I’ll take mine medium-well, thank you.
Yes, it’s comeuppance time for yours truly. Time to eat some crow and own up to every misread and wrong prediction I made going back to the offseason. Might want to pour yourself a cold one. You’re gonna’ be here for a while.
In my defense, I was fully on board with the Kasperi Kapanen trade and didn’t squawk a skosh about former GM Jim Rutherford parting with a fifteenth overall pick to nab him.
However, I quickly reversed course and vigorously protested when JR sent net-front warrior Patric Hornqvist to Florida for promising but error-prone (and mega-compensated) defenseman Mike Matheson and journeyman forward Colton Sceviour.
Following Matheson’s first two games I labeled the trade “a disaster of epic proportions.” Fast forward a few months…the disaster’s evolving nicely under the tutelage of assistant coach Todd Reirden into a fast, skilled, relatively giveaway-free defender with tons of upside.
Despite being waived twice and receiving limited ice time, Sceviour’s been a solid contributor, tallying 1.84 points/60 minutes 5v5. For reference, Sidney Crosby’s produced 1.73 points/60 5v5. Bryan Rust, 1.43/60.
On to October 9…the first day of free agency. I was crestfallen to learn we’d signed Evan Rodrigues, only recently dealt to Toronto in the Kapanen deal, and Mark Jankowski. I’d hoped JR would sign Dominik Kahun, who we’d traded the previous spring to Buffalo for Rodrigues. I wanted no parts of Jankowski, a big, soft center.
Well, Rodrigues has been better and more productive than I anticipated. He’s slotted up and down the lineup while filling a valuable Swiss Army Knife-type role, especially when we suffered a spate of injuries to our forwards. The fact that he’s a right-handed shot who can take faceoffs hasn’t hurt, either.
It should be noted that I initially had Jankowski properly pegged. However, drunk on highlight video Kool-Aid, I changed my opinion and wrote a positive article titled, “Could Jankowski Work Out for the Penguins?”
Uh…that would be a no.
By far my most vociferous protests…and most egregious error in judgment…came on October 17, when JR signed much-maligned defenseman Cody Ceci. Hot on the heels of buying out Jack Johnson, a player frequently compared to Ceci.
I hated this signing. I mean, really hated it. Ceci’s metrics were horrible, actually exceeding Johnson’s in terms of sheer God-awfulness. He’d been the worst player in the NHL two years running in 5v5 shot differential.
Frankly, I thought JR had lost his mind.
Heck, Mike Sullivan seemed to validate my low opinion of Ceci when he benched the Ottawa native for three games following the season opener. It took a Biblical plague of injuries to open the door for Cody.
Then he began to play. And not just play, but play well. Really well. Contrary to the yards of well-documented criticism, Cody’s been solid, poised and physical in his own end and a better skater than I imagined. He’s displayed a hard, accurate shot from the point and a knack for knowing when to join and, at times, even lead the rush.
In short, he’s resembled a former fifteenth overall pick, which he is.
To add to my shame, he and Matheson have paired up to make a very good defensive tandem. How good you ask? Over a recent 14-game stretch, Ceci tallied two goals and 11 points. Matheson, three goals and 11 points in 13.
I guess two wrongs can make a right.
My final whiff? I opined before the season started that I didn’t think we were a playoff team. Too many holes, especially up front. Yeah right. It isn’t a stretch to say we boast perhaps the deepest collection of forwards in the league.
In conclusion? Don’t quit your day job, kid.
There is one prediction I hope I get right. Actually, more a gut feeling than a prognostication. I won’t come flat out and repeat it because I don’t want to jinx us. But it involves a certain silver punch bowl donated to the NHL by Lord Stanley of Preston.
Hey RIck,
Good Stuff!
I wanted Kapanen 2 years ago. During their annual goalie search 2 yrs ago, I wanted to deal Toronto DeSmith for Kapanen.
I took a wait and see attitude toward Ceci.
Rodrigues, I always thought he was a good play maker and if given the choice of Simon, Sheary or Rodrigues, I take Rodrigues. I make that listing because all 3 are soff’ perimeter players who need to play on a heavy team. He is not a 3rd line/4th line player and has no room on the team once Malkin and Tanev are back. As Mike always writes, you don’t play top 6 players on a bottom 6 role. Rodrigues isn’t built to play bottom 6 and although he has some skill he isn’t skilled enough to crack the top 6 on a playoff team.
Like you I opined that the Jankowski signing was a mistake. I have never waivered.
I despised the Hornqvist trade, Seciour has not been as bad as Jankowski but he has gone long stretches as an empty shirt. And I am not going to get on that Matheson bandwagon just yet. Beating up on the dregs of the Division don’t impress me much and I have still watched him make lots of mistakes when opponents press a heavy forecheck. There is always a probability I am wrong, but I am not ready to concede on this one. All I will acknowledge is that he hasn’t given the puck away as much as I had envisioned but I don’t know if that is a function of him changing or him playing sheltered minutes against the weaker players on weaker teams.
The only thing I will concede at this point is the playoff issue. Like you, I thought the MassMutual was going to be stacked with the addition of Boston and the loss of CBJ. Fortunately, I was wrong.
You may be ready to tuck into some crow but I am holding out on something things. I may be setting myself up for “30 Days in the Hole” with some Humble Pie but I think the Playoffs will end in a similar fashion as the football season did for a certain Black and Gold team.
Rick & The Other Rick
I’m also taking the wait-and-see approach going into the playoffs. I don’t
feel like Boston or the Caps brought their A games in regards to physicality.
The playoffs we’ll be an entirely different deal.
I will say I do like Carter centering the 3rd line and Blueger the 4th entering
the playoffs and having Gaudreau as a depth piece is a nice security blanket
down the middle.
IMO the Pen’s fate will be determined solely on match-ups – which is usually
the case I know but it seems to be much more of a deciding factor than years
past.
Either way taking two from the Caps, watching the NFL draft, and knocking
down a few cold ones in the process made for a great weekend.
GO PENS
Hey Mike,
Big Agreed,
I do think the team is really deep at Center 1) Crosby, 2) Malkin, 3) Carter, 4) Blueger, 5) Gaudreau
My first though about Carter was he had the potential of being another Cullen and it is looking like he could be even a tad better.
And as you write, match-ups will be key. I don’t think we can go thru both Bos and Was. I am hoping for NYI in the first round and playing the survivor of the Bos-Was war.
With 2 games against Phi and 2 against Buf, the team should be able to go into the Playoffs on a W and at worst tied for 1st. The Caps should be the team that has to work for it. They still have 2 against NYR, 2 against Phi, and 1 against Bos.