They Would Have Won The Cup With This Team

Forums/Armchair-GM

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Created by: AnalyticsGeek

Team: 2019-20 Pittsburgh Penguins

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 11, 2020

Published: Aug. 11, 2020

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Description

While you can argue that there were several reasons that caused the Penguins to lose against Montreal, the biggest one for me was the lack of adjustment by the coaching staff to address weaknesses that were holding the team back.

The Penguins' third pairing defence was absolutely brutal especially as the series went on. They would get undersiege in the defensive zone pretty much every shift and give up prime scoring chances, killing any momentum generated by the rest of the team. The majority of the Penguins' goals against were in direct result of their poor play, so it didn't make any sense for them to remain in the lineup.

The third line forward had no chemistry and wasn't able to generate anything offensively for the team. I felt the issue was that the wingers did not have enough speed to keep up with McCann. Several shifts I noticed he would enter the offensive zone but would then need to wait for his wingers to join, allowing the opposition to take the puck and transitioning the other way. If the coach took out Marleau and swapped Hornqvist with Sheary, maybe things would've been different. It also seems that McCann plays better on the wing since there is less responsibility and he has more chance to use his speed to generate offence.

Management should be blamed as well since they were overconfident with this team and did not make the necessary moves to address the glaring weaknesses. They could've at least traded for an upgrade over Jack Johnson or Justin Schultz if the coaching staff wasn't confident with the alternative options remaining. The moves made at the deadline simply didn't work out.

I felt the Penguins played well during the first 2 games of the series. They controlled play by generating majority of the game's shots and scoring chances. After they gave up a 3-1 lead, they didn't have any jump or pushback the rest of the series. They were a defeated team. I made this armchair team looking at moves and lineup decisions the Penguins should've made in order to have a better chance.

Free Agent Signings

CREATED	YEARS	CAP HIT
Larsson, Johan	1	$1,550,000
McCabe, Jake	2	$2,850,000
DeMelo, Dylan	1	$900,000

Trades

PIT

2020 3rd round pick (BUF)

CAR

Schultz, Justin ($2,750,000 retained)

PIT

Johan Larsson
Evan Rodrigues
Jake McCabe

BUF

Dominik Kahun
2020 3rd Round Pick

PIT

Dylan DeMelo

OTT

2020 3rd Round Pick (BUF)

Retained Salary Transactions

Justin Schultz: $2,750,000 (50%)

Buried

Casey DeSmith: $175,000 ($1,250,000)
Jack Johnson: $2,175,000 ($3,250,000)

Draft	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
2020
2021
2022

ROSTER

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

EMBED

TEXT-EMBED

ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
24	$81,500,000	$76,757,875	$132,500	$982,500	$4,742,125

Roster

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Guentzel, Jake $4,500,000$4,500,000 LW, RW UFA - 5	Crosby, Sidney $8,700,000$8,700,000 C NMC UFA - 6	Hörnqvist, Patric $5,300,000$5,300,000 RW NTC UFA - 4
Zucker, Jason $5,500,000$5,500,000 LW, RW M-NTC UFA - 4	Malkin, Evgeni $9,500,000$9,500,000 C NMC UFA - 3	Rust, Bryan $3,500,000$3,500,000 RW, LW UFA - 3
	Larsson, Johan $1,550,000$1,550,000	Rodrigues, Evan $2,000,000$2,000,000 LW, C UFA - 1
McCann, Jared $1,250,000$1,250,000 C, LW UFA - 1	Blueger, Teddy $750,000$750,000 C, LW UFA - 2	Tanev, Brandon $3,500,000$3,500,000 LW, RW M-NTC UFA - 6
Aston-Reese, Zach $1,000,000$1,000,000 LW, RW UFA - 2

Left Defense	Right Defense	Goaltender
Dumoulin, Brian $4,100,000$4,100,000 LD M-NTC UFA - 4	Letang, Kris $7,250,000$7,250,000 RD M-NTC, NMC UFA - 3	Murray, Matt $3,750,000$3,750,000 G UFA - 1
	Marino, John $925,000$925,000 ($850,000$850K) RD UFA - 2	Jarry, Tristan $675,000$675,000 G UFA - 1
	DeMelo, Dylan $900,000$900,000
Pettersson, Marcus $874,125$874,125 LD UFA - 1
McCabe, Jake $2,850,000$2,850,000

Scratches	Injured Reserve (IR)	Long Term IR (LTIR)
Lafferty, Sam $767,500$767,500 ($132,500$132K) RW, C, LW UFA - 1		Marleau, Patrick $700,000$700,000 LW, C UFA - 1
Angello, Anthony $833,750$833,750 C, RW UFA - 1		Simon, Dominik $750,000$750,000 RW, LW UFA - 1
Riikola, Juuso $850,000$850,000 LD UFA - 1		Sheary, Conor $3,000,000$3,000,000 LW, RW UFA - 1
Ruhwedel, Chad $700,000$700,000 RD UFA - 2		Bjugstad, Nick $2,050,000$2,050,000 C, RW UFA - 2

Special Teams

Power Play 1
Rust, B.		Crosby, S.		Hörnqvist, P.
	Letang, K.		Malkin, E.

Power Play 2
Guentzel, J.		McCann, J.		Zucker, J.
	Pettersson, M.		Marino, J.

Penalty Kill 1
	Blueger, T.	Rust, B.
	Dumoulin, B.	Letang, K.

Penalty Kill 2
	Aston-Reese, Z.	Tanev, B.
	Marino, J.	DeMelo, D.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:16 p.m.

AnalyticsGeek

Banned

Joined: Sep. 2019

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Edited Aug. 16, 2020 at 4:24 p.m.

@dan10900 @Sidstick87 @Marino4Norris @mhockey91 @Pens3lieve @NoWah49 @pensfan89 @Goavs141 @chug @Arom5477 @gmack95 @mariohughes5 @Adamitis @jesus @gregb569 @Rawalia87 @MTF @KCNRoyal @PensGM2019 @dr_dregz @amd @Brian2016 @edeangel84 @geno_the_hero @datools @Chigurrhh @JOJO87 @TULRICH @ASG @ItzMeTaboo @BlacknGold4life @JORDANFERREIRA99 @EDDY @amd @Missouri @steinthekid @gmack95 @jadamski @Grusofsky96 @Leafs_and_Sens_Fan @Willian_Cardoso @Morcak @Scuderi4Daley @gaudetster @NEWCORT0 @CHOINO @MajesticWalrus @Jojo87 @Marcsnack

What'd you guys think of this hindsight team I created for the Pens? Do you think they would've won the cup?

(DON'T QUOTE THIS POST, PRESS REPLY).

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:17 p.m.

Sabres923

Joined: May 2019

Posts: 4,292

Likes: 2,340

Yeah GMJR botched the Kahun trade, Sheary isn’t good and is a UFA and Rodrigues only played in a couple regular season games.

edeangel84, gretzkyghosts and Chigurrhh liked this.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:19 p.m.

justaBoss

What in tarnation

Joined: Oct. 2017

Posts: 32,762

Likes: 31,476

The most hilarious thing in here is the concept of anyone claiming Johnson off waivers

GenXHockey and Pensfan89 liked this.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:30 p.m.

exo2769

Joined: Jul. 2015

Posts: 15,826

Likes: 10,026

It's the lack of effort that doomed PIT. If they had McDavid...and still brought that same effort we saw...they would have lost.

mhockey91 and gretzkyghosts liked this.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:35 p.m.

tulrich

GMTU

Joined: Jun. 2015

Posts: 69

Likes: 5

Definitely get past MTL without Jack Johnson. This is an improvement.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:39 p.m.

AnalyticsGeek

Thread Starter

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Quoting: Sabres923

Yeah GMJR botched the Kahun trade, Sheary isn’t good and is a UFA and Rodrigues only played in a couple regular season games.

I don’t necessarily think Sheary is bad but he wasn’t needed. It was obvious the Pens needed an upgrade over Johnson & Kahun had enough value to fetch a great shutdown D like McCabe.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:42 p.m.

AnalyticsGeek

Thread Starter

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Quoting: exo2769

It's the lack of effort that doomed PIT. If they had McDavid...and still brought that same effort we saw...they would have lost.

I agree that the players weren’t hungry, but I feel if the GM & coach presented a better team, then the core guys would’ve been more motivated. For example, the coach was playing JJ-Schultz against Montreal’s top players. How does anyone expect them to win like that? It basically killed all the momentum for them to keep going.

gretzkyghosts liked this.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:42 p.m.

AnalyticsGeek

Thread Starter

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Quoting: tulrich

Definitely get past MTL without Jack Johnson. This is an improvement.

Agree this is an insanely strong team IMO. Not a weakness.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:45 p.m.

edeangel84

JimmyPaek

Joined: Apr. 2019

Posts: 4,023

Likes: 1,192

I think it’s a much improved team but I don’t think we would win the cup. Our core is just at that point where their window is shut. I like that you solved the 3rd line C problem and the bottom pair is a lot better. I’d still play Jarry over Murray even though I think Murray gets too much crap

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:54 p.m.

#10

Pens3lieve

Hockey IQ

Joined: May 2019

Posts: 3,031

Likes: 1,495

better team but doesn't win the cup....not having JJ-schultz doesn't fix the lack of intensity and lack of finishing, etc.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:57 p.m.

#11

AnalyticsGeek

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Quoting: edeangel84

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe the cup is too much to ask for, but they should definitely make a run.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 2:59 p.m.

#12

AnalyticsGeek

Thread Starter

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Quoting: Pens3lieve

better team but doesn't win the cup....not having JJ-schultz doesn't fix the lack of intensity and lack of finishing, etc.

I mean who knows, without JJ, Schultz & Marleau hurting the team maybe the intensity will pick up. The players just seemed fed up with the coaching decisions during this series.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 3:17 p.m.

#13

GuentzelvaniaUSA

Pengweenies

Joined: Jun. 2015

Posts: 1,974

Likes: 291

It would have had a better shot. I think the Defense is really what killed us the most the JJ-Schultz pair was abhorrent and it really cant be understated. Im not sure that the third line you have there is particularly good. McCann was ROUGH and Erod doesnt belong above the 4th line. that ZAR-Teddy-Tanev line is obviously awesome but it doesnt score so its crucial that they do not become the 3rd line.

I think to some extent the reality needs to be faced that its going to be extraordinarily difficult to win a cup with a core approaching their mid thirties. and its not a knock on Sid, geno, or letang. all still top players but father time always wins and they arent the players they were half a decade ago

Aug. 11, 2020 at 3:26 p.m.

#14

AnalyticsGeek

Thread Starter

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Quoting: MTF

Thanks for the feedback. I think the third line is better than what they currently have. My opinion on why McCann struggled was that he wasn’t used properly. He needs to play with linemates who can keep up with his speed (Rodrigues can) & get him the puck in places in which he can use his shot (why I brought in Larsson). He just didn’t have any chemistry with Marleau & Hornqvist plus his offence started to dry up when they put him at center.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 4:38 p.m.

#15

AnalyticsGeek

Thread Starter

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@leafs101 @leafs_and_sens_fan @aadoyle @bunzy1034 @KakkoForMauriceRichardAward @Ragsandbluesfan @OldNYIfan @Isles777 @Claesson4Norris @slickwilly @ForsbergForVezina @Sagecoll @ON3M4N @bhavikp27 @MaxDomi13

What'd you guys think of this hindsight Pens team I created? Would they have been good enough to win the cup?

Aug. 11, 2020 at 4:40 p.m.

#16

leafs101

Joined: May 2019

Posts: 11,209

Likes: 5,209

Better, makes the playoffs, but not close to a cup. Pens have won their last cup in the Crosby-Malkin-Letang era imo.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 4:42 p.m.

#17

SlickWilly

Joined: Nov. 2017

Posts: 3,274

Likes: 2,226

they shouldve kept Kahun, that might have helped a little bit

Aug. 11, 2020 at 4:53 p.m.

#18

Leafs_and_Sens_Fan

Joined: Jan. 2020

Posts: 8,370

Likes: 2,275

Quoting: MitchMarnerElite

I mean who knows, without JJ, Schultz & Marleau hurting the team maybe the intensity will pick up. The players just seemed fed up with the coaching decisions during this series.

Honestly just take JJ off and replace him with a good 3rd pairing D and they're in the playoffs right now. He singlehandedly cost them game 1.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 5:37 p.m.

#19

aadoyle

Hakuna Matata

Joined: Feb. 2020

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Buying out Jack Johnsson actually costs less than burying him.

Aug. 11, 2020 at 5:46 p.m.

#20

Sagecoll

Joined: May 2017

Posts: 6,731

Likes: 1,559

Quoting: MitchMarnerElite

What'd you guys think of this hindsight Pens team I created? Would they have been good enough to win the cup?

Not winning a cup with Murray starting in goal...

Aug. 11, 2020 at 6:22 p.m.

#21

zk97

Joined: Feb. 2019

Posts: 15,942

Likes: 8,575

Aug. 12, 2020 at 8:30 a.m.

#22

sabresparaavida

Joined: Aug. 2020

Posts: 1,051

Likes: 851

Quoting: Sabres923

Yeah GMJR botched the Kahun trade, Sheary isn’t good and is a UFA and Rodrigues only played in a couple regular season games.

It is possible though, that the Kahun trade was due in part to the "future considerations" in the Sheary/Hunwick trade.

Sabres923 liked this.

Aug. 12, 2020 at 10:48 a.m.

#23

Sabres923

Joined: May 2019

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Quoting: sabresparaavida

It is possible though, that the Kahun trade was due in part to the "future considerations" in the Sheary/Hunwick trade.

Good point

Aug. 12, 2020 at 2:21 p.m.

#24

NoWah49

Joined: Feb. 2018

Posts: 4,867

Likes: 1,432

idk if we win the cup but we definitely make a run. at the same time, we'd make a run if JJ, Schultz, and Marleau decided to leave the bubble lmao

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