Salary Cap: Pens 2024 Summer Thread: "Thus, knocking us out of these superior numbers when we emerge! Mr. President, we must not allow a non-playoff bound gap!"

[Gurglesons]

Adding someone like Nelson, even in just a specialized role addressing the power play, would at least show a desire to bring in new ideas to fix the biggest issue from the past season.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

A couple of RFAs that I would be targeting are Swedish wingers Simon Holmstrom (NYI) and Jonatan Berggren (Det). There are obviously many many more. Both of these guys would look good on a third scoring line.

Holmstrom may or may not be qualified IMO. Berggren certainly would be. I wonder if either Lou or Stevie-Y would have any interest in Reilly Smith? Detroit might have interest in Lars Eller and/or Noel Acciari as well. I think the Isles are looking to get younger in their bottom six.

Joe Veleno is another who has been mentioned before. Not sure he gets a QO. Can play LW or C.

And then there are two Predators, Juuso Parssinen and Philip Tomasino. I assume both get qualified, but not a certainty.

I think it is an exciting time for this franchise with the ASSUMPTION that we are going to move on from a few more vets and target some of these young NHLers.

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

I also have a Pens tattoo, but since it's the pigeon logo, I guess it doesn't count.

In my defense, I got it in 1999 when I was on a port visit in Thailand, a country known for it's safety standards.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1801008221563294188

Buckle up for a month or two of dumb Laine rumors.

 

[SEALBound]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1801008221563294188

Buckle up for a month or two of dumb Laine rumors.

Came straight to this thread for this.

I mean, it's certainly in the realm of "dumb" but in my opinion, it's less dumb than Dubois, KK, etc. Not as great as Marner or Necas but I think with the support we could give Laine, I think he could do well. If we are looking for an extra, high-end trigger on the PP...he'd be our guy.

Then my dream from 2016 of having both Laine and Puljujarvi on the team would be complete!

 

[Gurglesons]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1801008221563294188

Buckle up for a month or two of dumb Laine rumors.

If you can get out of Smith or Rakell you do it. It's only a two year deal. You hope you can turn him around this season and then flip him for a return next season.

 

[SEALBound]

A couple of RFAs that I would be targeting are Swedish wingers Simon Holmstrom (NYI) and Jonatan Berggren (Det). There are obviously many many more. Both of these guys would look good on a third scoring line.

Holmstrom may or may not be qualified IMO. Berggren certainly would be. I wonder if either Lou or Stevie-Y would have any interest in Reilly Smith? Detroit might have interest in Lars Eller and/or Noel Acciari as well. I think the Isles are looking to get younger in their bottom six.

Joe Veleno is another who has been mentioned before. Not sure he gets a QO. Can play LW or C.

And then there are two Predators, Juuso Parssinen and Philip Tomasino. I assume both get qualified, but not a certainty.

I think it is an exciting time for this franchise with the ASSUMPTION that we are going to move on from a few more vets and target some of these young NHLers.

Berggren would be a good target but I think Yzerman would be wanting a guy like Rust in return.

Parssinen and Tomasino are a big part of Nashville's future. I highly doubt they give them up.

 

[Gurglesons]

A couple of RFAs that I would be targeting are Swedish wingers Simon Holmstrom (NYI) and Jonatan Berggren (Det). There are obviously many many more. Both of these guys would look good on a third scoring line.

Holmstrom may or may not be qualified IMO. Berggren certainly would be. I wonder if either Lou or Stevie-Y would have any interest in Reilly Smith? Detroit might have interest in Lars Eller and/or Noel Acciari as well. I think the Isles are looking to get younger in their bottom six.

Joe Veleno is another who has been mentioned before. Not sure he gets a QO. Can play LW or C.

And then there are two Predators, Juuso Parssinen and Philip Tomasino. I assume both get qualified, but not a certainty.

I think it is an exciting time for this franchise with the ASSUMPTION that we are going to move on from a few more vets and target some of these young NHLers.

lol come on dude.

There is no chance in hell the Predators do not qualify both of those players.

I could easily see them trading Tomasino, but not qualifying him is insanity.

 

[Gurglesons]

I feel like who ever acquires Laine is going to get an absolute gem tbh.

Winnipeg is a shit hole.

Columbus is arguably the most dysfunctional team in the league since he's gotten there.

He also was nearly a PPG player in Columbus prior to this year.

Probably turns back into a 35 - 35 type guy.

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

I just don’t take much stock in a PP coach being that meaningful to a veteran team. Especially this one.

Yeah it would be awesome to have some new wrinkles in the power play. If anything, they need a drill sergeant of a coach to just scream at these guys to stop being so damn lackadaisical.

I truly feel that was 80% of our woes on the PP. No movement. Players standing in one spot not moving their feet and passing the puck back and forth.

Then 10% each of not having a good net front presence. Then I will split up the remaining 10 on coaching and needing to find a right wing trigger man that has a good shot. Fine on the left letting Malkin wind up and go for glory.

 

[Jacob]

I think Laine is cooked both mentally and physically. I mean it’s probably still worth a roll of the dice but I think he never hits 30 again. Back issues, shoulder issues, mental issues, barely moves on the ice even when he’s healthy.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Laine sucks. He's got talent and might turn it around, but there's a reason he's being made available for the third time. /shrug

Maybe he sorts his shit out, but it won't be under Sullivan.

 

[Gurglesons]

I think Laine is cooked both mentally and physically. I mean it’s probably still worth a roll of the dice but I think he never hits 30 again. Back issues, shoulder issues, mental issues, barely moves on the ice even when he’s healthy.

What back issues? This is the second time I've seen an HFPens poster reference to reoccuring injury he's never had to my knowledge.

He paced for 30 goals two of the last three seasons.

Laine sucks. He's got talent and might turn it around, but there's a reason he's being made available for the third time. /shrug

Maybe he sorts his shit out, but it won't be under Sullivan.

A third time?

What are we even talking about here?

He's been on two teams in his career.

 

[Turin]

I want Laine, but he wouldn’t fit either Malkin or Crosby. He only fits Malkin if a very dedicated fast/responsible winger on the other side, or if Malkin is moved to the wing and the Pens also get a 2nd line center.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

What back issues? This is the second time I've seen an HFPens poster reference an injury he's never had.

He paced for 30 goals two of the last three seasons.



A third time?

What are we even talking about here?

He's been on two teams in his career.

I should've said he was gonna be on his third team, you're right. My bad.

Anyway, no thanks. Dude's a long shot reclamation project and Sullivan's not gonna get the most out of him and sort his shit out. More like Sullivan's gonna get sick of his inconsistent effort and put him on soon-to-be 3C Wennberg's wing after like two weeks, and then we'll spend the rest of Laine's contract bitching about it. You know it's gonna happen, it's the most easily predictable shit ever.

 

[Gurglesons]

I should've said he was gonna be on his third team, you're right. My bad.

Anyway, no thanks. Dude's a long shot reclamation project and Sullivan's not gonna get the most out of him and sort his shit out. More like Sullivan's gonna get sick of his inconsistent effort and put him on soon-to-be 3C Wennberg's wing after like two weeks, and then we'll spend the rest of Laine's contract bitching about it. You know it's gonna happen, it's the most easily predictable shit ever.

That's a worthwhile complaint. I just think it's bizarre how many people are acting like Laine's career is over after one bad season.

He's been pretty solid in CBUS and that franchise is a flaming tire in the toilet.

His cap is a little high and he's not the talent some thought when he came into the league, but I guarantee wherever he goes if he is healthy he comes out looking solid.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I want Laine, but he wouldn’t fit either Malkin or Crosby. He only fits Malkin if a very dedicated fast/responsible winger on the other side, or if Malkin is moved to the wing and the Pens also get a 2nd line center.

You mean like Bunting? A line of Bunting, Malkin, Laine could and would work. The only issue is Mike Sullivan would want to make adjustments to Laine's game which will make him quit the NHL for mental health reasons because Mike Sullivan took a bloke with a lethal arsenal of shots and wanted him to play more defense and pass first.

I will always remember Mike Sullivan's "plan" for Daniel Sprong which now speaks volumes of why this team is the way it is - He wanted Sprong to adjust his game to fit Crosby's game, as in, he didn't like Sprong wanting to shoot when he had the puck and wanted to dish it back to Crosby, ironically, Sprong playing with Ovechkin was told by Ovechkin that if he ever passes back to him when he has a shot, Ovechkin will be pissed off and so Sprong went back to his instincts. This is why so many shoot first lads from WBS come up and are suddenly pass first. It's what this staff wants, feed it all to Sid or Geno and that's not what either of those 2 actually want.

So really, Laine would be great, this coach would definitely f*** it up though.

 

[SomeDude]

Laine is the kind of chance we should be taking. Still only 26, should cost minimal assets, and only 2 years left if he flames out.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

That's a worthwhile complaint. I just think it's bizarre how many people are acting like Laine's career is over after one bad season.

He's been pretty solid in CBUS and that franchise is a flaming tire in the toilet.

His cap is a little high and he's not the talent some thought when he came into the league, but I guarantee wherever he goes if he is healthy he comes out looking solid.

I don't think he's been that good in Columbus tbh, and their fans seem to be sick and tired of his inconsistency and injury issues. Not saying fans are the be all, end all when it comes to talent evaluation but they've watched this guy far more than we have for years at this point.

On pace doesn't really matter when a guy misses so much time so consistently--hasn't he he missed something like 130ish games since 2019-20? At that point, it doesn't matter if he's pacing for a 35g, 75pt guy. You're getting like a 50-55pt dude because he's almost a lock to miss so much time.

I dunno. Maybe he finds his groove and settles in somewhere, but I imagine it'll be in a place like Colorado where he can sorta be out of the spotlight and play with a good coach and good players.

Again, if they're fine taking Rakell and nothing of value, sure. Take a swing. But it's absolutely gonna be a shitshow if he ends up here, almost guaranteed. This team, and specifically coach, seems like a nightmare scenario for a guy like Laine.

 

[The Old Master]

Adding someone like Nelson, even in just a specialized role addressing the power play, would at least show a desire to bring in new ideas to fix the biggest issue from the past season.

if you were nelson would you want to work for sully?

 

[Jacob]

What back issues? This is the second time I've seen an HFPens poster reference to reoccuring injury he's never had to my knowledge.

He paced for 30 goals two of the last three seasons.



A third time?

What are we even talking about here?

He's been on two teams in his career.

Sometime in Winnipeg he said he played a year with a back injury and there were questions on if it’d need surgery or just rehab. I think he rehabbed but the next season said it was still bothering him. All I can find is this though:

Laine had back injury throughout season - TSN.ca

Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine said Monday he dealt with a back injury throughout the regular season and was slowed by a groin issue in the playoffs. "Nothing I couldn't handle," Laine said of the injuries at the Jets season-ending media availability.

www.tsn.ca

I think Nelson’s goal is an NHL head job. He’s already been an NHL assistant at various times so it wouldn’t really benefit him career-wise to go from AHL head coach to NHL assistant, a lateral move and a job he’s already got on his resume.

 

[MayorofWBS]

Does Columbus still see us as big rivals? I don't think they will trade with us. Don't crap in your own backyard.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

if you were nelson would you want to work for sully?

If he wants to get back to the NHL for one last chance, time is running out. He's 55.

 

[Turin]

Yea his back issues started in Winnipeg. It’s not like he somehow became a worse skater after 2018 for no reason. Should still inquire if the price is right.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

I think Nelson’s goal is an NHL head job. He’s already been an NHL assistant at various times so it wouldn’t really benefit him career-wise to go from AHL head coach to NHL assistant, a lateral move and a job he’s already got on his resume.

That window may be closing, though, and he's not getting much consideration despite Hershey's success.

He's on the Vellucci path.