Rite Now at this moment, The Current Pens are clearly a 100% Worse team than last year :
- We are a Less physical, Less skilled, Slower team, w/ Less depth, & PLUS our 34+yr old Stars are another yr older ............. YIKES, kinda Scary
- At Center we have a 37yr old 3C that hopefully holds up for (82), a 35yr old 2C w/ a bad wheel, & we gave away a Top 6 C/LW that could play any Top 9 Center if needed {McCann} ........... JFC, Dumb AF
GM Hextall is stringing this out to start the Rebuild faster......
It's Sad that fans don't realize what he & ownership is doing by trying to be mediocre & making a cpl low risk signings to make fans think they are still "All In"
(Its why GMJR quit after they shut him down when he was trying to get Roslovic) bc after that Rumor, There was Not 1 Pens Rumor
*** Imagine, Trying to make team better, actually fixing holes in Roster, like I did here, Instead of.....
- Doing Nothing at {2} Positions we HAD to Improve at : GOALIE (a 1B to push Jarry) & #2 - LHD-man (w/ Net Front strength)
- Not getting bigger & more physical ...... (like the GM said he would)
- Downgrading at {3} Spots : 2nd- LWer, 4th- RWer, & 3rd- RHD w/ the losses of ...... (McCann - Tanev - Ceci)
** Altho I did like Improving at 3rd- LWer (McGinn) & a solid 4th- L/RWer to #13 Forward (Heinen who is still youngish)..... But those were already holes that needed filled, bf GMRH made more ....... SMH
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NEW PLAYERS : To actually make Team Better ...... (I kno, Its a crazy thought)
~ L/W- Max COMTOIS #44 ------------------- The perfect Power Forward to put w/ Sid & Jake. IMO, Dude will be the Best Net Front Goal Scorer in the NHL by end of this yr at 22yrs old.
~ LHD- Mattias EKHOLM #14 --------------- The Exactly the type of D-man this team is very badly lacking, if 8 or 58 isn't on the ice we are the softest Net front D in the NHL, AHL, & prob in JR's too.
~ LHD- Josh MAHURA #76 ------------------- A personal fav player of mine, could be a solid 3rd pairing guy (rite now), a perfect #7, & can play both sides.
~ R/W- Ricky "Rickardo" RAKELL #67 ----- Dude is so underrated, IMO he would explode w/ better players & better C's to play with. Also plays a harder / more physical game than most think.
~ RW- Nathan BASTIAN #41 (14) ----------- The Pens get a Physical AF Winger, that hits to hurt players (is it allowed for a Penguin to be Tough, lol) w/ some skill & even has more upside.
~ L/W- Denis GURIANOV #34 ---------------- This kid is just scratching the surface & could be a Top Winger in a cpl yrs ....... IMO, has so much more w/ his Size, Shot, & Skating ability.
~ RW- Jake VIRTANEN #18 -------------------- If all is cleared w/ Court stuff, Id def give a 25 yr old, 6'-1"/ 225lb former #6 Overall pick, that is physical AF, w/ 18 & 15 Goal seasons, another Chance, Sign me up!!
~ RHD- Jason DEMERS #55 ------------------- Only 33, 6'-1"/ 200lb solid vet RD-man that always played a smart gm.
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LTIR List = PROSPECTS List
Taxi Squad = 1st Call Ups from AHL (add Poulin & Hallander to list too)
~ The exact Top 4 type of LHD-man we need. The term is too long on extension but will be in Full Rebuild in 3yrs.
~ POJ > Evangelista
* Need Luke to make [ANA] deal
~ Gurianov- Trading for since DAL fans called him a 'Bust' bf breakout 2yrs ago. 6'-3"/ 200+lbs, w/ an insane shot & can skate, Love dude.
~ Khudobin- Perfect {G} to push Jarry & has tons of Playoff experience.
- Comtois- (My Fav) & Exact Winger this team needs: 22, 6'-2"/ 220lbs of PowerHorse- Net front LWer
- Rakell- Love him, Needs change
- Mahura- Should've been playing in ANA for last 2yrs, liked since JRs
- Guhle- 24, former 2nd Rdr, AHL Depth
Comtois is the most valuable piece in that trade and the Ducks have been looking for a player like him since we traded Bobby Ryan, any reason you have for wanting to trade for him is a reason ANA laughs at that offer
Dallas declines. Take Rust away from Crosby & Guentzel & he's a lateral move offensively for Dallas. Maybe slightly better than Gurianov now, but with the team Dallas has they need to be looking towards their future. A 24-year old, goal scoring winger who, in your own words, is just scratching the surface is a player that the Stars aren't moving.
Gurianov's blend of speed, size, and shooting ability is not something Dallas is going to give up on. They are about to enter a retool/rebuild & guys like Gurianov are going to be who they build the offense around.
This is well thought out from a Pens perspective and I agree with a lot of your analysis but you're not taking into account any of the teams needs that you're trading with, which is why most would reject:
Zucker's bad year with his cap hit doesn't make him that attractive. I personally think he'll bounce back nicely, but I don't think you're getting good value back for him in a trade. Ekholm will fetch more in a return, especially since it's likely they're going into a mini rebuild at least and will be looking for high picks / prospects for guys like him and Forsberg (if they can't extend).
Regardless of DAL fans calling him a bust a few years ago, I don't think DAL will trade a young, team controlled top 6 scoring winger for Rust. Rust is a good player but how much of it is playing w/ Crosby? I don't get the point of DAL doing this trade from their side.
ANA isn't moving Comtois but the rest will likely be on the move. He's highly rated within their org and fits their timeline.
SJS can probably get more for Labanc and they're probably interested in futures for him.
McDavid, Connor
$250,000)
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