I'm not talking about what we'd "rather" do. I'm looking at what makes sense. Kahun at his price may negate the need for Rust. I'm all for moving Hornqvist, but I don't see it happening, at least this season.
- Rinosaur

I hear you. I like Rust and I think he's fantastic, but he's so streaky sometimes. I think JR is gonna mainly grab forwards. He's got his "best defensive unit" and all he lost was the 7th Dman that was scratched in the play offs. I'm not sure what's available on the market but I think more middle 6 forward are coming our way.

I'm not talking about what we'd "rather" do. I'm looking at what makes sense. Kahun at his price may negate the need for Rust. I'm all for moving Hornqvist, but I don't see it happening, at least this season.
- Rinosaur

I don’t think you can have too many Rust type players. Those guys are good at creating space and can play anywhere in the lineup. I’d still rather keep Rust.

Doubtful, but I'd rather see Horny go and keep Rust. I think Horny isn't that attractive on the market though, even though a lot of pens fan seem to think GMs will be bidding for him.
- Thrill81

He’s good for 40+ points and 20+ goals (when healthy). I feel like he’s in the same predicament as maatta was in. He’s being paid a little too much when there’s cheaper players on the current roster who can take his place. If a team has a need for a RW and they strike out in free agency, Hornqvist could be targeted. Not too sure if he would waive his NTC though

Give him a chance. He needs to learn the system.
- j.boyd919

Hahaha 🙃

How is Maatta only saw him play a couple of times last year was not impressed. He seemed a tad slow . We're my eyes correct?
Really liked Kahun surprised the Hawks gave him up.

He’s good for 40+ points and 20+ goals (when healthy). I feel like he’s in the same predicament as maatta was in. He’s being paid a little too much when there’s cheaper players on the current roster who can take his place. If a team has a need for a RW and they strike out in free agency, Hornqvist could be targeted. Not too sure if he would waive his NTC though
- drummer829

See, I get that, but he seems a tad slow, and he's gotten quality line mates for the most part. My biggest complaint is that while he's got a good scoring touch around the net and is physical, he doesn't generate offense well. That hurts his value I think for 5 million.

How is Maatta only saw him play a couple of times last year was not impressed. He seemed a tad slow . We're my eyes correct?
Really liked Kahun surprised the Hawks gave him up.
- HamiltonHawk

I feel like he’s best in the offensive zone. Smart with the puck on blue line and can make solid passes and has a solid shot. If he’s paired with another good dman then his actual defensive woes won’t be as noticeable. He isn’t the strongest along the boards and his speed is definitely a weakness. Pens made a good trade getting Marcus Pettersson and he seems to have essentially taken Maatta’s spot in the top 4

I don’t think you can have too many Rust type players. Those guys are good at creating space and can play anywhere in the lineup. I’d still rather keep Rust.
- j.boyd919

I like Rust, but the Pens are going to have a glut of mid to lower wingers. IMO you now much Rust to free the space, sign someone like Zucc or Gus and find the final 4th liner.

See, I get that, but he seems a tad slow, and he's gotten quality line mates for the most part. My biggest complaint is that while he's got a good scoring touch around the net and is physical, he doesn't generate offense well. That hurts his value I think for 5 million.
- Thrill81

I mean, Nashville traded away a young, decent bottom 6 player and a 3rd round pick for Simmonds. I know Simmonds is a UFA, but if a team throws him a lot of money then I think that shows that some teams still value that gritty net front presence player

I mean, Nashville traded away a young, decent bottom 6 player and a 3rd round pick for Simmonds. I know Simmonds is a UFA, but if a team throws him a lot of money then I think that shows that some teams still value that gritty net front presence player
- drummer829

I mean I respect that, and understand that opinion. See I was more thinking how a lot of penguin fans piss me off because their line of thinking is often, for example, "Maatta is trash, has bricks for skates, contributes nothing, and is overpaid" and then will follow up their comment later with something along the lines of "Yeah so if a team is desperate for some defensive help, I think they'd trade a 2nd and a prospect for Maatta" I see a lot of people like this on youtube or instagram or twitter, not too often here. I actually really like Maatta and exaggerated the claims, but I'm tired of seeing fans point out why a player is "awful" but then argue why teams should sell the farm for them. I understand with certain individuals or breeds of players this statement holds true, such as Simmonds as you mentioned. However in a general sense a bad player will get bad return as long as the GMs aren't valuing said player as more than they are.

My Hawks friends like Kahun and what Rutherford said about him makes me feel like he's prioritizing the right things, but I have no clue if Kahun is actually good or not. I know nothing about him.

(frank) I'm gonna miss Oli. This clears a lot of space, which I'm sure Rutherford will piss away. I guess this trade at least has potential.

I don’t think you can have too many Rust type players. Those guys are good at creating space and can play anywhere in the lineup. I’d still rather keep Rust.
- j.boyd919

Good to see you've changed your opinion on a great guy!

I like Rust, but the Pens are going to have a glut of mid to lower wingers. IMO you now much Rust to free the space, sign someone like Zucc or Gus and find the final 4th liner.
- Rinosaur

Personally I don’t believe Zucc is an upgrade to Rust. They’re about the same except Rust is cheaper and 5 years younger. Nyquist on the other hand I’d prefer over Rust.

My Hawks friends like Kahun and what Rutherford said about him makes me feel like he's prioritizing the right things, but I have no clue if Kahun is actually good or not. I know nothing about him.

(frank) I'm gonna miss Oli. This clears a lot of space, which I'm sure Rutherford will piss away. I guess this trade at least has potential.
- Victoro311

We can only hope he clears out more by shipping out JJ.

Good to see you've changed your opinion on a great guy!
- Victoro311

Hey man I give credit where it’s due. He was dog poop back in 2015-16 but he’s come around to a solid middle six guy.

Personally I don’t believe Zucc is an upgrade to Rust. They’re about the same except Rust is cheaper and 5 years younger. Nyquist on the other hand I’d prefer over Rust.
- j.boyd919

I'd love Nyquist here. I'm sure JR will go get Ferland instead and pay him the same money that Nyquist signs for.

How is Maatta only saw him play a couple of times last year was not impressed. He seemed a tad slow . We're my eyes correct?
Really liked Kahun surprised the Hawks gave him up.
- HamiltonHawk

He seems to play up or down depending on his partner. In a competent pairing, he'll be fine. He's pretty slow footed so there's no chance he can make up for his mistakes or his partners mistakes.

I like OM. He can't afford to lose even a half step the way the league is going. Pretty injury prone so far. Multiple shoulder surgeries. Thyroid cancer. Kid has had a tough beginning to his career.

How is Maatta only saw him play a couple of times last year was not impressed. He seemed a tad slow . We're my eyes correct?
Really liked Kahun surprised the Hawks gave him up.
- HamiltonHawk

I'll copy over from my text message convo with my hawks friends:

I’m a pretty big Oli Stan. Not everyone in Pittsburgh agrees with me. If he’s with a good partner he’s good but if he’s with a bad partner he’s bad. Basically, he’s good but he’s not good enough to carry a pairing or prop anyone up. He has a great stick and his micro stats say he’s great at defending the neutral zone and keeping controlled entries down, but he’s super slow and capable of getting burned by fast skaters which is why he’s not good at propping up bad defenders because he’s not great at covering for people due to his foot speed. The reason why he struggled at times in Pitt was because he was asked to prop up some pretty bad guys like the second year of Trevor Daley when Daley was awful and this year Jack Johnson. If the plan is to put him with Seabrook you’ll probably have a bad time.

EDIT: You mind giving some Kahun deets? Also, how do we feel about John C. Kahun as a nickname?

How is Maatta only saw him play a couple of times last year was not impressed. He seemed a tad slow . We're my eyes correct?
Really liked Kahun surprised the Hawks gave him up.
- HamiltonHawk

https://twitter.com/thepo.../1140057642632646657?s=21

^^check those numbers out. Maatta is good when he’s paired with capable partners. He’s not the kind of player to prop up a pairing but he is defensively responsible and makes a good first pass despite his poor foot speed. He will get toasted a few times a year and that will stick out like a sore thumb in your mind but the majority of the season you probably won’t notice him (which is a good thing imo when it comes to Dmen that aren’t elite puck movers) and he’ll bang out 20-25 points.

Chicago has a poop ton of LD's now. Wish there was a way to try a Horn for Keith swap.

Keith/Letang
Dumo/Schultz
Pettersson/Guds

Chicago has a poop ton of LD's now. Wish there was a way to try a Horn for Keith swap.

Keith/Letang
Dumo/Schultz
Pettersson/Guds
- Rinosaur

Does Keith still have the chops to play top 2 minutes? I don't claim to know, I haven't seen him since Chicago was still a cup contender. The perception I've gotten from a lot of people is he's slower. Not sure how true that is though.

While it hurts to see Maatta go, I think it was a foregone conclusion...JR better do the right thing now and dump JJ into the Mariana's Trench where he belongs.

If the team had to dump a 24 y/o D to free up salary for the dumpster fires that JR keeps acquiring it's time for the old man to go. I for one cannot wait for his tenure to end.
- iworkatinitech

This might not be how the Pens see it, but to me Maatta and JJ wasn't an either/or decision. JJ should go just because he's bad. Whether Maatta was on the team or not doesn't impact that.

Moving Maatta was also a good decision because they had a better, cheaper option in Pettersson to move into his spot and create cap space. Next they need to find a cheap, 3rd pair LD.

I thought Rutherford sounded like he wanted picks for Maatta, but I'm happy he instead added a cheap, useful player.

This might not be how the Pens see it, but to me Maatta and JJ wasn't an either/or decision. JJ should go just because he's bad. Whether Maatta was on the team or not doesn't impact that.

Moving Maatta was also a good decision because they had a better, cheaper option in Pettersson to move into his spot and create cap space. Next they need to find a cheap, 3rd pair LD.

I thought Rutherford sounded like he wanted picks for Maatta, but I'm happy he instead added a cheap, useful player.
- Tojo.

The more I read about this trade the more I like it. Sounds like Kahun is a pretty good player. Next up...getting JJ the eff out of here (I still think it will happen).

I hear you. I like Rust and I think he's fantastic, but he's so streaky sometimes. I think JR is gonna mainly grab forwards. He's got his "best defensive unit" and all he lost was the 7th Dman that was scratched in the play offs. I'm not sure what's available on the market but I think more middle 6 forward are coming our way.
- Thrill81

I don't think this move gives them quite enough cap space for that, as they would probably have been slightly over before plus needed a buffer, but they could with another move.

24 year old Maatta at 4.08 mill per is gone but 33 year old JJ who's much worse and 3.25 per is still there. Not impressed. I don't think I could stomach another season of JJ. He better go.
- MattStrat

He just needs a change of scenery. (Wilkes-Barre)