[madmike71]

LD on this team is brutal. I couldn’t stand Graves, but was he really worse than Wotherspoon or Jones? I think they sent Graves down just to get him out of the spotlight. Dubas doesn’t want the constant reminder that he gave that stiff big money. Anyway, this could have been a fringe playoff team if the D was better. I have a feeling our goalies will be shell shocked by mid-season.

[madmike71]

victoro311 wrote:

Good moves all around. Takes balls to burry a multi-million dollar contract but it’s absolutely the right call. Guys going down to the A will be back sooner rather than later besides Pickering who’s currently not making the most of his opportunities. Kindle and Brunicke have earned a reward and the only way to reward them is to keep them with the big club since they can’t go to the A. I think if Dumba can serviceably play on the left side, Brunicke spends the year here. Kindle isn’t physically mature yet so I’d be shocked if he stays up, but he sure looks excellent for where he should be in his development. For all the bitching and moaning about that pick, he looks like a good one

Gotta give credit to Dubas on Brunicke and Kindle, they look like really good NHL prospects. I saw some of the rookie tournament and Kindle was meh at best. Then he comes to camp and looks like he might only need a year or two. He’s not the fastest guy, but his skating isn’t nearly as bad as it was sold by the “experts”. Looking forward to seeing him in real games to adequately judge him.

[madmike71]

My 2cents.

I agree entirely with all of this. I’m glad they’re biting the bullet on Graves. He earned his demotion. Pickering, IMO, earned his demotion too. I watched a few of the preseason games and he wasn’t very good. Caleb Jones stunk last night. He was noticeably bad. I thought he was the worst player on the ice for either team. Kindel won’t get past 9 games, but he deserves the extended look. Brunicke deserves to stay all season, but I wouldn’t mind if the Pens decided to send him back to juniors. It’s going to be a wasted year. They shouldn’t start the clock on him.

[madmike71]

MAF looks like he could still be an NHL backup. He should stay in shape, just in case he gets the itch later in the season.

[madmike71]

I’m liking this Kindel kid. He’ll get sent back to Jr’s, but he does not appear out of place playing with men. He was unimpressive in the rookie camp. I saw some of the rookie camp and his skating was disappointing. It must have been a comfort thing, because he does have decent wheels. I think the knock on him was “meh” skating. It’s not electric, but not bad either.

[madmike71]

Yeah, McG out indefinitely. Upper body. Like RW says… this needs to be a season where he makes some noise. I’m starting to buy some of the hype on the young D in the system. Some of those guys are 2/3 years away unfortunately. Quinn Beauchenese? Yohe says Murashov has blown him away already.

[madmike71]

The Pens have too many vets in camp. Players like Heinan and Acciari shouldn’t steal a minute of ice time from one of these kids. I’ve read that Muse and Dubas want to get on with the youth movement. Something Sullivan would have never done.

[madmike71]

Haase has a pretty good breakdown on the prospect game. Said Pickering and Harding look really good. Add Brunicke to that list and it’s a pretty encouraging group of good D prospects.

[madmike71]

If he were to go to another team I would support him to the fullest. He’s paid his dues, and then some, to my beloved Penguins. I was a Mario/Jagr guy before Sid/Geno and I will be a McKenna/? guy after they’re gone (;

Of course. The Pens have zero top shelf prospects. A few guys might turn out that way, but I wouldn’t put any money on it. The rebuild has barely begun. This would expedite it. However… Eff picks. I want somebodies BEST NHL ready prospect plus a good young player + a pick. He’s signed at a bargain rate and he’ll turn a good team into a top contender. If you do trade him, you can feel free to really empty the tank with moving RAK and Rust.

[madmike71]

If he demands top dollar, yeah, he’ll have problems getting on a top 5 team. If he takes a page out of Sid’s book, he should be able to land on a perennial contender. The more I think about it, the less I think he’ll sign in Edmonton. On another note… Sounds like the Pens are getting sold. Mario’s group is out. DK says a deal is expected in October to some guy named Hoffman. He owns an ECHL team in FLA.

[madmike71]

McKenna to pens end of June.

Mcdavid to pens July 1st.

Boom

Lol… I used to think getting McDavid was a remote possibility because I figured he might eventually want out of Edmonton. Plus, our salary commitments would allow for his demands. Unfortunately our team is no where close to being ready to compete. We haven’t even bottomed out yet. That pain is coming.

[madmike71]

The lack of winning is a big part of McDavid weighing his options, but being tucked away in western Canada might not be his ideal choice either. A prominent US city will definitely be more attractive. His quote… “I don’t have a preference either way” Ouch. I think he’s going to bolt.

[madmike71]

10inchterror wrote:

Any guesses on starting lineup?

Koivunen Crosby Rust
Mcgroaty Malkin Rakell
Tomasino Novak Mantha
Heinen Hayes Brazeau
Dewar Lizotte Accari

Graves Letang
Shea Karlsson
Pickering Clifton
Wotherspoon Dumba
Alexyev St ivany
Jones Brunicke

Jarry
Silovs
Blom
Murashov

At least goalie will be sorted. Jarry and silovs in the N. Blom and Murashov sharing starts in the A. Hopefully Jarry costs us all the games but for some reason I feel like we will see All Star Jar.

An absolute gluttony of sucking on defence and forward depth though.

I was reading your post and was thinking the exact same thing as your last sentence. Outside of 5 or 6 players, this is a whole lot of suck and question marks. I think McG ends up with Sid. I think they send Brunicke back to juniors unless he makes it impossible for the coaches to justify it.

[madmike71]

Barnaby36 wrote:

Part of me would like to see Rust and Karlsson traded. Not so much Rakell. Graves and Jarry we’ll just have to be patient. Ain’t no one taking those contracts.

I’d trade anything for the right return….other than Sid of course. Rak likely gets us the best return. This is far from a playoff team, so let’s get bottom 3. This team needs some top end prospects.

[madmike71]

I like this deal. If we eat a little salary, I think Jarry is tradeable. 2 time all-star. The Pens have been mostly awful defensively for years. The Pens inability to keep the puck out of their own net wasn’t all “bad goal tending”. It was a team effort.

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