Random Penguins Fodder

[FLPensFan]

Post board of governors meeting, Bettman has told owners that preliminary projections have the cap at 87-88M for 24-25 season, with would be a 3.5 to 4.5M increase over what it is today.

[Three Stars]

[Three Stars]

Geno: “Huge biceps, yeah? Biggest in team.”

[Coffey Break]

Totally random but any chance they're going to televise the pre-game ceremonies and player introductions for the home opener tomorrow night? I doubt it since it's on ESPN but for some reason, that's one of the things I am always so excited about with the home opener when it's on the local network instead. It feels like a demarcation that hockey season is officially underway.

[pens_CT]

Totally random but any chance they're going to televise the pre-game ceremonies and player introductions for the home opener tomorrow night? I doubt it since it's on ESPN but for some reason, that's one of the things I am always so excited about with the home opener when it's on the local network instead. It feels like a demarcation that hockey season is officially underway.

I have no idea, but since its ESPN I seriously doubt it. They will have their talking head analysts going right until puck drop I suspect.

[Three Stars]

Looks like Flower is a perennial.

[FLPensFan]

A few things from DK's Friday Insider:

--DOC has set higher goals for himself this season. With his size and speed, he believes in himself to be more than just a bottom 6er in this league.

--Said Sullivan really likes Colin White, and he'll likely be the first callup if defensive struggles in the bottom 6 continue. Said he could easily replace Carter right now (duh!)

--More on Carter...DK says Dubas is not going to have the tolerance for bottom 6 guys not doing much of anything, like Carter did in Game 1. DK seems to indicate the leash there isn't going to be very long. We'll need to watch and wait.

--Finally, talked up about how Ryan Graves was a big positive in Game 1. Seems like Graves studied tape on Letang and had some lengthy conversations, but also just said he's easy to play with.

I think these may be free for everyone now: https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2023 ... pirates-dk

[Antonio]

Random aside, it is so weird for me with the new board and the endless twitter embedded shots here now, I just get tons of giant white boxes loading on every page with my privacy tracker blockers that blocks those kind of FB, twitter etc stuff. Guess I never realized how many times people embed or quote twitter until you see streams of huge white boxes over and over.

[thehockeyguru]

A few things from DK's Friday Insider:

--DOC has set higher goals for himself this season. With his size and speed, he believes in himself to be more than just a bottom 6er in this league.

--Said Sullivan really likes Colin White, and he'll likely be the first callup if defensive struggles in the bottom 6 continue. Said he could easily replace Carter right now (duh!)

--More on Carter...DK says Dubas is not going to have the tolerance for bottom 6 guys not doing much of anything, like Carter did in Game 1. DK seems to indicate the leash there isn't going to be very long. We'll need to watch and wait.

--Finally, talked up about how Ryan Graves was a big positive in Game 1. Seems like Graves studied tape on Letang and had some lengthy conversations, but also just said he's easy to play with.

I think these may be free for everyone now: https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2023 ... pirates-dk

It took Dubas all of one game to realize Carter shouldn't be a regular, that is step 1. Step 2 is removing him from the lineup. Also I didn't see anything from Colin White to make me think he's a better option

[penny lane]

RMNB
@rmnb
·
9m
Washington Capitals mantra for 2023-24 season is 'Something to prove'

[KG]

A few things from DK's Friday Insider:

--DOC has set higher goals for himself this season. With his size and speed, he believes in himself to be more than just a bottom 6er in this league.

--Said Sullivan really likes Colin White, and he'll likely be the first callup if defensive struggles in the bottom 6 continue. Said he could easily replace Carter right now (duh!)

--More on Carter...DK says Dubas is not going to have the tolerance for bottom 6 guys not doing much of anything, like Carter did in Game 1. DK seems to indicate the leash there isn't going to be very long. We'll need to watch and wait.

--Finally, talked up about how Ryan Graves was a big positive in Game 1. Seems like Graves studied tape on Letang and had some lengthy conversations, but also just said he's easy to play with.

I think these may be free for everyone now: https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2023 ... pirates-dk

During DK's little daily podcast, he actually mentioned Harkins, not Carter. And how he thinks Harkins has a short-leash to make an impression. He thinks they can move Acciari to 3RW and make White 4C.

I think Acciari should be playing top 9 minutes. He is a difference maker out there and should be playing more. As long as Carter isn't 4C....

[Puck-Lurker]

A few things from DK's Friday Insider:

--DOC has set higher goals for himself this season. With his size and speed, he believes in himself to be more than just a bottom 6er in this league.

--Said Sullivan really likes Colin White, and he'll likely be the first callup if defensive struggles in the bottom 6 continue. Said he could easily replace Carter right now (duh!)

--More on Carter...DK says Dubas is not going to have the tolerance for bottom 6 guys not doing much of anything, like Carter did in Game 1. DK seems to indicate the leash there isn't going to be very long. We'll need to watch and wait.

--Finally, talked up about how Ryan Graves was a big positive in Game 1. Seems like Graves studied tape on Letang and had some lengthy conversations, but also just said he's easy to play with.

I think these may be free for everyone now: https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2023 ... pirates-dk

During DK's little daily podcast, he actually mentioned Harkins, not Carter. And how he thinks Harkins has a short-leash to make an impression. He thinks they can move Acciari to 3RW and make White 4C.

I think Acciari should be playing top 9 minutes. He is a difference maker out there and should be playing more. As long as Carter isn't 4C....

I think in any configuration this team that'll work, Carter needs to be scratched.

He's an anchor on any line. Top two lines are supposed to make up the scoring threat, which vanishes with him on it. Third line is supposed to provide some secondary scoring and keep the opposing top lines at bay, again Carter sinks chances of that. Parking him on the fourth line makes it inefficient at being an energy line. Like an anchor on a bicycle.

I'm okay with him retiring if it keeps him off the roster.

[FLPensFan]

A few things from DK's Friday Insider:

--DOC has set higher goals for himself this season. With his size and speed, he believes in himself to be more than just a bottom 6er in this league.

--Said Sullivan really likes Colin White, and he'll likely be the first callup if defensive struggles in the bottom 6 continue. Said he could easily replace Carter right now (duh!)

--More on Carter...DK says Dubas is not going to have the tolerance for bottom 6 guys not doing much of anything, like Carter did in Game 1. DK seems to indicate the leash there isn't going to be very long. We'll need to watch and wait.

--Finally, talked up about how Ryan Graves was a big positive in Game 1. Seems like Graves studied tape on Letang and had some lengthy conversations, but also just said he's easy to play with.

I think these may be free for everyone now: https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2023 ... pirates-dk

During DK's little daily podcast, he actually mentioned Harkins, not Carter. And how he thinks Harkins has a short-leash to make an impression. He thinks they can move Acciari to 3RW and make White 4C.

I think Acciari should be playing top 9 minutes. He is a difference maker out there and should be playing more. As long as Carter isn't 4C....

I think in any configuration this team that'll work, Carter needs to be scratched.

He's an anchor on any line. Top two lines are supposed to make up the scoring threat, which vanishes with him on it. Third line is supposed to provide some secondary scoring and keep the opposing top lines at bay, again Carter sinks chances of that. Parking him on the fourth line makes it inefficient at being an energy line. Like an anchor on a bicycle.

I'm okay with him retiring if it keeps him off the roster.

Some extra fuel to the remove Carter flames...some have argued to keep him for his faceoff prowess. It was only one game, but the Penguins dominated Chicago in faceoffs. Crosby took the most and won 62.5%, Malkin was 2nd and won 76.9%, Eller 3rd and he won 80%, Acciari 4th and he won 71.4%. The only other 2 players to take faceoffs...Carter took 3 and won only 1, 33%. Rakell took 2 faceoffs, and won 1...50%.

Carter only taking a handful of faceoffs seems to be a strong indication that they are looking to phase him out. Carter took only 3 faceoffs. Eller and Acciari took 17 combined. Carter also had the lowest TOI on the team at 10:14. Carter, Harkins, and Acciari were the only 3 players under 11 minutes TOI.

[lemieuxReturns]

I am in the very small minority that not only like Sully but also do not want him to be replaced.
I think he made a very underappreciated move for game 1 when he removed Letang from the top PP. There is no way that was an easy decision.
If he can make that decision, then he can and will make the decision to remove Carter from the lineup when the time comes.

[FLPensFan]

I am in the very small minority that not only like Sully but also do not want him to be replaced.
I think he made a very underappreciated move for game 1 when he removed Letang from the top PP. There is no way that was an easy decision.
If he can make that decision, then he can and will make the decision to remove Carter from the lineup when the time comes.

There's nothing wrong with liking Sully. I mean, it makes you a weirdo, but I guess that's ok. j/k

Kidding aside, Sullivan is a good coach, but he seems to be stuck on himself and his ways. He makes adjustments, but they seem to be so minor that they don't often have effect. The PP has been broken for years, but Reirden still has that job and there haven't been major changes or improvement.

The bigger problem to me is, the Cup winning teams were built on speed and aggressive forechecking, and they were probably one of the top 3 teams in that respect during the Cups. Now, they keep telling themselves they are still fast, but a good portion of the league has caught them or passed them. If they are in the top 10 fastest teams in the league, they are down around 8-10.

The other issues is, I'm not sure there is a great replacement out there. Sullivan is following a similar parallel not only to Bylsma, but also Tomlin. For all those that say he is a great coach, Tomlin hasn't done much in the playoffs. He's missed 6 times and bounced in the first round 6 times.

[dark_forces]

I am in the very small minority that not only like Sully but also do not want him to be replaced.
I think he made a very underappreciated move for game 1 when he removed Letang from the top PP. There is no way that was an easy decision.
If he can make that decision, then he can and will make the decision to remove Carter from the lineup when the time comes.

All valid points. I think with Dubas being new and given carte blanche, Sullivan actually has even more clout, not less.

[Daniel]

I am in the very small minority that not only like Sully but also do not want him to be replaced.
I think he made a very underappreciated move for game 1 when he removed Letang from the top PP. There is no way that was an easy decision.
If he can make that decision, then he can and will make the decision to remove Carter from the lineup when the time comes.

There's nothing wrong with liking Sully. I mean, it makes you a weirdo, but I guess that's ok. j/k

Kidding aside, Sullivan is a good coach, but he seems to be stuck on himself and his ways. He makes adjustments, but they seem to be so minor that they don't often have effect. The PP has been broken for years, but Reirden still has that job and there haven't been major changes or improvement.

The bigger problem to me is, the Cup winning teams were built on speed and aggressive forechecking, and they were probably one of the top 3 teams in that respect during the Cups. Now, they keep telling themselves they are still fast, but a good portion of the league has caught them or passed them. If they are in the top 10 fastest teams in the league, they are down around 8-10.

The other issues is, I'm not sure there is a great replacement out there. Sullivan is following a similar parallel not only to Bylsma, but also Tomlin. For all those that say he is a great coach, Tomlin hasn't done much in the playoffs. He's missed 6 times and bounced in the first round 6 times.

One great example of things being stuck is the PP. For years they’ve used kind of a roving PP and they didn’t adjust for Karlsson being on the unit. The PP was the same thing with Karlsson playing the role of Letang. It’s not like they did a mid season trade for Karlsson, Sullivan had quite a bit of time to work with Reardon to make changes and yet we go into game 1 with the same stale PP we’ve seen for years. It’s not like there is no film on what makes a Karlsson run PP so effective.

I’d rather the PP was out of sync, or even gave up a short handed goal because they aren’t used to the new system, than to go through the same motions as we’ve seen for about a decade. All 5 players seem to pass and move, pass and move, pass and move, until the puck goes down the ice or into the net or they give up a breakaway.

[Coffey Break]

I am in the very small minority that not only like Sully but also do not want him to be replaced.
I think he made a very underappreciated move for game 1 when he removed Letang from the top PP. There is no way that was an easy decision.
If he can make that decision, then he can and will make the decision to remove Carter from the lineup when the time comes.

There's nothing wrong with liking Sully. I mean, it makes you a weirdo, but I guess that's ok. j/k

Kidding aside, Sullivan is a good coach, but he seems to be stuck on himself and his ways. He makes adjustments, but they seem to be so minor that they don't often have effect. The PP has been broken for years, but Reirden still has that job and there haven't been major changes or improvement.

The bigger problem to me is, the Cup winning teams were built on speed and aggressive forechecking, and they were probably one of the top 3 teams in that respect during the Cups. Now, they keep telling themselves they are still fast, but a good portion of the league has caught them or passed them. If they are in the top 10 fastest teams in the league, they are down around 8-10.

The other issues is, I'm not sure there is a great replacement out there. Sullivan is following a similar parallel not only to Bylsma, but also Tomlin. For all those that say he is a great coach, Tomlin hasn't done much in the playoffs. He's missed 6 times and bounced in the first round 6 times.

One great example of things being stuck is the PP. For years they’ve used kind of a roving PP and they didn’t adjust for Karlsson being on the unit. The PP was the same thing with Karlsson playing the role of Letang. It’s not like they did a mid season trade for Karlsson, Sullivan had quite a bit of time to work with Reardon to make changes and yet we go into game 1 with the same stale PP we’ve seen for years. It’s not like there is no film on what makes a Karlsson run PP so effective.

I’d rather the PP was out of sync, or even gave up a short handed goal because they aren’t used to the new system, than to go through the same motions as we’ve seen for about a decade. All 5 players seem to pass and move, pass and move, pass and move, until the puck goes down the ice or into the net or they give up a breakaway.

Getting Letang off PP1 was one step in the right direction but man does it have a long ways to go still.

Equally as puzzling was how much more fluid the Blackhawks PP was - which includes Bedard, Hall and then a bunch of no-names. And the fact that they made a conscious effort to make sure the entire thing runs through #98. Just that much more reason to believe that the PP doesn't need to have your 5 best players on it at the same time - just the group of 5 that will likely complement each other the best.

[Daniel]

One great example of things being stuck is the PP. For years they’ve used kind of a roving PP and they didn’t adjust for Karlsson being on the unit. The PP was the same thing with Karlsson playing the role of Letang. It’s not like they did a mid season trade for Karlsson, Sullivan had quite a bit of time to work with Reardon to make changes and yet we go into game 1 with the same stale PP we’ve seen for years. It’s not like there is no film on what makes a Karlsson run PP so effective.

I’d rather the PP was out of sync, or even gave up a short handed goal because they aren’t used to the new system, than to go through the same motions as we’ve seen for about a decade. All 5 players seem to pass and move, pass and move, pass and move, until the puck goes down the ice or into the net or they give up a breakaway.

Getting Letang off PP1 was one step in the right direction but man does it have a long ways to go still.

Equally as puzzling was how much more fluid the Blackhawks PP was - which includes Bedard, Hall and then a bunch of no-names. And the fact that they made a conscious effort to make sure the entire thing runs through #98. Just that much more reason to believe that the PP doesn't need to have your 5 best players on it at the same time - just the group of 5 that will likely complement each other the best.

Honestly, I don’t think Letang is the biggest problem on the PP. They replaced Letang with Karlsson and Karlsson just did what Letang did, minus the puck into the shin. I’ve always wondered why Sid is rarely used from behind the net. That would be really hard for a goalie to anticipate. If Sid can’t get room, Karlsson from the blue line.

[Coffey Break]

One great example of things being stuck is the PP. For years they’ve used kind of a roving PP and they didn’t adjust for Karlsson being on the unit. The PP was the same thing with Karlsson playing the role of Letang. It’s not like they did a mid season trade for Karlsson, Sullivan had quite a bit of time to work with Reardon to make changes and yet we go into game 1 with the same stale PP we’ve seen for years. It’s not like there is no film on what makes a Karlsson run PP so effective.

I’d rather the PP was out of sync, or even gave up a short handed goal because they aren’t used to the new system, than to go through the same motions as we’ve seen for about a decade. All 5 players seem to pass and move, pass and move, pass and move, until the puck goes down the ice or into the net or they give up a breakaway.

Getting Letang off PP1 was one step in the right direction but man does it have a long ways to go still.

Equally as puzzling was how much more fluid the Blackhawks PP was - which includes Bedard, Hall and then a bunch of no-names. And the fact that they made a conscious effort to make sure the entire thing runs through #98. Just that much more reason to believe that the PP doesn't need to have your 5 best players on it at the same time - just the group of 5 that will likely complement each other the best.

Honestly, I don’t think Letang is the biggest problem on the PP. They replaced Letang with Karlsson and Karlsson just did what Letang did, minus the puck into the shin. I’ve always wondered why Sid is rarely used from behind the net. That would be really hard for a goalie to anticipate. If Sid can’t get room, Karlsson from the blue line.

I just meant that getting Letang off PP1 was a good starting point. But they have yet to crack the egg on how to utilize that spot properly. I agree about Sid down low and then having him kick the puck out to the bumper for some one-timers. The PP just needs to get EK the puck and let him run the show up top. And when the puck gets down low, let Sid do his thing. And keep 71 and 67 on the half boards for one-timers. Guentzel would be a solid bumper to kick into the slot for some quick shots.

The other option is to let Sid handle the right half-board and allow Geno to be sort of a rover to find space around the ice.

They are just way too stationary in the spots where they need movement to keep the PK honest. They make it so easy to be pushed to the perimeter any time they gain possession, which ultimately leads to easy defending and clears from the PK unit.

[KG]

Sullivan now wants to turn Karlsson into a better defenseman. 3X Norris trophy winner. Best offensive d man in the league. But Sully is going to coach him up and turn him into the next Ruhwedel.

I know it's only been 1 game into the season. But if Sully tries to neuter Karlsson, he can move on. Dubas won't stand for that. He has a man-crush on Kalrsson and moved mountains to trade for him. Sullivan would have a team full of Rusts and Ruhwedel's if he had his choice.

[BurghThing]

Always loved Rob Blake. Remember when Orpik was drafted, they said he was like Blake without the shot.

...and the hockey sense ... the skating ability ... the overall skillset ... LOL

I did enjoy Brooks' time here though. He still has the "shift of the ages" to his credit!

Yeah, but I'm not aware of the existence of Carboard Rob Blake, unlike....

Didn't we use that to replace Dumoulin?

I thought last year that WAS Dumolin!

[Daniel]

I just meant that getting Letang off PP1 was a good starting point. But they have yet to crack the egg on how to utilize that spot properly. I agree about Sid down low and then having him kick the puck out to the bumper for some one-timers. The PP just needs to get EK the puck and let him run the show up top. And when the puck gets down low, let Sid do his thing. And keep 71 and 67 on the half boards for one-timers. Guentzel would be a solid bumper to kick into the slot for some quick shots.

The other option is to let Sid handle the right half-board and allow Geno to be sort of a rover to find space around the ice.

They are just way too stationary in the spots where they need movement to keep the PK honest. They make it so easy to be pushed to the perimeter any time they gain possession, which ultimately leads to easy defending and clears from the PK unit.

Or pair Karlsson and Letang with Sid and Geno for two units. Two with size in front of the net two in the high slot to get open and two off the boards, along with two behind the net. Create two units and let Karlsson run one PP and someone run the other, figure out who does the other spots and I think you have two really good units.

[Antonio]

Sullivan now wants to turn Karlsson into a better defenseman. 3X Norris trophy winner. Best offensive d man in the league. But Sully is going to coach him up and turn him into the next Ruhwedel.

I know it's only been 1 game into the season. But if Sully tries to neuter Karlsson, he can move on. Dubas won't stand for that. He has a man-crush on Kalrsson and moved mountains to trade for him. Sullivan would have a team full of Rusts and Ruhwedel's if he had his choice.

Oh brother. Improve his game. Like he is some 2 year novice. Christ, that is part of that guy's problem. He has been around a long time and is one of the best offensive D men in the last 30 years, stop trying to force everyone and everything into your limited narrow pathetic "I was a worthless journeyman plugger in the NHL so everyone else should be" and embrace it. Must have just killed Sullivan every second when Phil was here and there was victory in spite of what I am sure was Sullivan's utter hatred for him.

[Three Stars]

If our lip reading is up to its normal level, after this interview Tanger told EK that he hates doing those flarking things.

It might not have been flarking.