Pre-Game Talk: All Purpose Off Day Thread
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SHOOTANDSCORE
Eeny Meeny Miny Moe
- Sep 25, 2005
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Agreed.That's self-evident. What's not is whether he could be a more useful depth option than Garrett "3 points in 54 career NHL games" Wilson now or moving forward.
Hadn't thought about that - I guess he is an RFA after this year. That waiver-eligible claim has to be on his mind, you can hear the frustration in some of his quotes. I don't want prospects who could potentially play an effective role here getting the idea that they can't get so much as a
because 28 year old AHL journeymen who score at a 4 points per season pace and don't even really PK at the NHL level get prioritized. In the end, it's just a call-up...but I'm seeing us defer to lower-talent grit in support roles a little too often recently for my taste. It's an element to consider, but it seems to be given more weight than it should.
The thing about TB is that he's a solid two way player, so the idea that Wilson is preferred because he is a safe player loses merit. I know TB has played some LW and he has a great IQ. I think he'd be great with Cullen and could be mentored a bit playing alongside him. It's a shame they won't try him for even a few games. Hopefully he get's a shot at some point. I didn't hate Wilson in that role or anything, I am just not a fan of shooting for adequate. Adequate should be the fallback plan.
Speaking of cups of coffee, maybe Wilson makes a great one?
LOGiK
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- Nov 14, 2007
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Most 20 goal seasons out of how many overall seasons? +GP per that season, etc etc. Too broad.
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JimmyTwoTimes
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- Apr 13, 2010
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Agreed.
The thing about TB is that he's a solid two way player, so the idea that Wilson is preferred because he is a safe player loses merit. I know TB has played some LW and he has a great IQ. I think he'd be great with Cullen and could be mentored a bit playing alongside him. It's a shame they won't try him for even a few games. Hopefully he get's a shot at some point. I didn't hate Wilson in that role or anything, I am just not a fan of shooting for adequate. Adequate should be the fallback plan.
Speaking of cups of coffee, maybe Wilson makes a great one?
Only thing I can think of when looking at TB's numbers is they see the improvement hes made each season and want that to continue, not really having a " need" for him right now. So letting him continue to polish his game. Better each season in college.. And each season so far in WBS hes been better.
Guys like Simon..ZAR got their chance quicker since we had room.
TB is 24 now tho...no doubt if he doesnt get a chance soon hes going to want out. All of the other guys(Rust, Sheary, Simon, etc) were 22 when called up.
With Sheahan likely gone next season..as well as Cullen and probably Brassard...I dont get why they dont call up Blueger to play wing right now instead of Wilson. Would be smart to see what we have in him with us having an opening at center next season
EightyOne
My posts are jokes. And hockey is just a game.
- Nov 23, 2016
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Blueger is RFA. He'll very likely be back. But he could be disgruntled. Go to arbitration etc.
I'm assuming the Pens plan on him making the NHL squad out of training camp due to aforementioned lineup holes.
We'd all like to see him get test call up. But the Pens haven't done that sort of move in years. Only if there's three+ forward injuries will we see him.
I'm assuming the Pens plan on him making the NHL squad out of training camp due to aforementioned lineup holes.
We'd all like to see him get test call up. But the Pens haven't done that sort of move in years. Only if there's three+ forward injuries will we see him.
JimmyTwoTimes
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- Apr 13, 2010
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Yeah thats how Sundqvist got his chance back then...we had a ton of injuries. Was actually in the same draft as Blueger..taken a round later. Same age...we saw signs of solid play but eventually nobody cared about trading him for nothing. And now has 7g 3a in 30 games so far. Not bad for 4th line and what else he brings. Bleuger is an even better two way player and can stick at Center. Hate to see him not given a chance and go elsewhere
Would arbitration help him? I mean he's not played an NHL game so I can't imagine the arbitrator would award him a significant raise and while his AHL numbers are good they're not going to blow anyone away enough to get him a significant raise.
That's self-evident. What's not is whether he could be a more useful depth option than Garrett "3 points in 54 career NHL games" Wilson now or moving forward.
Hadn't thought about that - I guess he is an RFA after this year. That waiver-eligible claim has to be on his mind, you can hear the frustration in some of his quotes. I don't want prospects who could potentially play an effective role here getting the idea that they can't get so much as a
because 28 year old AHL journeymen who score at a 4 points per season pace and don't even really PK at the NHL level get prioritized. In the end, it's just a call-up...but I'm seeing us defer to lower-talent grit in support roles a little too often recently for my taste. It's an element to consider, but it seems to be given more weight than it should.
Yeah, I'm seeing an overall pattern I'm not happy with. Its not a huge deal and we've still got young players coming through, but I'm not convinced its the right thing to do.
That said, to play devil's advocate... the willingness to look at 27 year old career minor leaguers as well as well thought of prospects is what got us Casey DeSmith. I'm happy they're looking at all their AHLers, not just the ones expected to make something of themselves. And...
He's not the exact tape we need. He's a centre. We need a wing, I don't think he's considered to have enough experience there. I'm sure he could do a job, but...
Really, Blueger's problem isn't Wilson getting these calls. Its Derek Grant getting signed.
And Wilson is destroying it even more. AHL numbers should be treated with caution here.
WayneSid9987
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- Nov 24, 2009
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Think peeps are looking at the wrong guy with Blueger's situation.
Grant's blocking Bluegs, not Wilson.
I mean, i get the preference to play Wilson on wing. They think he plays "heavier". They don't much care for his offensive prowess(?).
Bluegs does deserve a call up this season tho.
Grant's blocking Bluegs, not Wilson.
I mean, i get the preference to play Wilson on wing. They think he plays "heavier". They don't much care for his offensive prowess(?).
Bluegs does deserve a call up this season tho.
Empoleon8771
Registered User
Blueger seems to be the shiny new toy that gets overrated to all hell on HF 
Like it has been said already, Blueger is like 8th on the depth chart for the Penguins at center. Know why he hasn't gotten a chance in the NHL yet? Because he's not better than the guys in front of him. Blueger will get his chance next year, with all of Brassard, Cullen, Sheahan and Grant pending UFAs. But this year, there just isn't a spot for him. Calling up Wilson to replace ZAR makes a lot more sense than calling up Blueger to replace ZAR.
Blueger wouldn't even be playing even if he'd be called up, so I don't know why so many are screaming about him deserving a call-up here. Even if you assume he's better than Dea and Wilson, which is a pretty faulty assumption to begin with, he's still the 14th best forward in the organization at best. He's not a better player than Grant, so he wouldn't even be getting into the lineup with ZAR out.
Like it has been said already, Blueger is like 8th on the depth chart for the Penguins at center. Know why he hasn't gotten a chance in the NHL yet? Because he's not better than the guys in front of him. Blueger will get his chance next year, with all of Brassard, Cullen, Sheahan and Grant pending UFAs. But this year, there just isn't a spot for him. Calling up Wilson to replace ZAR makes a lot more sense than calling up Blueger to replace ZAR.
Blueger wouldn't even be playing even if he'd be called up, so I don't know why so many are screaming about him deserving a call-up here. Even if you assume he's better than Dea and Wilson, which is a pretty faulty assumption to begin with, he's still the 14th best forward in the organization at best. He's not a better player than Grant, so he wouldn't even be getting into the lineup with ZAR out.
Yeah. Wilson is blocking Angello/Johnson/Di Pauli/Haggerty
And lets be honest... Haggerty hasn't really had the season to demand it, Johnson and Di Pauli are very different players (and Di Paul is injured) who arguably haven't done enough to demand it, and Angello... well, I want him there, but he's still raw.
Blueger seems to be the shiny new toy that gets overrated to all hell on HF
Like it has been said already, Blueger is like 8th on the depth chart for the Penguins at center. Know why he hasn't gotten a chance in the NHL yet? Because he's not better than the guys in front of him. Blueger will get his chance next year, with all of Brassard, Cullen, Sheahan and Grant pending UFAs. But this year, there just isn't a spot for him. Calling up Wilson to replace ZAR makes a lot more sense than calling up Blueger to replace ZAR.
Blueger wouldn't even be playing even if he'd be called up, so I don't know why so many are screaming about him deserving a call-up here. Even if you assume he's better than Dea and Wilson, which is a pretty faulty assumption to begin with, he's still the 14th best forward in the organization at best. He's not a better player than Grant, so he wouldn't even be getting into the lineup with ZAR out.
And he's also not wing capable like Grant. That's the big one. Although... I kinda wish they'd given him a few games at wing for WBS so we could investigate the possibility.
But, in any case, I feel like a lot of this is less about Blueger and more about a general trend in which the team is giving a lot of time to dead ends like Rowney and Wilson. We know we know need a lot of cheap contracts to be competitive. We know that, the magic of Matt Cullen aside, pretty much the only way to get good cheap contracts is kids and pretty much the only way to get good cheap kids is grow your own. We broke the drought on the back of this.
And now, now it looks like management is forgetting this a little. Not totally, but a little is enough to rob you of a cup. I appreciate it has to be balanced against winning now, but good orgs find ways to balance the two and I'm not sure the balance is there.
People talk about how Blueger will get his chance next year. Will he? Or will there be McKegg/Rowney mk2 ahead of him because he doesn't have the experience? Or will his chance come as the centre of Wilson and Rowney mk2, which is a pretty poor chance when it comes to it?
Yes, in a lot of ways, Garrett Wilson is an acceptable replacement 4th liner to win games. But he's a dead end. He'll never become a player that can elevate the 4th line. He'll never become a player who'll get promoted.
Hopefully the next season will lay this to bed. But I'm slowly coming to the point of the view of the people who rail at this.
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WayneSid9987
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- Nov 24, 2009
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Also just the 1 call up for a west coast trip might mean good news on Horny. They wouldn't go out west with just 12F's.
I suppose they could take the extra guy with them and make the 2nd call up official en route/day of the game(or maybe they can't? Don't know the rules on that).
I suppose they could take the extra guy with them and make the 2nd call up official en route/day of the game(or maybe they can't? Don't know the rules on that).
Dipsy Doodle
Rent A Barn
- May 28, 2006
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True, but the distinction I would make there is that DeSmith acquitted himself well and put up very good numbers in the NHL (2.40 GAA, .921 SV%), which justified keeping him up. Wilson hasn't, to be diplomatic.
I mean, we're clearly not opposed to playing centers on the wing though - including ones who have never done it before in their NHL careers. We've been doing it all year with a lot of different centers.
Wilson's career NHL totals make Adams look like Lemieux, so he hasn't set the sort of standard that we need to be worried about losing if Blueger isn't gangbusters on wing. There's a good chance he'd be better. Didn't we learn anything from having too many unproductive plugs in the bottom 6 last playoffs? We're gonna have a new iteration of Rowney every year now, like some Pens fan Groundhog Day?
Then there's articles like this:
How the Penguins might counter Tom Wilson with Garrett Wilson
Yeah okay.
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Dipsy Doodle
Rent A Barn
- May 28, 2006
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Exactly. It's like if TB kept going back to Cory Conacher and didn't bother to try Anthony Cirelli.
Speaking of cups of coffee, maybe Wilson makes a great one?
He didn't get scored on much (maybe not at all), we scored at a reasonable rate when he was on ice and he brought a lot of physicality. He's justified himself as a safe choice at least.
But yes, there's a good chance that Blueger would be better and its a fair point that they're perfectly happy to push centres to the wing if they so choose (although the circs are fairly different here to Brassard).
Big McLargehuge
Fragile Traveler
I'll be at both as well
The Honda Center has a few options surrounding the arena, but it's got a more suburban vibe than city vibe there (not a ton of walkable stuff, but the stuff close to the arena will be filled to the brim with Pens fans). Of course you're all of 2.5 miles from Disneyland and across the street from the baseball stadium, so there's plenty of options, but everything is very spread out and surrounded by parking lots the size of downtown Pittsburgh. I've honestly spent less time around the Staples Center so I don't have any specific recommendations for a 13 year-old now that the ESPN Zone is gone, but L.A. Live is filled to the brim with food and entertainment options.
Enjoy your trip. My pre-game routine involves grabbing a burger & beer at breweries near the venues. The JT Schmid's across from the Honda Center has become an annual ritual for me, in part because it gets overrun by Penguins fans every time. It's nothing special, but it's right across the street and that many fans of the opposition team in one venue makes for an interesting environment.
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vodeni
Registered User
Sunny had his chance and he blew it. We had so much hope considering his size but He was so meh, no one really cared when he left..
vodeni
Registered User
who are the 12 forwards? Is Grant there?, neither Grant nor Wilson would be put on the second line so Horny is pretty much in...I am dreading: Sheahan Malkin Simon line......then fourth line would be Wilson, Grant, Cullen I guess...
Tom Hanks
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- Nov 10, 2017
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Jaded-Fan
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For what it is worth the Pens have the fourth best goal differential in the league:
https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/team-...ry=SCORING&group=1&time=0&pos=0&team=1&page=1
Fifth best goals per game, tenth best goals against per game.
https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/team-...ry=SCORING&group=1&time=0&pos=0&team=1&page=1
Fifth best goals per game, tenth best goals against per game.
EightyOne
My posts are jokes. And hockey is just a game.
- Nov 23, 2016
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Jaded-Fan
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Just click the link.
12th most shots in the league.
25th most allowed shots in the league.
You do not need to look though to have seen that the goalies have had to stand on their heads this season.
Not quite as much as that number indicates though. We're 29th for Low Danger Shots allowed, and only 18th and 22nd for HD and MD respectively.
EightyOne
My posts are jokes. And hockey is just a game.
- Nov 23, 2016
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Haha. Because I'm not the one painting the picture.
So, relatively speaking, the Pens offense is doing better than expected based on goals per shot, but their defense is doing worse than expected based on goals allowed per shot?
So, relatively speaking, the Pens offense is doing better than expected based on goals per shot, but their defense is doing worse than expected based on goals allowed per shot?
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