Pens News/Links

[scoutyjones2]

Kris Letang Out For Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

This stinks. Luckily Schultz is playing above himself right now.

What? Letang out with an injury? Color me shocked!!!

They really should move him...once healthy

 

[thedddd]

What? Letang out with an injury? Color me shocked!!!

They really should move him...once healthy

Yep....three things to expect in life: death, taxes and a Letang injury.

 

[evolver115]

 

[thedddd]

Daley Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury

Daley and Letang both out. Schultz is stepping in pretty nicely so far to fill the top void.
Good news their is way more talent this time around vs back in '10-'11 for that few game stretch when guys like Andrew Hutchinson was getting a ton of minutes.

 

[evolver115]

 

[evolver115]

 

[thedddd]

Penguins Ink Mike Sullivan To Three-Year Extension

Go news.

 

[thedddd]

Three periods: Hornqvist, Hagelin, Kunitz seek to increase shooting percentages

The second part discusses Maatta. With his contract, and it seems his total lack of speed, I am wondering if they should just leave him exposed in the expansion draft?

 

[scoutyjones2]

Not a Maata fan...I say go all Frozen...let it go, let it go

Trade Letang too...

 

[evolver115]

Three periods: Hornqvist, Hagelin, Kunitz seek to increase shooting percentages

The second part discusses Maatta. With his contract, and it seems his total lack of speed, I am wondering if they should just leave him exposed in the expansion draft?

I personally think the discussion on Maatta regarding his perceived lack of overall ability is kind of premature. And the reason I say that is there is a perfect example of a defenseman on the Pens that had the same high expectations on him in another NHL city a la Justin Schultz. Edmonton cut bait on him for only a late 3rd rd pick in return. Schultz took until just before the playoff run of last spring to really put it all together and be the player everyone expected he could become. Even then during the playoffs, he was skating sheltered minutes on the 3rd pair. Now, Schultz looks like he's going to be a mainstay in the top four indefinitely. Schultz is 26, and Maatta is 22.

Point being I guess is that it takes defensemen a really long time to develop. Giving up on Maatta now, and the warning signs with Pouliot not developing at a rate that can get him regular minutes in the lineup means they'd be giving up on two 1st round draft picks. I suppose if they managed to get a fair return on Maatta would make that wash out. Still, I personally would like to give Maatta more time to gain experience. He's not a liability out there. in fact, since Letang and Daley left the lineup, Maatta is averaging top pair minutes at even strength and he's a regular on the PK. His value to the team is underappreciated in my opinion.

 

[scoutyjones2]

Like I have said many times...not a Maata fan. He's slow, worthless offensively, passing is meh, shot is bleh, isn't a physical presence, and only sees top minutes due to injuries.

And Schultz is playing well, not the way he was projected to do when drafted. He's fine but not a top 4 dman...

Context

 

[evolver115]

Like I have said many times...not a Maata fan. He's slow, worthless offensively, passing is meh, shot is bleh, isn't a physical presence, and only sees top minutes due to injuries.

And Schultz is playing well, not the way he was projected to do when drafted. He's fine but not a top 4 dman...

Context

That's what I like to call the lazy man's eye test on Maatta. These same complaints that I see about him sound almost exactly what the critique of Paul Martin dealt with during his first few years as a Penguin.

Those are all stereotypes of Maatta that have somehow been created and repeated among the Pens' fanbase, and I find it pretty hilarious. About the only one I agree with is that he isn't a fast skater. Well, that may be true in a sense that he's not near the skating defenseman Letang or Daley are, yet he's not Rob Scuderi or Brooks Orpik, either. He's just as mobile as Ian Cole and Dumoulin are, and what he lacks in the physcial presence of those two, he makes up for in vision and stick work. Those are two crucial attributes in an NHL defenseman of today.

As far as Schultz is concerned,.. don't kid yourself about that opinion, scouty. When Schultz was making his jump to the NHL he caused a stir by refusing a contract with the team who initially drafted him in Anaheim. He turned himself into what is essentially an unrestricted free agent as a rookie who was up for the highest bidder. Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey personally went to bat for Edmonton and recruited Schultz. He was projected to play this way. In his first professional season in the AHL he won the equivalent of the Norris award and did it while playing only half of a season. For the first time in his career as a hockey player at the NHL level, he's actually living up to it. What's funny to me is Rutherford probably pulled off quite the fleece job of Edmonton is Schultz continues to play this way.

 

[Darkstone42]

That's what I like to call the lazy man's eye test on Maatta. These same complaints that I see about him sound almost exactly what the critique of Paul Martin dealt with during his first few years as a Penguin.

Those are all stereotypes of Maatta that have somehow been created and repeated among the Pens' fanbase, and I find it pretty hilarious. About the only one I agree with is that he isn't a fast skater. Well, that may be true in a sense that he's not near the skating defenseman Letang or Daley are, yet he's not Rob Scuderi or Brooks Orpik, either. He's just as mobile as Ian Cole and Dumoulin are, and what he lacks in the physcial presence of those two, he makes up for in vision and stick work. Those are two crucial attributes in an NHL defenseman of today.

As far as Schultz is concerned,.. don't kid yourself about that opinion, scouty. When Schultz was making his jump to the NHL he caused a stir by refusing a contract with the team who initially drafted him in Anaheim. He turned himself into what is essentially an unrestricted free agent as a rookie who was up for the highest bidder. Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey personally went to bat for Edmonton and recruited Schultz. He was projected to play this way. In his first professional season in the AHL he won the equivalent of the Norris award and did it while playing only half of a season. For the first time in his career as a hockey player at the NHL level, he's actually living up to it. What's funny to me is Rutherford probably pulled off quite the fleece job of Edmonton is Schultz continues to play this way.

Agreed. Maatta's been sharp this season. He's not a playmaker, but he doesn't have to be. He's very efficient of getting possession of the puck in his own end and turning it up into the neutral zone and beyond. That's the primary objective of a defenseman, to turn your opponents' possession into your possession, and he's good at it.

He doesn't need to score goals. He makes smart plays in the offensive zone to keep the puck alive for his teammates so they can score them. He's not made a lot of mental mistakes this season.

He's smart, and he gets the job done. He deserves the minutes he gets, he's performed. He's the sort of player who doesn't stand out, because nothing he does is splashy (but he also doesn't make a ton of mistakes), but he keeps the mechanics of the team running smoothly.

 

[evolver115]

Agreed. Maatta's been sharp this season. He's not a playmaker, but he doesn't have to be. He's very efficient of getting possession of the puck in his own end and turning it up into the neutral zone and beyond. That's the primary objective of a defenseman, to turn your opponents' possession into your possession, and he's good at it.

He doesn't need to score goals. He makes smart plays in the offensive zone to keep the puck alive for his teammates so they can score them. He's not made a lot of mental mistakes this season.

He's smart, and he gets the job done. He deserves the minutes he gets, he's performed. He's the sort of player who doesn't stand out, because nothing he does is splashy (but he also doesn't make a ton of mistakes), but he keeps the mechanics of the team running smoothly.

All great points about Maatta's style of play. Olli has a long way to go to really live up to his contract, and I have no problem admitting that. With Sergei Gonchar now on full time to coach the defensemen, I think Maatta stands to benefit quite a lot by his knowledge and instruction, if he hasn't already.

Another player that Maatta reminds me of a bit is Matt Niskanen. When he came over with James Neal in the Dallas trade from years gone by, Nisky was very passive but smart, along with general inexperience. You could see in him that he had the tools to become a successful D-man in the NHL, he just had to be given a chance. And of course he was given a chance, and Niskanen turned that into a huge haul in free agency from the Caps a few seasons ago. Niskanen did make one change to his game that I don't think Maatta ever will, and that is Nisky dialed up his intensity. He's a pretty good hitter these days, but he wasn't always like that. He grew into the player that he is today. I think Maatta will do something similar if he's given the chance, here. Not as a physical d-man, but more in the mold of Paul Martin. Just a smart hockey player.

 

[thedddd]

The two things that still hurt Maatta the most:

1. Very slow - truly I think he is in the Orpik/Scuderi range there. And not sure much can be done to fix that.
2. Still takes bad angles - this is very coachable and is needed to make up for his lack of speed.

Also can't really compare him to Dumoulin or Cole because they are never to be projected as a top 4 defenseman that Maatta has been. I don't expect much offense from him, truthfully the dream scenario for the Penguins would be a Pouliot/Maatta pairing (too bad both shoot left handed).

But going back to the original question do you think he has improved enough to warrant a protection from the expansion draft, knowing his contract could be viewed as a barrier to be picked so is it worth the gamble to leave him exposed? As for me I am still on the fence but with his age and continued improvement I see no reason not to protect him. BUT that is still a huge gamble at 4 million a year, especially 3 years from now if they need that cap space to resign Matt Murray.

 

[thedddd]

Brian Dumoulin To Miss 4-6 Weeks

Well get used to Olesky, and maybe Ruhwedel, for a long period of time.

 

[evolver115]

The two things that still hurt Maatta the most:

1. Very slow - truly I think he is in the Orpik/Scuderi range there. And not sure much can be done to fix that.
2. Still takes bad angles - this is very coachable and is needed to make up for his lack of speed.

Also can't really compare him to Dumoulin or Cole because they are never to be projected as a top 4 defenseman that Maatta has been. I don't expect much offense from him, truthfully the dream scenario for the Penguins would be a Pouliot/Maatta pairing (too bad both shoot left handed).

But going back to the original question do you think he has improved enough to warrant a protection from the expansion draft, knowing his contract could be viewed as a barrier to be picked so is it worth the gamble to leave him exposed? As for me I am still on the fence but with his age and continued improvement I see no reason not to protect him. BUT that is still a huge gamble at 4 million a year, especially 3 years from now if they need that cap space to resign Matt Murray.

Asst. Coach Martin has been quoted as saying recently that Maatta is still recovering stamina from a drug he had to take during his cancer fight, so there might still be some untapped effort he can still attain.

I agree that his angles can be improved, and if he can do that, his lack of speed can be at least mitigated.

One thing I will also say about Ian Cole being comparable to Maatta is that Cole is a former 1st Rd. pick himself, taken 18th overall by St. Louis. He was never expected to be a point producer from the back-end, but he also isn't lacking in pedigree. Also, when Dumoulin was included in the Staal trade, Jim Rutherford said at the time while he was the GM in Carolina that Shero demanded that he be included in the return, so obviously, there is something that both Shero and Rutherford agreed upon that Dum has talent.

 

[evolver115]

As for the expansion draft, I wouldn't hesitate to leave Maatta exposed. Simply put, there are more important players that take the priority. Especially if Rutherford works something out with Schultz long term (which I'm hopeful that he does). I would just then hope that the player that LV pulls from the Pens will be someone other than a d-man. With the amount of quality forwards the pens have, I think they could still get Maatta through

 

[thedddd]

Asst. Coach Martin has been quoted as saying recently that Maatta is still recovering stamina from a drug he had to take during his cancer fight, so there might still be some untapped effort he can still attain.

I agree that his angles can be improved, and if he can do that, his lack of speed can be at least mitigated.

One thing I will also say about Ian Cole being comparable to Maatta is that Cole is a former 1st Rd. pick himself, taken 18th overall by St. Louis. He was never expected to be a point producer from the back-end, but he also isn't lacking in pedigree. Also, when Dumoulin was included in the Staal trade, Jim Rutherford said at the time while he was the GM in Carolina that Shero demanded that he be included in the return, so obviously, there is something that both Shero and Rutherford agreed upon that Dum has talent.

Very valid point and that will kill stamina for a long period of time.

Oh don't get me wrong about Cole and Dumoulin, both very valuable and don't want either to leave. Cole, yeah he was a top pick and actually thought to be more offensive than Maatta from draft analysis. I was going by more now with Cole and Dumoulin and what Maatta should become, meaning what you see now is what Cole and Dumuolin are for their careers and that Maatta is still very young and paid to become something more.

 

[evolver115]

Very valid point and that will kill stamina for a long period of time.

Oh don't get me wrong about Cole and Dumoulin, both very valuable and don't want either to leave. Cole, yeah he was a top pick and actually thought to be more offensive than Maatta from draft analysis. I was going by more now with Cole and Dumoulin and what Maatta should become, meaning what you see now is what Cole and Dumuolin are for their careers and that Maatta is still very young and paid to become something more.

I get your point about the two of Cole and Dumoulin. What you see from those guys right now is what you get. I guess that is my point about Maatta is that he hasn't reached his ceiling, yet. And it's likely not going to be determined for at least another 1 to 2 seasons being that he's only 22 and has missed significant time in his young career. And even in another 1 to 2, that still might not be enough time, as Schultz is a great example of how long you have to wait sometimes for defensemen to really complete the transition to the NHL.