Very little. He still needs a lot of work.
- Tojo.

Yea it seems like Poulin had a great season whereas some would argue Legare took a step back in some ways. Not always a fair review given Poulin's team is good and Legare's isnt, but yea I wasnt thrilled with what we saw about Legare this season. He just isnt a great skater. The good thing for him is that is something you can work on, but I doubt he is ready next year.

Even if you add Poulin and Oliver-Joseph for Marleau and Schultz... and then a guy like Ruhwedel can replace Johnson. Those are three moves in the right direction in my opinion. I think I read Poulin can play both LW and RW. That will be valuable as the roster starts to fill out.

I know odds of winning are low but GMJR still scares me...

the Pens will win the lottery, i could see him wanting to take Byfield instead... gotta love that big body and defensive polish... and we have a much bigger need for 3rd line center right?

if Pens lose the lottery and pick 15th, I could definitely see him giving the 15th pick to MIN because he's such a stand up guy.

(Though I wonder if MIN would give us something in order to get the 15th this year instead of our 2021 1st.)
- YouMeAndDupuis9

He has to give him one of them regardless, so what does it matter if it's this year or next? How do you next year the Pens don't finish even worse and draft higher? What if next year is a deeper draft?

Might as well play some lottery games. Obviously, this board wants the Penguins to win but curious how you feel about the other teams.

In order of who I want to win most to who I want to win least:

PIT

MIN

WPG

EDM

FLA

NSH

TOR

NYR
- YouMeAndDupuis9

This is my order, too.

Over/Under on the % of people who actually read this article?

We get swept by the Isles, so what does JR do with the best chance remaining in the window?:

1. Gives Sully a 4 year extension after clearly being outcoached
2. Only FA acquisition was Tanev, with a ridiculous contract
3. Deals away RFA Kahun for Sheary and Rodrigues
4. Trades a 3rd round pick for a cooked 40.5 year old Marleau when other teams were snatching up better, more useful players for about the same cost.

The only good thing he's done in the past year was to finally get Zucker.

Since FA 2017, JR has been mostly not so good, a lot of time and assets spent trying to undo all the little mistakes that add up:

http://www.nhltradetracke...eam/Pittsburgh_Penguins/1

Granted, every GM is a mixed bag, but JR seems to be trending in the wrong direction.
- Hockey66

Marino for a 6th is better than all those bad deals combined. Plus dumping Gudbranson for nothing and getting Kahun in the first place by dumping Maatta. And trading up for Legare may pay off down the road.

I'm not saying he's safe, but add all that to the Zucker trade and Rutherford has had some strong moves thia year.
- Tojo.

I almost added those, but technically they were more than a year ago. Marino sounds like it was mostly a scout and JR was just the administrator of the trade. The others, yes, but still, too little since then. They had major problems and tinkering around the edges isn't going to get it done. Not even close.

Over/Under on the % of people who actually read this article?
- gdsmack267

5%

I know odds of winning are low but GMJR still scares me...

the Pens will win the lottery, i could see him wanting to take Byfield instead... gotta love that big body and defensive polish... and we have a much bigger need for 3rd line center right?

if Pens lose the lottery and pick 15th, I could definitely see him giving the 15th pick to MIN because he's such a stand up guy.

(Though I wonder if MIN would give us something in order to get the 15th this year instead of our 2021 1st.)
- YouMeAndDupuis9

You don’t pass on a generational winger to take a (frank)ing third line center.

We get swept by the Isles, so what does JR do with the best chance remaining in the window?:

1. Gives Sully a 4 year extension after clearly being outcoached
2. Only FA acquisition was Tanev, with a ridiculous contract
3. Deals away RFA Kahun for Sheary and Rodrigues
4. Trades a 3rd round pick for a cooked 40.5 year old Marleau when other teams were snatching up better, more useful players for about the same cost.

The only good thing he's done in the past year was to finally get Zucker.

Since FA 2017, JR has been mostly not so good, a lot of time and assets spent trying to undo all the little mistakes that add up:

http://www.nhltradetracke...eam/Pittsburgh_Penguins/1

Granted, every GM is a mixed bag, but JR seems to be trending in the wrong direction.
- Hockey66



I almost added those, but technically they were more than a year ago. Marino sounds like it was mostly a scout and JR was just the administrator of the trade. The others, yes, but still, too little since then. They had major problems and tinkering around the edges isn't going to get it done. Not even close.
- Hockey66

Wouldn’t need Zucker if he didn’t trade away Pearson.

Jesse Marshall is going to do an article about how Montreal stopped the Malkin line. Looking forward to that. I believe Montreal went with the bold plan of putting their best players on Malkin instead of Sid. Worked out great for them as Malkin's line did nothing while Sid's was just ok not dominant.
- Tojo.

I don't think it's a bold plan at all when you have the two weakest puck/board battlers on Sid's line. It's actually common sense. If we faced a team in the playoffs and they had Sheary on the 1st line, I would say, "Cool, we don't have to worry about him or that line." Just attack him and he will fold like a cheap suit.

Eat a Richardk

i enjoyed this a lot. great blog.

I almost added those, but technically they were more than a year ago. Marino sounds like it was mostly a scout and JR was just the administrator of the trade. The others, yes, but still, too little since then. They had major problems and tinkering around the edges isn't going to get it done. Not even close.
- Hockey66

I don't play the game of only giving credit to GMJR for the moves you don't like. They're all on him, good and bad. He added a top 6 wing with 3.5 years of control and a top 4 defenseman with 7. That's not tinkering at the edges. How many teams can you name who added 2 long-term, top half of the line-up players? Your standard is a little unrealistic IMO.

Wouldn’t need Zucker if he didn’t trade away Pearson.
- j.boyd919

Honest question, did you feel that way at the time, because I don't remember anyone wanting to keep Pearson. (Plenty didn't want Gudbranson, but that's another point.) Wish we had the version Vancouver got.

LMFAO...click bait. Yeah the team that brought us the draft lottery by tanking to get Mario deserve to EVER win another lottery pick

Julien has talked about a formula he uses to build lines where he gets a 2 way center, a speedy wing who excels in transition, and a wing who's good in the dirty areas with a scoring touch. Considering that's how he built the perfection line in Boston and the Danault line, maybe he's on to something.
- Tojo.

Not to pick on you (I'm in no position to do that to you), but I also thought this was common sense. Maybe you were being sarcastic? I've been saying this for years. Ideally all lines should have a fast sniper/scorer and a grinder/board battler/screener as wingers. It just makes for a balanced attack. Too much of one or the other and the line will quickly become ineffective, as we have painfully witnessed.

The Crosby line had zero cycle and zone time because Sully put the two weakest puck/board battlers on the line, so the transition was good, but they were one and done, sometimes not even one. Sid thrives on the extended cycles. Of course, Sully waited until the elimination game to change it, but by then it was too late. Rust / Horny were the obvious choices opposite Guentzel from the start (or some other similar configuration). One of many inexplicably poor decisions by Sully.

He has to give him one of them regardless, so what does it matter if it's this year or next? How do you next year the Pens don't finish even worse and draft higher? What if next year is a deeper draft?
- Rinosaur

I take my chances the Pens finish better and want the pick sooner.

Honest question, did you feel that way at the time, because I don't remember anyone wanting to keep Pearson. (Plenty didn't want Gudbranson, but that's another point.) Wish we had the version Vancouver got.
- Tojo.

Yeah, Pearson's scoring dried up and people said he was not a good fit here after a good start. Not sure if it was chemistry, deployment, or if more time would have helped.

Remember also that the reason we acquired Pearson in the first place was because Hagelin's scoring dried up. Then later we were like, "Yeah, let's get that guy back. Oh, damn, now the Caps got him, and for cheap!"

I would be a terrible GM because I tend to be impatient and make knee-jerk decisions. On the other hand, sometimes you don't know if a player is heading for a decline, so sometimes it's prudent to trade them while they still have value. I think it's pretty hard to blame JR for the Hags and Pearson moves. He was trying to kick-start the offense that had become stagnant for long stretches and those were the obvious choices.

Pens need a dynamic forward to fully maximize Jack Johnson's breakout skills.

Pens need a dynamic forward to fully maximize Jack Johnson's breakout skills.
- GalacticStone

Bravo, sir, bravo. Twist that knife!

Honest question, did you feel that way at the time, because I don't remember anyone wanting to keep Pearson. (Plenty didn't want Gudbranson, but that's another point.) Wish we had the version Vancouver got.
- Tojo.

Honestly I don’t even know lol it was so long ago I’d have to go check some old blogs and see what my opinions were. But historically Zucker and Pearson generally produce the same amount of points. Both are LWs and both left handed shots. I think Tanner has like 14 in 44, so a down year would have had him at 25-30 in a season. But he pops back up to 45 in Vancouver.

His scoring definitely dried up a bit but I don’t really remember what else was happening with the team.

I think Zucker probably hovers around 40 next season. Maybe 45. Depends on his PP production as he usually gets 14-16 on the PP.

Honestly I don’t even know lol it was so long ago I’d have to go check some old blogs and see what my opinions were. But historically Zucker and Pearson generally produce the same amount of points. Both are LWs and both left handed shots. I think Tanner has like 14 in 44, so a down year would have had him at 25-30 in a season. But he pops back up to 45 in Vancouver.

His scoring definitely dried up a bit but I don’t really remember what else was happening with the team.

I think Zucker probably hovers around 40 next season. Maybe 45. Depends on his PP production as he usually gets 14-16 on the PP.
- j.boyd919

They are both the same age, but Zucker is smaller and faster. I guess he fits Sully's scheme better, but we could probably use a guy like Pearson more.

I think getting Zucker was also made more of a priority because of Guentzel getting injured for the season. I know we tried to get him the prior summer for Kessel.

You don’t pass on a generational winger to take a (frank)ing third line center.
- j.boyd919

Maybe I just haven't noticed, but I haven't heard the word "generational" in terms of Lafreniere.

Honest question, did you feel that way at the time, because I don't remember anyone wanting to keep Pearson. (Plenty didn't want Gudbranson, but that's another point.) Wish we had the version Vancouver got.
- Tojo.

I think he just needed some more time. I remember him playing well here, but just not producing.

does this mean Brian Burke will be ranting you '' won a lottery'' again ?

Yeah, Pearson's scoring dried up and people said he was not a good fit here after a good start. Not sure if it was chemistry, deployment, or if more time would have helped.

Remember also that the reason we acquired Pearson in the first place was because Hagelin's scoring dried up. Then later we were like, "Yeah, let's get that guy back. Oh, damn, now the Caps got him, and for cheap!"

I would be a terrible GM because I tend to be impatient and make knee-jerk decisions. On the other hand, sometimes you don't know if a player is heading for a decline, so sometimes it's prudent to trade them while they still have value. I think it's pretty hard to blame JR for the Hags and Pearson moves. He was trying to kick-start the offense that had become stagnant for long stretches and those were the obvious choices.
- Hockey66

Well at least you can admit it. 😜

Actually how I should have answered your other post is after trading his 1st, top prospect, and not having a 2nd, it would have taken Poulin and next year's first to try and match what Vancouver paid for Toffoli. Which means this lottery pick would be gone and that would be a potential disaster. And that's for Toffoli so I'm not sure who realistically they get that changes things.