I was mulling over potential changes to the Penguins’ roster when an unsettling thought occurred to me. Did we miss our last (and best) opportunity to recapture the Stanley Cup?
Maybe I’m naïve for thinking so, especially given the way the playoffs seem to favor heavier, more structured teams. But I felt this bunch had a legitimate chance to go all the way.
We won the MassMutual East and finished tied for fifth overall in points. We had the second most potent offense in the league and ranked fourth in goal differential. Yes, we had our flaws. But make no mistake…this was a good team. Darn good.
Even with Evgeni Malkin skating on one wheel, our center depth of Geno, Sidney Crosby, Jeff Carter and Teddy Blueger was unmatched. Boasting the likes of Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Kasperi Kapanen and Jared McCann, we possessed plenty of scoring on the wings. Our energy line of Blueger, Zach Aston-Reese and Brandon Tanev rated among the top shutdown trios in the league.
Perhaps we were a little thin defensively and in goal. But the tandem of Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin rated as one of the best in the league, and the Cody Ceci–Mike Matheson pairing was remarkably effective during the regular season. It’s easy to forget that much-maligned Tristan Jarry finished fourth in wins.
The juxtaposition of a flat salary cap, an expansion draft and a plethora of UFAs and RFAs, not to mention management’s stated desire to add size and aggression, virtually assures that changes are coming. Ones that could significantly alter the team’s chemistry, makeup…and effectiveness.
For starters, the expansion Seattle Kraken are going to get a very good player from our Pens, be it Blueger or McCann or Tanev or even Jason Zucker. Not to knock him, but if the Kraken take Zucker and his $5.5 cap hit, it’ll be a boon to our Penguins. If not…
…it’s liable to start a domino effect that could have a huge impact on our lineup. Kind of like a house of cards collapsing.
Even if Seattle passes on pending RFAs Blueger and Aston-Reese, there’s no guarantee we’ll re-sign them. Both have arbitration rights and are liable to command raises that’ll blow our tenuous salary structure sky-high.
If the Kraken select Tanev? Nightmarish as it seems, it’s possible a highly effective checking line could vanish in one fell swoop. Leaving some significant holes to fill.
Nor does it help that quality depth guys like Frederick Gaudreau and Evan Rodrigues are UFAs who could potentially sign elsewhere. Ditto Ceci, who did such a solid job for us this season. Even if Cody’s willing to sign at a team-friendly rate, it’s liable to be well above the bargain-basement $1.25 million he earned this season. Again, putting pressure on our tight cap situation.
Given Jarry’s porous postseason performance, GM Ron Hextall will likely be seeking an upgrade in goal, either in the form of a starter or a 1A guy. The names most bandied about, Anaheim’s John Gibson and Toronto’s Frederik Andersen (a pending UFA), are both pricey ($6.4 million and $5 million cap hits respectively).
Then there’s the not-so-small matter of attrition. Our core is aging. Crosby and Letang will be 34 next season, Malkin 35. Carter, a trade deadline revelation, will turn 37 on New Year’s Day. Can they continue to be as effective, especially the latter?
Probably not.
I’ll toss a final log on the fire. If Hextall does succeed in bringing in bigger (and, potentially, slower) players, how will that affect coach Mike Sullivan and his desire to play a speed game? He didn’t do so well with a hybrid squad back in 2018-19 (swept in the first round of the playoffs) when then-GM Jim Rutherford added big bodies Nick Bjugstad and Erik Gudbranson.
Publicly at least, the Pens’ brain-trust still sees us as viable Cup contenders. However, unless Hextall performs miracles this offseason, I see us as a team in transition. A transition that could very likely result in a decline that paves the way to a much-dreaded but ultimately necessary rebuild.
Big and Tall Shop
Speaking of bigger players, the Pens have been linked at least superficially to left wing Matthew Tkachuk (Flames), right wing Zack Kassian (Oilers) and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (Sabres). All large and aggressive. All former first-round picks.
Add Colorado left wing Gabriel Landeskog to the mix. Despite a luminous career, the Avalanche may expose their captain and pending UFA in the expansion draft. An intriguing blend of size, sand and skill, the burly 6’1” 215-pounder is sure to command a sizeable raise over the $5.57 million/season he earned on his last contract.
The 28-year-old Swede sure would look nice in black and gold. A virtual impossibility, no doubt. But a guy can dream…
Penguins having potential to win this cup. But their performance is looking little confused and not confident. But t is their last chance Miss to Win a Cup. Thanks for sharing, no doubt this is one of the best site is putting quality content over sports updates news
Hey Rick,
Sorry can’t agree with you today on several counts;
1) I promised myself that I wouldn’t do it but at this point I can’t help myself – my first I told you so – I never thought this team would do go the distance. This was not a good team.
– Their winning of the division was thanks to a very, very favorable schedule.
* They won precious few games in regulation at the beginning of the season.
* At the end of the season they got to play all 16 of their games against the perennial hapless Devils and Sabres, Not only did they play all 16 games against the Devils and Sabres at the end of the season but also after these 2 teams sold off at the trade dead line. Yes the rest of the league had to play 16 games against those teams but they played them before they imploded.
– Winning the division really was not that impressive. The MassMutual was the second worst Division in the League. Argue all you want but it took many, many blown calls for the Isles to get the Conference finals to 7 games. If you think the division was tough, that any team had a chance any given night, that is only because there were no really good trams in the division. In a normal season they would have suffered heavily in non-divisional games. The Pens, Caps, and Bruins have been up for so long that they are (all 3) now going in the same direction – down. The Devils and Sabres couldn’t beat their way out of wet paper bags they stink so bad. The Flyers are only slightly better.
I do agree with you in your assessment of the teams forwards, the team was stacked with solid forwards that could play top 6. They even had several players that were build to play bottom 6 – but the team’s coach STINKS. He failed to organize the forwards properly and balance his lines. He constantly put them in positions of failure. He told JR Rodrigues would score lots of goals when the former Sabre is more of a playmaker and despite volumes of evidence that it didn’t work kept trying to force square peg Zucker onto Malkin’s line.
I also agree that the Pens defense was weak, however, I take that statement further, they were the largest contributor to the teams demise.
– Stick waving defensemen made life miserable for the goalies as opponents took up residence in the blue paint. Every so often Matheson or Letang could be seen hitting someone but never enough to really matter. Neither can strike fear in anyone with the possible exception of the Cowardly Lion. And when they did hit someone their timing was such that they often drew penalties for their efforts.
– Further exacerbate the dreadful condition, the team strategy was to try and drive the offense with the defense.
* This team is not blessed with Orr, Coffey, or Murphy – or even Johanson, Hatcher, and Gonchar. The team didn’t have the players to play this type of hockey.
* The idiocy of trying to drive the offense thru the defense took the puck off of Crosby, Guentzel, Malkin, etc and put it in the hands of Pettersson and Dumoulin as much as Letang and Matheson. This not doubt is the reason why 5 on 5 Crosby’s Pnts/60 was 129th among Forwards, 54th among Centers with 200 min or more. Do the math, that put Sid almost into 3rd line territory. Who do you want with the puck, Sid or Pettersson or even Matheson?
* Sid may be capable of playing a 200′ game but asking him to play defense instead of Offense is stupid and it gets worse the further away from Sid’s elite level. Forwards do not practice “D”. Opposing Forwards lick their chops every time they see Pens “D” pinch. Just ask the Isle’s. The 3 most critical goals against during the Isle’s series came because of Pinching defensemen at the wrong time.
Letang gets caught leaving Guentzel to try and defend against Beauvillier – Result Goal and Tie Game.
Ceci pinches in 2OT, in 2OT leaving a hobbled Malkin to try and defend. Can’t remember who dropped the puck back but they had to bounce it back since Malkin was a lefty and with his bad wheels couldn’t change direction to catch up with the pass. It went all the way back down to Jarry. Then Jarry trying to also join the offense tried throwing the puck up ice and straight to Eberle. Result Goal and Loss. All because of a D-man trying to drive the Offense.
Then Letang once more getting caught up in the offensive zone even though his team had the lead in an elimination game leaving Crosby to try and race the length of the ice to cover for him. Result early Tee times.
No Rick, the Pen’s Defense isn’t thin, it needs an overhaul, either in personnel to drive the attack from the D mentality or from a coaching stand point in coach the team you have not the team you want, or both.
And the team needs a goalie that wants to play goal and not be a 6th forward.
With surplus of top 6 forwards Hextall can get pieces to make a fair playoff run and particularly if Poulin and Legare are given the chance to play and they play like they did this past season for Val d’Ors, they could be molded into a a dark horse contender. However, I don’t see Sullivan being capable of leading this team back to the promised land. Remember the old saying a Leopard doesn’t change his spots. Lip service may be spent on following Hextall and Burke’s Lead but it will back slide into same old same old.
Over the last several season’s I have played Arm Chair GM, detailing what I would do. I will once again do that but not right now. Like Pens4ever wrote a little while back this is still an exciting time of the year even for the losers like us. Fans can play GM and toss ideas to fix their favorite broken team.
ahh Other Rick
There you go talking about how the East Division is the second worst division in the league, it’s not, and here is why my friend.
Out of everything you said I do agree the Caps are trending down, but Penguins are in a better spot then you think but I’ll get into that later (Maybe). First things first, let’s start with the worst teams in our division, The Sabres and Devils.
The Sabres
Sabres would have been more along the lines of around a 50% win ratio had they been able to play the entire league as they would have had games vs Canadian teams, and other bogus teams with no talent such as Anaheim, LA, Columbus. Let’s take a gander at their last two seasons with most of the same pieces.
Previous last two seasons
19-20 Record: 30-31-8
18-19 Record 33-39-10
In 19/20 season they actually slightly improved (Not by much granted) and they still aren’t “good” by any stretch of the imagination, but they are most definitely not dead last, they simply look like they’re struggling. It’s not that the Sabres are a talentless team, Jack Eichel, Oloffson, Skinner, Dahlin, Ristolainen, but in this season they had weak goaltending, (Linus Ullmark Out) well known poor locker room morale, terrible coaching, injuries galore and they’re playing in the second hardest division if not the hardest, in the league. So are the numbers indicative that the Sabres have a trash team, or is by actually watching them and seeing that its mostly terrible management of talent by Buffalo. This team, that’s in a very tough spot has to play against the likes of Pastrnak, Marchand, Bergeron, Crosby, Guentzel, (Malkin when not injured) Barzal, Panarin, Zibaejad etc… this list goes on, 32 times, which leaves them scraps to play against probably the only other weak team in their division the aforesaid Devils.
A quick look at the Buffalo team and the pieces are there for a team that can easily be in the top 5 in their division with some better goaltending and new coaching, I mean look at the Blues, Sabres have better talent then that and all it took Blues was a new coach. My point being is that the numbers are deceiving, Sabres weren’t “free wins” I watched them play, they were out there fighting for there dignity.
The Devils
Ah a team that’s young and in a transition phase, gets to start their season in our division, experience and talent utterly shattered this team. Though Jack Hughes is the teams future, he’s a baby and isn’t ready to carry his team yet and the other young talent they have around him still needs more time and grooming, and Wedgewood looks like he can do a solid job in net. Again, the Devils aren’t necessarily free wins either, they defiantly are out there fighting and learning.
Put the Sabres & Devils in the Canadian division and Buffalo is in the top 5, and the Devils probably right behind them, hell even put them in the West division and I can see them doing quite well vs the bottom 5, Ducks, Sharks, Kings, Coyotes, Blues. Just saying that the numbers don’t tell all the story only part, the reason the Devils and Sabres did so terrible this season isn’t just because they’re supposedly the worst teams in the NHL, if we had a regular season they wouldn’t be, they had a terrible year because they played the second if not close to first best division in the league.
I’ll Quickly go over The Rangers and The Flyers
The Rangers
Looking like a very young dangerous team, they were quite competitive this season despite being in a division that’s rough on their style of play. If they had played a regular season, I have no doubt they would have made the playoffs, and I see them as going to be a regular again in the playoffs in the upcoming seasons, especially as Lafreniere comes into his own.
The Flyers
To sum up why the Flyers didn’t perform well, the young Carter Hart decided to have himself a rough season, while playing against a stacked division, then he went and got injured. Because a look at the Flyers team, and they look solid, great top 6 and some really good depth, defense still looks good, they definitely need to add some pieces to defense but its definitely solid. Again give Philly a regular season and I can see them doing quite well, I’m not sure they would make the playoffs, but I could see them being close.
Now I want to go over the supposed best division Central. Now this is getting a bit long and I still didn’t get to why the Pens are in a good spot, maybe I’ll make another comment, but I’ll quickly go over Central. The only reason they’re the “best” is because Canes, Tampa, and Panthers are stacked to the gills, UTTERLY STACKED. The rest of their division is decent, their 4,5,6 teams are Preds, Stars, and Hawks compared to our Islanders, Rangers, Flyers, I’m sorry but our 4,5,6 teams are far better, they just are.
Preds, Stars and Hawks are all in bad spots where as Islanders & Rangers are built for the future, Islanders only need very few pieces to potentially win a cup in the next couple of years. The Stars are dinosaurs, Preds don’t even know what kind of team they’re building or what they are, and Hawks still think they’re a cup contender. (I know you’re saying “so do the pens” but I disagree but that’s a whole other article of a comment by me haha) I don’t know maybe Patrick Kane can pull out one more trick out of his hat, but I doubt it, not if you’re relying on Malcom Subban and Kevin Lankinen to keep the puck out of the net let alone in a playoff run.
So in the end, we probably had one of the hardest divisions, numbers tell some of the story not all of it. I’m sure you will disagree with most of this, but those are my thoughts haha!
Caleb,
No soap, the Mass Mutual IS the 2nd worst division in the league!
Buffalo hasn’t finished above 500 since 2012, 9 straight years below 500, 9 straight years with top draft picks that have done nothing. Eichel, Skinner, Dahlin, Ristolainen – Nothing. in that 9 year span they have finished at the bottom 5 times.
In that 9 year span the Devils have finished the season over 500 4 times, sneaking into the playoffs once.
This past year they finished 8th and 7th respectively.
Name all the players you want, the teams records have been pathetic. Your wishful thinking hasn’t won them any games. Even as bad as Ottawa is right now, they have been far better than the Devils and Sabres over that 9 year span – including a Conference Finals appearance. And Detroit, they had a 610 win% as well as 3 other 500+ seasons during the stench years in Buf and NJD.
The Flyers have been better than the afore mentioned teams but that isn’t saying much. At best they have been mediocre with pathetic to up and down goaltending.
Yes, the Rangers may be rising. They have accumulated some really strong talent. but they were missing Panarin for a great deal of time this past season, making them mediocre as well.
The Islanders are well coached but outside of Barzal, they aren’t really blessed with high end talent. Exacerbating things more, an aging Anders Lee spent a large portion of the season on the IR. If Isles GM hadn’t raided the limited amount of talent of the Devils, they may not have made the playoffs. They pretty much backed in and then benefited from facing an inferior coach in Sullivan and then pathetic refereeing.
If the Mass Mutual wasn’t in the top 2 of the league they would now be represented in the Cup finals. If not for the above mentioned poor refereeing the Isles would have been sent packing with maybe 1 or 2 wins at best.
Try to assuage our collective bruised ego all you want with delusions that the Division was tough, to ease the pain of another off-season with early Tee times but that only sets us up for further frustrations if Pens management drinks the same Kool-Aid. Only an honest look at the league and how far down the line the team and the Division have fallen, by management, will stem the fall from grace.
I have no wishful thinking of the Sabres haha, they need a lot of work, but in comparison to other divisions bottom two teams Sabres actually stack up well. To say that the Sabres have been bad for 9 years is mostly irrelevant as we’re mostly talking about this years division. I brought up their last two seasons to reference how their current team is when playing against the entire league.
On top of that, when Sabres made a coaching change, they had a set of wins against top teams proving they aren’t as bad as they seem, knocking off Flyers 5-3, Caps 5-2, Pens 4-2, Bruins 6-4, Islanders 4-2.
Of course they were bad 9 years, there top point getters in the 2013-14 season was Cody Hodgson with 44 Pts, like come on, even with Ryan Miller in net they couldn’t be saved. But if you stack up our divisions last place team vs the rest of the leagues bottom feeders, such as Anahem, LA, Sharks, Detroit, Jackets, Senators, they actually stack up as for superior team, especially with their new coaching, they actually got tougher near the end of the season when we played them, of course we still beat them and won most of the games, but again they didn’t hand us free wins, and compared to other teams bottom teams, Sabres are comparatively better.
Same goes for comparing our Islanders, Rangers, & Flyers to other divisions similar placed teams. As for the Islanders not making the playoffs if they hadn’t added players from the Devils, I’m sorry that’s just nonsense, Islanders are a great team, just because they don’t have a first line like Lightning, Boston, or Colorado doesn’t mean anything, as only one of those teams is left. Islanders didn’t stumble into the conference finals twice by accident or by lucky refereeing.
Teams with depth forwards, strong defense and strong goaltending have proven that style is deadly against heavy cap teams, as the Canadians have proved.
Quickly on the Pens, as to why are spot isn’t that bad, Crosby absolutely has at least one more cup in him. They already said they are going to add size and aggression to the team, the possibility to add a goaltender in the likes of either John Gibson or Elvis Merzlikins will in my opinion easily put us in a position to win a cup within the next 3 years.
As Rick Buker has pointed out, we looked good, even in the playoffs but the teams morale was shattered with Jarry playing as an empty net, what’s the point of fighting for a goal when you know your goaltender will let in two soft goals 5 minutes later?
The Sabres Stack up well? the were the worst team in the league in scoring 5 on 5. Their GF/60 5 on 5 was 1.86. Their GA/60 5 on 5 was 5th worst. Their Goal Differential was worst 38.84%. They STUNK. Their Points% was worst in the League. Not only were the worst in the league this season, as I wrote, they have been bottom feeding for 9 years. They are, for all intents and purposes the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NHL. And they could possibly loose Eichel (Although that may buoy them back up).
The Devils Checked in with the 3rd worst Points% so your assertion that the Sabres look good in comparison to the other Cellar dwellers is in error, since 2 of the 3 worst teams in the league malpracticed their skills in the MassMutual.
The Jackets, Wings, Sharks, Kings and Sens all had Points% over 100 points higher than the Sabres. Only the Ducks were less than 100 points higher (54 pts).
The Sens actually came on behind seriously strong Goaltending from the JR botched trade sending Gustavsson to Ottawa with tons of other peices for what at this point is effectively McCann, a player that has struggled mightily in the playoffs.
Like them all you want Caleb, but the Sabres were the worst team in the league.
As for the Isles, down the stretch run they were 12th worst team in the league in Points%, That means they backed into the playoffs. Getting to the Conference finals when all you have to do is face teams caught up in their Bruce Springsteen dreams of Glory Days does not make the Isles any good.
If I put you on stage with a bunch of 70 year old Grand Fathers to compete for Body Building Title of Mr Crafton, you had better win. And that is effectively what the Isles did.
If you want to argue that the Rangers would have been a good team had Panarin not missed so many games, I agree. But they weren’t deep enough to over come the loss of Panarin. So they aren’t there yet.
The Flyers? really? They had the 2nd worst GA/60 5 on 5 in the league last season. And the 9th worst Goal Differential (44.63). Calling Philly mediocre is a quite accurate assessment.
And as for Rick saying the Pens looked good, even in the Playoffs, that is what happens when you delude yourself into thinking the opponents are quality opponents, you don’t see the serious flaws. The other teams just aren’t able to exploit those flaws.
I just pray that Hextall and Burke are willing to be critical of the team or the Tee times may be even earlier next season.
Other Rick,
Alrighty, lets break this down then haha!
Bringing up Sabres, GF & GA is irrelevant as they did not play the entire league, they played only in our division, which I have stated as seeing as the hardest or second hardest in the league. Also I did not say I liked them, I’m merely comparing them to other divisions low placed teams.
I know you like stats and numbers so here are some.
19-20 Season, Sabres placed 13th overall, while 14th The Devils, 15th Senators, 16th Detroit. In the West, The Ducks, LA, and Sharks all bottom 3 had less points than the Sabres, admittedly the Sabres only beat Anaheim by 1, but IT COUNTS haha! In the 18-19 Season they placed the same 13th, followed by Detroit, Devils, and Sens. So it seems even our dead last place team is “the best of the bad”.
My same point applies to the Devils as they only played in our division so stats like that are skewed. (But in fairness they were below Sabres both last seasons)
Senators ended their season with only 51 Pts, only 6 more than their similarly placed Devils in the East, and they’re in the worst division, if they had played the rest of the league this year, I would see them dead last worst team in the NHL, in every stat imaginable, this season saved them from complete embarrassment. All of the miracles in the world that Murray could try to pull would not save them.
As for the Isles, they took the best team in the NHL, who’s about $18 million over the cap to a game 7, and that game 7 final score was a 1-0 game. No matter what you say, that’s extremely impressive, if you like facts and numbers I mean that says it all.
Also to say they backed into the playoffs doesn’t mean anything, if you make it, then you make it. LA kings won their two cups as the last seed, and Canadians were in the worst division, and snuck into the playoffs with only 4 more points than Calgary, and there record in the worst division was 24-21-11 and now they’re in the Stately Cup, with a 12-5 record. Now I’m not going to pretend like if the season was regular that they may have not gotten out of the first round, or even made it to the playoffs for that matter but it goes to show, how a team or teams that don’t look good, actually are. At the end of the day they still took out Vegas who is 1st in their division, and Vegas took out Colorado who was pretty favored to win the cup.
I would also like to state, Boston is not that old, outside of Marchand (33) & Bergeron (35), who are still producing at their normal levels by the way, so their age is not effecting their loss to the Isles, as for the Pens same concept, Crosby (33) & Malkin (34). I would describe old or an aging team with players 32 and over, 32+ seems to be the sticking spot where players start to decline (with the exception of superstars) and 35+ normally is a big drop off. So players like Rust (29) , Zucker (29) aren’t exactly crawling out there, nor is their shot weaker, I mean my god even Carter (37) had some decent speed.
On top of that if you’re trying to make the argument that Isles beat Boston and Pens based on the fact they’re aging, (which they haven’t completely yet) Well that wouldn’t make sense because they have about the same amount of players the same age, Eberle (31), Nelson (29), Bailey (31), Palmieri (30), Clutterbuck (33), Cizikas (30).
But I think players in their early 30s is less a big deal as it was years ago, as the speed game is dying out over the hybrid game solid goaltending backed by a hefty defense, the shutting down of speed, and giving all 4 lines about equal ice time, resolves a lot of problems with having guys in the 29 to 35 range, while keeping those players useful for a lot longer.
I am most definitely not saying that the Penguins are without flaws, they most definitely are, we need to clean up defensive play, we need some bigger and more aggressive guys on defense. We need grinders on the 4th line, and we need goaltending badly. What I am saying, is that the Penguins are not out of winning a Stanley Cup again, not with Crosby, he still has at least 3 years performing at his regular levels, he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing, and in fairness neither has Malkin, the problem is Malkin is becoming more and more injury prone.
All in all, the Pens stand a chance to win a cup, just about adding the RIGHT pieces, if we get what we need, then I easily see us in the cup, if we get the wrong pieces then we sink like Detroit, It’s all in the hands of lord Hextall now.
Also O’Rick
Stop using points percentage as a stat, it’s generally useless. Example, Colorado, Vegas, Canes, Panthers, Pens, Toronto, Caps all had higher P% than Tampa, and then Wild, Boston & Oilers, were all higher than Islanders. Yet it was islanders and Tampa in the finals, and everybody else is sitting at home watching, and Montreal has the worst P% out of everybody including teams who didn’t make the playoffs.
Believe what you wish Caleb, it matters little. The MassMutual Stinks, the winner of its Division playoff lost in the Conference Finals and that winner required serious referee mistakes to keep from getting blown out. Therefore, winning the regular season title for the division is like having the highest grade in the remedial classroom.
That doesn’t mean I think the Penguins players stink. It just means that I am willing to acknowledge the truth, the team is imbalanced and poorly coached.
I have said the team has top 6 forwards, and that they may even have bottom 6. Unfortunately, the coach refuses to play them.
I have stated that the Defense weak and poorly managed and stand by it. I have said that none of the defensemen are really elite offensive Defensemen and therefore the team shouldn’t rely on them driving the Offense. I have said that the Defense is unwilling and even if they tried unable to defend their own zone long. Stick waving only results in eventual breakdowns.
And I have said that the Goalies need to focus on stopping Goals not Scoring them.
I have said that no team can win when the coach tries to deploy 19 forwards.
The Laws of probability would suggest that eventually I will be wrong, but since 2015, when I first started writing here, I have been very, very accurate in what I have written. I have been that accurate because I don’t let feelings affect my thoughts.
As for telling me what I should and shouldn’t look at Caleb, don’t.
In fact, the Canadiens couldn’t have the worst P% else they would not have made the playoffs. I don’t have to look it up, that is simple logic. But I already noted the worst P% teams in the league; including your Sabres and Devils checking at the worst and 3rd worst P%.
The P% stat is the most important stat as it determines who makes the playoffs. P% trumps all other stats since the who purpose of competition is to see who compiles the most wins/points. It is the only stat that really matters.
GF, GA, EG, PG, SG, SOG, CORSi, they are all degrees separated from Ws and OL.
I disagree that we have the worst Division, but agree to disagree on that sir 🙂
As for your other points on, imbalanced team, poorly coached, goalie issues and poor defense are all things I agree on.
As for Points % yes it decided who makes the playoffs, but most definitely it’s not telling of who wins one, which was my point, but I think we got mixed up there, as you were referring to low placing teams in the season (Sabres) and my brain was stuck on playoffs making for a confusing statement haha. But generally teams points are different then they would of been if they had played the entire league, Sabres would of been higher then last had they played the entire league, it probably would of been Sabres, followed by the usual suspects Anaheim, Devils & Sens go ahead and throw the Sharks in there as they have completely crapped the bed.
Caleb
Great observation on the “Numbers” – I’m really not a
fan and I know from experience everyone uses certain
stats to validate their argument. I’m a firm believer that
the numbers lie.
I’m also in agreement with you that if the Pen’s / Hextall
can add the correct pieces we’ll be contending for another
Cup. For me, it’s size & toughness and a veteran goalie.
GO PENS
Rick
Both Tampa and Vegas play a speed game and players like Maroon and
Reaves has no problem blending in. If Tampa wins the Cup this will
be the 3rd straight season Maroon has played on the teams that won
the Cup. Two with Tampa and one with St. Louis.
IMO – If the Penguins want any chance of contending the next couple of
years a Major trade has to happen and Letang and Malkin need to be sent
packing. It’s business not personal. The time is right for a blockbuster
deal.
This is the only way to get our Cap numbers back in check and add the
missing pieces around Crosby and Company to possibly make another
run at the Cup. If nothing else we begin to set ourselves up for future
opportunities.
GO PENS
Hey Mike,
Interesting take on a blockbuster involving Malkin or Letang. It certainly would free up cap space. And let’s face it…eventually the wheels are going to fall off those wagons. Bad juxtaposition of them aging and potentially fading just as their contracts are up.
I just wonder how much we’d get for them at this stage of their careers. While I think we might get more for Letang (mostly due to Geno being so injury prone) I doubt very seriously if we’d get anything approaching equal value in return.
Just my opinion, but I think all it would do at this stage is speed up the process toward a rebuild that ownership and management seem anxious to avoid for obvious reasons ($$$).
As an aside, Mark Madden suggested the Pens sign some low-cost veterans to buttress the team for a final run. He specifically mentioned Wayne Simmonds, who we were reportedly looking at a couple of years ago.
I know he’s not the player he used to be and he’s an old 32. And skating’s never been his strong suit (it’s not Maroon’s, either). But I’d absolutely love to have this guy. Tough as nails, great leader (Messier Award winner) and could still be a factor on the power-play.
A low-cost option to add some genuine toughness, character and leadership.
Rick
Rick
Totally agree on Simmonds. I was hoping we signed him 2yrs
ago.
As for Malkin and Letang I’m also in agreement the return on
both players may not be great. Obviously, the Pens / Hextall
would need to find a couple of teams that have the Cap space
to take on one or both contracts. I’m guessing it would need
to be two separate deals.
Moving out just under 17million should open up opportunities
for Hextall to add 2 or 3 legit players. I’m aware of the obstacles
and the chance of this becoming a reality. To me from a business
standpoint if you bring back 90% of this year’s team the end result
is much more of the same. Also, you’re stuck with Letang and
Malkin as they move into their late 30’s “not good”.
GO PENS