Do the Pens blow it up?

[raptorlife4]

Time to shake things up or make another run at it?


Malkin or Sid to go?

 

[Eddie_Shack]

No.

 

[Darkstone42]

Only out of cap compliance necessity.

But I do think they need to get some positionally sound guys, especially on the back end, and a true powerforward who can screen the goalie on the powerplay. Getting rid of some of the core will be necessary to that end.

 

[raptorlife4]

Whats the pressure on the cap? Iggy im sure will be gone right?

 

[Darkstone42]

Whats the pressure on the cap? Iggy im sure will be gone right?

I'll leave it at this:

With the contracts expiring in the next two years, the team is in cap hell.

 

[raptorlife4]

I'll leave it at this:

With the contracts expiring in the next two years, the team is in cap hell.

Possible a blockbuster could happen then

Could you see them trading Sid or Malkin?

 

[Darkstone42]

Possible a blockbuster could happen then

Could you see them trading Sid or Malkin?

Not Sid, he's the captain and signed long term. He's also been more productive, better defensively, and more consistent than Malkin recently.

Malkin will probably have to get dealt, not because we want to part with him, but because he'll be too pricey for us to keep under contract and the return will be quite impressive.

 

[forty_three]

Possible a blockbuster could happen then

Could you see them trading Sid or Malkin?

There's no way they trade Sid. But if they put Malkin on the market everyone will line up with pockets open.


What they need is D that meshes with their goaltending better and a coach that's going to hold players' feet to the fire and be able to come up with a plan when the shit hits the fan. Dan Abysmal is not that coach.

 

[raptorlife4]

Interesting. I think if the Pens are willing to trade Malkin then Sid could be available as well considering his injury history.
I could see teams kicking the tires this offseason. One team that would love to grab Crosby would be the Habs.

 

[elocomotive]

I see flaws, but I'm not sure losing in the conference finals is the moment you say "that's it, blow it up."

They'll get a new coach.

They need a new goalie, but the cap situation will make that difficult for next year.


Zero chance Crosby is going anywhere.

 

[raptorlife4]

I also think the Pens need a goalie long term. Welcome to Philly land

 

[Darkstone42]

There's no way they trade Sid. But if they put Malkin on the market everyone will line up with pockets open.


What they need is D that meshes with their goaltending better and a coach that's going to hold players' feet to the fire and be able to come up with a plan when the shit hits the fan. Dan Abysmal is not that coach.

That's something Boston did well. Rask is a butterfly goalie who cuts down angles, so defensemen with active sticks and netfront clearing ability are necessary to maximize Rask's performance, and that is exactly what the Bruins have on the back end.

Vokoun's a standup goalie. If he's your guy, you've got to have a defense that collapses to the net and takes away offensive sticks in the crease. The Pens' defense is laden instead with big-hitters and first-passers.

 

[Dacks]

Interesting. I think if the Pens are willing to trade Malkin then Sid could be available as well considering his injury history.
I could see teams kicking the tires this offseason. One team that would love to grab Crosby would be the Habs.

Crosby's not going anywhere. And if they can't resign Malkin and Letang at reasonable deals, then it's goodbye Letang. Hopefully for some nice young forwards coming the other way. But unless Malkin asks for something outrageous, the two-headed-monster is here to stay.

Shero needs to pick up a powerplay QB, and a powerforward, in that order. Long-term he needs a young goaltender, because Fleury is done, though he'll be fine sharing the load with Vokoun in the regular season.

And a new coach. Obviously.

 

[forty_three]

I see flaws, but I'm not sure losing in the conference finals is the moment you say "that's it, blow it up."

They'll get a new coach.

They need a new goalie, but the cap situation will make that difficult for next year.


Zero chance Crosby is going anywhere.

I disagree somewhat. Fleury obviously has to go away, but I think Vokoun is capable.

Vokoun is a hybrid, but more standup. This makes him play more aggressive, but the Pens D was having two guys fade back expecting rebounds (because they played all season with MAF punting everything into the slot). A simple adjustment of keeping one D man out a bit between the hash marks to keep the cross seam passes from getting through and have that mid D man trade sides off with a center to do the same thing. Then get the wingers to attack the point, and Vokoun looks infinitely better.

They still played MAF D in front of him. And even with that he was really solid.

They should focus on getting a 22 - 25 yer old goalie who's ready to see action and hand the starting duty to Vokoun.

 

[Slimpikins]

I think it does make some sense for the Pens to kick the tires on a Malkin trade. They have plenty of centers and they would get a kings ransom for the guy. That doesn't mean they will trade him for the first offer of: Overpaid vet plus scraps and picks. I think it could be a great move for Pit if they do it correctly.

 

[elocomotive]

I disagree somewhat. Fleury obviously has to go away, but I think Vokoun is capable.

Capable yes. But spectacular, no. I think his prime is done. I was glad to see him go last year. I wouldn't put my Cup hopes on him. And I think he actually played better this playoffs than I would have expected, so I don't think you're getting anything more from him than what you got.

 

[rares]

Capable yes. But spectacular, no. I think his prime is done. I was glad to see him go last year. I wouldn't put my Cup hopes on him. And I think he actually played better this playoffs than I would have expected, so I don't think you're getting anything more from him than what you got.

Meh... it's possible to win a cup with less:

 

[JustAsking]

I guess I should've posted my other reply here... Nah, they don't blow it up.

UFAs.
I would attempt to sign Dupper (but he should follow the money, his last contract probably)
I would like to resign Cooke and Adams, I like both of their games and they are valuable pieces.
I would buyout Tanner Glass.
I would not resign Iggy or Morrow, however, Morrow is appealing. Bennett will replace Iggy.
Regarding Eaton and Murray... Murray is needed, so perhaps a push for him, but the Pens are loaded on the backend.

The blow comes here.. I would offer contracts to Malkin, Kunitz, Letang (UFAs after next year), who ever does not resign, you move. I still think, though, to contradict myself, either LEtang or Malkin have to be moved.

Goalies are good for next year. I like Vokoun and Fleury.

 

[JustAsking]

I still think Edm is a good partner for Malkin... They need a #1 center and the Pens could get a solid #2 center and winger... would Malkin waive his no trade clause to go play Yakopov (sp?) Them or the Blues.

Letang played like piss... but we have no one to replace him. Malkin will fetch more as well. I sing a different song each day regarding these two.. but I think it's fair to say, one of them will be traded.

 

[flyersfan4706]

I'm really interested to see how Shero handles Letang next year.