DD's Thread of Trade Deadlining Because mikey is a whiner

[The U]

A lot of people who don’t watch college hockey or the Finnish League are going to have a lot of hot takes.

It’s not like Dubas made this trade without comparing it to other offers. If this was the best option out there then this was the best option.

I’m happy to add some prospects and youth that aren’t THAT far away. And I like Bunting.

Tomorrow…..more.

[Morkle]

I’m excited to see what happens tomorrow for sure.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

I am not excited to watch this team play on Saturday

[Morkle]

Where Mikey at?

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

shotgun effect. Prospects are hard to predict, might as well get 3 lower value ones

[JC2]

Mikey said he was gone somewhere starting Thursday, so we may have to wait a bit...

[Morkle]

What message did management send with the impending trade of Guentzel?

“I don’t know,” Crosby said. “That’s probably a better question for them.”

If anybody could elicit a direct answer from first-season president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas, it’s Crosby.

The first time I disagree with Sid. It’s been clear what Dubas did when the team itself forced his hand. Crosby being alone, but the rest of the team failed Crosby just as much.

[MR25]

Who asked that? What a dumb question lol.

[King Colby]

So EP says Ponomarev is a legit two way center with a non-stop motor. Please let this be true.

It is. Lucius is also only 19 still so that's pretty young for college. And koivunen is 20 playing against men

[nocera]

I am not excited to watch this team play on Saturday

Were you before this trade?

[King Colby]

Who asked that? What a dumb question lol.

Horrible question. Wtf is sid supposed to say

[JC2]

The best thing about it though is that they're all still young and growth isn't linear.

I don't think many expected Jake Guentzel, a 3rd round pick, to play at a 40 goal pace and be one of the top playoff goal scorers during his career.

Man... I really miss when we drafted talented players outside of the first round.

As much as dumping 1st round picks for players like Reaves, Kapanen, and Zucker set this team back, the ~0% hit rate on recent drafts with our remaining picks has really hurt this organization.

Obviously picking outside of the 1st in the NHL is a bit of a crapshoot, but they were able to get the occasional player like Rust, Jake, Kuhnhackl, and even Wilson that were able to contribute.

This organization really needs to overhaul it's scouting team/staff (outside of maybe our Russian scouts). Even if they blow it all up, I don't have much faith they can build a contender through the draft without having consecutive top 10 picks.

[MR25]

I'm now actually really curious to read Guentzel's prospect reports when he was the same age as these 3

[nocera]

It’s really something to see the younger fan base who didn’t really know Pens hockey before Sid absolutely crumble. Some people never watched an X Generation game and it shows.

[MR25]

Idk, some who did have been crumbling for the last month too

[MR25]

Oh, and Pens are like 2.5 mil over cap so someone else is definitely getting the gate tomorrow (have to be compliant by 5 PM)

[JC2]

I don't know why it is, but when it comes to sports, yinzers seem to have a really hard time with losing in my experience.

[mikey]

Well, that got our prospect pool off the floor.

Jackson Blake was pathetic every time I saw him. A flake just like his dad. Minor leaguer for me.

No A prospects here for me. But I liked all these guys when they were 18 and 19. Will update when I can.

Seems like the drama started just as I had gone wheels up, of course...

[Gaucho]

booo

[LITT]

Thank you for your service jake. Good luck. We will miss you

[Gaucho]

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic on Ponomaryov:

I’ve watched him play a lot over the years and he’s a hard player to dislike. He’s always on the puck, he’s got great hands, he can penalty kill, he passes the puck well and he opens up to make himself available offensively. While he’s not the biggest, strongest, fastest, or most talented kid, he understands how to play from A to B. He’s also stronger than you might think at a cursory glance and uses his body positioning to come up with his fair share of pucks. And then he also has skill — enough to deceive, pick apart schemes with the puck and make plays off of all of the retrievals he wins. I’m a fan. He has some intriguing qualities, he’s versatile and he plays the same way regardless of how much he’s playing or who he’s playing with. I’m not sure if he’ll be a full-time NHLer as opposed to a tweener, because it is a little hard to decipher what his role will be.

On Koivunen:

He can be a delight to watch with the puck on his stick when he’s playing confidently. He’s a crafty problem-solver whose game tilts toward offense (he’s got work to do to become a more reliable player defensively, although he can hang). He can manufacture offense in a lot of ways off of the perimeter, whether that’s playing pucks into space with the perfect weight or baiting defenders into reaches so that he can cut past them. He can carve the offensive zone up as a dual-threat scorer and passer. I’ve also seen him look quite effective taking pucks off the cycle to the interior (though not consistently), even though he’s more dangerous in open ice. I’ve seen him twist and turn away from good defenders. He has also had a bit of a growth spurt (he was listed at 5-foot-11 and 161 pounds in his draft year and he’s 6 feet and 172 pounds). I still see potential top-nine upside with the right development plan and some patience, even if his odds of meeting it are low to medium.

fwiw, Wheeler had Pono, Koivunen, and Lucius at 6, 7, and 9 among Canes prospects, 4, 5, and 6 for the Pens. I'd say that's a pretty decent haul for a rental.

[mikey]

Generally agree with Wheeler for a change on those player descriptions...

[Gaucho]

So, is it Ponomaryov or Ponomarev?

[Gaucho]

Ponomarev, I guess. He already made his debut for the Canes this season (2GP, 1G, 1A). Might as well call him up and let him play.

[Gaucho]

Reads like he's a Fedotenko clone.