Quoting: pensfan21
I see what your saying, but I don't know if I agree about bringing back the same top 6. If we lose first round this year something has to change. Malkin is great when he has the puck, but has not been great away from it. Also our centers would be 38, 36, and 35 if we run it back, so Trochek at least provides some youth. Letang will hurt us a lot leaving, but I think it will happen, given we can't afford to give him the 5 year deal he wants. Just wouldn't be smart at this point. This team in my mind is more balanced than what we have now. Got more speed (Gaudreau, Kane), got more physical players (Lemieux, Martin, Zadorov, Haag), and got more youth down the middle (Trochek, Domi) and in general with O'Conner. That 1st could be extremely valuable given the Jets aren't good and it could be a lottery pick. Imagine that turned into Bedard. I see what your saying with the Kane issues, but he is so good and has been staying out of trouble so far since he's been back. That allows us to get him at a discounted price and hopefully he improves as a person with this second chance. Top 6 like you said would be nasty, third line not bad, and a 4th line that is very tough to play against. Almost unstoppable goalie duo, Fleury would take so much of the load off Jarry and could be a 1a 1b tandem. The D here is definitely weaker, but that is something we could improve on at trade deadline if it's an issue. I'm betting on Matheson stepping up to anchor the D.
Likewise, I get where you're coming from. The goal is to keep the wndow of contention open, and we have different ideas of how to do it. Replacing Malkin with Trocheck is less offense and leadership, but more youth and defense. That just depends on what you value more. I personally still think Malkin is better, but there's a debate to be had there. Having Center depth of Crosby, Malkin, Carter isn't great in creating a young team, but all of those guys are still excellent players despite their age. That's a really good group of leaders on the team, guys with experience winning, who can mentor the rest of the team.
The million (or rather 8 million) dollar question to me is how interested in staying is Letang? You'd think after spending the entirety of an incredibly successful career in Pittsburgh, he'd be doubtful about leaving unless he'd be searching for a cup like Ray Bourque was at the end of his career. Letang has his cups. I wouldn't be surprised if he was willing to compromise with his new contract. If he doesn't, we're in a tough spot. He's far and above the best ufa dman who'd hit the market. The next best options are Klingberg and Manson.
I think RD is a big issue for the Pens. We don't have any exciting prospects at the position. If we get Winnipeg's first for Marino, that's weakening our RD right now for the porential for a good RD in the future. The Pens window is open until Crosby's contract expires at the very latest, and that 1st won't be useful during that window unless we do manage to snag Bedard, or some other NHL ready guy. I honestly don't think the chances of that are high. That being said, I am not willing to lose both Letang and Marino in the same offseason unless we start a rebuild/retool. The other deals made here are not deals made by a rebuilding/retooling team.
I'm still indecisive on Kane. I think Crosby and the rest of the team leadership could keep him in line, and he does bring a fast-paced style of play. But I'd much rather resign Rust. I think at this point in their careers, Rust is a much better player and wouldn't cost that much more than the offer given to Kane. We'd probably be able to keep him if we put in Friedman full time instead of signing Hagg, which I and probably most of the Pens fans would rather do with or without Rust.
I don't really get the whole "tough to play against" thing. Tampa won its cups off of its insane talent, and when the Pens won back to back cups, it was from overwhelming speed and firepower. I think scoring in the NHL is going to increase in the next few seasons. Heck, there are far more point per game players this season than there have been in years, maybe decades. It's already starting. The 2015 draft is entering its prime. Rookies like Zegras and Raymond and Boldy are only going to get better. The next two drafts have high expectations. RobTalksHockey had a good video on it earlier this week. I just don't know if that style of play is going to be the most effective. And tough to play against could mean anything obnoxious, whether it's Brendan Lemeiux biting you, the entire existence of Tom Wilson, or having to play against a team as deep as Florida. All of those things sound tough to play against to me. But to be fair, a lot of this is conjecture.
I guess it just comes down to what direction Hextall and Burke want to take this team. I think we have 2 or 3 more years before the window slams shut for a while, and a good enough supporting cast around the big 3 could squeeze another cup out of them. If Malkin walks, we can replace him adequately to keep that window open, maybe even extend it a year or two. Gaudreau alone probably keeps it open another 2 on top of that. However I can't say the same for if Letang walks. I don't think the defense on this team is good enough to maintain that window of contention. Jarry and Fleury could only do so much to bail us out. If Marino stays and develops, maybe that's a different story. The forward core on this team is stellar, but I don't think they're enough to make up for the step back on the blueline.
Oh boy here I go writing the entire LOTR series for a comment on a hypothetical Pens lineup again.