Salary Cap: '24-'25 Salary Thread: Crosbicles Volume MMXXVI: Sid is Still Goat

[Ginormousthumbs]

It’s so annoying he’s still here putting together his garbage lineups and trotting out the same tired, ineffective scheme

Anywhere else, he’d been fired long ago.

 

[The GM]

Anywhere else, he’d been fired long ago.

If you fire Mike Sullivan, then that leaves you looking for a Mike Sullivan

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I mean, that kind of sounds like the Pens becoming the Sabres, to me, so I can't say you're making a compelling argument here

(I know what you're really saying, it just struck me a bit funny)

I mean, this team hasn't won a playoff round in almost a decade and they're probably not gonna see playoff hockey again during the Sid era. I think they kinda already are the Sabres.

 

[Ginormousthumbs]

If you fire Mike Sullivan, then that leaves you looking for a Mike Sullivan

They don’t need another Mike Sullivan

 

[Freeptop]

I mean, this team hasn't won a playoff round in almost a decade and they're probably not gonna see playoff hockey again during the Sid era. I think they kinda already are the Sabres.

By my count, they've got about ten more years before they become the Buffalo Sabres (who haven't made the playoffs at all since 2011, and haven't won a round since 2007).

The reason to worry about becoming the Sabres isn't even about the losing. It's about losing despite having so many high draft picks.

In 13 years of missing the playoffs, the Sabres have had 10 picks in the top 10, including two number one overall and two number two overall picks. They've had nine additional first round picks in that timeframe. And they're not any closer to making the playoffs this year than the Pens this year, despite all that.

The Pens aren't anywhere near that level yet. And I really hope they don't manage to match that level of abject failure. I'd like to have some hope that better times are forthcoming. Having the Pirates in this town is bad enough.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Era's over, man. Done. The team would be smart to acknowledge it and accept it, and start trying to make the rapidly approaching post-Sid years as short and painless as they can.

There's a path where the Pens could thread the needle and get back to contention before Sid retires.

Would require a top 4-5 pick this draft, that pick paying dividends early, Crosby maintaining his current standard for at least a couple more years, a few of the complementary prospects hitting, and some shrewd trades.

So yeah, a lot would have to go right. But hey, it happened to the Caps. Why not us?

 

[Darren McCord]

There's a path where the Pens could thread the needle and get back to contention before Sid retires.

Would require a top 4-5 pick this draft, that pick paying dividends early, Crosby maintaining his current standard for at least a couple more years, a few of the complementary prospects hitting, and some shrewd trades.

So yeah, a lot would have to go right. But hey, it happened to the Caps. Why not us?

Dubas would also have to be really aggressive in the offseason in a way that I dont see. Landing a few big UFA's and leveraging the Rangers or pens first next year for a young player.

He would also have to put some faith in younger players like Pickering, McG, Koivunen and Pono.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

By my count, they've got about ten more years before they become the Buffalo Sabres (who haven't made the playoffs at all since 2011, and haven't won a round since 2007).

The reason to worry about becoming the Sabres isn't even about the losing. It's about losing despite having so many high draft picks.

In 13 years of missing the playoffs, the Sabres have had 10 picks in the top 10, including two number one overall and two number two overall picks. They've had nine additional first round picks in that timeframe. And they're not any closer to making the playoffs this year than the Pens this year, despite all that.

The Pens aren't anywhere near that level yet. And I really hope they don't manage to match that level of abject failure. I'd like to have some hope that better times are forthcoming. Having the Pirates in this town is bad enough.

The Sabres have been egregiously mismanaged. They could have a team with Tage, Eichel, Power, Dahlin, Ullmark, Reinhart, Montour, etc. That team's run so poorly that it almost appears to be intentional. I'm not worried about the Pens *actually* becoming the Sabres, but as far as results go since the back to backs? Yeah, they're pretty much the Sabres nowadays. This team's been dead in the water since Mario decided he didn't care enough to make changes following the Habs play-in. By the time the Pens are relevant again, they're likely looking at a decade-ish of missing the playoffs as well. We're about to be three years into that, I don't expect them to make it again while Sid's still around, so that'll be five years, then you gotta imagine the rebuild takes five years or so unless they get exceptionally lucky with landing top picks (Misa/Hagens/Martone/Schaefer, McKenna, Dupont) *and* those picks pan out perfectly.