Something weird is going on there. He must be a real treat to be around...
- 668710

This is something we might never find out about I guess. Probably he thinks he’s better than he actually is and it doesn’t bode well with teammates and coaches? Maybe a Ho-Sang type of situation?

This is something we might never find out about I guess. Probably he thinks he’s better than he actually is and it doesn’t bode well with teammates and coaches? Maybe a Ho-Sang type of situation?
- Barnaby36

Most likely. I mean he's a good player, but if he thinks he's some hot poop then he's out of his mind.

Most likely. I mean he's a good player, but if he thinks he's some hot poop then he's out of his mind.
- 668710

I had that feel about Sprong

Raivis Ansons RW 5th RP.

Just watched some highlights and I really liked the pick. Big guy and can score. Plays with Légaré in Baie Comeau Drakkar
- Barnaby36

Again, GOOD pick for the 5th round.

Kahun not qualified. I guess maybe JR new something?
- Rinosaur

I wasn’t expecting much when the hawks dumped him off for an underperforming, overpaid olli maatta to be honest. That’s not a good sign to start. Then pens dumped him for not much and the sabres dumped him for... nothing. But at least we won’t have to hear much anymore about how badly GMJR screwed that trade up.

Raivis Ansons RW 5th RP.

Just watched some highlights and I really liked the pick. Big guy and can score. Plays with Légaré in Baie Comeau Drakkar
- Barnaby36

Marshall is saying a bigger Dom Simon with a better shot and worse handling. Could be a lightning rod on this board if he's anything like Simon haha.

I wasn’t expecting much when the hawks dumped him off for an underperforming, overpaid olli maatta to be honest. That’s not a good sign to start. Then pens dumped him for not much and the sabres dumped him for... nothing. But at least we won’t have to hear much anymore about how badly GMJR screwed that trade up.
- pens4life-66

That’s what’s terrible about Wilson. He operates under the assumption a guy like Kahun has soooo many suitors and GMJR just traded him for garbage for the hell of it

Good chance most GMs knew this about Kahun and didn’t want him. Maybe GMJR just wanted him out of the room and Botts did him a solid and gave him a guy he could use

Marshall is saying a bigger Dom Simon with a better shot and worse handling. Could be a lightning rod on this board if he's anything like Simon haha.
- Victoro311

If we are getting NHL contributors that can play up and down the lineup in the 5th round, that is a win.

If we are getting NHL contributors that can play up and down the lineup in the 5th round, that is a win.
- kfinl170

I agree. I'm also a Simon fan by the way, so if he's just a bigger Dom Simon, I'm not gonna be upset.

Yeah, we’ve never drafted a goalie that has had an impact on our NHL roster...

Murray - 3rd round
Jarry - 2nd round

RW is a joke - only good for a laugh at times. He talks about not wanting to overpay at this position, I can’t think of a cheaper way to acquire a player than drafting them.

I agree. I'm also a Simon fan by the way, so if he's just a bigger Dom Simon, I'm not gonna be upset.
- Victoro311

Victoro, Simon has good hockey IQ even though he can’t finish and put the puck in the net. He does small things really well. I was hoping we’d re-sign him tbh.

Watch a bit of Raivis Ansons highlights and you’ll see he has a big frame and hunt pucks. I liked it.

That’s what’s terrible about Wilson. He operates under the assumption a guy like Kahun has soooo many suitors and GMJR just traded him for garbage for the hell of it

Good chance most GMs knew this about Kahun and didn’t want him. Maybe GMJR just wanted him out of the room and Botts did him a solid and gave him a guy he could use
- RoloTahmasee

Exactly! He talks like he has a pulse on the GMs throughout the league. He knows as much about these trades as everyone on this message board, and thinks every player wants to play for the Penguins at a hometown discount. He complains about cap hits and term, then says lets trade for a 30 year old Tyler Johnson at $5 million. Its hypocrisy and whining.

That’s what’s terrible about Wilson. He operates under the assumption a guy like Kahun has soooo many suitors and GMJR just traded him for garbage for the hell of it

Good chance most GMs knew this about Kahun and didn’t want him. Maybe GMJR just wanted him out of the room and Botts did him a solid and gave him a guy he could use
- RoloTahmasee

Exactly. I try and relay info here from time to time from my buddy when he tells me poop but in the summer he said the public probably hears about 3-5% of the actual talk that gms and organizations are doing. The draft is pretty cool to see from the scouts side of things. He named 5 players (which I posted last blog) after the pens picked in round 4 and by the time they picked in round 5 all 5 of those players were gone. 2 of them had 2nd round grades from the “media scouts” and he said all 5 of these guys will go before round 5 is done now just watch. Sure as shhiitt they did.

Exactly. I try and relay info here from time to time from my buddy when he tells me poop but in the summer he said the public probably hears about 3-5% of the actual talk that gms and organizations are doing. The draft is pretty cool to see from the scouts side of things. He named 5 players (which I posted last blog) after the pens picked in round 4 and by the time they picked in round 5 all 5 of those players were gone. 2 of them had 2nd round grades from the “media scouts” and he said all 5 of these guys will go before round 5 is done now just watch. Sure as shhiitt they did.
- pens4life-66

It's gotta be tough to evaluate NHL prospect pools going into drafts. Just an absurd amount of guys from leagues all over the world to keep track of and compare against each other. Must be a fun job year round, but very stressful during the offseason lead up to the draft given how much GMs must rely on their scouts. You could end up staking your whole career on a 17 year old kid busting out of juniors.

I think you guys did a bang up job! Jarry was the better goalie and now you have a cheap duo that can get the job done. You are officially out of the cap crunch, and I don't believe the 3rd line will be an issue anymore. With Kapanen added to the lineup your depth is very strong. If Letang can stay healthy, you boys will be contenders with very few cap concerns for at least the next two seasons.

RWs whole draft philosophy is based off of pts/game.

I think the Bill Belicheck draft model is much better. In the mid rounds I'd rather have a guy that is a 60% chance to be a Tanev than 1% to be Guentzel.

Notable RFAs who did not receive qualifying offers:

Dominik Kahun (BUF)
Mark Jankowski (CGY)
Devin Shore (CBJ)
Andreas Athanasiou (EDM)
Matt Benning (EDM)
Mirco Mueller (NJD)
Dominik Simon (PIT)
Frederik Gauthier (TOR)
Troy Stecher (VAN)
Nick Cousins (VGK)
Travis Boyd (WSH)

Plus Turris and Wennberg bought out.


There's legitimately some interesting options out there.

Notable RFAs who did not receive qualifying offers:

Dominik Kahun (BUF)
Mark Jankowski (CGY)
Devin Shore (CBJ)
Andreas Athanasiou (EDM)
Matt Benning (EDM)
Mirco Mueller (NJD)
Dominik Simon (PIT)
Frederik Gauthier (TOR)
Troy Stecher (VAN)
Nick Cousins (VGK)
Travis Boyd (WSH)

Plus Turris and Wennberg bought out.


There's legitimately some interesting options out there.
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I'd like to bring back Kahun... or hell, Simon if he finds out no one wants him for over 2 mil a year, yet alone the 3 mil he allegedly wanted.

I don't believe in the crap noise that Kahun was unhappy here and demanded a trade... just EK level rumor poop from the one tidbit that he wasn't a huge fan of learning a new system mid season.

Notable RFAs who did not receive qualifying offers:

Dominik Kahun (BUF)
Mark Jankowski (CGY)
Devin Shore (CBJ)
Andreas Athanasiou (EDM)
Matt Benning (EDM)
Mirco Mueller (NJD)
Dominik Simon (PIT)
Frederik Gauthier (TOR)
Troy Stecher (VAN)
Nick Cousins (VGK)
Travis Boyd (WSH)

Plus Turris and Wennberg bought out.


There's legitimately some interesting options out there.
- YouMeAndDupuis9

AA scores goals and that might be in our interest despite his poor overall game. I was hesitant on trading for him because I thought he'd cost way too much for the player he is, and he had a poor season last year. If that poor season's hurt his price tag, might be a worthy gamble for the third line.

Notable RFAs who did not receive qualifying offers:

Dominik Kahun (BUF)
Mark Jankowski (CGY)
Devin Shore (CBJ)
Andreas Athanasiou (EDM)
Matt Benning (EDM)
Mirco Mueller (NJD)
Dominik Simon (PIT)
Frederik Gauthier (TOR)
Troy Stecher (VAN)
Nick Cousins (VGK)
Travis Boyd (WSH)

Plus Turris and Wennberg bought out.


There's legitimately some interesting options out there.
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I’d go for Wennberg fast. Good C. He’d fit right in.

I'd like to bring back Kahun... or hell, Simon if he finds out no one wants him for over 2 mil a year, yet alone the 3 mil he allegedly wanted.

I don't believe in the crap noise that Kahun was unhappy here and demanded a trade... just EK level rumor poop from the one tidbit that he wasn't a huge fan of learning a new system mid season.
- Guile

Buffalo has 5 good forwards and they decided not to qualify one of them. We traded him mid season for lesser players when he was on pace for like 40 ES points. Chicago traded him straight up for a bad contract.

No, we don't know the facts about Kahun, but now there's a trend of three teams straight up dumping this kid within one calendar year despite very good on ice performance. I don't think that's an EK level rumor, especially when he kind of shat on us in his Buffalo intro presser.

I'd like to bring back Kahun... or hell, Simon if he finds out no one wants him for over 2 mil a year, yet alone the 3 mil he allegedly wanted.

I don't believe in the crap noise that Kahun was unhappy here and demanded a trade... just EK level rumor poop from the one tidbit that he wasn't a huge fan of learning a new system mid season.
- Guile

Even Duclair was not qualified.

All these guys are intriguing to me:
Kahun
Duclair
Turris
Wennberg
Benning
AA
Cousins

Buffalo has 5 good forwards and they decided not to qualify one of them. We traded him mid season for lesser players when he was on pace for like 40 ES points. Chicago traded him straight up for a bad contract.

No, we don't know the facts about Kahun, but now there's a trend of three teams straight up dumping this kid within one calendar year despite very good on ice performance. I don't think that's an EK level rumor, especially when he kind of shat on us in his Buffalo intro presser.
- Victoro311

One was a JR trade because... well hes (frank)ing stupid half of the time. No idea what Chicago was doing.

Buffalo one is odd, but who knows how much he is asking... I like to assume that when a player is not even qualified and traded, his value drops.

Buffalo has 5 good forwards and they decided not to qualify one of them. We traded him mid season for lesser players when he was on pace for like 40 ES points. Chicago traded him straight up for a bad contract.

No, we don't know the facts about Kahun, but now there's a trend of three teams straight up dumping this kid within one calendar year despite very good on ice performance. I don't think that's an EK level rumor, especially when he kind of shat on us in his Buffalo intro presser.
- Victoro311

100% agree with this. There has to be something there we aren’t aware of, unless for some reason his agent is demanding a massive contract. I do wish they would just kept Kahun for the season. Whatever issues he had, he was meshing well with Malkin and rust

One was a JR trade because... well hes (frank)ing stupid half of the time. No idea what Chicago was doing.

Buffalo one is odd, but who knows how much he is asking... I like to assume that when a player is not even qualified and traded, his value drops.
- Guile

Given that Bowman is actively bad and JR and Sully have developed a trend of jettisoning guys that the coaching staff have personal beefs with i was a lot more willing to be on your side here, although Kahun’s presser was pretty suspect. Sullivan being too stubborn to make a good player work is on brand for him. But like I said, Buffalo has like 5 NHL caliber forwards and they just refused to qualify one of them. That’s not normal.