GDT: Free Agency Day 1: You're from Boston? Come on down

[HandshakeLine]

Nah, POJ wasn't qualified. He's a UFA. I imagine Gryz was the plan B. So I wouldn't factor POJ in any longer. If he's back, we're talking a 900k or a 1x1.

We just need to find someone that missed on a top 4 LD and convince them to send us a 2nd for Graves.

SEAL, I love ya, but nobody is sending us anything for Graves. That contract is an albatross and he sucks.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Okay. To avoid being 'negative' about it - good job ditching Smith. I am not thrilled about retention - those slots are valuable. Is what it is. Hated that signing from day 1. Zucker 2.0 - possibly worse.

But my goodness this team blows ass currently. There's no way this is half in half out [still, have said it for some time now] - rip the damn cord and SELL.

- Do not re sign Petts. Why the F would you consider that.
- Retain half on EK and get a 1st++ (For the record, love the player and would sooner trade Letang but here we are)
- Send Jarry to Europe, or anywhere really.

The thought of an already loser team that couldn't score or defend, replacing Guentzel and Smith with Hayes and a healthy scratch is outright hilarious if the assessment is that an older core is somehow turning things around with worse players. It's genuinely like they have ignored the past 6 years of trend and actually think those clubs were competitive and that father time is irrelevant in that assessment.

100% Bunting and Petts need to go, at the deadline at latest. Those are wasted assets if you don't do that.
Jarry should have been traded this summer, with the goalie buyer market so thin. We gotta hope Rust has another good season, so when his NMC expires next year, he has value.
Ned can go if he has a strong year. That'll be an enticing contract. Just roll AHL goalies.
Puustinen and DOC as well, if they're good this year. They're gonna be old by the time the Pens are ready to contend, so there's no point in keeping them.
Cycle everything out for futures that do actually line up with the Pens timeline.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Puustinens ppg in his last year in liiga -> .80
Koivunen -> .94

They’re both similar “prospects.”

Puustinen did that as an older player I believe. Wasn't Puustinen drafted as a 20 year old?

I don't think they're super different though, Puustinen's upside is more like a 3rd liner while Koivunen's upside is a middle-6 winger.

 

[Harvey Birdman]

I dont know, Im kind of excited the team has finally picked a direction. Looking forward to watching Sid/Geno collect points while the team around them crumbles lol. Will be nice to have no expectations going into the season. Can start getting super into the draft finally as well.

On the rollercoaster of the life span of watching this team... We are not at the opposite end of the curve of when they made the playoffs the first year with Sid and got steam rolled by Ottawa. As a very wise man Bill Hicks once said... "It's just a ride."

 

[Pancakes]

I'm not sure a team in the East has a worse forward group than us at his point tbh. Montreal is probably the only one. And they have young players who they expect to step up.

If Sid declines at all we're a lottery team.

If Sid puts up a similar performance to what he did last year we *might* make it but will probably finish in a similar spot to where we did this year.

 

[molon labe]

I dont know, Im kind of excited the team has finally picked a direction. Looking forward to watching Sid/Geno collect points while the team around them crumbles lol. Will be nice to have no expectations going into the season. Can start getting super into the draft finally as well.

So long as they put them on the same line, sure.

Rust/Sid Geno/Bunting are okay pairings - but a LOT of that is going to depend on how Geno looks next season. Last season I thought he looked quite awful as a C - though in fairness before Bunting his linemates were atrocious.

His biggest issue is that he still floats around the zone and drags defenders to his teammates. He's not swift enough anymore to be playing like that. Hence the assessment that he should shift to wing. That seems to be a split assessment around here.

But yeah I'm not seeing that forward group "collecting [many] points"

 

[HandshakeLine]

It's gonna rule when Bunting becomes the new Big Dad Jeff Carter and then also doesn't do anything next year, but we have to deal with the memes about how awesome he is.

 

[Malkinstheman]

I hope we suck. Hagens looks sick as f***

I really really hope the team blows it up next summer. Mckenna is gonna be an insane player

 

[DesertPenguin]

We have 6 million and we have to sign POJ and some more depth. Also, we only got one 2nd for next year.

POJ ain't coming back unless Graves is headed out (doubtful), and any depth we sign now pushes similar priced depth off the roster. You need some cap flexibility so I'm looking at about $5m in available dollars to add a top 9 W.

 

[Ryder71]

Puustinens ppg in his last year in liiga -> .80
Koivunen -> .94

They’re both similar “prospects.”

Koivunen did it a year younger though, he was 20, PU was 21, and Koivunen still had better numbers. Made a big jump in production from 19 to 20.

 

[TimmyD]

It's funny that people have complained about this team not having a direction for a while now, but as soon as they pick a direction, people are whining that they're making the kind of moves that they're making now.

"Dubas, to his credit, realizes this. He spoke to the media on Friday in Las Vegas and made it abundantly clear that his desire isn’t to construct a team that barely makes the playoffs next season and moving forward. If the Penguins make the playoffs next season, great. But Dubas wants something much bigger, even if it takes time. He wants Crosby to stick around for another undetermined amount of years and, along the way, he wants the captain’s final acts in Pittsburgh to be leading the way for a new era of Penguins hockey. Building a new era is the only goal now."

This team is rebuilding in all but name. I understand the argument of "the rebuild should be more aggressive" to a degree, but complaining about the kind of moves they've made so far (like the Hayes deal, signing Grzelcyk/Beauvillier, retaining on Smith to get a 2nd, ect) is just ignoring that's what rebuilding teams do.

Being half in and half out isn’t a direction. Trying to “add for the future while also remaining competitive now” isn’t a direction.

 

[Fordy]

It's gonna rule when Bunting becomes the new Big Dad Jeff Carter and then also doesn't do anything next year, but we have to deal with the memes about how awesome he is.

why would that happen

 

[HandshakeLine]

Beau cant possibly be as bad as Jansen Harkins was on the bottom 6 last season so at least he can rest easy at night free to pursue a life of religious fulfillment knowing that much.

I wish I had whatever kind of job security Jansen Harkins had here, good god.

 

[Pancakes]

It's gonna rule when Bunting becomes the new Big Dad Jeff Carter and then also doesn't do anything next year, but we have to deal with the memes about how awesome he is.

There's going to be a point this year where Malkin is hurt on IR and Bunting is skating super f-ing hard to crash the net but he will be being centered by Kevin Hayes at the time and Hayes will still be near the blueline trying to catch up to Bunting

 

[Empoleon8771]

Being half in and half out isn’t a direction. Trying to “add for the future while also remaining competitive now” isn’t a direction.

Yes it is, it is absolutely a direction.

It's "rebuild while keeping the core until they retire or want to be traded". That is absolutely a direction.

 

[Gurglesons]

It's funny that people have complained about this team not having a direction for a while now, but as soon as they pick a direction, people are whining that they're making the kind of moves that they're making now.

"Dubas, to his credit, realizes this. He spoke to the media on Friday in Las Vegas and made it abundantly clear that his desire isn’t to construct a team that barely makes the playoffs next season and moving forward. If the Penguins make the playoffs next season, great. But Dubas wants something much bigger, even if it takes time. He wants Crosby to stick around for another undetermined amount of years and, along the way, he wants the captain’s final acts in Pittsburgh to be leading the way for a new era of Penguins hockey. Building a new era is the only goal now."

This team is rebuilding in all but name. I understand the argument of "the rebuild should be more aggressive" to a degree, but complaining about the kind of moves they've made so far (like the Hayes deal, signing Grzelcyk/Beauvillier, retaining on Smith to get a 2nd, ect) is just ignoring that's what rebuilding teams do.

Rebuilding teams don't go out of their way to sign players like Beauvillier and Gryz on day one.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Hayes is easily scratched. Beauvillier is easily buried in the minors.

That's from a logic perspective, not from a "what will Sullivan actually do" perspective.

Hayes has a huge edge here, cuz he's from Boston and is a veteran. He'll get a ton of rope. Beauvillier is more of an unknown. We'll see how Sully feels about him.

 

[HandshakeLine]

POJ ain't coming back unless Graves is headed out (doubtful), and any depth we sign now pushes similar priced depth off the roster. You need some cap flexibility so I'm looking at about $5m in available dollars to add a top 9 W.

Yeah, at best, we're looking at maybe a Rackell or Smith. At BEST.

There's going to be a point this year where Malkin is hurt on IR and Bunting is skating super f-ing hard to crash the net but he will be being centered by Kevin Hayes at the time and Hayes will still be near the blueline trying to catch up to Bunting

You can set your watch to it, friend.

 

[Harvey Birdman]

SEAL, I love ya, but nobody is sending us anything for Graves. That contract is an albatross and he sucks.

I'm indifferent toward Graves. In a vacuum on a better constructed team I think he is a slightly above average middle six guy. I hate the contract far more than the player. Where I do agree with you, no one is taking that contract. Not unless by some miracle he plays up to that contract this season and if he does I hope the FO sees it as time to trade him at max value and not see it as the norm of things to come.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Puustinens ppg in his last year in liiga -> .80
Koivunen -> .94

They’re both similar “prospects.”

Puustinen was older. Koivunen also has a higher pedigree as a former second round pick.

 

[molon labe]

Man i dont know how some people function in life. How can someone be so negative and pessimistic. Bros so pessimistic he literally forgot we actually replaced Guentzel with Bunting and we still have 6m and we're literally 3 hours into free agency.

Because you're assessing bros and my guys and chills and cuz's online.

I just pointed out how awful the team looks, the trade assessment, and what I think we should do going forward. As a fan of the Penguins - I'd genuinely ask what point of optimism or realism is not precluded by the pessimistic situation we're in?

I'm totally okay with this team sucking. I'm befuddled by anyone who thinks they don't and who thinks the moves we made are competitive ones lol

 

[TimmyD]

Yes it is, it is absolutely a direction.

No it’s not lol. They are literally contradicting one another. That’s not a solid direction at all

 

[HandshakeLine]

Yes it is, it is absolutely a direction.

It's "rebuild while keeping the core until they retire or want to be traded". That is absolutely a direction.

Any direction is a direction, Emp. Even a death spiral is a direction by the literal definition of the word.

 

[Tom Hanks]

It's gonna rule when Bunting becomes the new Big Dad Jeff Carter and then also doesn't do anything next year, but we have to deal with the memes about how awesome he is.

I like Bunting. He’s fun to watch, tries hard, loves the game.

He produces consistently too.

 

[Invalid cuz QoC]

Alright that’s a wrap, see everyone in October.