2013 Pre Season

[JustAsking]

A bit late, but not too much.

No roster move has surprised me much at all yet. Actually, I can not see any roster move really surprising me, perhaps if Niskanin is not traded... but who ever wins the open forward position, it won't be surprising, it'll be from a shot glass of players.

Forwards... not much to say really. They are who we thought way were. Kobasew scored two goals which is nice, but that's not his job on this team, I'm not saying his play is bad, but talking about his two goals shouldn't really matter over things like responsibility, coverage and discipline. Kunhackel (sp?) plays a simple game which I enjoy. Bennett looks good. Looking at cap geek, Sutter and DJ (who has looked, noticeable) both have contracts up next year, wouldn't it be nice if they can develop a relationship and then sign a few year extension.

Kunitz-Sid- Dupuis
Neal-Malkin-Bennett
Kunhackel-Sutter-Jeffery
Glass-Vitale-Adams

Defense... I like the defense today and how it is set up for the future. Only surprise I guess would be the shape of Despres, from what I read early on. Ok, starting this year and including two years from now, the Pens will be losing Niskanen, Engelland, Orpik and Martin. With players like (forgive my laziness and poor spelling) Dumoulin, Harrington, Samuelsson, Maatta, Poliout, the Pens will have, hopefully, great new starters in these guys, but they do not need to play this year... Maatta and Poliout will be returned to Jrs. The other three will be going to WBS and called up when needed. If Despres doesn't get in shape he may find himself in the AHL to begin the season as well. I still think Niskanen will be traded before the season (Calgary or Colorado).

Letang-Scuderi
Martin-Orpik
Bortuzzo,Engelland, Despres, Dumoulin,

Goalies... TV has looked sharp and Fleury will play the entire game tonight... so we shall see.

 

[evolver115]

Fleury looks kinda rough so far, but Jokinen has the HT through two periods. Should be a fun finish

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Defense has looked awful in preseason so far. Jus really had a standout game. Dustin Jeffrey has looked pretty good, and so has Chuck Kobasew. Hard to tell who is really good during preseason tho. Really it's the ones fighting for roster spots that try while the more established players with bigger contracts got nothing to play for besides shaking off some rust.

 

[stealth]

goaltending.....

I think Shero better start looking at some young goalie prospects, Jusi probably makes the team.

And yes i hope Talbot or Hedberg back up Hank. Good thing about AV he doesnt give any info out and likes to see the competition fighting for a spot on the team

 

[thedddd]

Tomas Vokoun of Pittsburgh Penguins has blood clot removed from pelvis - ESPN

Man clots can be scary. Good to see he will be healthy soon enough looks like Zatkoff might start the season on the Roster. I just hope Fleury holds up.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I think Shero better start looking at some young goalie prospects, Jusi probably makes the team.

And yes i hope Talbot or Hedberg back up Hank. Good thing about AV he doesnt give any info out and likes to see the competition fighting for a spot on the team

I think we'll probably go with Eric Hartzell until/if TV get better. At the end of the day we will have to hope MAF improves his game, we have no other choice right now. Don't have enough money to get a good goalie nor do we have the trade assets to get one.

 

[JustAsking]

I forgot about Jussi... before last nights game I assumed he would be on the 3rd line (taking Kunhackel spot in my lines above playing with Jeffery and Sutter)... but after last night... nah, I still think he is slated for the 3rd and Bennett to the second line.

I assume Zatkoff or Hartzell will back up MAF until TV can come back, it shouldn't be very long at all...

Regardless of record, the Pens are looking pretty good right now... good support, good transition, crisp passing, cycling working for them... once again, they just can not finish some scoring chances. But they re generating them.

 

[evolver115]

Hedberg was cut from Rangers camp, yesterday. With Vokoun on the shelf for a while, Moose would prove a valuable backup for MAF.

 

[stealth]

question...

would pens fans prefer biron over hedberg?

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

If I had to pick I would go with Martin Biron, I believe he makes slightly less than Johan Hedberg. I don't think we could afford either one tho. I think we have to go with Jeff Zatkoff or Eric Hartzell. Would much rather go with Hartzell, but we'll probably go with Zatkoff.

 

[element1286]

So, when do they have to get under the cap? I thought it was Sunday.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

So, when do they have to get under the cap? I thought it was Sunday.

By the day of the 1st game I believe.

 

[Jims_Doors]

Penguins Make Roster Moves - Pittsburgh Penguins - News

This basically sums up the reasoning for the moves.

We don't know if Letang is getting an LTIR designation like Vokoun (I'd expect not), so that greatly affects the cap situation. Bennett will obviously be back. Despres seems less likely to start the year to both get under the cap ceiling and sign Kobasew.

The key word is patience. We need to see which moves are cap shenanigans and which aren't. Remember, the goal is to be as close to the ceiling as is humanly possible before designating anyone for LTIR. That's how you get the most cap relief.

We can argue about decisions by Bylsma and Shero, but I would urge people to trust Botterill when it comes to managing a cap situation like this.

 

[evolver115]

Penguins Make Roster Moves - Pittsburgh Penguins - News

So unless I missed him being sent back to London already, I think this means Olli Maatta has done enough to stick with the Pens! Probably at the expense of Letang going on IR, which will hurt, but it is still exciting to see a high draft pick like Maatta get his first shot

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

So unless I missed him being sent back to London already, I think this means Olli Maatta has done enough to stick with the Pens! Probably at the expense of Letang going on IR, which will hurt, but it is still exciting to see a high draft pick like Maatta get his first shot

That is sort of cool, too bad both Despres & Bennett get sent down tho

 

[mtm166]

BB will be back. That was just some kind of weird procedural roster move. At this point, I just want them to trade Despres so he at least gets a shot somewhere.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

BB will be back. That was just some kind of weird procedural roster move. At this point, I just want them to trade Despres so he at least gets a shot somewhere.

Nice thing is that if we trade Despres we probably won't get anything in return because we can't afford to pick up any more contracts. Otherwise we probably would trade Despres to keep Niskanen and Engelland.

 

[element1286]

BB will be back. That was just some kind of weird procedural roster move. At this point, I just want them to trade Despres so he at least gets a shot somewhere.

Poor roster management by RS again. Refusal to turn the roster over in anyway. And obsession with bit players that are easily replaceable, Adams, Niskanen, Glass.

Of course DB doesn't make it any easier by never playing young guys. This organization is getting stale.

 

[element1286]

Making Sense of the Pittsburgh Penguins' Opening Day Roster Moves

This had a good procedural breakdown of the roster moves.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Making Sense of the Pittsburgh Penguins' Opening Day Roster Moves

This had a good procedural breakdown of the roster moves.

I guess I should be happy about Maatta & Ruopp.