ClevelandCapsfan
Registered User
- May 24, 2021
- 2,155
- 1,773
Penguins have been out scored 15-1 the past three games, all losses.
Darcy Kuemper would like a word.
League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) | 2023-24 Regular Season Edition
- Thread starter AlexModvechkin8
- Start date
- Status
And the present.
People who shit on BMac should look to Pittsburgh to appreciate the work he’s done. Sid has been unbelievable this season and Jarry has been really good and they still stink. They have no scoring depth whatsoever and a weak blue line. We can certainly debate his draft results from the late 2010s but generally speaking he sees issues and fixes them to the best of his ability.
Not only do the penguins suck, but their future looks like one giant steamy turd of suckness. Our young guys are on the come up, it’s glorious really. f*** that team forever
Ovie's Neighbor
Registered User
- Jan 23, 2007
- 4,892
- 5,947
I agree we are playing some of our best hockey with the young guys in the lineup. Pens on the other hand have zero talent in their pool. Love it.
Ovechkins Wodka
Registered User
Its been fun betting on the pens to lose every game the last few weeks. They somehow still have good odds bc Sid
Misery74
Registered User
- Nov 20, 2017
- 2,537
- 2,509
The Pens should just give up their pick this year. Next year they are drafting in the top 5.Penguins don't seem like a team that will pick up many points the rest of the way.
They'll get 7-9 pick for it at best but Sharks must be licking at their chops knowing they have the Penguins 1st next season.
Letang benched.
trick9
Registered User
- Jun 2, 2013
- 12,605
- 5,765
They are never going to do that. Infact i think it's likely they trade that pick for immediate help in the summer, to keep Crosby happy. That's how they operate.
Empty Goal Net
Hide! Homeland Security Is On Patrol
- Feb 13, 2010
- 4,544
- 3,592
RedRocking
Registered User
Just flipped on Canes-Flames. Really weird seeing Kuzy in their sweater.
On a related note, if Kuzy sets up a Guentzel goal in the POs, I might start to question the nature of my reality.
On a related note, if Kuzy sets up a Guentzel goal in the POs, I might start to question the nature of my reality.
We're going to sneak in as at he Metro 3 seed and face Carolina and Kuzy is going to knock them out in round 1
Nah… Ovechkin or Wilson will “knock out” Kuzy in Rd 1. Kuz will get hit. And hit a lot.
PlushMinus
Registered User
- Nov 18, 2021
- 2,045
- 2,368
Only saw the box score - 1 shot, no points in a 7-2 laffer. 1:13 PP time. 16 mins total ice time. Looks like was good on faceoffs though - won 11, lost 7.
The fair view is that he hasn't played in a while and needs to get back to NHL level. And it's a new team and coach etc.
But what about the eye test? Any thoughts on his effort level out there and how he was playing?
Brian23
Registered User
- Dec 3, 2011
- 5,856
- 2,741
I feel like a lot of the people I see whinging about the work GMBM has done were also the one's whinging that he didn't make a move like that EK trade.
Knew that trade would be awful before it even went through.
TheSmokingMan
Registered User
While Kuemper hasn't played well this year, there are many teams that are in far worse shape in net than us. I still think there's hope that he will turn it around. His cap hit is 5.25 for the next 3 years, which we can absorb without much difficulty. Mainly because BMac has been responsible with his cap management. We also have a lot of young players coming up who won't break the bank.
The Pens, on the other hand, have one of (if not) the worst prospect pools in the league. They have very little flexibility with next seasons cap. That leaves free agency and trades as their only avenue to make the team better. There aren't really a lot of players on their roster that I see as tradable assets and they've already depleted their draft picks. It's a pretty bleak outlook for them going forward for the next few years.
RedRocking
Registered User
I didn’t watch very long. The Canes scored a few early goals in the 2nd and it seemed over.
I thought he looked engaged, making some nice passes that lead to scoring opportunities. He was mainly paired with Necas who made him look slow. It’s funny how average he looks on a team full of great skaters. He was smiling and laughing on the bench though, which was cool.
But still, coming up with a goose egg in a 7 goal game ain’t so hot. Maybe the fancy stat guys could speak to his goal share or xG on a rate basis.
Who knows how out of shape he is, and how much time he’ll take to gel there.
- Jun 25, 2018
- 1,078
- 2,058
I knew their cap situation was bad, but I just looked it up and holy shit are they in trouble. With 16 players signed for next year they have a projected cap hit of 74.8M, and every player with a cap hit above 2.5M has at least an 8-team NTC. They're all but locked into running things back with the same roster, plus maybe a winger signing in free agency to replace Guentzel. Bettman better start brainstorming new ideas for rigging the lottery, cause that team's in trouble.
TheSmokingMan
Registered User
What amazes me, is all of the criticism the Caps are getting for how we're handling the last few years of Ovie's career. Accusing us of only caring about the record and not rebuilding the team. BMacs moves may not be flashy headline grabbers, but he has very quietly positioned the team to stay reasonably competitive without giving up our young players and draft picks. We're just starting to see that plan yield results.
Crosby is staring into the abyss that will be the last few years of his career in Pittsburgh. I actually feel kind of bad for him. I can respect his loyalty to the city, but that has got to be a hard pill to swallow. I wouldn't hold it against him if he decided to pull the parachute and bail. He's basically been single-handedly keeping them competitive. Without him, I think they are a bottom 3 draft lottery team.
crab
Registered User
- Jan 26, 2019
- 2,129
- 2,857
I think the funnier one part is that most Caps fans were reasonable and expected the team to miss the playoffs and be an overall poor team. Penguins fans legitimately thought after adding Karlsson they would be making the playoffs easily and a top team.
We have way better depth than Penguins, but lack some top end talent to be a contender. Hopefully Leonard, the 2024 1st pick and perhaps Lapierre can be 1st line calibre in time. Still as long as you have 4 solid lines you can be a good team in this league.
For example the Vegas team we beat, NYI who where a very good team with pretty much Barzal and then solid players both on offence and defence.
trick9
Registered User
- Jun 2, 2013
- 12,605
- 5,765
This criticism to me is better Western -based and mostly coming from whanever we play either Western Conference team or Canadian teams. Usually it's the same announcers that don't get to see us much that also mis-spell the players names and make it obvious that they haven't watched this team at all that throw it out there how we are only playing for the record. We saw the same criticism early this season from all over the place but i think that has pretty much dried down already with the more familiar teams and their announcers who see us more, because they know already that we play nothing like that.
On paper this team isn't that great either offensively or defensively, but they play a stiffling defense and rely a lot on Lindgren to make the saves. They don't rely on out-scoring teams to pick up points. To me it's pretty hilarious to claim that we don't care about anything other than the record, when it's obvious how this team is built to win. I think at one point this season our record when scoring 2 or more goals was 17-0-5. That basically tells you how this team is built to win. By not giving up 3 goals. On the flip side, when we've given up 3 goals, our record is absolutely brutal, and when we were heading for the All-Star break LA Kings was the only Playoff team that we had beaten when allowing 3+ goals.
This team could have easily just go for the record in the summer. Sign offensive guys. Get Boudreau back. Acquire Erik Karlsson. But they didn't. They hired a really defensively-oriented coach to work with the D in Mitch Love.
I think it's just dumb to claim something like that. It's just like if it was me claiming that New Jersey Devils are built to be a defensive juggernaut behind great goaltending.
crab
Registered User
- Jan 26, 2019
- 2,129
- 2,857
I think they need to finish at the bottom of the league for a few years and hit on some top end talent to really become a serious contender. To get that needed elite top end talent. Vegas is really the only team to win a cup that didn’t do that and they benefited from generous expansion rules and teams in cap hell at the time they entered.
StrikingDistance
Buford T. Justice
I think the Pens are screwed. At the trade deadline they became older and also less skilled losing Jake. They're in the same internal struggle as the Caps: Aging superstar seeking 1 more cup with an aging and expensive core, but we've been smarter in our personnel development and trades. Even if they get good draft picks this year and next, it'll take a few years to be a contender again unless they pull a coup and get someone like Draisaitl.
However, given his past performance, Dubas doesn't seem savvy enough to pull this off. I mean, his name is 2 letters away from Dumbass.
However, given his past performance, Dubas doesn't seem savvy enough to pull this off. I mean, his name is 2 letters away from Dumbass.
Kinda fun and gratifying to see GMBM finally get some love. I have been crushed here for the last few years on supporting him. Now as his plan starts to develop and we see other teams wallow in suckiness, it is starting to show that he has been doing the right things.
to be fair, many of the gambles didn’t truly play out as hoped, but that is why they are gambles. Love that the path forward is a bit more visible now.
to be fair, many of the gambles didn’t truly play out as hoped, but that is why they are gambles. Love that the path forward is a bit more visible now.
Reminder that the Pens owe the Sharks their first, in either this year or next. So they will be “hard pressed” to get the bolded
.
- Feb 15, 2005
- 5,293
- 4,086
If the Pens finish in the bottom 10 this year, they can exercise option to keep the pick. But that means the Sharks are guaranteed the Pens pick in 2025, when the Pens are likely to suck worse and the draft is probably going to be stronger. But then if Dubas declines to give the Sharks the pick in '24, he's telling the fans we're going to suck worse in '25 - but please buy tickets anyway. But if he doesn't decline, odds are he loses out on a higher pick in a stronger draft the following year. He can't win. Already.
- Status
