Salary Cap: Pens Summer Salary Thread: Dull days of August... Oooo! A trade!

[HandshakeLine]

Our prospect pool is improved but it's still chock full of guys that project as bottom sixers. There's going to be endless bitching in the threads this year about how Sullivan is playing *insert stupid veteran grinder* instead of *prospect that represents the same thing but is 24 instead of 32* and like I agree with that but it is ultimately pissing in the wind either way since none of those prospects are gonna change anything about our future lol. Like if Sully blocks the next Teddy Blueger does it really frickin matter?

Good thing we signed a bunch of old dudes for twice as much as the young ones to perform just as badly in the bottom 6.

That’s what you might call vision. You spell it BIZUNE.

We should be thanking Dubas for it.

 

[Tom Hanks]

Cody Glass takes #19,

only confirms he will not revive his career in Pittsburgh and/or this doesn’t end well

 

[SEALBound]

Weird, because even the homer Sullivan PBP wankers were raving about Puustinen's game, but lordy lordy can't impress the Puustinen haters that clearly never cared to see him succeed in any case, there's a lot in our board and it's quite bizarre.

If you think Simon 2.0 is the realistic NHL path, then you're really just talking out of your f***ing ass, mate. Just admit it and move on.

I was one of them! I loved when Puustinen got the chance and generally speaking I was overall impressed and happy with his game. Again, I would love to be wrong here, but with the current roster and prospect pool, it's no hard to suggest that he might get squeezed out.

I just don't see enough "oomph" or force in his game to believe that he will have a super productive long-term NHL career.

Relax, mate. It's Puustinen. It's not like I'm saying, "This Crosby kid will struggle" circa 2005 or something. This is a seventh-rounder who's already outplayed his draft position.

 

[Tom Hanks]

Good thing we signed a bunch of old dudes for twice as much as the young ones to perform just as badly in the bottom 6.

That’s what you might call vision. You spell it BIZUNE.

We should be thanking Dubas for it.

I don’t mind our bottom 6 right now. I’d trade Acciari out though. Eller is good depth unless you get a decent offer or someone pushing up from WBS.

Not sure any of our young guys are really ready/good enough yet.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I don’t mind our bottom 6 right now. I’d trade Acciari out though. Eller is good depth unless you get a decent offer or someone pushing up from WBS.

Not sure any of our young guys are really ready/good enough yet.

It's been so horrible despite the money dumped into it over and over again that I think trying something new like young legs with something to prove is a better route even if it doesn't end up panning out. I also think playing in this system is gonna be rough on players in the bottom six and that Pittsburgh fans in particular and NHL fans in general make far too much of how hard it is to play acceptably well in the bottom six. Kuhnhackl was a Cup-winning depth player FFS. He was out of the league in a few years but then again who cares? Get the best you can out of these guys you've drafted and move them before they want paid. They can't all be Jordan Staals and Phil Kessels... sorry. Not realistic. Nor do you want to pay like 6ish million on the market to desperately try to replicate that... look what happened with Brassard.

I think you definitely need some "anchor" vets in your bottom six but this team has taken it way overboard for way too long.

 

[Tom Hanks]

It's been so horrible despite the money dumped into it over and over again that I think trying something new like young legs with something to prove is a better route even if it doesn't end up panning out. I also think playing in this system is gonna be rough on players in the bottom six and that generally Pittsburgh fans in particular and NHL fans in general make far too much of how hard it is to play acceptably well in the bottom six. Kuhnhackl was a Cup-winning depth player FFS. He was out of the league in a few years but then again who cares? Get the best you can out of these guys you've drafted and move them before they want paid.

I think you definitely need some "anchor" vets in your bottom six but this team has taken it way overboard for way too long.

Which prospect on our roster would you play?

My view is (should be, not will be)
Pens Bottom 6
Hayes
Glass
Eller
Lizotte
Beauvillier - I’d start him to see if he can be decent again.
Puustinen
#13th forward?

Send to WBS
Acciari - should be traded/waived to WBS
Pool Party - start in WBS, needs to force his way in

 

[Tom Hanks]

We’re not the oldest

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825920862672887922

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

I think Puust can be a 35ish point guy who is young and will be cost effective. I know the FO will probably prefer an older one with a higher cap hit but you take the wins where you can get them.

I saw the Oilers have surpassed us as the leagues oldest team. Hooray for that I suppose.

We’re not the oldest

View attachment 902423

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825920862672887922

Dubas is on the phone with the agents for Mark Giordiano and Joe Pavelski.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Which prospect on our roster would you play?

My view is (should be, not will be)
Pens Bottom 6
Hayes
Glass
Eller
Lizotte
Beauvillier - I’d start him to see if he can be decent again.
Puustinen
#13th forward?

Send to WBS
Acciari - should be traded/waived to WBS
Pool Party - start in WBS, needs to force his way in

I would have liked to have seen more of Poulin before waiver eligibility. But I'd still try to play him there this year were it up to me. I think he should be just fine in a bottom six role... I've seen nothing to suggest otherwise. Puus should be an offensive element to a third line who can move up if needed. I don't think much of Gruden or the much-maligned Zoho but either or both could have filled roles at least as well as flotsam and jetsam like Boyle, Accari, Heino, Nieto etc etc over the years.

I'm not saying there is much there to work with. Only that prioritizing bottom six in-house over filling it with every journeyman you can lay your hands on for 1-3M every offseason is preferable to me even if it's kinda pointless now for reasons outlined, earlier. It should at least be the plan moving forward. But I suspect it will not be. Training camp will likely be yet another pointless endeavor this year.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I was one of them! I loved when Puustinen got the chance and generally speaking I was overall impressed and happy with his game. Again, I would love to be wrong here, but with the current roster and prospect pool, it's no hard to suggest that he might get squeezed out.

I just don't see enough "oomph" or force in his game to believe that he will have a super productive long-term NHL career.

Relax, mate. It's Puustinen. It's not like I'm saying, "This Crosby kid will struggle" circa 2005 or something. This is a seventh-rounder who's already outplayed his draft position.

Sorry mate, I confused you with this other wanker that was literally whining incessantly that Puustinen was even brought up or talked about. Really sorry mate.

Puustinen's issues according to Sullivan when he never called him up the season before was that his defense wasn't good and he wasn't quick enough, both things that were debunked when he was called up this past season. When Puustinen was with Malkin and Bunting, it had this right mix to that line where Bunting did his best Kunitz/Horny impersonation and Geno looked more like his old self and Puustinen was the 3rd cog that was filling in the gaps of being playmaker and decoy and all three looked so damn good together.

The only time Puustinen didn't look good was when he was forced to his off wing with Malkin and Smith, understandable, Smith was a disaster for long stretches last season.

Also those 16 games with Malkin - He had 8pts, all assists, but 8pts and if anyone paid attention to his game, Puustinen is definitely a play driver, he's creating those chances for his linemates.

So, with Malkin, Puustinen was a 40pt player, as a rookie. Acting like 16 games is a lot is f***ing hilarious, Puustinen played 52 games last season, 30% of his games were with Malkin and another winger that really didn't work all that great, a smaller % was with Bunting and Malkin and they looked good as a trio and that's a lot fewer games. Also, there was no game on February 26th, they played February 27th - Ask me how I know, oh f*** I was f***ing there.

Also @Empoleon8771 you say he played with Geno in all of those games? Might want to check ice times bud, or you know, even just the line-up to remember.

Dec 8th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Dec 12th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Dec 13th - etc
Dec 16th - etc
Dec 18th - etc
Dec 21st - etc
Feb 22nd - Smith - Eller - Puustinen - RUH ROH RAGGY...
Feb 25th - Doc - Malkin - Puustinen
Feb 27th - Doc - Malkin - Puustinen
Feb 29th - Doc - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 2nd - Doc - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 3rd - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 5th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 7th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 9th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen (Sullivan started with Bunting, Crosb, Rakell LOL, typical of Sullivan to pull away a winger from Geno or did you want to pretend that doesn't happen either)
Mar 10th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen - Sullivan never put Bunting back with Geno, where he looked best, because Sully is a f***ing twat.

There were moments when Sullivan switched up Bunting with Malkin but mostly kept the same shit with Smith.

 

[Malkinstheman]

Which prospect on our roster would you play?

My view is (should be, not will be)
Pens Bottom 6
Hayes
Glass
Eller
Lizotte
Beauvillier - I’d start him to see if he can be decent again.
Puustinen
#13th forward?

Send to WBS
Acciari - should be traded/waived to WBS
Pool Party - start in WBS, needs to force his way in

For me Poulin and Pono are the main guys that need playing time. I like Puusty but I dont think theres much development left for him. He probably has a Simon type of career and then is back in Europe in a few years.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Right and since you have the breakdown, who was the other winger with Malkin when Puustinen was with Geno? What were the numbers, analytics, etc.

How does that matter? You said that Harkins and White got shots with Malkin before Puustinen did. That's an objectively false statement.

Also @Empoleon8771 you say he played with Geno in all of those games? Might want to check ice times bud, or you know, even just the line-up to remember.

Dec 8th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Dec 12th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Dec 13th - etc
Dec 16th - etc
Dec 18th - etc
Dec 21st - etc
Feb 22nd - Smith - Eller - Puustinen - RUH ROH RAGGY...
Feb 25th - Doc - Malkin - Puustinen
Feb 27th - Doc - Malkin - Puustinen
Feb 29th - Doc - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 2nd - Doc - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 3rd - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 5th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 7th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen
Mar 9th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen (Sullivan started with Bunting, Crosb, Rakell LOL, typical of Sullivan to pull away a winger from Geno or did you want to pretend that doesn't happen either)
Mar 10th - Smith - Malkin - Puustinen - Sullivan never put Bunting back with Geno, where he looked best, because Sully is a f***ing twat.

There were moments when Sullivan switched up Bunting with Malkin but mostly kept the same shit with Smith.

So you're proving me wrong by posting the lineups that had Malkin and Puustinen together?

Natural Stat Trick gives ice time breakdowns based on games for line combinations. The 16 games I posted were the games where Puustinen played at least 5 minutes with Malkin, which I'd count as a game where he "played with Malkin". But all of this is irrelevant to the fact that your initial claim of "White and Harkins got more of a look with Malkin than Puustinen" is a flat out lie.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Also, where's this idea coming from that Bunting-Malkin-Puustinen was this amazing combination of a line last year coming from? The three played 4:17 together in total.

This all just sounds like creating a narrative to fit an argument rather than actually looking how Puustinen was used in actuality. I don't understand why people on here do this, it's so easy to come up with real and factual things to complain about with this team. Why do we need to make up things to complain about as well?

Puustinen's usage last year is a really appropriate way to use him: 3rd liner that subs into your top-6 occasionally. With Puustinen, he spent 45% of his ice time in the top-6 (mostly with Malkin but a bit with Crosby) and 55% of his ice time on the 3rd line. I really have trouble complaining about Puustinen getting that kind of usage because it seems like exactly how he should be used.

 

[Tom Hanks]

I would have liked to have seen more of Poulin before waiver eligibility. But I'd still try to play him there this year were it up to me. I think he should be just fine in a bottom six role... I've seen nothing to suggest otherwise. Puus should be an offensive element to a third line who can move up if needed. I don't think much of Gruden or the much-maligned Zoho but either or both could have filled roles at least as well as flotsam and jetsam like Boyle, Accari, Heino, Nieto etc etc over the years.

I'm not saying there is much there to work with. Only that prioritizing bottom six in-house over filling it with every journeyman you can lay your hands on for 1-3M every offseason is preferable to me even if it's kinda pointless now for reasons outlined, earlier. It should at least be the plan moving forward. But I suspect it will not be. Training camp will likely be yet another pointless endeavor this year.

Going forward I think our prospects will get better looks because 1. They should be better to justify it(edit: I’m thinking more so from 2025/26) & 2. We’re in a rebuild.

I know there’s obviously skepticism from some because of what’s happened in the past but this year should be telling by Dubas & Sully’s actions.

Dubas - will he move on guys like Acciari who don’t give us anything really. If a young guy earns a shot from WBS will he promote and waive someone.

Sully - will he go back to more 2-way bottom 6 game style (we look to have the roster for it).

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I think we can all agree that the real thing we should be laughing about is the fact that Colin White played on this team in general. Big guffaw-points for being in the top six at all.

Going forward I think our prospects will get better looks because 1. They should be better to justify it(edit: I’m thinking more so from 2025/26) & 2. We’re in a rebuild.

I know there’s obviously skepticism from some because of what’s happened in the past but this year should be telling by Dubas & Sully’s actions.

Dubas - will he move on guys like Acciari who don’t give us anything really. If a young guy earns a shot from WBS will he promote and waive someone.

Sully - will he go back to more 2-way bottom 6 game style (we look to have the roster for it).

I admire your optimism. I think this is just how Sullivan is. I don't really care what Dubas is or isn't doing, frankly. He doesn't much strike me as the guy in charge here despite his fat paycheck.

 

[ChaosAgent]

I think Puustinen is definitely an NHL talent and will impress this year. I see him being Sheary-esque.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

That would be awesome. Seriously... even despite not being bullish on his chances. I love it when players like Puustinen break out. He showed a little bit in flashes last season that tells me that's not impossible. Just unlikely.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think one point I'd make regarding Sheary's longevity is that he developed into an effective and reliable 2-way player for the Capitals, he's not really what he was earlier in his career for the Penguins. If Puustinen makes that kind of evolution as a player, he can absolutely stick in the league for longer than the 1-3 year estimate I gave. I'm just skeptical of that because most comparable players don't do that. Sheary is the exception, not the norm.

 

[Gurglesons]

Puustinen is great. Guarantee he finds a role with another team if he gets waived or moved.

It's wild people are deadset on Koivunen being a massive asset with high potential and thing Puustinen is out of the NHL in a year or two.

It also rocked when our PP was actually producing with Puustinen on it and then we removed him for Lars Eller.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Puustinen is great. Guarantee he finds a role with another team if he gets waived or moved.

It's wild people are deadset on Koivunen being a massive asset with high potential and thing Puustinen is out of the NHL in a year or two.

It also rocked when our PP was actually producing with Puustinen on it and then we removed him for Lars Eller.

Is anyone acting like that? Most people seem to think that Koivunen's upside is a middle-6 guy, which isn't much different than what Puustinen is right now.

He was just voted the Penguins 4th best prospect on here, after Pickering who most people say only has middle pair upside.

 

[Gurglesons]

Is anyone acting like that? Most people seem to think that Koivunen's upside is a middle-6 guy, which isn't much different than what Puustinen is right now.

He was just voted the Penguins 4th best prospect on here, after Pickering who most people say only has middle pair upside.

Even if they aren't, I'm going to frame him that way just to be annoying.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

So the 4 Nations thing is basically Sullivan and Pals.

Sully with Quinn and Torts. I hope the US gets f***ing destroyed. Even funnier is Hynes is basically a Sullivan type and probably one of the worst options after those 3 and he was picked as one of the Assistants as well.

 

[Gurglesons]

So the 4 Nations thing is basically Sullivan and Pals.

Sully with Quinn and Torts. I hope the US gets f***ing destroyed. Even funnier is Hynes is basically a Sullivan type and probably one of the worst options after those 3 and he was picked as one of the Assistants as well.

View attachment 902441

It’s really sad that the US finally has a group that could be the favorite and we stick with those dumbass losers.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

It’s really sad that the US finally has a group that could be the favorite and we stick with those dumbass losers.

The cronyism hard on by Guerin and Sullivan is comical.

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

The 4 Nations tournament is a great way to make sure no American born players ever sign in Pittsburgh, unless they are old and from Boston.