mikey's Thread of Penguin Randomness

[Lemon Berry Lobster]

Another anti-shemnguin player coming on board...

i don't know if i have a profile that i explicitly dislike anymore...other than brandon sutter. but that's mainly because of how people get confused about his actual value, and what the tradeoff is for that value.

i don't even dislike anyone on our team - even though i hate our team. if this guy plays hard, great. if he has some skill, even better. if he's physical, yippee whippeee.

Sutter does suck, but he somehow netted us Bonino and 1 round earlier pick...

[shmenguin]

Another anti-shemnguin player coming on board...

i don't know if i have a profile that i explicitly dislike anymore

There certainly is a profile you prefer

And profile is probably the wrong word. Role is a better choice

i want a balance.

i'm not obsessed with filling the team with a bunch of wilson/jenner/anderson type guys, but we need that presence to some degree - and we've been at a severe deficit for a while. we're nancies. above all else, i don't find nancies to be entertaining. not unless they have some other competitive advantage like in 16 and 17.

i want more hustle. i was a much bigger kennedy fan than anyone - mikey included. i like Jugs. Jugs ain't a hustler. nor are the plugs like wilson and grant that we trotted out on the 4th line. wilson should have been - but wasn't.

and we need an x-factor presence. kessel is that. super. but with how he's used, he's supposed to be reliable. not a wildcard. this is why i, at the time, didn't like the horny trade (shame on me, i suppose) and i still loathe the sprong trade.

and i want guys who don't f*** up. kessel is a f*** up. maatta is a f*** up. not in a jack johnson, "you did what you set out to do, but why?" way...but in a, "at any given point, you are going to ruin a simple play requiring toddler-level execution" way. it's hard to watch. i don't like it. maatta apparently means we let in less goals. but as a consumer, i hate watching him.

...there's a common thread here. this team isn't fun to root for. bangers are fun. hustle guys are fun (rust is maybe my favorite pen). a guy coming out of nowhere to pull a hero act is fun. not making backbreaking mistakes at terrible times despite controlling a game up to that point isn't exactly fun - but it's soothing in a way.

i go back to the tough guy well because i know we aren't good enough to win. but we're getting ragdolled in the process. if we're gonna lose, let's do it in style.

[Jim]

Oh yeah...Kessel. I dislike Kessel. But not because of his profile. But because he suddenly sucks for months at a time for mysterious reasons - which is not compatible with his role as a key cog.

Which months at a time did he suck in?

Pardon? Is this up for debate or is it prelude to a Malkin complaint?

He was obviously performing poorly from January thru March. There’s hard data. The eyeball test. Whatever you need.

Well, if 32 points in 40 games (0.80 ppg Jan-Mar) qualifies as "sucks", I am not really sure what you want from a guy that has a career average of 0.826 ppg. He has never been defensive or physical, so that wasn't any different... So, yeah, this is up for debate. People just need to realize that their misguided hate-on for Kessel is... misguided.

[NTP66]

Friedman on 31 Thoughts podcast says Penguins are looking to make major changes, says Kessel will be moved regardless, expects them to field offers for Letang but can’t see him getting moved, but he has the most value. Also thinks there is something to these Malkin rumours.

Friedman adds these rumours could be put out there by the Penguins to try and rattle Malkin’s cage. Friedman names Panthers and Rangers as two teams that would be interested in knowing if they are on Malkin’s list if he decides he wants to move on.

[Gaucho]

I call BS.

[dodint]

"Kessel will be moved regardless" is, at least, a definitive and measurable position that we can look at later. Good for him.

[NTP66]

I could see them moving Kessel, but I'm not sure how interested they truly are in trading Malkin. I also don't think they're going to test the waters to see how committed he is to the Pens. That's just absurd.

[mikey]

There's a relationship between GMJR and Elliotte Friedman...I'm not surprised (and it's been out there for a while now) that GMJR is using Friedman as an industry mouthpiece for Malkin...I don't think that goes anywhere without a team just going above and beyond (say Florida misses out on Panarin and they want to make a big splash...or Q has a guy there like Trocheck or Heponiemi or whoever that he really doesn't like, but that wouldn't happen til the fall I don't think...)

I've heard personally that Letang is not available...that doesn't make it so, of course...but just relaying the message.

[shmenguin]

The r/hockey thread is full of the “Kessel is awesome. This is stupid” takes.

Not that these people are proxies for GM’s, but I don’t think I’d characterize the situation as us not having leverage here. The dust has settled. His winter shitshow is in the rear view mirror. And his stats are looking very enticing for a bunch of GMs not loving their own teams right now, I imagine.

We were worse in 19 than 18. And worse in 18 than 17. And worse in 17 than 16. This isn’t a winning team. It’s not even a question if you get an offer that pays 85 cents on the dollar or higher...cause next year, that number’s gonna look like 75 cents at best. And we’ll still be watching the conference finals from home. Make a shrewd move now if one reveals itself.

[Lelldorin]

The r/hockey thread is full of the “Kessel is awesome. This is stupid” takes.

Not that these people are proxies for GM’s, but I don’t think I’d characterize the situation as us not having leverage here. The dust has settled. His winter shitshow is in the rear view mirror. And his stats are looking very enticing for a bunch of GMs not loving their own teams right now, I imagine.

We were worse in 19 than 18. And worse in 18 than 17. And worse in 17 than 16. This isn’t a winning team. It’s not even a question if you get an offer that pays 85 cents on the dollar or higher...cause next year, that number’s gonna look like 75 cents at best. And we’ll still be watching the conference finals from home. Make a shrewd move now if one reveals itself.

I agree, but these trades would be extremely important return wise. IF they move one of the aging stars, I really hope they get youth back...

[MR25]

WBS Pens signed a 10 year lease to stay in Wilkes.

[Lemon Berry Lobster]

Nice.

[shafnutz05]

Great news. Going to a WBS Pens game is a blast.

[Gaucho]

Good read that pretty much sums up where I'm at.

https://www.pensburgh.com/2019/5/7/1853 ... kin-kessel

[IMFC]

Another anti-shemnguin player coming on board...

i don't know if i have a profile that i explicitly dislike anymore

There certainly is a profile you prefer

And profile is probably the wrong word. Role is a better choice

i want a balance.

i'm not obsessed with filling the team with a bunch of wilson/jenner/anderson type guys, but we need that presence to some degree - and we've been at a severe deficit for a while. we're nancies. above all else, i don't find nancies to be entertaining. not unless they have some other competitive advantage like in 16 and 17.

i want more hustle. i was a much bigger kennedy fan than anyone - mikey included. i like Jugs. Jugs ain't a hustler. nor are the plugs like wilson and grant that we trotted out on the 4th line. wilson should have been - but wasn't.

and we need an x-factor presence. kessel is that. super. but with how he's used, he's supposed to be reliable. not a wildcard.



this is why i, at the time, didn't like the horny trade (shame on me, i suppose) and i still loathe the sprong trade.

and i want guys who don't f*** up. kessel is a f*** up. maatta is a f*** up. not in a jack johnson, "you did what you set out to do, but why?" way...but in a, "at any given point, you are going to ruin a simple play requiring toddler-level execution" way. it's hard to watch. i don't like it. maatta apparently means we let in less goals. but as a consumer, i hate watching him.

...there's a common thread here. this team isn't fun to root for. bangers are fun. hustle guys are fun (rust is maybe my favorite pen). a guy coming out of nowhere to pull a hero act is fun. not making backbreaking mistakes at terrible times despite controlling a game up to that point isn't exactly fun - but it's soothing in a way.

i go back to the tough guy well because i know we aren't good enough to win. but we're getting ragdolled in the process. if we're gonna lose, let's do it in style.

TK rules.

[mikey]

Ten years ago tonight...one of the best days of my life.

(Three years ago tonight wasn't too bad either)

[shafnutz05]

Ten years ago tonight...one of the best days of my life.

(Three years ago tonight wasn't too bad either)

Man... I remember it like it was yesterday. One month before my wife and I's wedding, I was over at her place watching it. I remember jumping hysterically and shedding some tears. Time flies.

[mikey]

I ugly cried at the horn.

[NTP66]

I ugly cried at the horn.

[robbiestoupe]

I had to choke back tears reading this (have to open in incognito browser): https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe ... 1906120083

[robbiestoupe]

Ten years ago tonight...one of the best days of my life.

(Three years ago tonight wasn't too bad either)

Man... I remember it like it was yesterday. One month before my wife and I's wedding, I was over at her place watching it. I remember jumping hysterically and shedding some tears. Time flies.

2009 was a great year for us too. Penguins champs in June, married in September, Steelers champs in...well, it was the 2009 season.

[dodint]

I spent the year in Iraq. The two weeks I took off for R&R coincided with the Cup win; watched it with friends. One of the best things to happen that year.

[NTP66]

91 and 92 are still pretty special to me, but 2009 was different. I had a buddy at work who loved hockey, and I think he was almost as excited for me as I was that the Pens won. And he was a Flyers fan.

[shmenguin]

‘16 was probably my favorite, just because of how much better we were than literally every team on the planet. We stole ‘09. ‘17 was a slog. But ‘16...that was the sweet spot.

[robbiestoupe]

'09 we stole, but we stole it from those self-righteous, "hockey town," Marian Hossa mother lovin' Canaans