OFFICIAL GDT CAPS @ PENS 3/20/2016

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:44 pm

Yeah, that's on Dejan's site, behind the paywall. That's the gist of it.

Glad to see Dumoulin become a solid middle pairing defender. Jordan Staal, the gift that keeps on giving.

Postby **MalkinIsMyHomeboy** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:47 pm

Reminder that we're still waiting on @mikey to eat a clothes hanger

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:53 pm

Yeah, it's trending that way...ain't it...? Oh boy...how did he become a better skater so quickly AND develop puck poise...he wasn't exactly brimming with either ability last April...

Cross-thread hijinx: I guess I gotta for the vision insurance, because my HSA is gonna be soaked up by having a clothes hanger removed from...well...where ever it will get stuck I guess...

These plastic ones I guess would melt if I boiled them long enough...that might be my best bet...

Postby **NTP66** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:55 pm

Postby **columbia** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:56 pm

That's going to be difficult to explain to the ER doctor, but they've definitely seen some strange stuck objects in their time.

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:59 pm

It was a million to one shot, doc...

Postby **Rocco** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 2:22 pm

Stupid sexy Penguins... getting my hopes up that something good is still going to come of this season.

It's the hope that kills you every time.

Postby **relantel** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 4:10 pm

So... riddle me this... how is a head deflection a 9 foot wrist shot?

119 2 EV 1:18
18:42 GOAL WSH #25 CHIMERA(18), Wrist, Off. Zone, 9 ft.
Assists: #14 WILLIAMS(28); #9 ORLOV(20)

Postby **NTP66** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 4:52 pm

They also neglected to specify which of the Chimera's three heads the puck went off of.

Postby **MalkinIsMyHomeboy** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 4:53 pm

They also neglected to specify which of the Chimera's three heads the puck went off of.

Postby **cma3585** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:10 pm

Is it even worth inserting Bennett (basically what they're doing with Lovejoy right now) anywhere in the lineup with the way this team, and especially bottom 6, are playing? I know skill-wise he has more to offer than most of our bottom 6 but beyond that, can he slide into the lineup and not screw up the fact these guys are steamrolling opponents?

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:16 pm

Yeah, Bennett gets to watch for a while probably...he can rotate in with Sheary. But with Kessel, Hornqvist and Rust down the right side, the need for Bennett isn't there...maybe you end up at Sheary/Kuhnhackl-Fehr-Bennett at some point? Bonino-Cullen-Bennett when Malkin comes back?

Lovejoy is more easily slottable. Provides better defense than Schultz...Daley seems like the only player that can reliably play their off-side on D at this point. I'm not sure if Schultz can or not, I'm not sure that Lovejoy can...Cole can only do it with Scuderi, otherwise he is a trainwreck. We don't have a d-man who has the smarts AND the communication skills as Scuderi. So Cole plays the left or sits or Dumoulin or Maatta learn to babysit him...

Postby **Rx6687** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 8:45 pm

Speaking of Daley, he should get as much power play time as the coaching staff can possibly give him. That backhander was just sick yesterday, and not many d-men could have executed that. It reminded me of old number 77.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:29 pm

It still boggles the mind we got Daley for Scuderi, Daley's prior play and retained salary notwithstanding. Just an incredibly fortunate pickup.

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:56 pm

Talent evaluation comes into play again. Trevor Daley didn't fit the system, hated by Q, not used correctly...Pens identify it (did all of a sudden the player just get really really bad? Or was it a switch of team/situation that made him look worse than he was?) and swoop in. And yes, Daley looked like crap in Chicago, he looked lost, the forwards didn't even look like they knew where he was going most of the time...

On the flip side, the early returns on Scuderi have been really good for Los Angeles. He plays 20 minutes a night against good players, but the way their system works over there, they rely on players like Scuderi, Willie Mitchell, previously Robyn Regehr...all have a lot in common, not great skaters, but veterans, who communicate really well, positional integrity, smart. They fit in like a glove. Now, the raw skills of Scuderi are nothing to write home about - I mean, with no hands, you'd have to write with your feet...but the Kings wanted a specific set of skills to insulate their group and know what fits in their system (Scuderi) and what doesn't (Christian Ehrhoff)...and that's part of it for pro scouts, the guys that are scouting other NHL teams, the AHL, etc. - not the draft guys - that you need to identify players with a mind for what your team needs and your style of play.

I think in this "delayed" three-way trade, everyone ended up with the piece that they needed...it's a footnote in history when it's all done, but what an interesting little nook this turned out to be (for me, at least)...

Postby **Gaucho** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:20 pm

Not to rub it in, but iirc Rust, Wilson, Sheary, not to mention Kühnhackl, were all losers with no hope of ever being NHLlers. Or something like that.

Postby **columbia** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:25 pm

Whom are you rubbing it in for (as it were)?

Postby **MR25** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:07 am

I would hazard a guess that he's referring to the people who complained about the Pens being unable to find/draft talent that could contribute to the lineup, and in a small part, the coach(es) who apparently couldn't develop said talent.

The core issue with that sentiment being that they (the people with the sentiment) didn't wait long enough for that talent to actually develop and earn a spot on the roster. They figured that if a guy couldn't make it within a year of the draft or their signing as an FA, that they were a bust and a bad pick. While the players may not have been able to make it in their first year, they eventually have become solid players in the Pens lineup.

Postby **Algernon** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:12 am

Lets not act like the Penguins are developing the Dylan Larkins or scouting the Panarins of the world.

They suck at that.

Granted, they drafted Letang and as much as I have issue with his IQ, he is a bonafide number 1 D, borderline perennial Norris Candidate. And, I still like the Bennett Pick, although I doubt he ever reaches his potential

Postby **MR25** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 11:34 am

Larkin was a 15th overall pick. Pens haven't had a pick that high outside of a trade (Pouliot at #8 from the Canes) since they took Jordan Staal 2nd overall.

You can't develop talent that doesn't exist, if that makes sense. There's a reason Larkin is so good, and it's why he was drafted so high. The Red Wings didn't really have to do much in that situation. He only played 6 games in the organization before he made it to the NHL.

Postby **MalkinIsMyHomeboy** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:02 pm

I don't think our player development has been bad at all. Maatta and Dumo look like legit top 4 players early in their careers (21 and 24, respectively) and Pouliot is...hopefully?...on his way too.

before this year's draft, our forward crop has looked pretty shiesty, but seeing Rust, Kuhn, Sheary and then knowing we're still working with Sprong makes me feel a bit better.

Postby **meecrofilm** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:09 pm

Not to rub it in, but iirc Rust, Wilson, Sheary, not to mention Kühnhackl, were all losers with no hope of ever being NHLlers. Or something like that.

I think the first three, people still had moderate expectations for, in general. I know Kuhnackl I wrote off like two years ago.

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:04 pm

Yeah, I think our drafting is worse than our development...some of these kids were duds from the word "go"...CPZ, I mean, gimme a break...