Jim Rutherford Appreciation thread

Post by **mikey** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:05 pm

shmenguin wrote:
Avyran wrote:"Redundant"? Fehr's a righty, a physical PKer who can take important faceoffs & play center.

I don't see that sort of player on this team.
Redundant in that we have 2 3rd line centers.

Perhaps, but they don't have similar attributes or handedness...

Post by **Avyran** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:08 pm

mikey wrote:
Avyran wrote:Klinkhammer+1st (turned out to be Barzal) for Perron? Only meh in hindsight, mainly because I'm really big on Barzal;
I'm gonna nitpick here, Avy, but not because of you or at you, but just in general...we didn't give up Barzal, Barzal has nothing to do with that trade. They had no idea they were getting him (hell, the "they" didn't even get him...the Islanders traded up and got him)...whether Barzal becomes Joe Thornton or Zach Hamill is not relevant to the trade.

That's why I noted that it was in hindsight. I'm saying I'm not super-happy with the trade ONLY because I know exactly what the Pens' draft pick got.

Otherwise, I fully agree with you.

Post by **shmenguin** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:38 pm

mikey wrote:
shmenguin wrote:
Avyran wrote:"Redundant"? Fehr's a righty, a physical PKer who can take important faceoffs & play center.

I don't see that sort of player on this team.
Redundant in that we have 2 3rd line centers.
Perhaps, but they don't have similar attributes or handedness...

point being that, in a vacuum, we had 2 mill available and a need for a veteran presence on the blue line. and we got another 3rd line center instead. i understand that you can't just go to the store and order 2 mill worth of vet dman, and i certainly like fehr...but this blue line is one innocuous hit-turned-concussion away from being a bottom tier group.

Post by **Avyran** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:43 pm

Current FA defensemen that are available & could play top 4:

Ehrhoff, Hejda, Franson

Names I skipped: Visnovsky, Mezsaros, Gonchar, Regehr, Wilson, Rozsival, Ballard, Volchenkov, Zidlicky, Brewer.

Who would you take from that group?

Post by **cadams** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:49 pm

Avyran wrote:Current FA defensemen that are available & could play top 4:

Ehrhoff, Hejda, Franson

Names I skipped: Visnovsky, Mezsaros, Gonchar, Regehr, Wilson, Rozsival, Ballard, Volchenkov, Zidlicky, Brewer.

Who would you take from that group?

Regehr or Brewer would be nice if we can get them under $3 million but we would also need to move Scuderi or Lovejoy to open up a roster spot. Unless you are OK sending Pouliot down we can't really sign anyone anyways even if we had the cap space to do it.

Post by **Craig** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 10:01 pm

Avyran wrote:Current FA defensemen that are available & could play top 4:

Ehrhoff, Hejda, Franson

Names I skipped: Visnovsky, Mezsaros, Gonchar, Regehr, Wilson, Rozsival, Ballard, Volchenkov, Zidlicky, Brewer.

Who would you take from that group?

I'm going to expand that group to include every single defenseman in the league making less than 3 million per year. There are a lot of guys i'd take.

Post by **Avyran** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 10:42 pm

And how do you acquire them?

Post by **Craig** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 10:45 pm

The same way the Pens just acquired Bonino.

Post by **mikey** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:04 pm

cadams wrote:
Avyran wrote:Current FA defensemen that are available & could play top 4:

Ehrhoff, Hejda, Franson

Names I skipped: Visnovsky, Mezsaros, Gonchar, Regehr, Wilson, Rozsival, Ballard, Volchenkov, Zidlicky, Brewer.

Who would you take from that group?
Regehr or Brewer would be nice if we can get them under $3 million but we would also need to move Scuderi or Lovejoy to open up a roster spot. Unless you are OK sending Pouliot down we can't really sign anyone anyways even if we had the cap space to do it.

Well, I think we could get them for under $3.00...with respect, it's not 2004 any more...Brewer looks done in the NHL, he can't even skate any more...Regehr retired months ago because he couldn't hack it any more either...

Post by **Avyran** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:48 pm

Craig wrote:The same way the Pens just acquired Bonino.

Guessing you want to slot Sundqvist as the 4th line center then?

Post by **Craig** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:49 pm

I don't care about the 4th line center, but yes, with both Bonino and Fehr, I still want to slot him at 4th line center.

Post by **Pavel Bure** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:24 am

mikey wrote:
cadams wrote:
Avyran wrote:Current FA defensemen that are available & could play top 4:

Ehrhoff, Hejda, Franson

Names I skipped: Visnovsky, Mezsaros, Gonchar, Regehr, Wilson, Rozsival, Ballard, Volchenkov, Zidlicky, Brewer.

Who would you take from that group?
Regehr or Brewer would be nice if we can get them under $3 million but we would also need to move Scuderi or Lovejoy to open up a roster spot. Unless you are OK sending Pouliot down we can't really sign anyone anyways even if we had the cap space to do it.
Well, I think we could get them for under $3.00...with respect, it's not 2004 any more...Brewer looks done in the NHL, he can't even skate any more...Regehr retired months ago because he couldn't hack it any more either...

I still don't get what happened with Ballard. Looked to be an upcoming hard hitting guy that would be solid and then... Went totally off the rails when he got a contract.

Post by **shmenguin** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 5:49 am

Avyran wrote:
Craig wrote:The same way the Pens just acquired Bonino.
Guessing you want to slot Sundqvist as the 4th line center then?

Like your d-man scenario, you are artificially limiting your options. The game isn't "what should GMJR do at the end of July". Building a team starts much earlier.

Post by **Avyran** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:05 am

shmenguin wrote:
Avyran wrote:
Craig wrote:The same way the Pens just acquired Bonino.
Guessing you want to slot Sundqvist as the 4th line center then?
Like your d-man scenario, you are artificially limiting your options. The game isn't "what should GMJR do at the end of July". Building a team starts much earlier.

I'm just working with what's available. Frankly, I don't see how the Pens could have shored up the 2nd pairing without weakening other places.

Post by **Beveridge** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:24 am

Craig Adams wasn't resigned. That's mission accomplished in my book.

Post by **Gaucho** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:56 am

There's still time.

Post by **columbia** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:01 am

Gaucho wrote:There's still time.

Always the optimist.

Post by **Silentom** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:22 am

Craig who?

Post by **shmenguin** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:44 am

Avyran wrote:
shmenguin wrote:
Avyran wrote:
Craig wrote:The same way the Pens just acquired Bonino.
Guessing you want to slot Sundqvist as the 4th line center then?
Like your d-man scenario, you are artificially limiting your options. The game isn't "what should GMJR do at the end of July". Building a team starts much earlier.
I'm just working with what's available. Frankly, I don't see how the Pens could have shored up the 2nd pairing without weakening other places.

i don't think the onus is on us to come up with the "how", though. fair or not, the "what" is still a problem. letang, most likely, will get his brains scrambled again, and then...woof. things are very very bleak. i appreciate him addressing our forward depth over the last 2 years, and it is the thing that most of us get excited about (more so than D-men), but we're in a tenuous position.

Post by **shafnutz05** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 10:34 pm

I've liked the recent trades/acquisitions, but it has taken me a while to get over the Despres/Lovejoy fiasco.

Post by **slappybrown** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:32 am

I for one look forward to letang playing 35 minutes a night in the playoffs

Post by **Tico Rick** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 10:35 am

shafnutz05 wrote:I've liked the recent trades/acquisitions, but it has taken me a while to get over the Despres/Lovejoy fiasco.

Post by **shafnutz05** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 10:58 am

Post by **joopen** » Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:24 pm

slappybrown wrote:I for one look forward to letang playing 35 minutes a night in the playoffs

Isnt that what all the top dmen do anyways?

Post by **mikey** » Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:35 pm

Just Ryan Suter.