League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) - 2022-23 season, Vol. 4, Off-season Edition

[AlexModvechkin8]

Solid trade for Pittsburgh. I am disappointed that we won’t get to watch a third line of Eller-Granlund-Carter.

I do wonder if this won’t be San Jose 2.0 for him though. He and Letang have similar play styles and strengths and weaknesses. And EK65 is (or has been) horrid defensively so they’re really banking on Jarry staying healthy and playing well.

 

[895]

Penguins gave up a 1st and a 2nd and traded their junk for the reigning Norris winner.

I don't expect Karlsson to be that again this year but they are a far better team today and then they were yesterday.

Brutal trade from Mike Grier imo. You are giving up the retention slot for the next 4 years. You are in a rebuild. Might as well retain more and get actual assets back.

 

[Marshall]

I'm enjoying the image of cabined-up NHL Insiders kvetching about having to work for a few days.

 

[hb13xchamps]

Penguins gave up a 1st and a 2nd and traded their junk for the reigning Norris winner.

I don't expect Karlsson to be that again this year but they are a far better team today and then they were yesterday.

Brutal trade from Mike Grier imo. You are giving up the retention slot for the next 4 years. You are in a rebuild. Might as well retain more and get actual assets back.

Grier was probably handcuffed by the team owner. The owner of a “smaller market” team didn’t want to pay a guy a lot to not play for the Sharks for the next 5 years

 

[Hivemind]

Steal of a deal for Pittsburgh. Not only do they get Karlsson, they offload Grandlund's contract and other spare parts. Pretty underwhelming return for San Jose, given how long they're retaining on Karlsson. But at least they're still getting something for a guy that was viewed as a negative contract a couple seasons ago.

A stronger Pittsburgh means it's going to be really really tough for the Caps to get a Metro playoff spot next year.

 

[HandsomeTom43]

This is the nail in the coffin for Caps playoff chances. It was already slim to none but with no major moves this off-season and an improved Pittsburgh, the only team I feel confident that we will finish above is the Flyers. Enjoy the Ovi goals and hopefully we make some moves to situate our future.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Yeah, it’s a great trade for Pittsburgh on paper, that’s for sure.

Even if Karlsson doesn’t work as well as anticipated, they got rid of multiple bad contracts with Granlund and Petry leaving. Their roster is clearly ahead of ours, but will it be enough to make a difference in an increasingly competitive Metro?

 

[Langway]

Much of any forward injuries beyond Guentzel and the Pens will have problems. Also I'm not sure that more structured teams won't be able to repel their attacks and exploit them defensively. They're probably not a bottom ten team barring injuries but still pretty squarely a mid team at this stage. More entertaining to be sure but Dubas needs to do a much better job rounding out their depth and form from the net out to have too much belief in them come playoff time. It's a worthwhile gamble in that 11-18 range of the draft I guess but structurally they still need a lot of work.

 

[Ridley Simon]

This is the nail in the coffin for Caps playoff chances. It was already slim to none but with no major moves this off-season and an improved Pittsburgh, the only team I feel confident that we will finish above is the Flyers. Enjoy the Ovi goals and hopefully we make some moves to situate our future.

So Columbus will be better than the Caps?

Sure it’s possible, but I wouldn’t bet any of my hard earned money on it. Would you?

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

Alright BMac. Your turn.

 

[Hivemind]

Alright BMac. Your turn.

Caps aren't making any significant moves this off-season

 

[HandsomeTom43]

So Columbus will be better than the Caps?

Sure it’s possible, but I wouldn’t bet any of my hard earned money on it. Would you?

I looked at Columbus’s roster and it’s worse than I thought it was. So if I was a betting man I would say we will finish ahead of them as well. However, I do feel the Islanders roster is similar, I think their difference makers are better than ours overall.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Getting a Kevin Shattenkirk vibe in all of this regarding the Karlsson trade. We've seen this before in sports, whether it's hockey, basketball or soccer. Adding too many stars to a team can gum up the works. You need role players as well. Remember they still play with only one puck.

When playing against the Pens just use the Mike Green plan, dump the puck into the corners and let the likes of Wilson, Protas and Malenstyn crash Karlssson and Letang into the boards. A few hits might just change their play.

 

[DanTHEMan71]

It looks like a good deal now but it won't actually get them another cup so in the end this will just be more futures wasted to chase another cup for Crosby. This only happened because of Dubas' arrival and the dumb assumption that Pittsburgh's cup window is still open.

You're delusional if you honestly think the Pens are going to win a cup with Sid, Geno, Letang, and EK pushing 35+ with basically no forward depth (aside from Guentzel) and no depth on defence outside of Letang and EK. Not to mention their goaltending is horrible as well.

They're not going to win anything significant solely on the backs of 4 old, admitted great, veterans when the rest of the team is legitimately garbage.

And if 1-2 of those big 4+Guentzel get injured for long during the season (not unlikely), I wouldn't be surprised to see the Pens miss the playoff entirely.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

So who plays point for Pitt on the PP?

 

[StrikingDistance]

This is the nail in the coffin for Caps playoff chances. It was already slim to none but with no major moves this off-season and an improved Pittsburgh, the only team I feel confident that we will finish above is the Flyers. Enjoy the Ovi goals and hopefully we make some moves to situate our future.

You're right. I just listed all my Caps gear on DePop and ebay. I'm done with this winning organization. Time to become a Canes fan and make my Rod Pep le Pew altar at home.

At least they brought Dreamboat Willy back for another 17,000 years. That should keep you posting here right? I can only hope your optimism and positivity carry the flame of Pens fandom for years to come!

Stay away from cliff ledges and tall building in the meantime.

Karlsson was an offensive beast for 1 year in the Pacific division. I have my doubts he can repeat last year in the metro in 2024. Pens woes have been D-fense. Don't think he solves that problem.

 

[twabby]

Karlsson was also very good in 2021-22 so it’s been two seasons in a row where he’s been a legit #1D.

I don’t know if he’s the ideal fit in Pittsburgh but he’s been great recently and Pittsburgh gave up very little to get a high-ceiling player. It’s exactly the type of swing they should be taking while their core is still effective.

 

[max21]

You're right. I just listed all my Caps gear on DePop and ebay. I'm done with this winning organization. Time to become a Canes fan and make my Rod Pep le Pew altar at home.

At least they brought Dreamboat Willy back for another 17,000 years. That should keep you posting here right? I can only hope your optimism and positivity carry the flame of Pens fandom for years to come!

Stay away from cliff ledges and tall building in the meantime.

Karlsson was an offensive beast for 1 year in the Pacific division. I have my doubts he can repeat last year in the metro in 2024. Pens woes have been D-fense. Don't think he solves that problem.

Lol quit with the BS you’re allowed to be critical of a move a rival team made that obviously makes them better while we haven’t done shit

 

[g00n]

Letang is 36 and has had some serious health problems. Maybe they're swapping in 33yr old EK for a few years and expecting Letang to fade away

edit: jfc Letang is signed until he's 40 with a NMC until 2026 and a modified NTC after. How do they expect to manage that?

 

[HTFN]

Letang is 36 and has had some serious health problems. Maybe they're swapping in 33yr old EK for a few years and expecting Letang to fade away

edit: jfc Letang is signed until he's 40 with a NMC until 2026 and a modified NTC after. How do they expect to manage that?

I don't think they have any clue. Just wait for retirements to happen, basically, their cap structure is so much worse than what we've got going and adding Karlsson makes it potentially worse as the years go on.

Like... anybody whining about the Wilson contract should be downright laughing at what they just did here.

 

[StrikingDistance]

Lol quit with the BS you’re allowed to be critical of a move a rival team made that obviously makes them better while we haven’t done shit

You're right. We haven't hired a new coaching staff, re-signed Fever and Willy, drafted Leonard, and probably shopped Kuzy and Mantha to every gullible team we could. We've done nothing. You're right. 100% on the money...no doubt about it. Sorry if I misspoke.

 

[HandsomeTom43]

You're right. I just listed all my Caps gear on DePop and ebay. I'm done with this winning organization. Time to become a Canes fan and make my Rod Pep le Pew altar at home.

At least they brought Dreamboat Willy back for another 17,000 years. That should keep you posting here right? I can only hope your optimism and positivity carry the flame of Pens fandom for years to come!

Stay away from cliff ledges and tall building in the meantime.

Karlsson was an offensive beast for 1 year in the Pacific division. I have my doubts he can repeat last year in the metro in 2024. Pens woes have been D-fense. Don't think he solves that problem.

Jesus, can’t believe my post hit a nerve because Karlsson makes the Pens better than they were yesterday. Not to mention they finished ahead of us last year, and with our amazing moves of Joel Edmundson with his herniated disks and Patches who is missing his ACL, call me pragmatic for estimating we’re going to finish behind them and the New York teams and Carolina.

I’m calling a spade a spade. I’m not being positive or negative. I’m happy with our long term outlook with the way our contracts are lined up and our cap space projections. We’re not going to be very good. I love this team. I love our fanbase. I always will. It’s ok to be critical of bad moves or lack of moves. I like the Wilson contract so I’m being positive about that. Long term, as a Caps fan I love the Karlsson deal. It will prolong their rebuild even further. But it does make them a better team today.

Seems like you’re hanging on by a thread though with your hysterical analysis of my post. Maybe take a step back and lighten up.

 

[twabby]

I don't think they have any clue. Just wait for retirements to happen, basically, their cap structure is so much worse than what we've got going and adding Karlsson makes it potentially worse as the years go on.

Like... anybody whining about the Wilson contract should be downright laughing at what they just did here.

They’re prioritizing giving their aging superstars one more shot at a Cup while they are still effective even if it hurts their longer-term outlook.

It’s a fine strategy. Now is the time in their competitive window to be aggressive with their moves even if it comes with significant risk. I hope Washington adopts this strategy soon enough.

 

[HTFN]

They’re prioritizing giving their aging superstars one more shot at a Cup while they are still effective even if it hurts their longer-term outlook.

It’s a fine strategy. Now is the time in their competitive window to be aggressive with their moves even if it comes with significant risk. I hope Washington adopts this strategy soon enough.

I don't at all. Pittsburgh will have more dead years than Washington, I'm fine with watching a team that still has room to keep moving forward.

 

[PlushMinus]

If I've learned anything from hanging around here for the last couple of years, it's that opinions are indeed like assholes. Everybody has one!

Pens are a better team for having Karlsson on their roster. I don't think anybody can dispute that without being delusional or outright lying to themselves.

Will they make the playoffs? I don't have a crystal ball. But I think they are more likely to than the Caps.

How much do I care? Not all that much. Even if they make the playoffs I don't think the Pens are a legitimate contender. But like others have said, can't blame them for trying and it is going to delay their rebuild for a while, which is fine with me.