Question About Dustin Penner...& Comments on Carcillo

[RABBIT]

Coyotes fan here. I post here occasionally due to the fact that I live in the South Bay and I keep a close eye on the Kings as well.

I didn't see a player inquiry thread so I apologize if this is improper placement. I just have a quick question.

Dustin had pretty impressive numbers with the Ducks and Oilers before coming to the Kings, but an almost immediate drop-off when he arrived.

besides the goal he scored that took the Coyotes out and sent you guys to the finals ( ) he really seemed invisible every time we played each other. I know all the jokes about him around HF and what not, but I'm genuinely curious, what went wrong? Was he not a good fit? Did he get too comfortable being back in Cali? Too much firepower on your top lines that he just didn't get enough playing time? I never really understood what happened.

On a side note, I think you guys will love Carcillo. He gets a bad wrap, and sometimes he can be an idiot, but he really tamed himself in Chi-town. You guys may not like it now, but just wait to you see his first scrap with you guys. He knows what his job is and he's good at it. Realllly good at it. Expect a few one ouch knockouts. I think he will quickly become a fan favorite. Sharks fans said the same things some of you guys are saying about Torres when they acquired him, and they love him now. In my mind, he and Torres are similar players, but Carcillo may have a slight edge on him in fighting. Carcy is an exciting player to watch and I think you guys will enjoy him. To be honest, we all want him back. He and Cliff make your team an intimidating one Carcillo has an undiscovered offensive talent in him as well. You guys wipo be amazed a few times when you watch him handle the puck. He is capable of 15 goals. I just hope for your guys' sake that he wasn't brought in so they can let Clifford go. I know how much you guys like Cliff.

Take care!

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[CNS]

Fat, lazy, and bad defensively. Basically sums it all up.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Fat, lazy, and bad defensively. Basically sums it all up.

Yup.

Close the thread.

 

[Primakov!]

His problem was that he had a split personality. There was a Dustin Penner that floated through the regular season that couldn't bury open net chances and this other persona that wakes up come playoff time.

It was a stark difference, like night and day in terms of play style and intensity. Once the regular season ended he'd be taking people out in the corners, shielding pucks from defenders with his body, keeping the play bottled up in the offensive zone with hustle and smart board play...

If Penner could consistently play that way during the regular season then Dean Lombardi would have easily retained him at a 2 million dollar price tag without even blinking.

The perpetual Houdini disappearing act was getting ridiculous though.

 

[King'sPawn]

Thanks for the discussion, rabbit. Hope you continue to post on here

With Penner, he's simply a soft, inconsistent, one dimensional winger. I think people overstate "playoff Penner" where he does try harder to get himself space, but he's still not very impressive. He doesn't use his size effectively, and his work ethic as a whole is just not acceptable.

I begrudgingly accepted Penner getting a contract renewal with the Kings after the cup run, because I HOPED he would continue with an elevated game after winning it again in LA. He was just as underwhelming, though. I sure as **** didn't want him to come back AGAIN, and I am very happy he went to Anaheim.

As for Carcillo, I appreciate the positive feedback, but I am not a fan at all. Hopefully he can prove me wrong.

 

[BigBrown]

He can be so good when he tries which makes the contrast to when he's not quite apparent. Neither Terry Murray nor Darryl Sutter are very accepting coaches when it comes to putting in less than full effort as a complementary winger, so he was often benched during games, bumped down the lineup or simply scratched in order to get him to focus and pick up his game. It never worked, which made it a cycle of failure for him.

I think Penner is a player you just need to play top minutes every night, pat him on the back, say he's the greatest even when he's dogging it and eventually he'll turn it around for you. You gotta take the good with the bad and just play him through thick and thin because tough love just doesn't work on the guy, it only makes things worse. Not saying it's necessarily a good idea for the team but that's my theory for getting the best out of Penner.