HandshakeLine
A real jerk thing
I honestly can't tell if this team is trying to get Sullivan fired or if they've just shot their shot 10 games into the season. I hope it's the former, but both are grim ass options.
Salary Cap: Pens Salary Cap Thread: If we score 6 we win, its science!
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dogthateats
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Empoleon8771
Registered User
The defense really depends on Letang and Petry playing well, but the performance Pettersson and POJ have given so far this year makes me comfortable enough with these D pairs going forward:
Pettersson-Letang
POJ-Petry
Smith-Rutta
It's just a question of whether Letang and Petry are playing well. If those guys are playing well, I think that defense is good. If they're not, the defense is in shambles.
Pettersson-Letang
POJ-Petry
Smith-Rutta
It's just a question of whether Letang and Petry are playing well. If those guys are playing well, I think that defense is good. If they're not, the defense is in shambles.
AuroraBorealis
Back-to-back hater
Yeah I think POJ has shown enough to warrant some trust. Our standard isn't high, so I wouldn't be scared to play him middle pair right now.
He's young and fit. He can handle a few more minutes.
Hopefully Letang's back tonight, playing smarter. We still got torched without him yesterday, and the PP didn't score either.
dogthateats
Registered User
I feel like the below is my order with how safe/comfortable I feel with our Dman so far this season, which is kind of sad since POJ has like 29 career games. Maybe he is just good or maybe our defense is all over the place.
Pettersson
POJ
Rutta
Petry
Letang
Dumoulin
Pettersson
POJ
Rutta
Petry
Letang
Dumoulin
- Jun 13, 2010
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Eventually, there's going to HAVE to be some level of trust with these guys. We can't keep running Dumo and Letang 25+min a night because POJ or Rutta or whoever made a minor error. Eventually they need to get to a level where they are okay running Dumo and Letang 20min and the others at 20min as well. Rutta shouldn't be at 12min a night. Special teams are one thing but we need to get into a rhythm of rolling 4 lines and 3 pairings reliably.
BlindWillyMcHurt
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dogthateats
Registered User
Yeah I might even. Pretty sure Rutta has faced tougher competition too
Turin
Erik Karlsson is good
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BlindWillyMcHurt
ti kallisti
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Regardless you're right that POJ has been a bright spot. And to a lot of people probably surprisingly so.
It's not like he hasn't looked good elsewhere and even for small stints in the NHL, though. Maybe he just needed a real chance. Plus like I keep saying til I'm blue in the face... dude is friggin 23. Not pushin' 30.
I dunno if I actually want them to move him at this point. I think they need to find a way to have BOTH he and Smith here.
dogthateats
Registered User
I’m right there with you. I think Emp made the argument that he is blocking Smith, who I want to see too, but to me, we should have both those guys on the roster. Young guys who are cheap and full of potential
BlindWillyMcHurt
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They also don't know any better and will skate through a damned wall.
You'd think this team woulda taken note when they used that idea in part to, you know... win B2B cups.
dogthateats
Registered User
True. One problem that I thought about with both Smith and POJ in the lineup is they are both on the smaller side and not exactly going to clear the front of the net, but our current personnel haven’t been doing that outside of Rutta and sometimes Petry. Idk
Sidney the Kidney
One last time
- Jun 29, 2009
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I don't think we'll ever see a Dumoulin-less blueline because this organization seems to be incapable of moving on from "key" guys from the back to back Cups, if at all possible to keep them.
I think Hextall will attempt to re-sign him, and I think Sullivan will continue to play him 20+ minutes per night next to Letang. Only way those things don't happen is if Dumoulin has another serious injury or if he decides he's going to walk because Washington wants to overpay for him.
BusinessGoose
Registered User
Dumo was very key. He triple fisted those Bud Lights.
No team wants this corpse. Pens should NOT add what little sweeteners exist in the cupboards to do it, either.
Pens x
Registered User
- Oct 8, 2016
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What happened to the POJ sucks narrative? People were begging Sleepy to waive him when the season started. Reusing to give POJ away for free was one of sleepy’s few good decisions.
It’s almost like if you give younger players a chance, maybe - just maybe, they can play better than a career plug.
It’s almost like if you give younger players a chance, maybe - just maybe, they can play better than a career plug.
BlindWillyMcHurt
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You aren't wrong but like... it would almost be worth it simply for him to NOT be an option. This team cannot help itself. StK is right. They'll just keep trotting him out there even if he looks like he's skating with fifty pounds of mashed potatoes in his Cooperalls.
Trade
Guentzel is ELITE
- Apr 13, 2015
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Puljujärvi is having a pretty putrid start to the season production-wise (10gp 1 goal 0 assists.) He’s playing a lot more physical than he ever has, really taking advantage of his size. If he continues that, and the production comes back to where it was, he could be a gem.
Not sure if he’d be more than a lateral move, or even an upgrade over Kappy this season, but I’d be willing to kick tires.
Not sure if he’d be more than a lateral move, or even an upgrade over Kappy this season, but I’d be willing to kick tires.
Empoleon8771
Registered User
I honestly don't know what to think of POJ. I'd like to see him in an elevated role just because I'm having such a difficult time evaluating him.
You clearly see the talents there, his skating is top notch in pretty much all areas and he has shown some nice passing skills as well (both in the offensive zone and on transition). At the same time, he also looks awkward when carrying the puck and often skates himself into undesirable situations with the puck. I noticed that a few times when watching him in person, he can lug the puck but then doesn't really know what to do with it, so he just dumps it into the attacking zone. Which isn't a bad play of course, it's much better to do that than to try and dangle through other teams, but he seems to have a bit of tunnel vision when carrying the puck.
Defensively, he sometimes gets lost but has mostly been solid. I like how he's throwing the body, he has 15 hits in 9 games and I think those hits are actual hits (for as much as he's capable of doing). I think he's also clearly bulkier than Pettersson is at this point, so he has added some size. I don't think he has been pushed around that much this year either, which is a good sign. His only defensive issue deals with positioning, which is another hockey IQ concern.
I just don't know how POJ would look with tougher minutes because "toolsy players with questionable IQ" tend to have very much boom/bust potential. He has the talents to succeed in the role, it's just a question of whether he can actually do it. We won't know until he's actually tried there.
You clearly see the talents there, his skating is top notch in pretty much all areas and he has shown some nice passing skills as well (both in the offensive zone and on transition). At the same time, he also looks awkward when carrying the puck and often skates himself into undesirable situations with the puck. I noticed that a few times when watching him in person, he can lug the puck but then doesn't really know what to do with it, so he just dumps it into the attacking zone. Which isn't a bad play of course, it's much better to do that than to try and dangle through other teams, but he seems to have a bit of tunnel vision when carrying the puck.
Defensively, he sometimes gets lost but has mostly been solid. I like how he's throwing the body, he has 15 hits in 9 games and I think those hits are actual hits (for as much as he's capable of doing). I think he's also clearly bulkier than Pettersson is at this point, so he has added some size. I don't think he has been pushed around that much this year either, which is a good sign. His only defensive issue deals with positioning, which is another hockey IQ concern.
I just don't know how POJ would look with tougher minutes because "toolsy players with questionable IQ" tend to have very much boom/bust potential. He has the talents to succeed in the role, it's just a question of whether he can actually do it. We won't know until he's actually tried there.
BusinessGoose
Registered User
I know. It's the JMFJ addition by subtraction.
But if's that's the case, that we just want him not iced. f*** it. Make him the #7 dman.... The pens aren't going to get a better player, and they surely won't spend any cap savings correctly. So. Let him rot as an injury call up.
BlindWillyMcHurt
ti kallisti
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I totally agree. I just don't see them bucking him down the lineup any more than for shifts here and there.
Big Friggin Dummy
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The issue with promoting POJ is that he's either gonna be playing alongside an absolutely dogshit Letang, or a complete dipshit in Petry.
He's fine in a bottom pairing role. I don't know that promoting him because Dumo sucks absolute shit does anything but screw with POJ's confidence.
It sucks because I think Smith-Rutta would be a pretty perfect 3rd pairing. POJ might be an okay middle pairing guy if he wasn't staring down absolutely putrid partners. Oh well. Re-sign Dumo it is!
He's fine in a bottom pairing role. I don't know that promoting him because Dumo sucks absolute shit does anything but screw with POJ's confidence.
It sucks because I think Smith-Rutta would be a pretty perfect 3rd pairing. POJ might be an okay middle pairing guy if he wasn't staring down absolutely putrid partners. Oh well. Re-sign Dumo it is!
BlindWillyMcHurt
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Counter: this team is already forcing all sorts of terrible fits and arranged marriages of convivence all over the lineup. The defense can work it's way through some less-than-ideal situations, too. Plus I mean... such a great coaching staff, right? The best? They can coach, then.
If it's a disaster whatever. This might be a good year to be a disaster.
dogthateats
Registered User
I don’t think we are ever going to get rid of Dumoulin though so we probably will only see changes if there is an injury, which is pretty likely at some point
Big Friggin Dummy
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- Feb 22, 2019
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I think the risk is having POJ's confidence get shot, then go back to struggling at the NHL level like he has in the past. You undo whatever positive progress you've made with him as a player at this level, or in increasing his value as an asset through a solid first 10 games of the season.
I don't know that any year is bad for a disaster, tbh.
This shitshow's not gonna pull a 180 and suddenly be a blip in the rear view, it's only downhill from here as the Sids, Genos, Carts, Letangs and Petrys age out.-edit- As the great Carl once said; "It don't matter, none o' this matters." That pretty much goes for everything about this team, from where to play POJ, to coaching, to goaltending. It's all whatev' at this point. Just enjoy the increasingly infrequent nights where Sid and Geno show some magic and chill.
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