Salary Cap: Pens '23-'24 Salary Cap Thread: "But if you don't get the President of the Pittsburgh Penguins on that phone, you know what's gonna happen to you?"

[AuroraBorealis]

Need to go 4-1-0 in the next 5 to get back to a playoff lock P%. Every loss deepens the hole.
The problem is we playing 2 of the best teams in the league coming up...
Maybe we'll get a random win against a beast team, like how we went 5-0-0 vs Tampa + Colorado last year.

 

[Andy99]

Need to go 4-1-0 in the next 5 to get back to a playoff lock P%. Every loss deepens the hole.
The problem is we playing 2 of the best teams in the league coming up...
Maybe we'll get a random win against a beast team, like how we went 5-0-0 vs Tampa + Colorado last year.

I trust us more to put together back to back good games against Dal and Col than grab a win against Ottawa. Young fast skilled teams are our kryptonite lol…win next two and they’ll likely go 4-1

 

[KrisLetAngry]

I think in general I agree, but let’s keep that 3L together for a few games.

Yea I'd go through the 4th line before DOC but he has been very lame.

 

[molon labe]

I don't think it's about making 2 PP's, but I agree the PK should be Karlsson, Malkin, and Crosby. The other 2 spots should be a rotation of Guentzel, Rakell, Rust, Smith, and Letang until something clicks.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I'd even add Big Jeff to that list. Outside of Z who's not the toughest player, Carter is the biggest body they've got. His legs are shot, but park him in front of the net. He's still got offensive instincts, he just doesn't have the mobility to make them happen. That's less of an issue on the PP. He could be our version of Corey Perry. Not saying it would definitely work or even that it should be what they try first, but I'd put him on the list.


Yep. It's Johnston 2.0.

The only way it works is rotating each unit for starts. Because, on average, PP2 gets about 40 seconds of broken time. I'm totally fine with that especially since PP1 always (seemingly) shits the bed.

Nobody has the greed that's required of a good power play. Ovi/McDrai get all the points and everyone knows it. Sid is unselfish to a fault. Geno frequently skates into bad positions just based on his style. The rest rely on those 2 getting them the puck, and when they do, they don't freaking shoot it because - Sid and Geno are right over there so lets pass it back to them. End of the day having even 1 deadly option is better than having 5 passive options.

Maybe we SHOULD trade for Ovi and just dish him every single power play. Someone needs to be 'selfish' on that unit.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

The only way it works is rotating each unit for starts. Because, on average, PP2 gets about 40 seconds of broken time. I'm totally fine with that especially since PP1 always (seemingly) shits the bed.

Nobody has the greed that's required of a good power play. Ovi/McDrai get all the points and everyone knows it. Sid is unselfish to a fault. Geno frequently skates into bad positions just based on his style. The rest rely on those 2 getting them the puck, and when they do, they don't freaking shoot it because - Sid and Geno are right over there so lets pass it back to them. End of the day having even 1 deadly option is better than having 5 passive options.

Maybe we SHOULD trade for Ovi and just dish him every single power play. Someone needs to be 'selfish' on that unit.

Sid remains the biggest PP issue. His shot isn't what it used to be AND he can't threaten any goalie on that wall.

You cannot QB a PP from that low and not be a threat to score...it's just impossible to have any success. I mean that's what made Phil so successful: he could QB it down low due to his shot threat

They'd be better off flipping Sid and Geno and going from there. Geno is selfish, but he doesn't have it on his stick enough from that point position.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Last game the bottom-six delivered the +1. The PK shut the Blues down.
It was up to everyone else to tread water against a bad team, and they failed.

 

[The Old Master]

Nylander has played extremely poorly in WBS and has been a veteran scratch in several games.

ok, i give up. what does that even mean to sully?

 

[Big Poppa Pump]

Sully's fix to the PP is swapping Rakell for Rust.

Don't stop there. Swap them on L1 and L2 as well.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I think DOC will break out soon.

We all just need to post about him maybe 10,00 more times, that should make it happen.

Doc is so confused with what Sullivan wants from him, he's closer to a mental break down than breaking out.

Nylander has played extremely poorly in WBS and has been a veteran scratch in several games.

Most of the kids in wbs don't look good vs the vets getting a ton of better ice time and opportunity.

They've finally replicated the big club a 100% accurately.

Puustinen even looks off. 145 games of 101 pts and he's never started a season pointless in 4 games.

Dubas is a useless f***. We're stuck with this shit until they finally bottom out and tank for the next one. I give up.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Last game the bottom-six delivered the +1. The PK shut the Blues down.
It was up to everyone else to tread water against a bad team, and they failed.

Best 200 foottttttttt

 

[Honour Over Glory]

The only way it works is rotating each unit for starts. Because, on average, PP2 gets about 40 seconds of broken time. I'm totally fine with that especially since PP1 always (seemingly) shits the bed.

Nobody has the greed that's required of a good power play. Ovi/McDrai get all the points and everyone knows it. Sid is unselfish to a fault. Geno frequently skates into bad positions just based on his style. The rest rely on those 2 getting them the puck, and when they do, they don't freaking shoot it because - Sid and Geno are right over there so lets pass it back to them. End of the day having even 1 deadly option is better than having 5 passive options.

Maybe we SHOULD trade for Ovi and just dish him every single power play. Someone needs to be 'selfish' on that unit.

Or you use the f***ing Norris winner that produces insane numbers offensively as a defenseman to Qb the powerplay how he wants and go from there. Malkin has been lost on the pp since he gave up hoping anyone could tee up his one timer with a proper pass. Letang is the worst player on the powerplay to watch, just dumb play after dumb play and then they just add the inner circle as the pp options vs what should work based on a plan.

There are poweplays better than the Pens with lesser skilled players. It's rarely the players in that situation than the coaching staff as the problem.

 

[cygnus47]

Sid remains the biggest PP issue. His shot isn't what it used to be AND he can't threaten any goalie on that wall.

You cannot QB a PP from that low and not be a threat to score...it's just impossible to have any success. I mean that's what made Phil so successful: he could QB it down low due to his shot threat

They'd be better off flipping Sid and Geno and going from there. Geno is selfish, but he doesn't have it on his stick enough from that point position.

The fix is so simple, it's really annoying. It's the one thing that Carter does well and he magically gets chances constantly in the 20 seconds he gets. Get the puck off the boards, skate towards the net with it. It's not hard. For whatever reason, Sid and Geno are completely turned off trying to create shots for themselves with the puck on the powerplay. They get the puck on the boards and never consider anything but a pass.

Do that one freaking loop, receive pass, skate to the slot thing and try to score or shoot for a tip. Kessel showed them how to do it the whole time he was here. Get the puck and immediately get OFF the boards and towards the net while still holding the puck. I can barely do crossovers and I can see it. Watch every successful powerplay, get OFF the boards and towards the slot with the puck.

The defenders know it too, they leave space when one of them gets the puck on the boards because they know a pass is coming, and then whatever lame cross-seam attempt gets blocked because they don't have to respect the shot. They both have ludicrously accurate shots but it's like they have no interest in scoring themselves. Shoot everybody Geno!

 

[AuroraBorealis]

At least Washington and Buffalo are doing even worse than us.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Need to go 4-1-0 in the next 5 to get back to a playoff lock P%. Every loss deepens the hole.
The problem is we playing 2 of the best teams in the league coming up...
Maybe we'll get a random win against a beast team, like how we went 5-0-0 vs Tampa + Colorado last year.

Hey we are good, top 10 protected pick!!!!

At least Washington and Buffalo are doing even worse than us.

Sabres played well tonight, Allen robbed them

 

[NeedleInTheHay]

Need to go 4-1-0 in the next 5 to get back to a playoff lock P%. Every loss deepens the hole.
The problem is we playing 2 of the best teams in the league coming up...
Maybe we'll get a random win against a beast team, like how we went 5-0-0 vs Tampa + Colorado last year.

If you’re looking at playoff probability on October 23 then your team ain’t making it.

 

[Fiji Water]

Some of these advanced NHL Edge stats make no sense to me. Like according to these stats, Jeff Carter is considerably faster than Zach Benson. Like, what?

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Some of these advanced NHL Edge stats make no sense to me. Like according to these stats, Jeff Carter is considerably faster than Zach Benson. Like, what?

Carter actually has a shockingly fast sprint for a 38 y/o, when he tries. The problem is he almost never feels like using it these days, so it's irrelevant.
I saw some bursts in camp and near the end of last year though, where I was like "where the f*** did that come from!?".
He could easily take Sid and Geno in a 200 foot sprint imo, if he wanted.

 

[Gurglesons]

Some of these advanced NHL Edge stats make no sense to me. Like according to these stats, Jeff Carter is considerably faster than Zach Benson. Like, what?

I mean, these are tracked amounts. I think the thing with hockey is straight line speed means nothing.

 

[cygnus47]

Some of the tracking stats are really interesting. Especially points. So much more could be made out of the data if it was publically available. Would be especially nice if you could change total/average/per minute, split up everything into strengths instead of just some things.

Total skating differences between teams are outrageous. NYI barely moves at all apparently. No points for guessing our skating distance on the PP is below average.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Hey we are good, top 10 protected pick!!!!


Sabres played well tonight, Allen robbed them

Caps are in a retool phase in a sort of mini rebuild. Sabres are just starting slow.

Weird comparables.

 

[lokomotiv15]

Sid remains the biggest PP issue. His shot isn't what it used to be AND he can't threaten any goalie on that wall.

You cannot QB a PP from that low and not be a threat to score...it's just impossible to have any success. I mean that's what made Phil so successful: he could QB it down low due to his shot threat

They'd be better off flipping Sid and Geno and going from there. Geno is selfish, but he doesn't have it on his stick enough from that point position.

They’ve been running a hybrid 1-3-1 this year, which technically allows them to QB it from either side wall, point, and, to a rare extent, below the goal line. Problem is they don’t utilize any of the offensive triangles it creates and instead end up passing back and forth and turn it into some weird Overload that, as you said, ends up running off of Sids stick way too much, and parameter cycling all their PP time away in low-danger areas. .

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Some of these advanced NHL Edge stats make no sense to me. Like according to these stats, Jeff Carter is considerably faster than Zach Benson. Like, what?

Checks out imo. Look at the difference in size. Would be surprised if it was the opposite for those two. Tracked top speed literally doesn’t matter though.

 

[The Old Master]

Checks out imo. Look at the difference in size. Would be surprised if it was the opposite for those two. Tracked top speed literally doesn’t matter though.

could, if used right.

 

[Sidgeni Malkby]

I feel like the lack of production in the bottom-6 is both their lack of skill and Sullivan's system being horrendous for non-skilled players. The bottom-6 is full of pretty proven 10+ scorers, which isn't a crazy amount but it's solid bottom-6 goal production. This team should still be able to chip in a few goals in the bottom-6, the reason they can't is because this team is allergic to going to the dirty areas.

The bottom-6 needs to play a crash the net, grit grinder type of style to get goals. Does anyone think they're playing that way? Of course not.

I do think they crash, but can't bring the puck there. Do they just lack talent? or too slow? or is it the coach? or a combination?

The teamed looked abysmal against the Blues . I will say Zohorna (and the 3rd line) was pretty decent, but that in itself is scary that a guy waived all over the place is an upgrade on our 3rd line.

Oh...and Jarry...
He's still being Jarry.

Or you use the f***ing Norris winner that produces insane numbers offensively as a defenseman to Qb the powerplay how he wants and go from there. Malkin has been lost on the pp since he gave up hoping anyone could tee up his one timer with a proper pass. Letang is the worst player on the powerplay to watch, just dumb play after dumb play and then they just add the inner circle as the pp options vs what should work based on a plan.

There are poweplays better than the Pens with lesser skilled players. It's rarely the players in that situation than the coaching staff as the problem.

I can't figure out why EK hasn't setup Malkin for the one-timer. It's a pretty simple set-play that just needs to be part of the arsenal. It's possible a righty setting up a lefty on the right side is tougher, and takes more time. Even though, you would think it would have happened a few times by now.

Anyhow....
The PP needs to be simplified with 2-3 basic plays. Ultimately all one is doing on a PP is creating space to execute on 1 of 3 options.

 

[Andy99]

I was listening to Benz podcast with Brian Metzer this am and Metzer was faulting some of the goals, especially the Kapanen goal, on Jarry overcommitting to stopping Kap…again, didn’t say he was the reason the team lost but said he needs to be better to start the season….then I saw this from Gretz this am, completely agree with this…if Sullivan is concerned about consistency, maybe he start Ned a couple games lol…(Metzer also mentioned that the team is not fast and needs more defensive structure and said it’s no surprise the only game they really dominated came against a slower Caps team)…

“I am not going to put too much of the slow start on Jarry because that is low-hanging fruit at this point.

I thought he was good enough to beat Chicago in the opener, he had a shutout in Washington, and then kind of got left out to dry in in Detroit and St. Louis.

Having said that, he is allowed to make a big save. And he did not really make any of those over the past two games and it has resulted in an underwhelming .892 save percentage through his first four starts. He has also allowed three more goals than expected given the expected goals he has faced. That is one of the worst marks in the league so far.

Basically he has played one pretty good game, one really good game, and two underwhelming games, even when taking into account what was happening in front of him. This is a situation coming into the week where you have a struggling team that is in big-time need of a win with a couple of great teams coming into town. This is where you need your $5 million per year goalie to be a stopper and step up to help steal a game to get the team going back in the right direction.”

Four random thoughts as the Penguins begin big home stand

The power play, Tristan Jarry and more.

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