Pens News/Links

[thedddd]

New-look Penguins searching for goals - Sports - Citizens' Voice

Looks like the injury bug and lack of scoring is hitting WBS recently.

 

[evolver115]

Goalie DeSmith leads Penguins to victory - Sports - Citizens' Voice

Dominik Simon scored his 12 goal last night. The rookie leads the AHL Penguins in scoring with 12g 16a. Pens picked him in the 5th round. Seems like he is moving himself up the prospect list rather quickly. One to keep an eye on for the rest of this season.

 

[thedddd]

Pens call up Kuhnhackl, Rust; demote Sheary, Wilson

Interesting move.

 

[thedddd]

^ I didn't elaborate more sooner but why I find it interesting is the fact I truly thought Simon would have been the next coming up. I guess they want more bottom 6 filler but from sounds of it Sullivan likes Kuhnhackl's game and probably figured Simon is pointless in a bottom 6 role in the NHL sort of how they wasted Sprong?

Anyway the approach of using the revolving door due to the AHL depth might not be bad for a while until something sticks and plays consistent for an extended period.

 

[thedddd]

Bonino is out now with a hand injury.

 

[Darkstone42]

Perron and Clendenning sent to Anaheim for Hagelin. Hagelin's underperformed this year, just like Perron, but I think he might fit better with the Pens. Likewise, I kind of expect Perron to flourish in Anaheim. The talent's there, I just don't know that his style jived with the Penguins, but it seems to me like a good match for the Ducks.

Hagelin, on the other hand, didn't really fit with the Ducks. I think he'll do better with the Pens, whose offense is more predicated on speed. Speaking of which, I think adding a winger who can keep up with Kessel's speed might help him out on Malkin's wing.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Perron and Clendenning sent to Anaheim for Hagelin. Hagelin's underperformed this year, just like Perron, but I think he might fit better with the Pens. Likewise, I kind of expect Perron to flourish in Anaheim. The talent's there, I just don't know that his style jived with the Penguins, but it seems to me like a good match for the Ducks.

Hagelin, on the other hand, didn't really fit with the Ducks. I think he'll do better with the Pens, whose offense is more predicated on speed. Speaking of which, I think adding a winger who can keep up with Kessel's speed might help him out on Malkin's wing.

Hagelin has speed tho, we need some speedsters.

 

[thedddd]

NHL.com - Penguins recall defenseman Pouliot from AHL | At the Rink blog

Stinks the circumstances why he got called up, wonder how long Warsofsky will be out for?

 

[thedddd]

Death, taxes and......

Beau Bennett is out injured again

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Death, taxes and......

Beau Bennett is out injured again

I didn't know he'd returned from his last injury!

 

[thedddd]

I didn't know he'd returned from his last injury!

Funny yeah I was surprised he was back. Sadly looks like he might be out long term again.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Funny yeah I was surprised he was back. Sadly looks like he might be out long term again.

Very Sad!!!

 

[evolver115]

Olli Maatta seems to be rounding back into form. I thought it would be a good time to post this link from Pensburgh about the upcoming contract talks that are sure to either being taking place now, or in the very near future.

A look at the next contract for Olli Maatta



^^^ That is Maatta's Warrior chart I generated from ownthepuck.com I compared his current season with Cam Fowler of the Ducks, who I consider to be a very similar player to Maatta.

Maatta won't be cheap to sign to an extension with his pending RFA coming up at the season's end. He won't be a cap killer either as he's just completing his entry level contract. The Pens cannot afford to lose him to an offer sheet that I wouldn't doubt the potential of considering his apparent talent. Hope they get a deal done with him before that can become an issue.

 

[scoutyjones2]

I just don't see the Maata talent that everyone else does but they need to sign him to keep some consistency year to year on the back line, and he's still very young....The Pens D is pretty bad...although I am excited by Pouliot

 

[evolver115]

I just don't see the Maata talent that everyone else does but they need to sign him to keep some consistency year to year on the back line, and he's still very young....The Pens D is pretty bad...although I am excited by Pouliot

I don't think of the Pens D as being bad. There are three guys in Pouliot, Dumoulin and Maatta that are young. The good thing about them to me is they all seem to be in different stages of becoming reliable defensemen at the NHL level. Dum and Olli have especially shown that they belong, and now that Pouliot is back, I think it's going to be tough for anyone else to take that sixth spot away from him.

And looking further down the road, can anyone think of another young core of D-men in the Metro division as promising as what the Pens have in the trio of Maatta, Pouliot and Dumoulin? And when you consider their cost savings to the club, it gives Rutherford some small leeway on making moves down the road, which he needs.

I'm very happy with the five players they have going forward, including Letang and Daley. If there were a way to make it happen, I could see a deadline addition of a fourth D-Man to maybe push Lovejoy out, but it would be hard to do considering their cap situation.

 

[Darkstone42]

I don't think of the Pens D as being bad. There are three guys in Pouliot, Dumoulin and Maatta that are young. The good thing about them to me is they all seem to be in different stages of becoming reliable defensemen at the NHL level. Dum and Olli have especially shown that they belong, and now that Pouliot is back, I think it's going to be tough for anyone else to take that sixth spot away from him.

And looking further down the road, can anyone think of another young core of D-men in the Metro division as promising as what the Pens have in the trio of Maatta, Pouliot and Dumoulin? And when you consider their cost savings to the club, it gives Rutherford some small leeway on making moves down the road, which he needs.

I'm very happy with the five players they have going forward, including Letang and Daley. If there were a way to make it happen, I could see a deadline addition of a fourth D-Man to maybe push Lovejoy out, but it would be hard to do considering their cap situation.

I'm with you, I don't think the defense is as bad as people seem to think it is. They give up some good chances with regularity, but that's a function largely of how aggressive Sullivan has them on the offensive end. And it's turned into goals for the Penguins and a pace which better suits the team.

Dumoulin's Warrior chart shows he's a clear top-4 and he's actually been a fringe top-2 (though exposure and usage probably are about optimal for him right now, so I don't think he's truly a top pairing guy). Daley's got huge offensive value to offset some poorer possession numbers, and I'd consider him a fringe top-4. Letang is a clear top-pairing guy. Pouliot's got really low exposure, and the sample size is tiny, but he's been a top-4 quality guy, too. And Lovejoy, honestly, by the numbers has been on the fringe of top-4 himself.

The defense is fine. The team is better under Sullivan, they just need to get their forwards healthy. That's their deadline acquisition, Geno, Fehr, Bonino, and maybe even Bennett back.

 

[scoutyjones2]

The D is not good...and there is no scoring from back there, or on the bottom 2 lines. That's a problem...

 

[Darkstone42]

The D is not good...and there is no scoring from back there, or on the bottom 2 lines. That's a problem...

Letang's been a point per game player since returning from injury, and Maatta's got six goals. Dumoulin and Daley have both generated a good deal of offense, as well, especially considering Dumoulin's role as a shut down guy this year.

And it's not surprising we haven't gotten goals out of the bottom two lines. Two thirds of the regulars on those lines are hurt right now, replaced by AHL guys. That's been the case for most of Sullivan's time with the team, and with Geno out, it makes it even worse.

The scoring will come from the bottom six once they're healthy, and that should also boost the scoring from the blue line, especially with increased comfort from Pouliot. And if Rust and Sheary are the last two forwards once Bonino, Fehr, and Bennett are back and Cullen can be moved back to the role he's suited for, there's going to be a lot of speed in the bottom six, and a decent bit of skill and scoring touch. (And based on the way Sheary and Rust have played lately, that's what I expect to see.)

Kunitz-Crosby-Hornqvist
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Sheary-Bonino-Bennett
Fehr-Cullen-Rust

There's no line there which isn't hard to play against for one reason or another.

 

[evolver115]

 

[scoutyjones2]

YEah buddy!