12933 replies to this topic

[mrdannyg]

I'm surprised too - I'm even more surprised at the structure of the contract, with so few dollars at the end when he will still be reasonably young.

[Zach6668]

Niskanen at 2.3M per for two years.Good deal.

[serge]

MapleLeafpoker, on 28 June 2012 - 07:56 AM, said:

Honestly, what do we care about insurance? I dont own the Penguins, their profit/loss is pretty irrelevant to me. I figure they just signed the best player in the NHL for his career, and they just happen to have the 2nd best player on their roster too.As far as his health, most of us dont have the slightest idea of how it will go, so its a guessing game.You cant let him get away, so you might as well give him what he wants, hope he stays healthy, and reap the rewards for years to come.

While you are definetely correct , without insurance if Crosby was to get injured its a big blow to the organization. The Penguins dont have New York Yankees money to spend..I dont think they even have Leafs, Rangers , Montreal money. Its a signing they HAD to make for sure. They had no other choice but to sign him to this contract.One interesting thing is if they get Parise they will probably pay him more than Crosby. How will that fly?

[Fenxis]

serge, on 03 July 2012 - 10:20 AM, said:

One interesting thing is if they get Parise they will probably pay him more than Crosby. How will that fly?

IMHO if Parise signs there he will have a 8.6 cap hit.

[Zach6668]

You do know that the Penguins owner is a multi-billionaire, right?

[Fubar The Sperm]

I mean if the cap keeps going up 7 or 8 million won't seem as large in 3 or 4 years.

[Fenxis]

Zach6668, on 03 July 2012 - 11:10 AM, said:

You do know that the Penguins owner is a multi-billionaire, right?

SIgned for a 7.5 cap hit in Minny... my thought on the 8.6 max was as much symbolic as anything.

[Zach6668]

Well, when it's 13 years, the trade off for the player is a lower AAV. I heard the Pens were offering 10 years.

[dEv~]

http://twitpic.com/a3yak9

[MapleLeafpoker]

So, since you guys read much more Pens stuff then I do, here's a question.Why trade Michalek, if Parise wasnt a shoo in? Or was it to clear space in general, cause right now Im thinking Pittsburgh could use a D like Michalek. Am I wrong?

[Zach6668]

Yeah, I don't really understand that either. I guess they wanted to switch SOMETHING from the defensive disaster that happened in the playoffs. And while Michalek didn't have the best season, he certainly wasn't completely useless. They still need to replace him. Despres will probably be a regular this year, but still not loving the bottom 2 or 3 d-men. Pens could use a top 6 winger to replace Sullivan. I bet they do a 1-year deal with someone mediocre after striking out on the long term plan. They certainly won't spend good money on a mediocre player for too long. There'll be more free agents next season.

[serge]

Penguins are on a tear signing AHLers.Signed Phillipe(not Pascal) Dupuis to a two way deal.Didnt work out in Toronto..Never liked him to be honest...Cocky Montreal Canadiens fan.

[Zach6668]

Yeah, unless we get hit with the plague, he'll never see the NHL.Guess they needed to replace a bunch of their AHLers. There's usually pretty high turnover among the career AHL-types, always getting 1 year deals, always moving around to get the best money, etc.

[doox]

I thought the Michalek deal was part of something bigger yet to come, but I really don't understand it at this point. We're in need of a shut-down defenseman, now.

[dEv~]

Michalek was a bigger liability than Martin was last year but for some reason Martin was always the bigger lightning rod. I think they are both good players but I think it's less of an adjustment to their playing style for Martin.I think Shero is going to pull off a couple solid short term signings with hopefully leaving themselves more cap space to use at the deadline. Why not give Tangradi a true shot. Put him on a line with Sid/Dupius. Let him disrupt in front of the net and open up room for them. Despres is ready to go as well. Also the pens have an embarrassing amount of young d prospects. Maybe package a couple of them for a winger somewhere.

[Zach6668]

Unless Despres has a beyond awful camp, he should be basically a lock for a top 6 job to start the season.

[MapleLeafpoker]

dEv~, on 05 July 2012 - 06:29 PM, said:

Michalek was a bigger liability than Martin was last year

wow, is this true? I admit I didn't see a lot of him last year, and certainly not as much as you did, but I didn't get this impression. I thought he was a stud in Phoenix, always been a big fan of Z's game. Not flashy, but very steady.

[Zach6668]

I dunno, I thought he was ok. He took a step back from the year before, as did Martin. I think they were speculating that he was basically hurt all season, just playing through it. No idea what is true, obviously.The Martin bashing is/was way over the top. I mean, he certainly wasn't great, but he wasn't a huge pile of shit either. He took a step back, of course. I think the biggest thing was these two guys were paired together most of the time, and both of them struggling probably perpetuated each others struggles.

[dEv~]

I was a big fan of both in their first season but last year was just bad all around. Spliting them up helped them but it hurt both Orpik and Letang. Orpik especially playing with Z. Letang was better able to cover for Martin.Injuries could have certainly been a factor but I was more dissapointed with Z's play. It could be perhaps because I held him to a higher standard than Martin though. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a beast back in Phx as I just don't think he was a great fit in Bylsma's system.

[dEv~]

The Pens haven't gotten better this offseason. Sure having Crosby for a whole year (finger's crossed, knock on wood, etc) will help but I don't think they got better anywhere else. Moves are to be made and guys are going to be given opportunities to step up but I really hope they add a piece or two from the outside. Guess I gotta keep going back to the statement above my avatar.I'm guessing Doan's visit in NY didn't go as planned and may have triggered this deal. Funny thing is that I can see Doan fitting that system a lot better than Nash will.