experience. I think DeSmith should be your top goalie at WB/S. But then again, I can see the team having Jarry and DeSmith battle to be the backup.

yea, the org loves him for some reason. I don't know if they think he'll get back to his old form or don't think he has real value on the market.

The team has invested a lot in Letang. He's still a great defenseman despite the turnovers and poor plays. It's fair to give him this season and see what he does. He might play real well with Jack Johnson. Who knows?

 

[thesteelcity]

Jarry is 4 years younger than DeSmith. He also has more big league experience. I think DeSmith should be your top goalie at WB/S. But then again, I can see the team having Jarry and DeSmith battle to be the backup.



The team has invested a lot in Letang. He's still a great defenseman despite the turnovers and poor plays. It's fair to give him this season and see what he does. He might play real well with Jack Johnson. Who knows?

Using the term great is overshooting a bit there. Some of his turnovers and play was cringe worthy for a $7M+ #1 Dman. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt with everything he went through and overcame, but I'm still leery about him.

 

[Tommy8Maddox]

Using the term great is overshooting a bit there. Some of his turnovers and play was cringe worthy for a $7M+ #1 Dman. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt with everything he went through and overcame, but I'm still leery about him.

I understand your perspective. It seems like the injury has had an impact. This coming season is big because he'll have been a full year removed, all the talk about his poor costly plays, and his large salary. I wouldn't feel bad if he were moved. I think the way GMJR thinks is, he'll keep him for now, but he's under the microscope come the season, and Letang could be gone in Feb or March if he does not rise to his level of play when he was an All-Star.

Maybe you're right, after turning 30 he is starting to go downhill and just might not find his groove again.

 

[steel dino]

Pens made a very "Steeler like" FA signing this week in Derek Grant...
under the radar and cheap for what he will bring to the table..

Next I would to see JR package Brassard and Letang for a Top 5 defensemen like Suter or Byfuglien...

 

[Sarge]

Curious though that the Ducks chose to let Grant walk in order to sign Carter Rowney for three years. IMHO, Rowney sucks ***, so if the Ducks preferred him to Grant, I wonder how good Grant really is. Reading up, sounds decent enough, a grinder to be sure, but he also seems to have a bit of a scoring touch. Can't be any worse than Rowney, I guess.

 

[steel dino]

I hear ya Sarge..

Another center signed to the roster seems to me its because we want to move Brassard..

Grant > Rowney

 

[Uncle Ben]

Grant is a better skater than Rowney, more physical with some offensive potential. He was a 4th round pick, Rowney an UDFA. Grant has bounced around the league and didn't do squat until list year. Late bloomer or one season wonder ? For the price it's low risk. One thing for sure Rowney wasn't much. Grant is an URFA next year so it a prove it deal.

JR has sure loaded up on centers. With so few affordable LW's available. I think they decided to make one. Brassard said he would, Sheahan has played LW a little. So many options.

Trade Brassard, I don't think so. He is a better hockey player than we saw last year. His cap hit isn't bad. I do think that if the Pens don't start well all bets are off.

Trade Letang, With his cap hit, I don't know who would want him. I'd be happy to trade him off for prospects and lower the cap.

Package Brassard and Letang ? Hmm... I hadn't thought of that combo. I'd love to see the offers on this.

 

[Tommy8Maddox]

Grant and Cullen signed to 1-year deals tells me the Pens aren't hoping or investing much in them. Could be helpful but not banking on it.

IMO Brassard and Letang will be under close watch. I do not believe they will be dealt prior to the season starting. However, if either is struggling, I could see GMJR trading them by the deadline.

 

[MTC]

Grant and Cullen signed to 1-year deals tells me the Pens aren't hoping or investing much in them. Could be helpful but not banking on it.

IMO Brassard and Letang will be under close watch. I do not believe they will be dealt prior to the season starting. However, if either is struggling, I could see GMJR trading them by the deadline.

I can see Brassard and or Letang being shipped in February.
Brass has a chance to show his value with training camp and such.

Letang, hard to say if he'll be back to what he was pre surgery.
He's always been a mental gaffe player from time to time, but nowhere as bad as he is now.

 

[Tommy8Maddox]

I can see Brassard and or Letang being shipped in February.
Brass has a chance to show his value with training camp and such.

Letang, hard to say if he'll be back to what he was pre surgery.
He's always been a mental gaffe player from time to time, but nowhere as bad as he is now.

I think Brassard needs to excel. He didn't play extremely well in the playoffs. He's got to step it up. Nice that Vegas is still paying $2M per year of his salary. If he shifted to wing it could help but I'll also take him as third line center.

Everyone's all over Letang and I understand. Eventually enough is enough for $7.25 M or whatever he's making.

 

[Uncle Ben]

So many questions to start this season. More so than the last few years. It's nice to have some depth. I still think we need a solid LW and no doubt the addition of a quality Dman would really help.

Who can move to wing ? Brassard, Simon, Cullen Grant , Sheahan ?

Simon is training with Sid in Halifax, Will he actually turn into something ?

How effective will ZAR be after his injury ?

Will Murray return to greatness ?

Is Sprong for real ?

Will Letang find his brain ?

Blueger has been showing pretty well in " Da Beauty League". Is he going to be an NHL level player ?

Jarry not signed yet ?

 

[Uncle Ben]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Penguins have agreed to terms with goaltender Tristan Jarry (<a href="https://twitter.com/tjarry35?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tjarry35</a>) on a two-year contract.<br> <br>Jarry’s contract is a two-way deal in 2018.19 and a one-way deal in 2019.20. The average annual value at the NHL level is $675,000.<br><br>Full details: <a href="https://t.co/cEi5UDGdbW">https://t.co/cEi5UDGdbW</a> <a href="https://t.co/RYypmydSRm">pic.twitter.com/RYypmydSRm</a></p>— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) <a href="https://twitter.com/penguins/status/1022612198802305025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MTC]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Penguins have agreed to terms with goaltender Tristan Jarry (<a href="https://twitter.com/tjarry35?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tjarry35</a>) on a two-year contract.<br> <br>Jarry’s contract is a two-way deal in 2018.19 and a one-way deal in 2019.20. The average annual value at the NHL level is $675,000.<br><br>Full details: <a href="https://t.co/cEi5UDGdbW">https://t.co/cEi5UDGdbW</a> <a href="https://t.co/RYypmydSRm">pic.twitter.com/RYypmydSRm</a></p>— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) <a href="https://twitter.com/penguins/status/1022612198802305025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Whether it's Jarry or DeSmith WBS and Pitt have some decent goaltending to work with.

 

[MTC]

So many questions to start this season. More so than the last few years. It's nice to have some depth. I still think we need a solid LW and no doubt the addition of a quality Dman would really help.

Who can move to wing ? Brassard, Simon, Cullen Grant , Sheahan ?

Simon is training with Sid in Halifax, Will he actually turn into something ?

How effective will ZAR be after his injury ?

Will Murray return to greatness ?

Is Sprong for real ?

Will Letang find his brain ?

Blueger has been showing pretty well in " Da Beauty League". Is he going to be an NHL level player ?

Jarry not signed yet ?

I doubt Letang finds his brain. He's gonna have to make a strong showing in the fall/winter. If not, he's going bye bye come spring

 

[Tommy8Maddox]

Thank goodness the team re-signed Jarry. Woo hoo!

 

[Steelr4evr]

Is it hockey season yet?...haha.

 

[thesteelcity]

Is it hockey season yet?...haha.

I know, right?