Wasn’t sure where to put this…I thought this was a pretty good summary of the moves made so far…from another poster on another site…
“Here's what I envision Ron Hextall's plan was this offseason:
1. Bring the core back
--Why it is failing? Hextall, Burke, and management believed that poor goaltending/goalie injuries was the true cause of last seasons early demise. That may be true, but age is also a factor. This team is not young, and the decline of the big 3 is coming. Even if their regular season allows them to still put up a point per game pace, their playoff performances have not been anywhere close to enough for this team to succeed in the post season.
2. Add Jeff Petry
--Why it is failing? The reasoning was, if Letang goes down with injury, Petry is better suited to be a #1 d-man replacement than Matheson. Petry also added some size and physical play from the backend. The reality is, Letang isn't injured...just awful, and Petry hasn't been anywhere near as advertised. Meanwhile Matheson has looked good in his limited Montreal play (started season injured).
3. Add Jan Rutta
--Why it is failing? I'd say this one isn't failing. Some questioned the salary, but Rutta has been pretty rock solid so far. I don't think Ruhwedel or Friedman were as capable, just cheaper.
4. Add Ty Smith
--Why it is failing? Marino had clearly regressed in the Penguins system. There were rumors of too much involvement from his dad/parents. The Penguins were enamored with Ty Smith's offensive abilities. I like the player very much before the Penguins acquired him...but, it is evident his defense still needs work. Marino is flourishing in NJ, whether riding a hot team or playing in a system better suited for his skillset. Meanwhile, Smith is toiling in the AHL...partially because of needed defensive work, partially because of poor cap management.
5. Adding Josh Archibald
--Why it is failing? Again, this is one Hextall got right. I wasn't happy with this add. I thought we had enough in-house players to fill this role, but Archibald has exceeded expectations to this point.
6. Re-signing Jeff Carter
--Why it is failing? This one happened early, which confused everyone. Carter had 20 goals in his first 43 games as a Penguin. Since signing the new deal, he has 10 goals in his last 60 games as a Penguin (this data is about a week old). He's been great on faceoffs, but the decline is surely on for Carter. There will be questions of how much he has left in the tank come playoff time, as last year, he was gassed.
7. Re-signing Rakell and Rust
--Why it is failing? It isn't failing. Rust is struggling right now. Too soon to call this a failure. Rakell is playing well. My thought on both was always go with good value $$$ and term, so in 2 years, you can flip them both for picks to begin stockpiling for the rebuild.
8. Adding Ryan Poehling
--Why it is failing? It isn't. I think it is still a bit too early to tell what we have here. I think the vision was an eventual replacement for Blueger, for less than half the cost. We'll see if Poehling shows enough over the long haul to do just that.
9. The $$$/term contracts for Malkin/Letang
--Why it is failing? Too early to tell. Obviously the $$$ is great value, but, what happens if this team falls flat AGAIN this season come playoff time. Do you just run it back AGAIN with the OLDEST team in the league? Their locked into this group.
10. Re-signing Kasperi Kapanen
--Why it is failing? Because nobody had a clue Hextall was dumb enough to pay Kapanen a premium coming off a poor season. Kapanen's 3.2M salary was set based off his 20 goal, 44 point season in 18-19 in Toronto. His goal totals fell off the next season for the Leafs. He put up good numbers his first year in PIT, 11 goals in 40 games, but again, his numbers fell off the following year. Same money shouldn't have been an option. That was bad. A 2nd year was just outright asinine, and Hextall is paying for it now.”
