i also think we may just have slightly divergent views on letangs merit as a player in the first place. if we wouldve had this talk last year, id be bending over backwards to give him the extra million per. now, im not really so sure.
- stayinthefnnet

Agree to disagree. I think people are overreacting to one bad playoff series. Imo

Yeah who cares ,if Pittsburgh puts Letang on the market they wont win that trade

- top shelf 15

Pens may not win the trade, but would be in better position to win the war. As others have stated, paying LeTang $7mil+ (which he is worth on the open market, even with his flaws) when we already have Crosby and Malkin signed for $18mil+ would lead to rounding out the team with too many minimum salary/AHL guys down the road.

We hope. And while those guys have great potential. Is there a letang among them? In shero I trust.
- ChrisMS

Pouliot could be, Harr Despres and Maata are all better two way versions of d men we need. I can see Harrington in a 2012-13 Despres situation upcoming... probably get some games between Dumoulin as well

Rick Tocchet ‏@RealRocket22 3m
If Pens are trading Letang I would definitely take a crack at him . He needs just a little tinkering in his game . Great upside

Rick Tocchet ‏@RealRocket22 1m
Letang asking for 7 m is not out of line either . There are d-m out there signing for 5.5 m and they are 2 levels below Letang

Agree to disagree. I think people are overreacting to one bad playoff series. Imo
- ChrisMS

He is inconsistent. He is a defenseman a la MAF. Pressure can unglue people. Maybe in a different setting with a less high strung coach either one would do well. I really don't know. But for now what I see are two thoroughbreds who have their head up their ass waaaay too often. I have seen both play like the best but far too often it's bad decision after bad decision. Where is the learning?

MAF at 5 million is annoying. Letang at 7 Million will hurt the team with his play and his wallet. No to Letang. No way, no how.

despite his flaws, i would want to keep letang if possible. however, its just not feasible. im not going to say martin is a better player than letang, but for this team, i think martin at 5 may be a better return on investment than letang at 7.5.

some of the blow up mentality i try and rationalize as just still being in a shell shocked state from the nature of the losses. i was guilty of that myself.
- stayinthefnnet

I think most of us would prefer to keep Letang as opposed to trading him. That said, in these days of a salary cap and with the big two on the books, its hard to keep him and pay him north of 7 million. That is a huge percentage of money allocated to three players. Chris' idea is sign him for 7 million, deal Martin and get someone to replace him. That doesn't solve the long term problem at all.

Martin can do what Letang did on the power play, if not better and already plays a better defense. Let someone else pay the heavy price to acquire him and then sign him to 7 to 7.5 million per year.

Pouliot could be, Harr Despres and Maata are all better two way versions of d men we need. I can see Harrington in a 2012-13 Despres situation upcoming... probably get some games between Dumoulin as well
- nelson911

Well, if Danny boy is around in two years, he is going to have to change his ways relative to handling young d-men since Martin is the only one signed. I fully expect to see one of them get the Despres treatment this year.

Agree to disagree. I think people are overreacting to one bad playoff series. Imo
- ChrisMS

It wasn't one bad play-off series. He was horrid against the Flyers last year; horrid against the Islanders this year and non existent against the Bruins this year. If you think its been only one bad series, you need a reality check.

Rick Tocchet ‏@RealRocket22 3m
If Pens are trading Letang I would definitely take a crack at him . He needs just a little tinkering in his game . Great upside

Rick Tocchet ‏@RealRocket22 1m
Letang asking for 7 m is not out of line either . There are d-m out there signing for 5.5 m and they are 2 levels below Letang
- nh4442

He's not wrong on either of those.

But Letang at $7 million still doesn't make a whole lot of sense for the Pens.

At first I thought you was just a tad ignorant. Now I know your just a troll. Its sad if calling people names such as retard and taking digs at people makes you feel like a big man. Rick on brother... I ain't botherin with it no more
- ChrisMS

UMMM ... I think you need to re-read my post. I said your ideas were retarded, didn't call you a retard. It's not taking a dig at you ... it's your ideas that I'm taking a dig at. They make no sense whatsoever for the long term or short term. Carry on.

Trade Orpik ... when there is NO ONE to replace what he does in the system - no one is ready

Trade Martin ... when there is NO ONE to replace what he does in the system - no one is ready

The return you get for these two is minimal compared to what you can get with trading Letang. It's not rocket science here. The free agent crop out there sucks; our prospects absent Domoullin aren't ready just yet and its ridiculous to pay a PMD who has missed quite a few games the last two years and quite frankly has many defensive lapses in his game north of 7 million per year. We all prefer to keep him, but it makes little sense to pay him that much. If this was major league baseball with no salary cap - different story. This isn't baseball.

It wasn't one bad play-off series. He was horrid against the Flyers last year; horrid against the Islanders this year and non existent against the Bruins this year. If you think its been only one bad series, you need a reality check.
- Oneonta Penguin

And while he put up points, there were plenty of "scream at the TV" moments out of him over the last couple of regular seasons.

His highs are really high, and his lows are really low.

Well, if Danny boy is around in two years, he is going to have to change his ways relative to handling young d-men since Martin is the only one signed. I fully expect to see one of them get the Despres treatment this year.
- Oneonta Penguin

I think a lot of it has to do with the money being spent... Niskanen was getting 2.3, they just aren't gonna go ahead and bench that in place of a ELC player who was alright but not fantastic...I think this year the gears will change... they know Nisk is bottom 6 guy, he struggles in top 4 minutes, Despres has a full training camp to jump up and be in that spot

He's not wrong on either of those.

But Letang at $7 million still doesn't make a whole lot of sense for the Pens.
- rival22

I wish he was the coach

but you are right... and everyone knew this...

Rick Tocchet ‏@RealRocket22 2m
Before some of you freak out , I didn't say Shero was trading him to the Flyers . I said I would take a crack at him. Relax

Letang will resign ,and its a good thing

- top shelf 15

I don't think you can come to that conclusion, unless Letang is taking 5-6 million per year. Anything north of that makes no sense.

He's not wrong on either of those.

But Letang at $7 million still doesn't make a whole lot of sense for the Pens.
- rival22

We need people who keep it out of the net. Period. And soon we may need a new goalie as well. I'm OK with MAF as long as we have Vokoun, but that can't be the norm if MAF is fish flopping night after night. The cap is a reality that will dictate who stays and goes. Bottom line, is our offense is good. Defense needs adjustments.

The good news is Letang will bring another crazy haul. I do t care how his playoffs ended

And while he put up points, there were plenty of "scream at the TV" moments out of him over the last couple of regular seasons.

His highs are really high, and his lows are really low.
- rival22

The only difference between him and MAF in the play-offs to me is that Letang can offset ridiculous defensive mistakes with offense. Outside of that, both have had bad play off years the last two seasons.

Rob Scuderi will be on Mark Madden's show in 15 minutes (3:30)

Rob Scuderi will be on Mark Madden's show in 15 minutes (3:30)
- Ryan_Wilson

he will say how he loved his time in Pitt and he loves being in LA and he will hopefully get a deal done soon..

Allan Walsh ‏@walsha 2m
Meeting with Pascal Dupuis today to discuss the future. #SuperDuper pic.twitter.com/dhFbcQ7DRu

@walsha: Meeting with Pascal Dupuis today to discuss the future. #SuperDuper http://t.co/dhFbcQ7DRu
or
or

Allan Walsh ‏@walsha 2m
Meeting with Pascal Dupuis today to discuss the future. #SuperDuper pic.twitter.com/dhFbcQ7DRu
- nh4442

Ahhh you beat me to it. Good on ya.

@walsha: Meeting with Pascal Dupuis today to discuss the future. #SuperDuper http://t.co/dhFbcQ7DRu
or
or
- HopintheCordoba

Looks like Dupes was coloring the menu.

Allan Walsh ‏@walsha 2m
Meeting with Pascal Dupuis today to discuss the future. #SuperDuper pic.twitter.com/dhFbcQ7DRu
- nh4442

Well, he has a Pittsburgh T-Shirt on, that's a good sign, right?