Penguins/NHL
Any Change in Penguins long-term outlook for 2021 Season?
Pittsburgh has rattled off four straight wins, all come from behind wins and on Sunday secured their first regulation win of the season.
Pittsburgh on Sunday was improved in cutting down the grade-A chances, we’ll see if that can continue tonight vs the Bruins.
Getting off to the 4-2-0 start compared with the eye test has showed is something else. The record could easily be flipped to 2-4-0 and six games in, I still feel the same way I did before the season started.
A likely playoff team but nothing more than a middle of the road team.
Top to bottom this is just an uninspiring group 5-on-5 that isn’t built for today’s NHL’s when you try to compare them with some of the NHL’s top tier teams. Penguin management has had this obsession that the roster they’ve put in place can replicate the 2016 team they built.
It’s nowhere close. The league has gone heavier in recent years, something the Penguins haven’t adapted too, but there was always too much talk and belief in the organization that the 2016 team was speed, speed, speed. It wasn’t. It just had the perfect mix of speed/physicality/skill. And that is still the blueprint in today’s NHL. Dominating below the dots. The personnel right now does not fit that bill by any means. If the Penguins go out and add another Bryan Rust type, along with a Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist type, then it would be a different story.
— It’s early but let’s not sugar coat it, the organization had serious concerns dating back to the summer of 2019 about how Evgeni Malkin’s game would age as he hit his mid-30’s.
Have the physical skills, though, actually diminished?
I’ve been critical of Malkin in the past and still feel the Penguins missed their best chance to reboot this roster and maximize the window they could still have as Sidney Crosby ages in that they should have moved Malkin to Florida in summer of 2019, a scenario that was a lot closer to happening than many want to believe.
As many are trashing Malkin’s effort level and engagement, and he’s been really bad in all phases thus far, I’ve had a couple former players who know Malkin well and have echoed the same sentiment dating back to the Penguins exit in the bubble where they claim Malkin just loves being a father and feel he struggles mentally in being away from his family on a day-to-day basis, something the organization has also felt is a real thing that needs to be addressed. I’ve been told Malkin had a tough time last summer celebrating To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
— Mike Sullivan is honest and blunt with players behind the scenes. He’ll tell it like he see’s it. In public, though, he has always stayed away from being critical of players. There’s a faction in the organization that wouldn’t mind seeing that change.
— Whispers are the Penguins coaching staff has soured on Sam Lafferty who will dominate some practices, but struggles in translating it to games as coaches feel he gets pushed around for a player his size. Drew O’Connor is expected to debut for the Penguins tonight.
There’s a little bit of intrigue about O’Connor in the organization where the skillset could translate to a two-way bottom-6 player at some point. Has a good frame at 6-3, good hands with the puck, and has flashed some ability in practice to create some nifty To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
Rutherford resigns for personal reasons. Hope he’s ok. Has had a rough stretch late, but hard to imagine we’d have the last two cups without him.
I am surprised he did not trade their next 3 first round picks before he left.
That’s harsch bro…cmon
Agreed best to him and his family……. Not sure of the new interim but he has work to do…
i saw the signing of defenseman Yannick Weber which isn’t earth shattering but he could be that right handed shot on the third pair with POJ..(Rudwhedel scares me.)
If Marcus can comeback soon we might be ok…keep ceci/matheson out of the line up.
VINCE DUNN ALSO ON SPECTORS HOCKEY TOO…..SO
Yannick Weber… oh boy… I mean 6 years ago sure…
No Marino at practice today 🙁
Haha… Ryan Wilson said almost exactly this… not sure about the 6 years ago but the yikes lol
Zero…He isn;t awful and I still think he is a better option third pair with POJ than Rudwhedel
$16.75 million worth a cap on a two on none breakaway….omg this team is in trouble.
Both teams had a 2-0 in OT. The problem was for the Penguins you have the two guys on the team who wont shoot, can’t shoot, or are too afraid to be the man… Malkin and Letang
Boston gets a 2 – 0 and they bury it..ball game
I told you guys penguins will be stuck with this bum Malkin. They should’ve have traded him when they won the 2nd cup and got better return. Now who will take an overpaid lazy Russian that takes dumb penalties surprised this season he hasn’t taken any penalty yet. Oh who am I kidding how can he take penalties when he is not even playing he went from lazy Russian to ghost Russian. Or some kind of a tourist on the ice
Malkin is just lucky to play in a bandwagon city behind Crosby’s shadow. If this happened in Montreal or any other Canadian team. Trust me fans would riot his house and throw his jerseys on the ice 9.5m Fraud. Gets his momentum on powerplay. Team should pay him 50% since he gives his 50% effort most of the season. Oh lets not forget he has his annual vacation time every season misses about 20 games and another 15 or so games on the ice
Lol Montreal hasn’t had a decent center since the early 90’s. You guys don’t deserve a Malkin. I mean, it’s not like he’d have a chance at a Conn Smythe there…
You idiots rioted after Montreal won the Cup in 93’. That was so long ago you probably forgot how.
Biden and Harris both like locking up blacks. Great team
I think npl is racist too
Just saw an article that lefthanded defenseman Vince Dunn of the St.louis Blues was a healthy sit tonight. He is a good skating, pck moving defenseman that is pretty solid all around.
Hearing Penguins, Flyers, Panthers two other teams in on it now trying to work out a deal..
He would be a nice get.. I’m sure Rutherford will drop the ball and fall asleep…like jack Roslovic
Lol you will learn soon enough to never believe anything that clown writes. The comments are far more entertaining… and accurate. He’s nothing but click bait.
You dont even know what article or source i was talking about…
Hockeybuzz. You regurgitate that nonsense on here all the time because you’re one of the ones dumb enough to believe him. I knew as soon as saw the headline you’d be on here lol
Nope wrong once again just like everything else that spills out of your mouth…
Lol so within an hour after they make that their headline, you post it on here coincidentally. Lol. Keep dreaming, chief.
Your an idiot it was on pensburg….
Getting called an idiot from someone that reads and writes at a third grade level is pretty comical. And you and I both know you found it on hockeybuzz. You love that site because it caters to morons like yourself. Keep doing you! Haha
Oh yeah it is on Pgh hockey now too you Moron…so it wasn’t just hockey buzz.. Turns out all three have articles on Vince Dunn possibly moving…wrong again shit for brains…
i do more than one stop shopping.
THE PENGUINS FALL BEHIND EVERY F****ING GAME GEEZ…
I sure hope Marino doesn’t have the dreaded sophomore jinx…he has been a bit sub par so far this season. Tristan Jarry even though it was a 2 on o in OT went down on one knee and the shot barely squeezed through. -The positives we fought back on the road to get a point from 2 down. (big improvement from the first two in Philadelphia. Getting some points on the road are big! Zucker off the deck with a goal and a assist and Kapanen gets his first goal… Still think a deal is coming soon…..especially for a defenseman… Read more »
Marino is in his second year with no training camp and was banged up during the game. He will be fine. It was a terrible turner over but giving up a short handed goal and not converting on a 3-0 will bite you in the arse.
Marino has been fine, the play was a bad one but he was just on the ice for a minute. I know it’s usually dangerous to throw a criticism at Sid but he should have recognized that his pass was going to a guy who was headed to the bench on a change.
Marino botched it, should have never been at his feet in the first place.
Brutal play by Marino… Sid has to have better presence of mind there as Marino has been out there a bit. Had Malkin and Letang scored it’s a none conversation but Letang fucked up a 2-0… what a horrific pass
MISSED THAT WILL WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS LATER…
Kris Letang is so Jeckyl and Hyde! Ranger game turns it over on a unforced play rangers score and roofs a beauty in the shootout!!
Letang is by far the dumbest fucken player in hockey.
If he A: shoots? Better play… B: doesn’t put the puck behind Malkin, better play
If you put Malkin + Letang together what do you get ? A hockey IQ in single digits 8.5
It was a 3-0!!!! Wtf!!!
They are playing a lot of Ministry tonight.
Ok, if that’s another blue liner down, call up the biggest dummy with wheels in the system and just let him loose crushing guys from behind! Fuckk this
The whiff was totally planned. Nice Kucherovian deke there.
What a sad way to get a goal.
Holy shit! Letang is utter dogshit
how bad is it…
Only 1-0. Pens let up a shorty. Letang’s amazing defense.
Letang in midseason form.
Amazing an all star blue liner only has that vs an all star forward… pathetic
Holy shitt Letang is dogshitt
The team with black, yellow and white is going to win!
i hope sullivan keeps rust with crosby and guentzel. the 2nd half of the game the other night was way more entertaining that way!!!!!!
lets be honest, malkin is the biggest underachiever in NHL history. next to lemiuex and gretzky, the 2009 malkin was the most dominant player in NHL history. that man should score 40 per year and put up no less than 100 points per year. anything less than that is a shame. look at his career point totals. he vanished for several seasons. i wish he would do everyone involed a favor including himself and just retire. there is no shame in losing the drive to play, but there is shame in collecting a paycheck when you heart isn’t into it.
Can’t argue with you…spot on ! Mario Lemieux was the most gifted and talented player ever…even Gretzky agrees. Gretzky to his credit stayed healthy and Mario didn’t Mario missed 5 complete seasons due to two different half seasons with back injuries, 1 year cancer treatment, and 3 years early retirement.1997-2000. He had what 690 goals ? You give him a modest 40 goals for those 5 seasons missed that’s 890 he is right there with Gretzky…easily could pass him in goals! Gretzky has what 915? Malkin is for sure an underachiever and was left off the top 100 players of… Read more »
Anyone who has watched hockey for the past 10-15 years laughed when they left Malkin off the top 100 list. There was obviously a Canadian bias and it’s not like that was any sort of official list anyways. He absolutely deserves to be on that list regardless of the current situation. FFS, he finished 6th in the NHL in points per game last year. It’s like the blind leading the blind with you two.
Exactly! Out of 200 GMs all time, they may talk but there isn’t one that would take Toews over Geno if they had a chance to draft one of both
You mean kind of like the US election was a fraud…that type of deal…wake up
The NHL made the list bro don’t get your panties in a uproar. Calm Down Becky
I think Malkin should be at least 98…
Gretzky said if Mario was healthy he would have beaten his goal record. He was the total package.
A few things… Gretz had more help sooner in the most high scoring era of the sport. Didn’t hurt.
Agreed…
The what an utter joke… there are zero other universes where Malkin didn’t make the top 100. Compare him straight up to Toews… it’s a very one sided comparison.
NHL just came out with their top 100 players of all time 2 years ago bro. Malkin didn’t make it. Jonathan Toews is a leader, he makes his team mates better, he kills penalties, he is a captain. – Oh yeah he plays hard all the time. – He doesn’t disappear for weeks at a time. – He doesn’t turn the puck over every other shift with dumb ass passes – No one questions his work ethic…ever – He doesn’t consistently take stupid undisciplined penalties that kill his team – Can ply power play/kills penalties – He is out there… Read more »
Next to Lemieux and Gretz something something 2009… lol… Steve Yzerman called and told you to suck his dick.
Malkin was great in 08, 09, 13….
He’s up there with guys Ike Yzerman in 89 or LaFontaine in 93 sure but come on dude
Geno might not be scoring but at least Biden is president. I think we’ll all gladly take that W.
I have said a while ago Geno is having family issues, I was just not sure of what kind. It is a two way street; traveling is part of the job and he gets paid a shitt load to do it, but I am sure it is hard to get something like missing your child’s first everything out of your head. They should get his wife and child up to Pittsburgh a few times a month. Maybe that will give him a spark. I am not ready to toss the guy aside but something has to give. And before Sam(e)… Read more »
Agreed. Also, at the end of the day, moving him would be incredibly easy. The short bus on here makes him out to be useless when there are 30 other GMs that would love to have him. His cap hit is high, but definitely lower than it would have been if he were a FA. He’d be a 1c on a lot of NHL teams. If his struggles do concern his family, hopefully accommodations can be made or pandemic restrictions ease up.
Tbj233 We actually agree… I think the New York Rangers could use him and his wife loves New York she is some type of Russian celeb? Take what we can get….Move on! With $9.5 million salary clear we can get two maybe three good players. We can build around Sid who is playing strong 7 points in 6 games. Penguins are getting younger too. Jospeh/Kapanen/ Mccann/Marino/Jankowski/Jarry/Petterson, Blueger Rust, Tanev, Dumoulin, Zucker and Rust 28/29 prime years Crosby looks fantastic Forwards O’Connor, Poulin coming Defenseman Joshua Maniscalco, William Rielly and Cam Lee coming. We drafted two young goalies Letang and Malkin… Read more »
Where the hell does his wife and kid live? Moscow WTF
Most families live in the same town I don’t get it…..
His skills are still strong maybe not 2009 Malkin but his problem is between the ears. Next year is the last of his contract if they resign him they should be shot. We can use that $9.5 million or 2 or 3 good players
Bo Hoo… I have $9.5 million reasons why no one cares. He is always sulking about something now that he is a dad it is his family.
Before he missed Russia and couldn’t get any Stohli Vodka
Look if he really feels that way there is no shame in admitting that you lost the drive to play and be elite…if that’s where he is a…t Retire..
No question he was a major contributor to our CUPS….but he looks uninterested, lethargic, and has the drive of a corpse right now.
Either move him to a team where he wants to go out of respect for him and take what you can get.
-Or move him to the third line and give someone else a chance…send a message and stop coddling him
Geno score goal
he shoot one timer on power play, that’s it
I’ll never get people who are upset over PP contributions