• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Pittsburgh Penguins (Official Thread)

He also looked seriously disengaged on the defensive end in both the Columbus and NYR series....

He's playing with Kunitz and an AHL winger in Gibbons. Kunitz has evolved from a wrecking ball, which Crosby needs, to a perimeter player who doesn't play overly physical at all. He's visibly frustrated. He was shitty, absolutely.

You have got to be fucking kidding...

About what? Dude coasted to 104 points. There is nobody else in the league who can look so average and rack up those kinds of points.

Saying he isn't the best player in the world is hilarious. It's a total what have you done for me lately mentality, which is pretty short-sighted in such a team oriented game. I'd like to see some opposing arguments instead of blind hatred for once. I watched the majority of Pens games this year. You can't expect anyone to carry an entire line all the time when the line has a borderline NHL talent and disengaged perimeter player, even if the player you want to carry the line is Crosby. Especially against tough defenses like CBJ and NYR have. And he's still going to win MVP by a ridiculous margin.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
He's playing with Kunitz and an AHL winger in Gibbons. Kunitz has evolved from a wrecking ball, which Crosby needs, to a perimeter player who doesn't play overly physical at all. He's visibly frustrated. He was [Mark May]ty, absolutely.

About what? Dude coasted to 104 points. There is nobody else in the league who can look so average and rack up those kinds of points.

Saying he isn't the best player in the world is hilarious. It's a total what have you done for me lately mentality, which is pretty short-sighted in such a team oriented game. I'd like to see some opposing arguments instead of blind hatred for once. I watched the majority of Pens games this year. You can't expect anyone to carry an entire line all the time when the line has a borderline NHL talent and disengaged perimeter player, even if the player you want to carry the line is Crosby. Especially against tough defenses like CBJ and NYR have. And he's still going to win MVP by a ridiculous margin.
No it is not about what have you done for me lately.. The regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs are 2 different seasons and Crosby did not show up when it meant something. Scoring during the regular season is totally different than scoring in the playoffs but being a big hockey fan you should know that. The best player in the world would show up when his team needs him not during a regular-season when scoring for supposedly the best player in the world (according to you) is pretty easy.
 
Upvote 0
I just don't think it is nearly as clear cut as you make it out to be. Toews has to at least be in the discussion. I would be interested to see a poll of GMs/coaches would would they rather have: Toews or Crosby.
 
Upvote 0
I just don't think it is nearly as clear cut as you make it out to be. Toews has to at least be in the discussion. I would be interested to see a poll of GMs/coaches would would they rather have: Toews or Crosby.
Toews might get one vote.
No it is not about what have you done for me lately.. The regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs are 2 different seasons and Crosby did not show up when it meant something. Scoring during the regular season is totally different than scoring in the playoffs but being a big hockey fan you should know that. The best player in the world would show up when his team needs him not during a regular-season when scoring for supposedly the best player in the world (according to you) is pretty easy.
He has 114 points in 95 playoff games. This is a ridiculous discussion.
 
Upvote 0
After watching this series, I do not understand why Crosby is the face of this franchise when Malkin clearly is a better player IMO

I am talking about this year! Malkin was clearly the face of the Pens.

I think there is a difference between the "current best player" on a team and "the face of the team". The "face of the team" is probably the most popular and/or most recognized player on the team. The first year that you are the "best Player" does not necessarily promote you to being the "face of the team". Crosby was the initial "golden boy" and/or "the chosen one" of the NHL, #1 draft pick of a poor Penguin team, and lead them to a Stanley Cup. A lot of players have remained the "face of their team" even in their declining years, i.e. Derick Jeter (Yankees).
 
Upvote 0
I won't go as far as this writer goes, but Crosby did look listless at times in the Columbus series, and although I didn't watch nearly as much of the NYR/PIT series as everyone else, it seems like the writer's perception was Crosby quit on Bylsma.

http://triblive.com/sports/joestarkey/6101920-74/crosby-penguins-game#axzz31vb5ppK6

Have at it.
Without reading the article, the premise seems a little too convenient to me. An easy way to put the blame at the feet of a coach who is hated by the fanbase, while explaining away poor play from the golden child and leaving optimism that he'll play better once the hated coach is gone.
 
Upvote 0
Pens signed four players in free agency today. I think they're done for the day.

They signed the recently bought-out Christian Ehrhoff on a one year deal. Great signing, and it gives them the ability to move another defender for forward help. I figure they'll look to package Paul Martin with a prospect and find an answer for the top six.

They signed Thomas Greiss as a backup for Fleury. Best backup available. Good signing. Zatkoff probably on his way out.

Signed ex-Jacket Blake Comeau. Depth player, they got him cheap. Nice signing if only for the fact that it's 1) cheap and 2) replaces Tanner Glass or Craig Adams.

Kulemin is still on the market and I expect the Pens to get him. If they do, making a trade for an additional top sixer will complete the top six. Radim Vrbata is still a free agent who they could go after if Kulemin doesn't sign.

They need to try to move Scuderi so they can fill out the bottom six with solid depth. He won't get much of a return, but the cap space is the value. Teams needing to reach the cap floor might be interested (Calgary, Buffalo). But that's just speculation on my part..

Ex-Penguins had great days. Washington signed Orpik for five years at 5.5M per year. One of the worst contracts I've ever seen. Calgary just signed Engellend for 2.9M per year. Also horrible. Tanner Glass got a raise from the Rangers despite being scratched against them in the playoffs. Joe Vitale got 1.17M per year, which is steep, but he's an effective fourth line energy guy. And finally, Jussi Jokinen, a very streaky player who was waived recently got a four year deal for 4M per. Too much term and too much money for a player like Jokinen in my opinion.

Should be interesting in the coming days to see how the roster fills out. Right now, the team does not have enough NHL forwards to fill out an opening day roster. They need three more, at least.
 
Upvote 0
I understood the Bylsma firing after two disastrous playoff where a team with Crosby & Malkin couldn't score goals. But Jim Rutherford destroyed the Carolina Hurricanes. They went from being Cup winners to being an old, slow team and it will take years for them to recover. He's doing the same thing in Pittsburgh, although to be fair this practice began under his predecessor.

For years it was "the Pens system is deep" and that was true at the time. But prospect after prospect have been dealt for veterans in pursuit of Cup runs that never materialized after the 2009 victory over Detroit. Now Crosby & Malkin are both older than Gretzky was when he won his last title, the system isn't as deep, and the Pens are strapped with cap-unfriendly contracts on aging vets like Paul Martin.

Their late season collapse in 2015 has them on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. What would make it worse is the fact Rutherford unloaded their first round pick to Edmonton for David Perron midseason. It becomes a lottery pick if the Pens miss the postseason and they won't gain any benefit from it. :argh:
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top