Confirmed Trade: [CAR/PIT] Jake Guentzel (25% retained), Ty Smith for Michael Bunting, Ville Koivunen, Vasili Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius, 2024 cond. 1st, 2024 cond. 5th

[OKR]

lol Aho just mentioned on chiclets how Bunting was lost with the new system at first. He said it light-heartedly, but it could be a bit of both- the piece needed and the Canes way really wasn’t coming naturally to him.



Like. My god, how has there never been a hockey themed wrestler? I mean besides Andrew Peters.

There was ”The Goon” in the late 90’s

 

[Stickpucker]

We gotta at least try him with Aho. Pay all this to play with Drury/KK? Svech and Necas flanking Drury is pretty interesting.

Drury and Necas have great chemistry and Svech and Necas carried coconut.

I like

Guentz Aho Teravainen
Svech Drury Necas
Marty Staal Jarvis

Now that tidy piece of business is done let's talk Crosby

Kotkaniemi + Morrow + ? to give Sid the ol man another shot at the cup with his good buddies Staal and Guentzel?

 

[ChurchOfMatthews]

Kyle Dubas sure has an obsession with former Soo players.

To the point of borderline insanity.

 

[Toby Flenderson]

Drury and Necas have great chemistry and Svech and Necas carried coconut.

I like

Guentz Aho Teravainen
Svech Drury Necas
Marty Staal Jarvis

Now that tidy piece of business is done let's talk Crosby

Kotkaniemi + Morrow + ? to give Sid the ol man another shot at the cup with his good buddies Staal and Guentzel?

Haha that most certainly does not get it done. Really doubt Crosby even asks for a trade

 

[oceanchild]

I never suggested we would get all three of those components, better check again.

Also, I don't think you're glad. I think you're being disingenuous.

Seems like you’re trolling, I have nothing against Pittsburgh. Thought some of the fans didn’t represent the base well, but that’s all groups.

 

[hamzarocks]

Crosby won’t let them do that. He runs the team. And Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson advise him.

I’ve started to believe when you are in this kind of bind you keep doubling down to eventually force yourself into becoming comically bad when all the HOF’ers retire. That’ll guarantee a top 2-3 pick then. Probably for the few seasons after that, and you accept you’re going to have a 5 year rebuild.

Well thats the price to pay for success i guess

Hawks 3 cups, 6-7 year incredible contention window then, 2017-2021 medicore period b/c they still had their stars, before rebuild began in 2022ish

Pens probably similar. They should habe began the rebuild last summer. Instead probably begins in 2025-2026

Tampa is doing the same right now. The bolts are a terrible team for the most part now driven by 2-3 players. They will be fringe playoff another 2 or so years then they begin a rebuild

 

[FerrisRox]

Kotkaniemi + Morrow + ? to give Sid the ol man another shot at the cup with his good buddies Staal and Guentzel?

Imagine getting to dump the Kotkaniemi contract *and* get Sidney Crosby in the same transaction.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

f*** Kyle for this bullshit garbage trade. Be better nerd.

 

[Stickpucker]

Haha that most certainly does not get it done. Really doubt Crosby even asks for a trade

Did you see his body language last night after the Caps game?

The man is a fierce competitor and doesn’t have it in him to sit quietly and take whippings like that.

His good buddies Staal and Guentzel are already on a contender with cap space for him an elite defense and great goaltending.

The man just realized Pitts glory days are done for a few seasons.

 

[Flying Dego]

Drury and Necas have great chemistry and Svech and Necas carried coconut.

I like

Guentz Aho Teravainen
Svech Drury Necas
Marty Staal Jarvis

Now that tidy piece of business is done let's talk Crosby

Kotkaniemi + Morrow + ? to give Sid the ol man another shot at the cup with his good buddies Staal and Guentzel?

Don't push your luck. Just be kind to Jake. He may look and sound like Beavis but he's a hell of a player.

Sid will not be going anywhere near you. I would weep to see him in any jersey BUT if he was fed up with our organization than I'd accept him going to bunk up with MacK

 

[MikeyMike01]

Which team in history has traded their best prospects for a rental? NHL fans don't even know their own league lol.

Everyone is praying for an Erat trade

But those trades just don’t happen

 

[Ryder71]

Seems like you’re trolling, I have nothing against Pittsburgh. Thought some of the fans didn’t represent the base well, but that’s all groups.

Koivinun is having a breakout year in the finnish elite league. Wonder how that compares with swedish elite league. I know the league is pretty low scoring. Almost doubled his production from 19-20. Button has him higher than Blake. And I loved Blake. Who knows.

 

[hullsy47]

To the point of borderline insanity.

Dubas couldn't trade one of his core 4 in Toronto
How is he gonna get the stones to make a Crosby or malkin trade
He's just a mediocre gm at best

 

[absolute garbage]

I think it's a good trade for Pit. Getting 3 prospects that are trending well, a mid 2nd that could upgrade to late 1st, and a serviceable middle 6 winger in Bunting, is very good value for a rental (even a high end one).

People are overestimating the mystery box (picks). All these 3 prospects are trending well and could push for roster spot as early as next season. If you had 3 picks in 25-65, you'd be lucky to end up with these three prospects 2 years after.

 

[Toby Flenderson]

Did you see his body language last night after the Caps game?

The man is a fierce competitor and doesn’t have it in him to sit quietly and take whippings like that.

His good buddies Staal and Guentzel are already on a contender with cap space for him an elite defense and great goaltending.

The man just realized Pitts glory days are done for a few seasons.

He really seems like a guy that would finish his career with one team.

Even if I’m wrong, that’s a horrendous offer and would easily be beaten

 

[OtherThingsILike]

Credit to @Smasher for finding this tweet.

 

[Stickpucker]

He really seems like a guy that would finish his career with one team.

Even if I’m wrong, that’s a horrendous offer and would easily be beaten

That's what the + is for. A blue chip rd prospect and defensive 3c would help the rebuild a lot. Then ship out Malkin, Letang, Karlsson and your cupboards will be nicely stocked.

Let's be honest IF IF Sid goes he will call his shot and it would most likely be Colorado or Carolina.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Well thats the price to pay for success i guess

Hawks 3 cups, 6-7 year incredible contention window then, 2017-2021 medicore period b/c they still had their stars, before rebuild began in 2022ish

Pens probably similar. They should habe began the rebuild last summer. Instead probably begins in 2025-2026

Tampa is doing the same right now. The bolts are a terrible team for the most part now driven by 2-3 players. They will be fringe playoff another 2 or so years then they begin a rebuild

Yes, but if you are a team like Tampa why not trade Gauthier, Howard, Duke, and every last pick you have for another 2-3 players to add to your roster with some term?

Could make you a pretty decent team for a couple more years and get one more Cup out of the dynasty.

What are those players going to do for you when you are still the worst team in the league five years from now?

 

[Flying Dego]

That's what the + is for. A blue chip rd prospect and defensive 3c would help the rebuild a lot. Then ship out Malkin, Letang, Karlsson and your cupboards will be nicely stocked.

Let's be honest IF IF Sid goes he will call his shot and it would most likely be Colorado or Carolina.

Ok I'm curious. Why is he going south to Carolina? Jake? Lol.

It'd either be for Colorado or a Canadian team

 

[chethejet]

Sid is a FA after next year. FSG is not doing a good job here. Dubas didn't max his Jake deal. But hard to make a good deal on a rental. Jake signs an extension and now the deal is much better. Pens move Rust and Karlsson after next season for prospect picks ect. It will take time here but draft picks, whatever prospects are coming back and FA signings will not be a tank situation.

 

[Sidgeni Malkby]

They need to get either a lot better or a lot worse. Keeping Guentzel would have done neither.

It's a tough balancing act. They wanted to get a lot better. Last season their bottom 6 was abysmal, D was old, and Goaltending was suspect. This season they fixed the goaltending, D is slightly better (Graves really hurt them), but their bottom 6 is marginally better, and their 2nd line fell apart.

Honestly, their lack of a middle ground PP is what killed the team!

Until Crosby is lacing it up, they won't do a full rebuild. That's just the way it goes!

So yeah...
I expect them to see if they can get Guentzel back and get younger at the same time.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Oh really? Dubas and Pens management were quite clear, and stated repeatedly, that they are interested in prospects rather than picks. Perhaps you're confusing the wild and random predictions on these boards with reality.

Considering we are discussing it on these boards, I'm pretty sure its okay to refer to the opinions of people on these boards, especially with some of the names of prospects that were thrown out. You can be satisfied with the return if you like, but I think given what most Penguin fans were posting before the trade, you would be in the minority. Most expected better prospects, and a guaranteed 1st. The return isn't what it was hoped to be by most fans, and I think you can recognize that too. I also would expect that Dubas could have done better on this deal if he hadn't restricted himself to prospects, and didn't overplay his hand until some of the teams rumoured to have interest no longer had the cap space to do a deal for Guentzel.

If all we can discuss are the things we know for certain were discussed behind closed doors by NHL GM's and their staff, there wouldn't be much discussion happening here.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Not really. There’s a team or two like this every year. Look how catastrophic the Sharks and Hawks rosters were this year. They would be similar to that.

Yeah, the cap floor means you get some low grade short term free agents and fill out a roster that can surprise a team here and there (the Post-Deadline Tank Hawks beat the Flames and Penguins in games those teams needed to make the postseason at the end of the season).

 

[Tact]

Given the stubborn hard stance by Pens fans throughout this process - this is a terrible return. Targeting Bunting?? Really?

Don’t care how you try and justify it, Pens were expecting way more than that.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Koivinun is having a breakout year in the finnish elite league. Wonder how that compares with swedish elite league. I know the league is pretty low scoring. Almost doubled his production from 19-20. Button has him higher than Blake. And I loved Blake. Who knows.

This is exactly why trade proposals get more hype before the actual move is made. People love flashier names (Morrow, Blake, etc..) , but don't realize how good some of the non-flashy names are, particularly from teams that don't have as big of a fan base.

Koivunen was likely going to win the Canes 6th best prospect poll over Blake on the Canes board. While we fans have shown we don't know shit about prospects (we once had Slavin as our 10th best prospect way back), it does show that some lesser well known names are viewed as highly by the teams that own their rights.

Nic Roy and Eetu Luostarinen are two great examples in the past. Not flashy names and prospects that weren't hyped much, but were solid players that were NHL ready. Both turned out to be excellent acquisitions by VGN and FLA.