Pens -- JAN 2020
- Thread starter COOL MAN
- Start date
Saw a tweet this afternoon saying this kid was actually picked AHEAD of Murray in his Draft year.
Btw...I am booked in for a dinner night at one of Healy's events in 2 weeks. Usually the hockey pucks are pretty forthcoming when pressed for some intel/info. Not sure which ones will be there yet (I'm rather hopeful for Frieds rather than cement head Kypreos), but lemme know if you've got a few questions and I'll do my best to level them at those I can sit down with for a bit...I know my first question... Did MM ask or is expecting 8 mil?
And since you mention this...he seems to play the exact same style to my eyes....6'4" as Mearsy mentioned and positional sliding side to side...
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I did lol...and ya it is I suppose, just outside town. It's starting to get run over like the Shwa to some degree with homeless and druggies unfortunately. I still LOVE the town, many great music festivals, bars and resto's to be certain. 10 mins South, North whatever is cottage country. It's a beauty spot....
I'm really starting to think I'd be overjoyed with a point here tonight...
Oh here's one I just came across from Engels you'll just love lol...get ready for the weeping! ....and not one word about our guy at the other end whom IMO was every bit his match in the 3rd....
This site has difficulty in handling SN media...I'll try and copy/paste it...
Wont load...look up Engels Sportsnet and it'll come up as his latest
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Lots have things have lined up for this absurdly shorthanded team the last month......tonight just wasn't one those times. Hope they can rediscover some energy before they play Vegas on Tuesday; sure wish they had TWO days off before that game. I think I'll be reasonably content with 3 points on this trip.....and downright elated with 4 points.
Meanwhile, I'm becoming convinced that Letang is playing hurt; aside his increasing mistakes......which everyone can see.....he just doesn't appear to have ANY jump at all in his legs. I wonder if he's simply trying to struggle through a time where they're SO shorthanded on defense that he simply HAS to play if at all possible.
Meanwhile, I'm becoming convinced that Letang is playing hurt; aside his increasing mistakes......which everyone can see.....he just doesn't appear to have ANY jump at all in his legs. I wonder if he's simply trying to struggle through a time where they're SO shorthanded on defense that he simply HAS to play if at all possible.
Kreider, might be on the block for the right price.... expiring deal at 4.6 per, so the Rangers will likely be looking for significant assets...he's a knob and a pain in the ass when The Pens play him over the years, which is exactly why I want him. Convince me I'm wrong...
Kreider's situation puzzles me from a distance.
Obviously, this a kid who can help a lot of teams; a fast, physical horse with some finishing abiliity (though everyone knows he disappears). I don't follow the NYR closely, but they have cap space.....and almost assuredly would have re-upped him some time ago had the two parties wanted it.
I have a feeling he figures.....mostly because he's conditioned by playing for the no-deal-is-too-big Rangers......he's worth $7+ million/season; on paper, right up there with Kevin Hayes on the overpay scale. And it's clear he's therefore not part of their rebuild plans.
My suspicion is the Rangers are probably holding out for a Taylor Hall-like package, which seems pretty silly on it's face. But as is the case most of the time, it's hard to see the Pens with enough assets to make this kind of deal at any point......certainly without a #1 in the package.....and I wouldn't bet on him re-signing with anyone before 7/1.
I myself would like to see Kreider in a Pens uniform....and he can really help. But I'm very much against moving a #1 to make it happen......at least without some private indication (as I believe Hall's people gave Arizona) he's willing to sign a new deal......and just as importantly, at a figure more comparable to Jake's.
BTW, with the Pens heading into Phoenix next Sunday for a game with the Yotes, was wondering about how Phat and Hall were doing:
Phat -- 9/15/24 in 44 games (-18)....he's currently T6 on the team in GF
Hall -- 2/4/6 in 9 games (-3)
Phat -- 9/15/24 in 44 games (-18)....he's currently T6 on the team in GF
Hall -- 2/4/6 in 9 games (-3)
As our proprietor doesn't like it when pieces from other subscription sites are linked/posted here.....because he understandably doesn't appreciate so-called "premium" stuff from this site posted elsewhere.....I myself typically will glean Pens-related info here in an abbreviated manner in personal posts.
But since the following isn't exactly "critical" information, I thought I'd break V's rules for once and post this light (but entertaining) piece here on a Monday......FYI this, from Taylor Haase, was originally posted to DK's site just before Christmas (that I admittedly came across just this morning for the first time).......
Sewerball brings ‘competitive mindset’ for games
Players all have their different pregame routines, but one game day routine that a lot of Penguins players share is a game of sewerball.
The rules of sewerball are simple. Players stand in a circle and kick a soccer ball back and forth, trying to keep it from touching the ground. There are different variations -- the game can be played two-touch, where (as the name suggests) players must touch the ball two times to try to send it to another player, it can be played as one-touch, or it can be played where players can have either one or two touches to get rid of the ball.
"It's a soccer game to get your hand-eye going and your feet moving," Jared McCann told me. "You try to give a guy a bad ball. You try to make him handle it, make sure he's focused, and make sure he's using his feet to control it. We're not soccer players in here, so sometimes it's pretty funny to try to watch the guys battle. It's all in fun."
"It's essentially just trying to keep the ball up in the air as long as you can," Bryan Rust said.
"If you screw up and have a bad touch and the ball goes on the ground, you're out,' Marcus Pettersson added. "We play with two lives, so you get two outs like that."
The player who gets eliminated isn't necessarily the last to touch the ball. If a player sends a ball in the direction of a teammate, and it is judged that the teammate didn't try hard enough to get to the ball, then the second player is eliminated, not the first.
"If the ball hits the ground and it's your fault, whether you hit it too far for somebody and it hits you and hits the ground, then you're out of the game," Rust said. "It's definitely a game of honor and there are some questionable calls, but everyone is good about it."
"Say I put a bad ball to Jared," Pettersson explained. "If he doesn't work for it and doesn't get there, we argue that he could have worked for that. It gets heated."
"If there's a disagreement you do a rock-paper-scissors," John Marino added.
There are definitely often disagreements. Penguins players play in a little open area around the corner from the entrance to the locker room, just past where Mike Sullivan speaks on game days. While reporters are waiting for Sullivan to talk, we can usually hear a player or two pleading his case on a call.
The Penguins typically play twice on game days. A small group -- usually Pettersson, Jake Guentzel, Rust, Tanev, and McCann -- play around 5 p.m., then a larger group -- which usually includes players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Patric Hornqvist (when healthy) plays after the team's 5:30 meeting. Not everyone on the team joins in, though. Dominik Kahun, for instance, told me he sits those games out after he hurt himself playing a few years ago.
After learning the basics, I took a page out of Mike Babcock's playbook and asked some of the regular participants to rank some of their best and worst teammates in terms of sewerball skill.
When it comes to who is the best, there was a pretty common answer: The Europeans.
"Dominik Simon is really good at it," Marino said. "Honestly, any of the European guys are really good. Soccer is pretty much their second sport."
"I'd say the best player is (Patric) Hornqvist," Rust said. "He's usually out there. The European guys are really good."
"When we play just before the meeting, I'd say other than me, I think Jake is pretty good," Pettersson said. "When everybody plays before the game I think it's probably Horny. Dominik Simon is pretty good, too."
"Rusty is very good at it," said McCann. "Horny is unreal."
"I'd probably say Rusty and myself are pretty good," Brandon Tanev said. "Jared's passive, he just likes to play."
When I asked who isn't that great at sewerball, Rust didn't want to give out any names.
"I'm going to leave that for someone else to say," he laughed. "I don't want to throw anybody under the bus."
Other players didn't hold back.
"I'd say Pettersson is the worst," Tanev said after some thought.
"Oh, this is going to be controversial," Pettersson laughed. "I think (Nick) Bjugstad is not very good. Johnny Marino is so-so. He's meh."
"The worst player, by far, is John Marino," McCann revealed. "Bjugy is pretty bad too, but Marino takes the cake."
"Oh, I'm not that good," Marino said without hesitation when I asked him who was the worst. Then McCann, seeing me talking with Marino from across the room, yelled, "I told her the truth!"
"No, I agreed!" Marino laughed. "That's fair. I compete though."
One player gets a little more into the game than others. After a recent hockey game, Sullivan said Tanev "only plays the game at one speed: Mach-10." That rings true for the pregame sewerball, too. I don't think he's capable of giving anything other than 110 percent.
"Tanev gets pretty intense with it," Marino laughed. "That's pretty much with everything he does."
"Tanev, he's 'Turbo'," McCann said with a laugh. "He just screams and yells, it's awesome. He likes to get the boys going."
"He's the most controversial player," Pettersson said of Tanev. "He argues a lot of missed calls."
It's a game for fun, but it's also a good way for guys to get warmed up before the start of the game.
"It's one of those things that's just nice to do before a game," Pettersson said. "It gets you loose and puts a smile on your face, and gets you in a competitive mindset."
"We're hockey players, right?" McCann said. "So we're competitive in everything. Sometimes it's funny to see the boys get fired up about it for no reason. I mean, it doesn't mean anything. But that shows how competitive we are. We want to win all the time."
"We play with the same guys before every game, so it's fun but it gets intense at the same time." Tanev said. "It's a good way to get going before the game."
"It's a fun way to get the competitive juices flowing before a game," Rust said. "Warm up the legs, feel the body a little bit. It's just a lot of fun."
But since the following isn't exactly "critical" information, I thought I'd break V's rules for once and post this light (but entertaining) piece here on a Monday......FYI this, from Taylor Haase, was originally posted to DK's site just before Christmas (that I admittedly came across just this morning for the first time).......
Sewerball brings ‘competitive mindset’ for games
Players all have their different pregame routines, but one game day routine that a lot of Penguins players share is a game of sewerball.
The rules of sewerball are simple. Players stand in a circle and kick a soccer ball back and forth, trying to keep it from touching the ground. There are different variations -- the game can be played two-touch, where (as the name suggests) players must touch the ball two times to try to send it to another player, it can be played as one-touch, or it can be played where players can have either one or two touches to get rid of the ball.
"It's a soccer game to get your hand-eye going and your feet moving," Jared McCann told me. "You try to give a guy a bad ball. You try to make him handle it, make sure he's focused, and make sure he's using his feet to control it. We're not soccer players in here, so sometimes it's pretty funny to try to watch the guys battle. It's all in fun."
"It's essentially just trying to keep the ball up in the air as long as you can," Bryan Rust said.
"If you screw up and have a bad touch and the ball goes on the ground, you're out,' Marcus Pettersson added. "We play with two lives, so you get two outs like that."
The player who gets eliminated isn't necessarily the last to touch the ball. If a player sends a ball in the direction of a teammate, and it is judged that the teammate didn't try hard enough to get to the ball, then the second player is eliminated, not the first.
"If the ball hits the ground and it's your fault, whether you hit it too far for somebody and it hits you and hits the ground, then you're out of the game," Rust said. "It's definitely a game of honor and there are some questionable calls, but everyone is good about it."
"Say I put a bad ball to Jared," Pettersson explained. "If he doesn't work for it and doesn't get there, we argue that he could have worked for that. It gets heated."
"If there's a disagreement you do a rock-paper-scissors," John Marino added.
There are definitely often disagreements. Penguins players play in a little open area around the corner from the entrance to the locker room, just past where Mike Sullivan speaks on game days. While reporters are waiting for Sullivan to talk, we can usually hear a player or two pleading his case on a call.
The Penguins typically play twice on game days. A small group -- usually Pettersson, Jake Guentzel, Rust, Tanev, and McCann -- play around 5 p.m., then a larger group -- which usually includes players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Patric Hornqvist (when healthy) plays after the team's 5:30 meeting. Not everyone on the team joins in, though. Dominik Kahun, for instance, told me he sits those games out after he hurt himself playing a few years ago.
After learning the basics, I took a page out of Mike Babcock's playbook and asked some of the regular participants to rank some of their best and worst teammates in terms of sewerball skill.
When it comes to who is the best, there was a pretty common answer: The Europeans.
"Dominik Simon is really good at it," Marino said. "Honestly, any of the European guys are really good. Soccer is pretty much their second sport."
"I'd say the best player is (Patric) Hornqvist," Rust said. "He's usually out there. The European guys are really good."
"When we play just before the meeting, I'd say other than me, I think Jake is pretty good," Pettersson said. "When everybody plays before the game I think it's probably Horny. Dominik Simon is pretty good, too."
"Rusty is very good at it," said McCann. "Horny is unreal."
"I'd probably say Rusty and myself are pretty good," Brandon Tanev said. "Jared's passive, he just likes to play."
When I asked who isn't that great at sewerball, Rust didn't want to give out any names.
"I'm going to leave that for someone else to say," he laughed. "I don't want to throw anybody under the bus."
Other players didn't hold back.
"I'd say Pettersson is the worst," Tanev said after some thought.
"Oh, this is going to be controversial," Pettersson laughed. "I think (Nick) Bjugstad is not very good. Johnny Marino is so-so. He's meh."
"The worst player, by far, is John Marino," McCann revealed. "Bjugy is pretty bad too, but Marino takes the cake."
"Oh, I'm not that good," Marino said without hesitation when I asked him who was the worst. Then McCann, seeing me talking with Marino from across the room, yelled, "I told her the truth!"
"No, I agreed!" Marino laughed. "That's fair. I compete though."
One player gets a little more into the game than others. After a recent hockey game, Sullivan said Tanev "only plays the game at one speed: Mach-10." That rings true for the pregame sewerball, too. I don't think he's capable of giving anything other than 110 percent.
"Tanev gets pretty intense with it," Marino laughed. "That's pretty much with everything he does."
"Tanev, he's 'Turbo'," McCann said with a laugh. "He just screams and yells, it's awesome. He likes to get the boys going."
"He's the most controversial player," Pettersson said of Tanev. "He argues a lot of missed calls."
It's a game for fun, but it's also a good way for guys to get warmed up before the start of the game.
"It's one of those things that's just nice to do before a game," Pettersson said. "It gets you loose and puts a smile on your face, and gets you in a competitive mindset."
"We're hockey players, right?" McCann said. "So we're competitive in everything. Sometimes it's funny to see the boys get fired up about it for no reason. I mean, it doesn't mean anything. But that shows how competitive we are. We want to win all the time."
"We play with the same guys before every game, so it's fun but it gets intense at the same time." Tanev said. "It's a good way to get going before the game."
"It's a fun way to get the competitive juices flowing before a game," Rust said. "Warm up the legs, feel the body a little bit. It's just a lot of fun."
Those numbers certainly aren't very inspiring from Phil...I'd maybe give him a bit of a pass up to this point in getting familiar, however his fave coach whom he had success with is there so....if they have any hope of going far, he simply has to be better, and obviously they also need the goaltending to continue holding up, along with meaningful contributions from Hall...I'm not bullish on them as I imagine some of you aren't either, especially the way Colorado and St. Lou are playing this year.
Yes, for a team that has had minimal high picks at the draft table over recent years, I'm not too enthusiastic to deal a 1 either, and that's likely the going rate. Dare to dream I guess...Simmonds would come cheaper but he's too banged up and slowed a bit for my liking...
Not sure you can sell me on Simmonds as much more than an injury-related fill-in (and in return for anything more than a career minor leaguer, or lowest possible Draft pick).
Lost a little contact with League news over the Holiday, but I still haven't heard a single negative word about Phat since he replaced Flower as the hockey world's absolute favorite ex-Penguin. His goal scoring picked up just a touch after his miserable start, but it's pretty clear he's yet to find that 7 goals in 6 games streak. As always, I hope he doesn't find it until at least a week from today.
But the Yotes remain about defense and goaltending......they remain comfortably in the Top 5 in the League in GA, while they're solidly in the bottom half in GF.
If I'm not mistaken, Engels is a Canadiens beat guy......so he's far more likely to go easy on Price (while being presumably quick to crucify guys like Julian and, especially, Bergevin). I have to assume Price and Letang have the same DNA among their respective fan bases.
ADDITION; I did read the piece and tried unsuccessfully to cut and paste it here (was filled with formatting errors which would have taken an old fart like me forever to amend).
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Yep he is... this piece to me however came out as WAY over the top. Like some kind of weepy apology letter. Wish I could link it, I coulda utilized a barf bag while reading it...
As it turned out, Calen Addison went 1/8/9 in 7 games for Canada in the WJ (had 3 assists yesterday) and earned a personal shoutout from Boomer Gordon on his NHLN Radio retrospective on the the tournament.
Coming off this event, you have to figure he'll get every opportunity to take (presumably) Schultzie's spot on next season's roster. Doesn't look very big......after all, eveyone knows nobody likes undersized draftees quite like the Penguins.....but I presume he can skate, and it sounds like he can pass it. Makes one hopeful he might have the raw talent to become Letang's full time replacement a handful of years from now.
Not sure if calling him a Torey Krug clone is accurate.....
Coming off this event, you have to figure he'll get every opportunity to take (presumably) Schultzie's spot on next season's roster. Doesn't look very big......after all, eveyone knows nobody likes undersized draftees quite like the Penguins.....but I presume he can skate, and it sounds like he can pass it. Makes one hopeful he might have the raw talent to become Letang's full time replacement a handful of years from now.
Not sure if calling him a Torey Krug clone is accurate.....
IMO, think (during his time as a Pen) Trevor Daley as a junior...similar build (he's not slight), height, and skating ability. In fact I think he's a better skater on the whole with his transition and a bit more upside defensively. He seems to know where the holes the opposition looks for are, if that makes sense...
Now whether or not that translation is effective by NHL standards? I guess we'll see soon enough.
Krug would fit too somewhat (and if he can make it to that level, well that'd be gravy) , he can draw a penalty similar, and has confidence on the O blue line...looks to be better defensively to my eyes, but definitely either doesnt have the shot strength yet or simply needs to shoot a little more to get to that level.
Long and short, he is fun to watch skate, dish the puck, and doesn't make you nervous while doing it...
I should also clarify...much of this kids time is spent on the pp in both the W and during the WJ's. In fact from what I can remember he spent almost the entire pp out there often. I didn't see every minute of every game but, I don't recall seeing the opposition with too many short handed chances if any at all during the tourney, which is a good sign.
Oh and it's nice that in listening to all the suddenly Swedish meatballs around here re : Rasmus Sandin's anointment as the next Bobby Orr, I have Addison to go poke them in their collective myopic eyeballs with...
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Peter Laviolette out in Nashville......I've NEVER been a fan, so no sympathies from yours truly.
In the what have you done for me lately file....not surprised really...
So....Hynes...it's no secret around here that he had the WB/S team flying during his tenure there, and tutored some damn good future Pens that won some Cups, so he knows a thing or 2 about development. Recent times in NJ not so great, however the talent level and mix on that team of recent is to put it kindly abysmal. He wasn't gonna make chicken salad outta that chicken shit...
Pretty damn good hiring if ya ask me....
Fat's goals are heavily weighted to PP goals. His 5 on 5 stats are 4th line-ish. I don't care how bad Yuk has played, his effort is much better and I don't hate him.
![[roll]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/roll.r191677.gif "roll [roll]")
didn't he take Carolina to the Eastern Finals vs Pens? That was a good run for the Canes
Laviolette is a flash in the pan everywhere he goes he has imediate success but not sustained success. His teams always crap out in the end. Its happens everywhere he goes.
He needs to improve the structure. Too much pond Hockey being played in the Ville. 5 guys getting caught up ice its happened all season long.
https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/decade-review-turning-point/c-313605028?partnerId=pit-fb-penguins
Lol...remember this DICK move? I do all to well...
Lol...remember this DICK move? I do all to well...
I honestly think you'll be ok here. He has been an above average coach everywhere he has been and in his first 2 seasons nhl. Involved pretty heavily with USA hockey development earlier in his career... In saying that ,this is his second kick at the can in the bigs and it is either his last or he has sustained success. I am betting on the latter because the talent is still there in Nashville....
Wont be staying up for this one...anyone? Let's hope we all get a nice surprise in the AM and the lads potted about 4 or 5 on Flower lol.
Morning from Houston; from what I can glean from the postgame coverage, Guins had a good 1st period.......and then got circles skated around them the 2nd and 3rd. But hey, I'd rather be the Guins this morning than the Knights; nothing more devastating than to outplay the opposition and have a loss to show for it.
Meanwhile, one little tidbit I heard this morning in the shower on NHLN Radio; Pierre McGuire was talking about the WJ, and brought up the last time the Russians won in 2011. Apparently, that team's top line was Kuznetsov between Tarasenko and Panarin......like them or not, that's a pretty decent unit.
Meanwhile, one little tidbit I heard this morning in the shower on NHLN Radio; Pierre McGuire was talking about the WJ, and brought up the last time the Russians won in 2011. Apparently, that team's top line was Kuznetsov between Tarasenko and Panarin......like them or not, that's a pretty decent unit.
