Vibes: Overall I would say the vibes are fairly high. The wings are a good team and that game could have went either way. Besides some mistakes made by our worst players in the second period I thought we controlled a large portion of the game. The players of the team who need to be great have been great, and the players who are most easily replaced have been meh.
Top 6: They have been excellent. Rakell seems a bit off but I'm not worried about him, he's a stud. Rust looks bound for a great bounceback season. Malkin-Smith are giving Malkin-Neal type connection. Smith makes Zucker look like Kasperi Kapanen by comparison, and I'm a zucker fan, smith has just been so outstanding.
Bottom 6: Yes they have not been great, but that is no reason to hit the panic button. First of all, besides last night I thought they were fine and probably played pretty close to Dubas' plan for them. It is clear that they are intended to play very low event hockey. Not score much, but not get scored on much, but I do agree the line is feeling stale and needs a shakeup. The 3rd line feels like it has 3 complementary players on it and nobody really knows what to do with the puck.
But this is no reason to panic, because this is all according to Dubas' plan. In a press conference Dubas emphasized how he wants to go after players through waivers and by signing league min contracts rather than overpaying for notable UFAs. This is very on brand for him, see Michael Bunting who he signed for nothing and turned into a legit top 6 forward. Dubas has various options in WBS he can try in the bottom 6 and if that doesn't work he will do another thing which is very on brand and add at the TDL. I ask anybody who is panicking about the bottom 6 right now, did you watch the leafs at the TDL last year. Dubas was wheeling and dealing with several trades, and whether you think his trades were good or bad, it cannot be argued that he analyzed the leafs problems and did everything in his power to address those problems. Leafs also won a round with TDL trade players being key parts. See Luke Schenn and ROR.
Think of the current bottom 6 as a blank canvas. Every player on there (excluding Jeff Carter who sucks) is extremely meh. But no players on there (again, excluding Jeff Carter) is awful. If one or two players with offensive talent were inserted onto this blank canvas of meh players, we can paint a bottom 6 with some better scoring.
Side note: I am holding out hope that Jeff Carter will see the press box once the games get more meaningful, we just don't have the cap situation to make it work right now. Once one of ruhwedel/shea/ludvig get sent down, we can bring up a forward and maybe eventually that guy puts big Jeff Carter in the press box.
Top 4 D: They have been really good overall. Karlsson has been outstanding and he was clearly our best player last night. Letang has been very solid. Graves looks a little off at times but he i still adjusting to a new system, nothing to worry about there.
Bottom pair: They were bad last night. Even though I have ruhwedel in the press box in this lineup, I think he probably gets a bit more time before that happens. He has been a true pro as the number 7 over the last couple years and it looks like Sully wants to give him a chance to keep that #6 spot and I have no problem with that: he has earned that opportunity. I think Ludvig could be a great fit, more physical player than ruhwedel and has good metrics in the AHL last year. Would love to see what we have in him. Remember, we waived Zohorna to get the opportunity to claim ludvig so managment must value him.
Lines in this ACGM: I thought Harkins was gonna work out as I saw him in WPG and really liked him but it doesnt look like he has the hockey iq to drive play at the NHL level. I have Zohorna and White being the first 2 to get a shot with the big club because I feel like they have proved the most and earned it the most. White already has a goal with WBS and was a constant in the bottom 6 for a team who went to the cup final. Zohorna has been patiently waiting for his chance for years and had maybe the most impressive camp out of anyone in the conversation for a bottom 6 spot. I considered Poulin, since the bottom 6 is short on offense and that is what he would be brought in to do, but he has to prove he can produce at the AHL level before he gets that chance. Hinostroza is probably next in line for a call up too.
Disclaimer: I do not think this should or will happen by the next game because it would require waiving Shea before he gets a chance to play. I think the plan right now is to let Ruhwedel have his chance to take that 6D spot and if he fails they rotate all 3 (ruhwedel, shea, ludvig) until one of them takes the spot. If all fail, we probably get to see Libor Hajek or Ty Smith get a game. When neither of them work out, 6D becomes a TDL need. I wonder if Dubas could target (the currently injured) Luke Schenn in a trade, although I am not sure if Schenn would want to uproot his family again. (He would be a perfect partner for POJ though).
What they could do for the next game is waive harkins and call up just one of Zohorna/White, but I imagine Dubas will let the bottom 6 situation play out for a few more games before rushing into anything.
Overall, the team is in a good place and lets enjoy the season :)
I think there has been a lot of over reaction in the penguins community by fans and certain "hockey writers".
Sure, should beat Chicago but they've already surprised people clearly and I may be higher on Detroit than the general public, I think they're a good team.
Based on the Dubas interview last night he clearly wants to stay on top of the roster and doesn't seem afraid to make changes. There is a lot of depth in WBS so it wouldn't shock me to see guys rotating in and out of the lineup over the next few weeks.
A trade of any type seems impossible unless someone winds up on IR.
The second line has been incredible, and one of the best in the league so far, i have no worries about the first either.
I think Ned looked good in his first game, and personally think Jarry has been fine.
I think the bottom 6 is being criticized by a lot of fans, but last night the bigger problem in my eyes was Chad Ruhwedel. One of the goals he screened Jarry, one he got beat wide (he was trying to take the body which was the right play), and on the penalty kill later in the game he was in front of the net not trying to move or stick check anyone. The third was a lucky rebound off of Jarry right onto the stick of the redwing player but Ruhwedel wasn't helping. I was comfortable going into the season with him on the 3rd pair, but after the last few games POJ (he didn't play good last night either) and Chad are NOT a good pairing. We need a legit 3rd pair defenseman for POJ. Whether that's Ludvig, T. Smith, Ouellet, or even Fedun.
I would be okay with White playing on the third line for a short time, but after his extremely underwhelming preseason (in my opinion) he should have a short leash. And also, YES can Sullivan please sit Carter. I don't understand his obsession. Last night with less than 3 minutes left he threw out the 4th line...why?? I get the top 2 lines needed to rest, but if that's the case throw out Eller, Acciari, and Nieto. Or anyone that's not named Jeff Carter.
Carter is not the single player dragging this team down though which is improvement from last year.
I think the bottom 6 is being criticized by a lot of fans, but last night the bigger problem in my eyes was Chad Ruhwedel. One of the goals he screened Jarry, one he got beat wide (he was trying to take the body which was the right play), and on the penalty kill later in the game he was in front of the net not trying to move or stick check anyone. The third was a lucky rebound off of Jarry right onto the stick of the redwing player but Ruhwedel wasn't helping. I was comfortable going into the season with him on the 3rd pair, but after the last few games POJ (he didn't play good last night either) and Chad are NOT a good pairing. We need a legit 3rd pair defenseman for POJ. Whether that's Ludvig, T. Smith, Ouellet, or even Fedun.
I would be okay with White playing on the third line for a short time, but after his extremely underwhelming preseason (in my opinion) he should have a short leash. And also, YES can Sullivan please sit Carter. I don't understand his obsession. Last night with less than 3 minutes left he threw out the 4th line...why?? I get the top 2 lines needed to rest, but if that's the case throw out Eller, Acciari, and Nieto. Or anyone that's not named Jeff Carter.
Carter is not the single player dragging this team down though which is improvement from last year.
We may see Dubas push Sullivan to bench carter for youth, but i'll die on the hill that there are unwritten rules in the NHL and one is you don't healthy scratch a 2x SC winner in his final season lol. Not saying i agree with it, i just believe that to be true.
We may see Dubas push Sullivan to bench carter for youth, but i'll die on the hill that there are unwritten rules in the NHL and one is you don't healthy scratch a 2x SC winner in his final season lol. Not saying i agree with it, i just believe that to be true.
I think its more of Hextall promising Carter he would play when he signed then it is about some general, league wide rule about not sitting players like him.
I think the bottom 6 is being criticized by a lot of fans, but last night the bigger problem in my eyes was Chad Ruhwedel. One of the goals he screened Jarry, one he got beat wide (he was trying to take the body which was the right play), and on the penalty kill later in the game he was in front of the net not trying to move or stick check anyone. The third was a lucky rebound off of Jarry right onto the stick of the redwing player but Ruhwedel wasn't helping. I was comfortable going into the season with him on the 3rd pair, but after the last few games POJ (he didn't play good last night either) and Chad are NOT a good pairing. We need a legit 3rd pair defenseman for POJ. Whether that's Ludvig, T. Smith, Ouellet, or even Fedun.
I would be okay with White playing on the third line for a short time, but after his extremely underwhelming preseason (in my opinion) he should have a short leash. And also, YES can Sullivan please sit Carter. I don't understand his obsession. Last night with less than 3 minutes left he threw out the 4th line...why?? I get the top 2 lines needed to rest, but if that's the case throw out Eller, Acciari, and Nieto. Or anyone that's not named Jeff Carter.
Carter is not the single player dragging this team down though which is improvement from last year.
I agree with your points about Ruhwedel, the only question at this point seems to be do we see 1 or 2 of shea and ludvig next game, given the news that letang may be injured. If Letang is out I bet we could see something like
I think its more of Hextall promising Carter he would play when he signed then it is about some general, league wide rule about not sitting players like him.
I don't think that has anything to do with it, him signing that contract is a pretty straight forward sign of he's going to play... you don't sign a guy at $3M AAV to not play them. Sullivan gets his hands tied at the end of the day because Hextall signed him, but i still believe that's an unwritten rule. I'd welcome someone finding me a similar player that was health scratched for an extended period of time at the end of their career whom had a similar career to carter.
I agree with your points about Ruhwedel, the only question at this point seems to be do we see 1 or 2 of shea and ludvig next game, given the news that letang may be injured. If Letang is out I bet we could see something like
Pettersson-Karlsson
Graves-Shea
POJ-Ludvig
I don't like the idea of playing both Shea and Ludvig, but I also haven't watched Ludvig play at all and I've only seen this preseason of Shea. So I bet Ruhwedel does get moved up...unfortunately. After Letang and Karlsson we don't have any depth at Right D.
Agree with mostly everything you said. I think the bottom 6 being low event hockey is fine for right now and definitely no reason to panic. But I do feel it will have to change at some point. I think the bottom 6 will look very different after TDL. I really want to see Poulin and Zohorna get shots down there. I think White would be ideally better for the 4th line. He was good enough to play on Florida's throughout playoffs last year so he's definitely good enough for ours. I do think the bottom 6 though will have to start to chip in offensively or have some high energy players who can change the momentum of games. I think Eller, Acciara, Poulin, Zohorna is a good start there with 1-2 more players to round it out at deadline maybe. If we can fix 3rd line and get a defensive defenseman to protect our net I think were a legit cup contender.
I do wonder whether Rakell gets dealt around deadline. We are just so cap strapped right now I don't know how else we would make a move given everyone else in top 6 is untouchable. If we used that 5 mil to get someone like Vrana at half retained and 1-2 more bottom 6 players we'd be in really great shape. I don't support this at all right now, I expect Rakell to bounce back. He's one of my favorite players on the team. I just wonder who else Dubas would move at deadline. There's no one else we have to clear for cap space that would be a realistic option. Just a thought I had more than a recommendation.
Agree with mostly everything you said. I think the bottom 6 being low event hockey is fine for right now and definitely no reason to panic. But I do feel it will have to change at some point. I think the bottom 6 will look very different after TDL. I really want to see Poulin and Zohorna get shots down there. I think White would be ideally better for the 4th line. He was good enough to play on Florida's throughout playoffs last year so he's definitely good enough for ours. I do think the bottom 6 though will have to start to chip in offensively or have some high energy players who can change the momentum of games. I think Eller, Acciara, Poulin, Zohorna is a good start there with 1-2 more players to round it out at deadline maybe. If we can fix 3rd line and get a defensive defenseman to protect our net I think were a legit cup contender.
I do wonder whether Rakell gets dealt around deadline. We are just so cap strapped right now I don't know how else we would make a move given everyone else in top 6 is untouchable. If we used that 5 mil to get someone like Vrana at half retained and 1-2 more bottom 6 players we'd be in really great shape. I don't support this at all right now, I expect Rakell to bounce back. He's one of my favorite players on the team. I just wonder who else Dubas would move at deadline. There's no one else we have to clear for cap space that would be a realistic option. Just a thought I had more than a recommendation.
Very interesting take on rakell but it is definitely valid. He was so dynamite last year but has been so underwhelming to start this year. I think he will click with smith and geno at some point, but if not I think you have to take him off that line. Rakell looked very good on the third line during pre season, what if we tried that, or else tried
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Smith-Geno-Guentzel
Regardless I think dubas is already looking for our Ivan Barbashev.
Very interesting take on rakell but it is definitely valid. He was so dynamite last year but has been so underwhelming to start this year. I think he will click with smith and geno at some point, but if not I think you have to take him off that line. Rakell looked very good on the third line during pre season, what if we tried that, or else tried
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Smith-Geno-Guentzel
Regardless I think dubas is already looking for our Ivan Barbashev.
Don't hate those lines at all. The coaching has concerned me a lot. When we overhaul the roster, but still have the same issues I think that's where coaching is to blame. If our struggles continue a coaching change would be easier than retooling a roster that was already drastically changed in the offseason. It just feels like the team has no defensive structure and I feel a change to a more defensive system would utilize maximize our roster the most.
Agree 100% we need a Barbashev type. We've never had a replacement for Hornqvist which we need. Tanev was perfect for bottom 6 in that role. If we could get a power forward to play on Crosby's line that could bring that energy and change momentum of games then that would be ideal.
Don't hate those lines at all. The coaching has concerned me a lot. When we overhaul the roster, but still have the same issues I think that's where coaching is to blame. If our struggles continue a coaching change would be easier than retooling a roster that was already drastically changed in the offseason. It just feels like the team has no defensive structure and I feel a change to a more defensive system would utilize maximize our roster the most.
Agree 100% we need a Barbashev type. We've never had a replacement for Hornqvist which we need. Tanev was perfect for bottom 6 in that role. If we could get a power forward to play on Crosby's line that could bring that energy and change momentum of games then that would be ideal.
The obvious option is re-acquiring Jason Zucker with retention. Some salary would still have to go the other way, I do not know how it would work, but it just feels like its meant to be.
On a side note, the coyotes (who I love) are rolling out a line of zucker-cooley-maccelli and I just think thats so sick
Penz87 liked this.
Reply
CapFriendly
CapFriendly