Kudos to Montreal for capitalizing on seemingly every single bounce/breakout they got all series. Thats what you need to do in the playoffs as an underdog and they did it to perfection. I would call them the favorites against either Philly or Boston.
I thought the Penguin defensemen could not play any worse than they did in game 6. I was wrong.
Did the long seasons and short offseasons the last two years slowly catch up with the Pens as this year went on? Tough to say.
Did the long seasons and short offseasons the last two years slowly catch up with the Pens as this year went on? Tough to say.
And that's enough of this painful game. Being a Pirate fan, its always fun to look to the future instead of the latest disappointment. So, let's take a knee-jerk look at who will stay and who will go....Remember the Pens are tight against the salary cap (and will be for years to come). They have to spend on free agents/role players very carefully:
Defense: Thankfully there should be a good bit of turnover. Defensive Defensemen should be high on the shopping list.
-The only guys under contract are Orpik, Letang, and Goligoski.
-Gonchar would certainly have to take a paycut to stay. Not sure how much he has left at this point as he looked awfully slow most of the year while still being great on the powerplay. About 10% chance he stays.
-Mark Eaton/Jay McKee are 50/50 to come back. Mark Eaton is not worth 2 million a year in the Pen's cap situation. I think you could find similar players for closer to McKees salary.
-I think they try to keep Ben Lovejoy. He was very solid in limited chances this year.
-I keep Leopold if you can keep his salary in the same neighborhood. If not, he is gone.
Offense: Minimal but important changes. Basically, the revolving door of wingers continues. The faith (or lack of) in guys like Letestu, Tangradi, and Jeffrey will help dictate what route they go.
-I can't imagine the Pens have any interest in bringing Ponikarovsky or Fedotenko back.
-Guerin retires or comes back here. I lean toward retirement.
-Cooke is a guy that I would make a priority to resign, but I see some team making him "an offer he can't refuse" that the Pens can't match similar to what happened with Scuderi last year.
Will the Pens be back in the Stanley Cup hunt next year? With the right tweaking and a refreshed core, they absolutely should be......
Offense: Minimal but important changes. Basically, the revolving door of wingers continues. The faith (or lack of) in guys like Letestu, Tangradi, and Jeffrey will help dictate what route they go.
-I can't imagine the Pens have any interest in bringing Ponikarovsky or Fedotenko back.
-Guerin retires or comes back here. I lean toward retirement.
-Cooke is a guy that I would make a priority to resign, but I see some team making him "an offer he can't refuse" that the Pens can't match similar to what happened with Scuderi last year.
Will the Pens be back in the Stanley Cup hunt next year? With the right tweaking and a refreshed core, they absolutely should be......
Agree... keep Lovejoy and Cooke for sure.
ReplyDeleteOffer Gonchar @ $1.5 million - $1.8, and don't budge. Can't spend $3- $5 on a guy who's only usefulness is on the PP. He's the Pens version of Marc-Andre Bergeron. Nice to have for the PP...and absolute joke defensively. Some dope GM will pay him $5 for his name, so he's a goner. Just b/c Gogo sucks and isn't what we thought he'd be at this point, you simply can't afford a bloated contract to an overaged, slow, and lazy d-man.
ReplyDeleteThe only must signs of the UFAs, imho, are #1 Cooke and #2 Eaton. Cooke probably played his way outta Pittsburgh with a great playoff..but I think Eaton can still be had for a decent price. I'd offer McKee @ $1 mill, too. I don't mind having Leopold back, either. Make Tanger and Orpik your new #1 pairing...and pray Gogo gets the deer in headlights look out of him, and let's see what Lovejoy can do on a full time basis.
a top line of Sid paired with Kunitz and Dupuis ain't bad. Perhaps more important than finding 2 wingers for Geno is to find someone who will give him a swift kick in the ass. -6 for an all-world player during the entire year is downright pathetic. If you can get 1 decent winger to pair with him, I think it's time to start mixing Staal...the team's new 2nd best player...in with Geno. Dude is clearly growing into his body more, and could become a nice power fwd. Unfortunately, having a 3rd line C of his ability is a luxury I don't think the cap can afford us.
Move Max up to a 3rd line C role...and hope he has a bounce back season with less injuries. Adams, Rupper, and a few W-B guys can round out the 4th line. I agree it's time to bring up Tangraidi and see what's the deal. Too bad we gave up Caputi for a 6-4 fwd w/o hands....but I'll cut Shero a mulligan on that one.
Billy G, Feds...thanks for the couple years of service, and see you in the next life.
Lastly, while MAF took more heat than he should have with a watered down d-corp, I'd hire a head shrink to go along with the guy who's gonna give Malkin the kick in the ass.
Oh...did I mention escort Gonchar to the bus station for the first ride outta town? Watching him is embarrassing.
Agree with pretty much all of that. The effort on the fourth goal by Gonchar was the worst I have ever seen. He looked like he had fallen asleep while skating backwards.
ReplyDeleteFrom a pure salary cap standpoint, they desperately need a cheap Wilkes-Bairre type guy to become a legit winger who can score alongside Crosby/Malkin. I have liked Dustin Jeffrey and Nick Johnson in their very limited looks.
Having to pay 4 or 5 million every year just to find a couple veteran wingers who can be average is a real handicap against the cap. That money needs to be available to find some D help.
And yeah Staal could very well be a big time goal scoring winger. And he could certainly still play on the PK while doing it (might be the best pk forward in the league already).
ReplyDelete