Penguins/NHL
Tuesday’s Penguins Buzz
— Sidney Crosby’s frustrations towards Patric Hornqvist hit a tipping point Saturday night and Crosby’s linemate roulette will continue tonight vs San Jose as the coaching staff puts the two wingers Crosby is most comfortable with, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis.
Maybe this combo works for a game but it has no sustaining power. While Kunitz has become a whipping boy among the fan base, it’s Pascal Dupuis’ game that has been more concerning. There’s more left in the tank for Kunitz than Dupuis. Dupuis is more of a No. 12/No. 13th forward than a top-6 winger at this stage in his career.
No way around it but the Penguins are back to their annual top-6 winger search.
— The James Neal trade was always going to be one that maybe didn’t sting in the short-term but would in the long-term. Starting to see signs of it already as the Penguins sold low.
— The Penguins whole off-season was living a fantasy of becoming the Tampa Bay Lightning and having four skill/scoring lines. Nine of the Penguins current top-13 forwards have 2 even strength goals or less on the season.
Even Strength Goals: Eric Fehr (0), Sergei Plotnikov (0), Matt Cullen (1), Daniel Sprong (2), Pascal Dupuis (2), Chris Kunitz (2), Nick Bonino (2), Sidney Crosby (2), Beau Bennett (2)
— Penguin scouts felt coming into the season that 2015 5th round pick Dominik Simon was so advanced with his two-way game he’d be a candidate to be an NHL regular by next season. 19 points in his first 18 games for Wilkes Barre. He’s catching attention of other teams too. Might not get the chance to be see action in Pittsburgh as he could become a key trade asset for Jim Rutherford at the deadline who has authority from ownership to do whatever he has to do to pursue a Stanley Cup this season.
— The Penguins pursuit of defenseman To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
Thank God for Malkin. Or else hockey would be a series of unnecessary scrums by unskilled cavemen swinging their clubs at each other in a lawless state of nature.
the product is regressing stuff like Burns just did this time results weren’t that bad. Let Malkins ankle roll on him he will be gone for 4 weeks. If they are going call it what do you do besides summon our 7 dwarfs. .
gee we don’t need a larger aggressive type players do we F I
He is wee little isn’t he?
Why does our worst defenseman kill penalties?
other than dummie the rest are the worst in my eyes. and isn’t #5 busy during this season at the north pole as an elf??
its dead on here anymore
CB stirring it up! Love it!
oh yeah forgot SUCK IT SAM
Sid getting embarrassed by “the Russian” again Sam.
FEAR the Russian Bear
Hey Stanch, did King ever pay you that $200 yet?
He did not. The vig is running.
Figures…let this be a lesson not to take his bets.
Another point blank miss of the net by our fearless leader (formerly Maloni’s boy, who he now denies a la Judas).
Idk why everyone thinks Neal is an automatic 40 goal scorer because he did it once. Didn’t Jonathan Cheechoo score 50 or something once? The team wasn’t getting results then, they still aren’t now. The James Neal trade hasn’t hurt or fixed anything.
Hell NO to Kris Russell…..too small for an already smallish defense. Does not play physical on a defense that is lacking physicality and just NO
Does Tinder show heights?
I’m going pull a yoda and go prophet on all of you. I never liked the neal trade. Thought they sold low and still do. I called bs on the relieving cap statement. I was vocal about it. So jay and others do you still feel that was a great trade? Does anyone think maybe the reason neal was gone was because crosby wanted him gone? We saw glimpses of that last season and now this season with hornqvist and crosby. Now rumors hornqvist is on the block, coincidence?
i don’t like the trade. don’t forget the preds suckered rutherford into taking that bum spaling for 2.1 million. just a bad deal. in hornqvist’s defense however, lets not forget he does go to the net hard. he’s the only one on the team who does that. he still doesn’t bring as much as neal though. plus neal was a cheap bastard who threw elbows and sticks around. the pens surely miss that.
I still have no issue with the Neal trade, Hornqvist fills a role the team desperately needed filled and they gave up a player that routinely disappeared when the games mattered most. Hornqvist current slump isn’t going to change my opinion on that.
Neal and Crosby didn’t play together so I don’t even understand the theory that Sid wanted him gone. I completely agree that Sid has entirely to much input into lineup/roster decisions that affect him but don’t see how that would translate to Neal.
I was referring to the behind the scenes rumors of neal being a trouble maker and locker room rift. Not the on ice product.
Also fitting a need and getting value are 2 different things. Yes neal is a streaky player same as hornqvist. Neal disappeared in the playoffs, so did basically every penguins player ha. What neal did give you was stupid penalties and goals.
I liked Neal trade at time and still do. Neal’s a moron who disappears when the game count. Horny is exactly what the Pens need. Crosby is the albatross.
I didn’t like it for the value which no one gave a logical counter argument for. Sure horny fits a need but the value wasn’t there. Hell the team could trade crosby straight up for Seth jones which would fill the need for a top 4 dman but doesn’t mean they would get value on the trade. James neal fit the need of a 40 goal scorer which pens have yet to replace (key word is yet, kessel has potential to be that replacement)
If the would’ve got wilson, forsberg, defensemen or at least a 1st or 2nd along with horny it would’ve gotten closer value
I would agree with that. Gramps overvalued Spaling. If we picked up Horn and a 1st or even horn and a 1st and we kicked in a 2nd would have been a much better deal.
Getting Forsberg thrown in would be robbery. I’d probably take forsberg straight up for neal.
At the time I wasn’t a fan of the trade but I absolutely agree they needed somebody like Hornqvist. I thought they could have coaxed a pick out of the deal instead of Spaling. The way I see it, they essentially replaced Neal with Kessel anyway. Using Neal, Kappy and Harringtion to get Hornie and Kessel I think is a nice return.
I def did a discount double check when I heard about the trade. I wasnt upset with PH, but I thought they should have gone in a diff direction from that stiff spaling. Was Forsberg ever discussed.
If they can make Dominik Simon into a “key trade asset”, I’m all for it. I wasn’t at all that impressed by what I saw in the preseason.
Also don’t pretend to understand why they’d be interested in Kris Russell. No thanks.
David price 7 years with red socks
Its sox, fukhed
i just read that rutherford has the green light to persue any trades to persue a cup. hahahahahaha! they live in fantasy land! they aren’t even going to make the playoffs let alone compete for the cup. omg it gets dumber by the moment!
You should persue a grammar class, and perhaps persue a common sense class, before persuing a career as a hockey analyst.
You should pursue your diet program
The best teams routinely sacrifice a season or two so they can improve their internal depth and pick their spots to go all in on a cup. Tampa has mixed in some really bad years. Chicago some mediocre years. We retain our 1st if we miss the playoffs. This team for a few years has needed a year to sacrifice – save a few picks, and groom the under 23-crowd to play meaningful minutes in the future. Between the cap savings on scuds/dupuis next year, a few youngsters earning spots, we have a decent window to sacrifice this year. How… Read more »
When have any of the top teams sacrificed a season??? Some have had bad seasons where they underachieved like LA last season but none have ever looked at it and said “screw it we’ll just focus on building for the future”. This is hands down one of the most baseless posts ever made on TIOPS.
Sacrifice is a strong word. Retool all the time. Blackhawks trade veterans every year. Same thing with New England Patriots. They have sold their Dupuis, Kunitz, Scuderi, Nisakenens when the time was right. And they haven’t spent valuable assets on Perron/winniks when their teams were decimated with injuries and going no where.
I feel like this message board is a real world version of “Dinner for Schmucks” with everyone encouraging their favorite dumb@SID4800$$ to comment. And Sam totally dresses up dead mice.
I hope they don’t trade these kids at the deadline thinking this team is close to a cup, because this Pens team is not. IMO the right move would to be adding these players throughout the line-up as the season progresses to see if they can play at this level the 2nd half of the season. We have tried the other methods of adding vets since 2010, and it has not worked, plus maybe this Sullivan deserves more than just a thought too.
the real question is when does the epic collapse begin? i’m saying it starts with this roadtrip.
But you’ll have no idea – because you won’t be watching.
“Epic collapse”? The team has been borderline all year so far… how do you collapse from mediocrity?
i’m talking ending up in 15th place in the east collapse.
I’ll double down – I’ll bet you the $200 I won off of King that they don’t finish 15th in the conference.
Yoda I hope your prediction about this is as good as your one about Fleury! lol rofl
No wonder why Crosby is so widely despised outside of Pittsburgh homer circles.
A year ago, you were defending him as much as anyone else. So get off of your high horse.
Wrong donut boy. I just hate Fleury more. I identified the end of Sid’s career years ago after watching him play after the first concussion. Took a lot of crap from the fan boys on this site. I was right then and I’m right now.
You stuck up for the golden boy and put the blame on fleury. Repeatedly. Now it’s time to revise history. You’re a joke.
I love the smell of stupidity in the morning.
Civilized Nation I tough being in Middle east was Scary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFFvH_iJD88
I tough you were an idiot, and I tough right.
also, i’m officially protesting the pens. i won’t watch them until dupuis and kunitz are out of the top 6. its the definition of insanity. same garbage for years and expecting different results. this organization is too stupid for me to pay attention to at this point.
I’m sure they’re heart broken that a fan that doesn’t know the difference between a puck and a cow patty doesn’t agree with their moves and isn’t going to watch. That alone is incentive enough to play KCD together until they die.
how can you say i don’t know what i’m talking about when i say it is a bad idea to ignore the youth and skate crosby with 2 washed up veterans? by you disagreeing with me it gives the impression that you are happy with the sid kunitz and dupuis line. that is just idiotic.
Probably because you literally never know what you’re talking about.
Jay, not sure your hockey observations have been any more exact than Yoda’s. Longer yes, but not more accurate
Literally nobody gives a shit whether your watch or not. You can’t comprehend what you see anyway, so seriously, save yourself the time and glance at the boxscore the next day. Then analyze as usual. Simple. You’re welcome.
Stanch is on a roll. Must be two for one at Dunkin D’s.
dupuis and kunitz are too old and washed up. there is no shame in that. however there is shame in management refusing to play any youngsters. sid should be playing with sprong and bennett. even though bennett has sucked, it won’t hurt to have him skate with sid for the next 20 games. we really don’t know what we would get. however, we know exactly what we will get with dupuis and kunitz longterm with cindy, jackshit!
burning Sprong 10 games thats what this team does best
Are you absolving Sid of the fact that one game after a heated exchange on the bench with a guy still capable of playing in the top six that he has his two bum buddies back? Are you immune to the belief that Sid is calling the shots on this? For fuck sakes dude this has his request written all over it. I agree that the kids need more opportunity but Sid is why Kunitz and Dupuis are on that line again… fuck all three of them
right now i can’t stand sid either. he’s a big baby and he’s playing like crap. i usually never agree with you but i’m saying F all three of them too. i’m giving you a thumbs up.
Sid has always be a P**& – it just took a situation like this to bring more of it out. The people that say they should trade malkin should be thankful they don’t because he is crosbys shield right now, without him – you would see a meltdown that know one believes would happen.
Sid say is so powerful that he even got kunitz in the olympics when kunitz wouldnt even crack team Canada even if there was 3 team Canadas
Canada sucks.
trade horny get ladd or big buff
We dont need either
Ladd plays with heart something that this team Needs .as for Buff we need a guy that has a good shot on the power play but he is a gamble because he takes alot of dumb penalty when game is intense we already have malkin doing that
Pens need to target Ryan Ellis from Nashville. They are so stacked that hes currently on their third pairing but he is perfect for a top 4 role. This team struggles to move the puck out of their zone and he would help a lot. Pemns definitely have some trade chips with Perron and hornqvist too
I don’t disagree but I haven’t seen any reports that Nashville is interested in moving Ellis. Just because they are deep enough that they can use him on their 3rd pairing doesn’t mean they dislike that and would want to move him, most teams would consider being deep enough to have top 4 capable players playing on your 3rd pairing a blessing.
There are clearly issues, Sid getting his way with the lines, Hornqvist and him visibly pissed on the bench, a coaching staff that cant decide who is making the decisions for which part of the game while employing a system that has a lot of guys shutting off. I have said it before, I love Crosby but clearly there is something wrong there is a big way. Has been for a couple seasons. If he is pouting then fix it one way of the other. Either make the hard choice on him or fix another identified issue. I am not… Read more »
Wide spread issues couldnt possibly systematic.. it was clearly picking all the wrong guys for the job lol
I generally agree with most of the post but not so much when it comes to the players and the system, MJ’s system isn’t really a chip-chase system, the basis of his system is set around carrying and supporting the puck through short quick passes, the problem is that the Pens don’t have many players capable of carrying the puck, the changes MJ has made to the system to be more chip/chase has been out of necessity because the roster is primarily made up of players who are better suited for chip/chase hockey, especially on the backend.
That dont really explain why the forwards are constantly chipping and chasing as well however. I would agree that the D is not terrific at somethings but we see the action thorughout the roster… unless Geno has the puck
I think it does, when you have a roster full of players best suited to dump and chase why wouldn’t they play to their strong suits? Outside of Sid, Geno, Kessel and to a lesser extent Perron and Bennett who else is capable of carrying the puck?
Sprong if he was playing lol
Russel is another #5-6 D man. We dont need that right now
WHO’S YOUR PROPHET!!! AND THERE IT IS! CROSBY WITH DUPUIS AND KUNITZ! TOOK 20 GAMES AND I WAS RIGHT AGAIN! YOU SUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the 1st time I can recall youve ever hit the target… after all MAF is still here but Hartzell is not
Crosby wasnt unhappy about his wingers… in fact you eventually had to agree that Sid wanted Kunitz and Dupuis to make this call
Who disputed that they would? I recall several of us smarting posters suggesting before the season even started that trying this would be a good idea.
In fairness I ripped him about this… not that I didnt see it as a possibility as I think I was careful not to exclude that but because it was getting fucking annoying to read
Right again? You said Vokoun would cause Fleury to get traded.
Agreed zombie, Sprong needs to play more and we need to move Letang. Paying a d-man over 7m/season who can’t run the PP or hit the net with his shot is absurd.
You mean that guy that is 4th in the league among defenseman in SOG? And just to clarify SOG stands Shots “ON” Goal. Pretty amazing to think that a player who is apparently so bad at hitting the net could be the 4th best defenseman in the league at getting shots on the goal. It never ceases to amaze me how so many think they are so smart yet know so little…lol
Sprong would have have more if he was actually played.
Trade horny get ladd
This is almost unreadable.
Before we make another “ALL in on Cup:” Year can we atleast verify this team is close?
Not verifying that last year put the team back a ton this year. We could have restocked our asset base. As of right now it looks like the farm has a few interesting bottom 9 pieces to add to the equation and a potential star goalie. Also Dupuis/Scuderi buyouts this offseason free up a ton of cap. Maybe next years team is going to be in much better shape to make a run.
I agree – all in would be a huge mistake and set this franchise back another couple seasons
Do you guys think Kunitz – Crosby – Dupuis can be the best third line in hockey? Vote below.
Nope, Still think there has to be better options lol
I actually think they can make a really nice 2nd line.
Maybe in the A.