TIOPS Daily Five: Chances slim the Pirates view Andrew McCutchen as a $14 million a year player for 17
TIOPS Daily Five *Rumblings, Musings, Opinions* 1. The Gretzky bias. Sidney Crosby on Thursday night became the third player in hockey history to have a Hart Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy and World Cup/Canada Cup MVP on his resume. The other two are Wayne Gretzky (1987) and Bobby Orr (1976). The other two should be Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr. Lemieux’s dominance during the 1987 Canada Cup in what was really the passing of the torch in Lemieux emerging as the worlds greatest player, saw him dominate the tournament with 11 goals, 18 points in nine games. Yet it was Gretzky and his 3 goals, 21 points who took home the MVP honors. 2. Andrew McCutchen in 2016: 24 home runs,
TIOPS Daily Five: Kunitz’ Last Season in Pittsburgh?
TIOPS Daily Five *Rumblings, Musings, Opinions* 1.If anyone wonders why the Penguins didn’t jump at an opportunity to move Chris Kunitz this summer for cap space and to clear a spot for a young player, all you have to do is look at Mike Sullivan’s comments about Kunitz following last night’s preseason game. This is a player who is loved in the organization. “He’s a guy, when he’s as old as he is, he’s more of an ageless wonder for me.” Sullivan said. “He’s 37 [years old] but he plays like he’s 27. He’s full of energy. He keeps himself in such great shape, he lives his life the right way. That’s what allows him to play to his age
Preseason Game No. 2: Spotlighting the key areas tonight that show Jake Guentzel is close to being NHL ready
Penguins Preseason Game No. 2 — Player Observations & Takeaways from Penguins 2-0 preseason win — The spotlight is on Tristan Jarry a bit more with Matt Murray’s recovery time up in the air. He made the most of his opportunity with a 30 save shutout in showing a lot of the ability that made him a second round pick in 2013. In the first period Jarry was peppered with 11 shots. Jarry was tracking the puck really well and his rebound control improved in periods two and three as the game went on. Jarry made a great stop on the PK late in the game. One area Jarry was susceptible to getting beat last season in the AHL was going
TIOPS Daily Five Ice Report: Pouliot a trade target for Coyotes?
TIOPS Daily Five Ice Report *Rumblings, Musings, Opinions* 1. Every training camp in every sport there’s that player who gets pegged as being in the best shape of their life and so on. They became a media darling for a few weeks and get people into believing this year is going to be different. Derrick Pouliot got that label immediately when reporting to camp last week as his transformation of actually looking like a professional hockey player was a big topic for many. Pouliot being in great shape is good fodder but that’s all it is. Pouliot is not a bad hockey player, he’s just not good enough in the areas he should be (that made him such a high
Penguins pre-season Game No. 1: Pouliot just “OK”, Guentzel, Wilson continue to make noise
Penguins Preseason Game No. 1 Fallout Some Takeaways on Mike Sullivan’s post-game comments about three particular players from the Penguins 4-2 loss to the Red Wings. 1. Same Talk surrounding Pouliot? – Derrick Pouliot played over 20 minutes in the Penguins 4-2 loss to the Red Wings. He had 4 shots on goal and had solid corsi numbers at even strength, on the ice for 14 shot attempts and 8 against. However, Mike Sullivan’s comments after the game were more of the same. He was okay’ and not assertive enough in the puck moving department. “I thought Derrick was OK,” Sullivan said. “We’d like to see him be a little more assertive with the puck in his decision making, just
TIOPS Daily Five Ice Report: Top decision makers split on extending Bonino?
TIOPS Daily Five ICE Report *Rumblings, Musings, Opinions* 1. The Penguins have indeed poked around on Jacob Trouba in the past 48 hours, league sources say, but no indication yet that Pittsburgh’s interest can described as “serious” in the standpoint of telling the Jets they’d be willing to be move Olli Maatta who would be coveted in a package for Trouba. More rumblings continue to emerge on Trouba. “He wants out of Canada,” one source indicated. Buzz around the league is Trouba hopes to be traded to the Eastern Conference and would love to play for [hide]Dan Bylsma and the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are considered one of the aggressive suitors. 2. When the Penguins management staff sat down a
Monday’s Daily Five Ice Report: Marchand/Crosby What Might Have Been
Monday’s Daily Five Ice Report *Rumblings, Musings, Opinions* 1. Brad Marchand looking so good on Sidney Crosby’s wing was fun to wonder if the combination could team-up next season (Marchand signing with Pittsburgh as a free agent) or even at the trade deadline with Marchand until today scheduled for unrestricted free agency after the season. It wasn’t just fans. Marchand was even asked a few days ago at the World Cup about playing in Pittsburgh with Crosby. Marchand inking an 8 year, $49 million extension with the Bruins brings that type of talk to a thundering halt. Marchand’s market value was pretty much set with this past summer’s spending as Milan Lucic and Kyle Okposo both netted 7 year, $42
Debacle in Philly: Steelers exposed or just one of those games?
Steelers woes in Philly a long-term concern or just one of those games? The debacle in Philadelphia. Did the Steelers get exposed or was this just one those games a team will have? That’s the million dollar question coming out of the Steelers 34-3 loss. From the Offense, to the Defense, Special Teams, to Coaching, the Steelers graded out with an ‘F’ performance. Offense If the Eagles did anything for future Steeler opponents, it put out tape of a blueprint on how to defend the Steelers. Philadelphia’s front four dominated the Steelers at the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh believes it has the best offensive line in football on the right side and the Eagles got the upper hand in a
Latest Penguins Buzz: Maatta for Trouba? + Day 2 Camp Standouts
Latest Penguins Buzz [hide] News broke Saturday night that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba has been seeking a trade since May. While NHL General Managers have been aware of this for months, the news became official as the agent and player went public. “Since May, we have been working with the Jets management in an effort to facilitate a trade of Jacob’s rights,” agent Kurt Overhardt said in a statement released to the media on Saturday evening. “Both parties continue to work on this matter. There has been no negotiation regarding the terms of a contract between our client and the Jets over the course of the last several months. The situation is not about money; it is solely about our client having the opportunity
Matt Murray’s 3-6 week injury not a game changer in goaltending situation
On The Penguins’ Goaltending Situation [hide] Marc Andre Fleury is determined to get his starting job back. For at least the next three weeks, Fleury has his net back. After being evaluated by team doctors, the Penguins learned this morning that goaltender Matt Murray has a broken right hand that will sideline him three to six weeks. It was a surprising development for team officials to learn based on the reports they received from Team North America. Murray was injured against Russia in the second period on September 19. The Penguins open the season October 13 vs the Washington Capitals and have a busy stretch of games to open the year with nine games in 16 days (Oct 13 –