mikey's Thread of Penguin Randomness

[Gaucho]

Are we sure the Penguins' trainers know what they're doing?

[Gaucho]

Dumo is week-to-week, Marino is fine.

[nocera]

[faftorial]

Only 5D tonight?

[MR25]

Letang
Marino
PO J
Ceci
Ruhwedel
Czuczman

Should have 6

[relantel]

Would seem that Weber cleared waivers.

[MR25]

But he's stuck in a snowstorm and can't play per the tweet above

[faftorial]

Czuczman has 13 games played in the NHL with the Islanders in 2013–14 but none since.

[meow]

13 more than you, amirite?

[LITT]

Only 5D tonight?

some people pay extra for that

[Jim]

Only 5D tonight?

some people pay extra for that

[willeyeam]

how long is ZAR supposed to be out?

[MR25]

[Gaucho]

[Jim]

If the Pens had $5M is cap space people would be whining about unused space. Spent ti the cap people whine about no space. No Katie, there was no popular demand.

[mikey]

Told that Weber was just added for flexibility and depth (duh), the waiver thing was so that they knew they could send him down to the taxi squad at any time in the next 10 games/30 days (or whatever the prorated portion of that is)...so, nothing really new under the sun, but it doesn't sound like Weber is really intended to take anyone's job up here...

He actually didn't suck as a 6/7 before, he can move the puck fairly well...I've also seen him play wing before...

[shafnutz05]

The U's post last night in the GDT really resonated with me. This team is just not fun to watch. No physicality, no energy, milquetoast offense. The only thing that is "fun" is shtting your pants at the constant miscues in the defensive end. It just feels like the fire is completely gone.

[dodint]

Kind of reminds me when the team decided Johnson wasn't going to be the coach anymore.

[Gaucho]

Winning 5 in a row while erasing multiple deficits is a strange way to go about getting your coach fired.

[dodint]

Yeah, it's puzzling. I'm not asserting that there is a coup underway. Just that the lackadaisical play is reminiscent of that time period. It could also be the lack of training camp, being abandoned by the GM ( ), pandemic malaise, or any number of things. I'm not watching other hockey teams so I can't really judge the Pens against the league at large.

[Gaucho]

I think the difference is that under MJ the inertia was by design. Holy hell, what a nightmare that was.

[dodint]

Do you think their position in the standings reflects the quality of play? To me, by the eye test, they're punching above their weight and on their way to regression. Would be happy to be wrong but that's just how it looks, imo.

I have them finishing 6th or worse and missing out on the playoffs by a margin slim enough that their inability to win in regulation makes a difference.

[MR25]

Honestly, it looks like a team who had a locker room leader traded away because of "cap" reasons, only to see the GM bring in a worse contract.

I know the players understand it's a business, but when your GM hasn't had a plan for 3 years, and keeps churning the roster around, one would have to think that takes a mental toll on some of them. You want a team to gel but when you keep bringing in guys and trading them away within a year? Kinda hard to gel as a team, and you get what we have now.

[Gaucho]

Do you think their position in the standings reflects the quality of play?

Absolutely not. I have no idea how they are 4-3-1, however imo it's not unreasonable to think that they can play much better than they did so far. Question is if they will. Geno and Letang are in a funk, special teams are garbage, team defense is non-existent, goaltending has been meh, half the D is injured, the other half is more or less struggling, Guentzel is playing like a guy who had shoulder surgery, etc etc... and yet they have stretches and even whole periods where they look great. I don't know if they're merely having a bad start (record notwithstanding) or if they're just plain bad.

[dodint]