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

[IcedCapp]

If that's how that comes off then that's my mistake. But no I'm not trying to like... gatekeep misery here lol

I suppose on top of very much not looking forward to this... I sort of get the impression that some are borderline dancing on the graves of these guys. And that maybe bothers me a bit.

I don't see anyone dancing on graves.

I think a lot of people said, "we really want the big-3 to finish their careers in Pittsburgh." then, after a year of seeing what that actually looked like, realized how much it would actually suck for 3 of their favourite players, and now they want a mea culpa, but we can't get it. Mostly because it was never up to us.

I don't think anyone wants this core to go down in flames. I don't think anyone wants this trio to finish with just 3 cups. I think most people believe all 3 of the big 3 are capable of contributing to a cup-winning team, just not all 3 together, and not in Pittsburgh.

So I think everyone is miserable. You are looking at it from the perspective of Malkin and, to a lesser-extent, Sid's legacies and the end to their career.

I think people like Emp (who I've obviously had my fair share of problems with in the past) are looking at it rather... i don't want to say emotionless, but they're not looking at what it means for those 3. It's just a matter-of-fact 'well, this is the situation. we're going to suck no matter what. what's the most efficient way for us to suck?'

Maybe I'm misrepresenting his position (and I know he'll correct me if I am), but i don't think anyone is thrilled with the Hayes deal, for example. We're simply happy that we did nothing but take on an old player on a bad contract to get an asset that will help us when the big-3 finally move on.

What are we, as fans, supposed to do? Beg these guys to leave? Boo them? We have no control over this. We may as make the best of it.

 

[Gurglesons]

Surprised Sid hasnt re-signed yet.

I'm not. They've been preparing us for it all week.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Yeah, it's just not a great atmosphere in the new arena. It reminds me a lot of going to United Center in the mid-2000s when Chicago was Hawk crazy but they were dumb and boring to watch, except it's with a worse product on the ice.

The atmosphere can totally change though, if you have an ownership that cares about it.

Personally, I resent how lame it is. Sports should be entertainment.

For sure. I say it too often but I'd happily watch this team go 0-82 if they lost games 8-7 instead of being pseudo-competitive by playing this boring ass, "student of the game" bullshit hockey.

 

[BusinessGoose]

I hope sid is really sitting down and thinking about his next decision.

Id rather be able to trade him though, so, sign here then leave, so we can get another draft pick

 

[Gurglesons]

Gurglesons 3 years at 800k to the Bolts.

 

[HandshakeLine]

For sure. I say it too often but I'd happily watch this team go 0-82 if they lost games 8-7 instead of being pseudo-competitive by playing this boring ass, "student of the game" bullshit hockey.

One of the biggest crimes Canada has yet to answer for is somehow making 2-1 slop hockey "the pinnacle of the game."

It's like the BJJ snobs from the mid-2000s trying to tell everyone how exciting that is in UFC and if you think it's boring, it's only because you can't comprehend it.

 

[Turin]

Hextall was pretty clearly a nepotism hire by Lemieux and then he quickly sold off the team to the highest bidder.

Lemieux obviously had the right to do whatever he wanted with the team, but he really didn't leave the team in a good state.



I had forgotten that Lemieux had explored selling the Penguins before the FSG sale as well, I vaguely recall him looking to do that in 2019-ish.

They were looking to sell in 2015 and tabled it because whoops the Pens are the best team in the NHL all of a sudden

 

[HandshakeLine]

What are we, as fans, supposed to do? Beg these guys to leave? Boo them? We have no control over this. We may as make the best of it.

I'd rather we just make jokes about it instead of turning it into a philosophical discussion about how stoic and grown-up it is to enjoy boring hockey.

 

[BusinessGoose]

Gurglesons 3 years at 800k to the Bolts.

TBL got hosed on that deal

 

[Ugene Magic]

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Gurglesons 3 years at 800k to the Bolts.

Tell Jake I said he's built like a middle school soccer player and he has a stupid face.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I don't see anyone dancing on graves.

I think a lot of people said, "we really want the big-3 to finish their careers in Pittsburgh." then, after a year of seeing what that actually looked like, realized how much it would actually suck for 3 of their favourite players, and now they want a mea culpa, but we can't get it. Mostly because it was never up to us.

I don't think anyone wants this core to go down in flames. I don't think anyone wants this trio to finish with just 3 cups. I think most people believe all 3 of the big 3 are capable of contributing to a cup-winning team, just not all 3 together, and not in Pittsburgh.

So I think everyone is miserable. You are looking at it from the perspective of Malkin and, to a lesser-extent, Sid's legacies and the end to their career.

I think people like Emp (who I've obviously had my fair share of problems with in the past) are looking at it rather... i don't want to say emotionless, but they're not looking at what it means for those 3. It's just a matter-of-fact 'well, this is the situation. we're going to suck no matter what. what's the most efficient way for us to suck?'

Maybe I'm misrepresenting his position (and I know he'll correct me if I am), but i don't think anyone is thrilled with the Hayes deal, for example. We're simply happy that we did nothing but take on an old player on a bad contract to get an asset that will help us when the big-3 finally move on.

What are we, as fans, supposed to do? Beg these guys to leave? Boo them? We have no control over this. We may as make the best of it.

Yeah, this is basically it. I don't want the core to play anywhere else (especially not Crosby), but I don't see any realistic way that this team is going to contend again in the Crosby era. You can do the unthinkable and ask Crosby, Malkin and Letang if they'd want to be traded (although I doubt anyone would want Letang's gross deal) and nuke the entire team, or do a softer gradual sell-off while the core rides off into the sunset. Those are really the only 2 viable paths I see going forward.

 

[HandshakeLine]

TBL got hosed on that deal

it's all over their faces.

 

[ChaosAgent]

How long is that going to last, though? He's turning 38 this month and still has 2 years left. He has already declined from 83 points to 67 points.

You can argue that Malkin is still worth his contract, but from a broader conceptual aspect of "giving term to your upper 30s core", I don't see a way that anyone could argue that the Penguins don't regret that decision.

What's really the alternative?
They have/had to make Sid happy because he is a big part of their value. Not just for tickets but also for corporate sponsorships. Sid made the calls the keep Malkin and Letang, and Sullivan for that matter.

Malkin and Letang have still been fine for their cap hits the last couple of years. If the Pens signed Kadri/Trocheck and whomever top-4 Dman was out there in 2022, they aren't meaningfully better and might be worse.

They are clearly showing now that they are done being locked-in to the notion of competing and buying. I don't think 2 guys eating up like 14% of their cap space in 2 years changes their outlook much.
I'll be curious to see if they move Petts and EK65 if they fail to compete this year, or Jarry if he has a bounce back year. I am also not opposed to buying if the team is in a playoff spot in mid-February.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I don't see anyone dancing on graves.

I think a lot of people said, "we really want the big-3 to finish their careers in Pittsburgh." then, after a year of seeing what that actually looked like, realized how much it would actually suck for 3 of their favourite players, and now they want a mea culpa, but we can't get it. Mostly because it was never up to us.

I don't think anyone wants this core to go down in flames. I don't think anyone wants this trio to finish with just 3 cups. I think most people believe all 3 of the big 3 are capable of contributing to a cup-winning team, just not all 3 together, and not in Pittsburgh.

So I think everyone is miserable. You are looking at it from the perspective of Malkin and, to a lesser-extent, Sid's legacies and the end to their career.

I think people like Emp (who I've obviously had my fair share of problems with in the past) are looking at it rather... i don't want to say emotionless, but they're not looking at what it means for those 3. It's just a matter-of-fact 'well, this is the situation. we're going to suck no matter what. what's the most efficient way for us to suck?'

Maybe I'm misrepresenting his position (and I know he'll correct me if I am), but i don't think anyone is thrilled with the Hayes deal, for example. We're simply happy that we did nothing but take on an old player on a bad contract to get an asset that will help us when the big-3 finally move on.

What are we, as fans, supposed to do? Beg these guys to leave? Boo them? We have no control over this. We may as make the best of it.

We could boycott like Pirates fans did! That worked!

But no really... I dunno. I'll just stay out of it I guess.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Gurglesons 3 years at 800k to the Bolts.

TB already paid for an AI to watch every single other team's game every second of the day.

 

[66-30-33]

I'm not. They've been preparing us for it all week.

I guess sometime in the summer he will. Can't see him leaving, he wants to play for 1 team his entire career. But maybe us losing and about to rebuild will change his mind. He would be pretty good on Tampa, finally have the wingers he needs.

 

[IcedCapp]

I'd rather we just make jokes about it instead of turning it into a philosophical discussion about how stoic and grown-up it is to enjoy boring hockey.

i would prefer boring hockey to the shit they've been doing the last 2 years, to be honest. Like, boring hockey, to me, suggests that they realized the team isn't good enough and they've started playing slow, trappy, boring hockey to compensate. Like, that would be intelligent.

They've just been playing hockey like their roster is still comprised of a bunch of fast, talented, skilled 20-somethings. But literally 3 people on the roster can play that way for 60 minutes. Which is why they constantly have games where you're like, 'HOLY SHIT, DID YOU SEE THOSE 20 MINUTES? THIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE IF THEY JUST PLAY LIKE THAT!' but they can't. Because they're old and they have no depth or support.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I don't see any realistic way that this team is going to contend again in the Crosby era

Yeah, but like me and Willy aren't saying that. We're saying ice less boring teams that are still bad enough to do the rebuild, which you can do by putting youth in there. That's what's getting lost in the shuffle here.

Who cares if Puus isn't a bonafide 3RW in this boring Sullivan system? It's not going to win anything anyway, keep it cheap and maybe he'll develop enough to be worth trading elsewhere at the TDL?

 

[Turin]

Crosby is literally the soul of the org. Especially with Lemieux fading into the background. When he's done, you make him President of the team or something. Just his presence will make our prospects 15% better hockey players.

 

[HandshakeLine]

i would prefer boring hockey to the shit they've been doing the last 2 years, to be honest. Like, boring hockey, to me, suggests that they realized the team isn't good enough and they've started playing slow, trappy, boring hockey to compensate. Like, that would be intelligent.

They've just been playing hockey like their roster is still comprised of a bunch of fast, talented, skilled 20-somethings. But literally 3 people on the roster can play that way for 60 minutes. Which is why they constantly have games where you're like, 'HOLY SHIT, DID YOU SEE THOSE 20 MINUTES? THIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE IF THEY JUST PLAY LIKE THAT!' but they can't. Because they're old and they have no depth or support.

Speaking as the Gary Roberts Chair of the Department of Slow, Physical Hockey here, I 100% agree.

 

[Gurglesons]

I guess sometime in the summer he will. Can't see him leaving, he wants to play for 1 team his entire career. But maybe us losing and about to rebuild will change his mind. He would be pretty good on Tampa, finally have the wingers he needs.

I imagine he will re-sign.

I don't think it is the given it was a few months ago though.

Yeah, but like me and Willy aren't saying that. We're saying ice less boring teams that are still bad enough to do the rebuild, which you can do by putting youth in there. That's what's getting lost in the shuffle here.

Who cares if Puus isn't a bonafide 3RW in this boring Sullivan system? It's not going to win anything anyway, keep it cheap and maybe he'll develop enough to be worth trading elsewhere at the TDL?

Yeah, I don't get what is so odd about this critique.

If you are saying you are building young and hungry, why are any of these signings happening today?

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I wonder where Sid ends up when he retires after the 2026 Olympics. I dunno if he'd make a good coach, but I dunno what makes a good coach anyway. Maybe a scout? AGM who is Dubas' successor down the road? Maybe he just f***s off and goes fishing and randomly showing up at shitty rinks in little nowhere pockets of NA.

 

[Empoleon8771]

What's really the alternative?
They have/had to make Sid happy because he is a big part of their value. Not just for tickets but also for corporate sponsorships. Sid made the calls the keep Malkin and Letang, and Sullivan for that matter.

Malkin and Letang have still been fine for their cap hits the last couple of years. If the Pens signed Kadri/Trocheck and whomever top-4 Dman was out there in 2022, they aren't meaningfully better and might be worse.

They are clearly showing now that they are done being locked-in to the notion of competing and buying. I don't think 2 guys eating up like 14% of their cap space in 2 years changes their outlook much.
I'll be curious to see if they move Petts and EK65 if they fail to compete this year, or Jarry if he has a bounce back year. I am also not opposed to buying if the team is in a playoff spot in mid-February.

At this point? There is no alternative. They've made their bed and are now laying in it. There's no way out of it realistically, because Letang's deal is absolutely unmovable and Malkin's deal is probably not much easier to move. But at the time, they could have committed to a 2-3 year retool with the intent of trying to compete again in Crosby's last 3 or 4 years.

There's a lot of ifs here and it's hard to tell how exactly that could have been done. But I think there was a path in 2022 you could have gone down that didn't involve running it back with the core that could have yielded a contender right now. One big thing I wonder: could the Penguins have gotten Gaudreau to sign with them?

 

[ChaosAgent]

Who cares if Puus isn't a bonafide 3RW in this boring Sullivan system? It's not going to win anything anyway, keep it cheap and maybe he'll develop enough to be worth trading elsewhere at the TDL?

Puustinen is going to be a top 9 RW anyway next year. I don't get it.