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Joined: Mar. 2016
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I like Dumo. He's done an outstanding job w/Hainsey, and last year he played very well w/Lovejoy. He's great if you put him on a shutdown pair. However, he hasn't played very well w/Schultz, and his numbers alongside Letang are no better than those of anyone else. He could be effective next to Cole on the bottom pair, but why pay 3-4mil for a bottom pair dman? While I don't think Smith is a good as Dumo, the numbers (corsica.hockey) show that he's clearly outperformed a 3rd pairing role, thus making him a top 4 dman. He also wouldn't require expansion protection if you sign him in UFA. Maatta & Smith could switch spots if Smith proves he's not an adequate partner for Letang, but the reality is the Pens don't have a true top pairing guy on the roster who can complement him, so it will have to be by committee. Paul Martin was that guy, and the Pens let him go at the right time, but they never really replaced him, either. They spent the money they'd paid Martin (and, to a lesser extent, Ehrhoff) to Phil. I'm not complaining; Phil's the man, and it won us a cup. Just pointing out that it left us pretty weak at LHD.