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GDT: Free Agent Frenzy 2022

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One under the radar thought, we all loved Bunting last year but he was a complete boat anchor on the first line in the playoffs. I was amazed how ineffective he was, given the pest game he played, easily knocked off the puck, neutralized everywhere, he was a net negative and hurt the line, looked out of place.
 
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SprDaVE said:
Hextall is very much going the Lamoriello route.

Sign a bunch of bloated long-term contracts to bad or veteran players, get good for a bit, walk away (or get removed) when shit hits the fan.
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Maybe he's hoping the Cap has increased enough that they're more like Kerfoot is to the Leafs today.
 
DarkKnight said:
One under the radar thought, we all loved Bunting last year but he was a complete boat anchor on the first line in the playoffs. I was amazed how ineffective he was, given the pest game he played, easily off the puck, neutralized everywhere, he was a net negative and hurt the line.
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He was clearly not 100%. It was a Zach Hyman situation 2.0. They needed him so they brought him back at 75% or 80%.
 
DarkKnight said:
One under the radar thought, we all loved Bunting last year but he was a complete boat anchor on the first line in the playoffs. I was amazed how ineffective he was, given the pest game he played, easily knocked off the puck, neutralized everywhere, he was a net negative and hurt the line, looked out of place.
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Injured, maybe came back too soon.
 
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ToneDog said:
No idea what the Pens are thinking signing Letang and Malkin to those deals. My guess is that they expect to bottom out as those contracts age.
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I guess when a franchise wins multiple Cups it can afford to honour its stars by making them lifers in the organization. Thing is Pittsburgh still has an outside chance of making a serious run in the playoffs with these aging vets and what a story that would be! I'd be on the watch this season and next for Pittsburgh to make huge additions at the trade deadline.
 
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ToneDog said:
No idea what the Pens are thinking signing Letang and Malkin to those deals. My guess is that they expect to bottom out as those contracts age.
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I don’t think they care too much about being competitive. They’ve got these three stars that brought them cups, and they want them to retire Penguins. Perhaps it gives them time to start to rebuild a prospect system, before these three retire.
 
DarkKnight said:
One under the radar thought, we all loved Bunting last year but he was a complete boat anchor on the first line in the playoffs. I was amazed how ineffective he was, given the pest game he played, easily knocked off the puck, neutralized everywhere, he was a net negative and hurt the line, looked out of place.
Click to expand...
We don't know how much of that was because of injury though. I think it was clear he wasn't playing at 100%, he seemed a step too slow.
 
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DarkKnight said:
One under the radar thought, we all loved Bunting last year but he was a complete boat anchor on the first line in the playoffs. I was amazed how ineffective he was, given the pest game he played, easily knocked off the puck, neutralized everywhere, he was a net negative and hurt the line, looked out of place.
Click to expand...

Imagine Perron in that spot.
 
DarkKnight said:
One under the radar thought, we all loved Bunting last year but he was a complete boat anchor on the first line in the playoffs. I was amazed how ineffective he was, given the pest game he played, easily knocked off the puck, neutralized everywhere, he was a net negative and hurt the line, looked out of place.
Click to expand...
He was playing hurt
 
Fogelhund said:
I don’t think they care too much about being competitive. They’ve got these three stars that brought them cups, and they want them to retire Penguins. Perhaps it gives them time to start to rebuild a prospect system, before these three retire.
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People are acting like Letang and Malkin are boat anchors. They are still very effective players. That core makes the playoffs every year and at least still scares teams. The Penguins have always been good at finding cheap options and now that they’ve kept their picks they might get some good young players
 
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francis246 said:
I don’t wanna see us wasting cap space on Malgin
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I mean, the contract will be low enough it can be buried. Maybe he works out, maybe he doesn’t. The cap hit won’t be a concern, as much as the contract space. Besides, if he doesn’t stick, it’s highly probable that it’s mutual termination, and back to Europe. He’s not coming here to play in the AHL. This will be as low risk as they come, from every angle.
 
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DarkKnight said:
One under the radar thought, we all loved Bunting last year but he was a complete boat anchor on the first line in the playoffs. I was amazed how ineffective he was, given the pest game he played, easily knocked off the puck, neutralized everywhere, he was a net negative and hurt the line, looked out of place.
Click to expand...
Wasn't he coming back from a leg injury? Probably way too soon. Wasn't the same player
 
DarkKnight said:
One under the radar thought, we all loved Bunting last year but he was a complete boat anchor on the first line in the playoffs. I was amazed how ineffective he was, given the pest game he played, easily knocked off the puck, neutralized everywhere, he was a net negative and hurt the line, looked out of place.
Click to expand...

He isn't super strong on his skates. Always seems close to a speed wobble. Playoff hockey may amplify that. It's not happening because the Leafs are looking to add not subtract but I wonder if a Hagel type deal is out there for Bunting.
 
Fogelhund said:
I mean, the contract will be low enough it can be buried. Maybe he works out, maybe he doesn’t. The cap hit won’t be a concern, as much as the contract space. Besides, if he doesn’t stick, it’s highly probable that it’s mutual termination, and back to Europe. He’s not coming here to play in the AHL. This will be as low risk as they come, from every angle.
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Maybe but I just want us to prioritize guys who can actually play in the bottom six. It’s just more and more of the same. We’ve already tried Malgin type players in the bottom six it’s not going to work. We know this.
 
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francis246 said:
People are acting like Letang and Malkin are boat anchors. They are still very effective players. That core makes the playoffs every year and at least still scares teams. The Penguins have always been good at finding cheap options and now that they’ve kept their picks they might get some good young players
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They aren’t now, but they will be when the contracts are in their last year or so.
 
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