Ryan Wilson: Celebrating Ray Shero's contributions to the Pittsburgh Penguins Celebrating Ray Shero's contributions to the Pittsburgh Penguins

Good summary of Shero's tenure. Nice to remember all the successful moves. Some bold and some subtle. Ray was the "throw in" guy. Always seemed to shrewdly squeeze out a pick or player in his deals. He played a huge role in all 3 of those cups. TK had some great things to say about him on the radio this morning. He really cared about the players. I remember the story about asking Paul Mart whether he wanted to stay or not.

RIP Ray Shero.

One of RWs best blogs. Great write up with commentary. A good reminder that we had it pretty damn good with Ray Shero. Rest in peace.

Nice work on this one, RW, especially considering you did all of this in 24 hours as no one knew he was even sick, let alone terminal in critical condition.

Fvcking cancer. There isn't a single person that will read this sentence that haven't been badly impacted by it, either directly or indirectly.

McGroarty, Novak, Lizotte, Accairi, and Nieto all ruled out for the rest of the season.

Bemstrom, Ponomarov, and Puustinen all recalled.

F this team's treatment of Poulin [/img]

McGroarty, Novak, Lizotte, Accairi, and Nieto all ruled out for the rest of the season.

Bemstrom, Ponomarov, and Puustinen all recalled.

F this team's treatment of Poulin
- Tojo.[/img]

Poulin blows dude.

Tojo, you don't think maybe they know Poulin mentally doesn't have what it takes to play in the NHL so are cutting ties with him?

Tojo, you don't think maybe they know Poulin mentally doesn't have what it takes to play in the NHL so are cutting ties with him?
- MickV

Poulin physically doesn’t have what it takes to play in theNHL. He’s got two left feet.

Poulin physically doesn’t have what it takes to play in theNHL. He’s got two left feet.
- Grinder47

Maybe, he's never looked good playing up, but my point was he missed significant time for mental health, and their coaches interact with him daily in the AHL, presumably they know if he can handle this or not ... and it appears they decided a while ago that he can't.

Tojo, you don't think maybe they know Poulin mentally doesn't have what it takes to play in the NHL so are cutting ties with him?
- MickV

I don't think its mental thing. I sort of remember him having a bad camp. A couple of rough preseason games too. I think Sully and Dubas checked out on him for the final time after camp. They waived him and nobody else picked him up. He'll probably get a second chance at another teams camp next year.

The Hossa deal could have been such a bad deal giving up a good amount of pieces then him leaving. But Pascal Dupuis turned out to be such a steal that it was way way worth that plus the Hossa rental.

The Hossa deal could have been such a bad deal giving up a good amount of pieces then him leaving. But Pascal Dupuis turned out to be such a steal that it was way way worth that plus the Hossa rental.
- coohill

Is Duper still in the org?

The Hossa deal could have been such a bad deal giving up a good amount of pieces then him leaving. But Pascal Dupuis turned out to be such a steal that it was way way worth that plus the Hossa rental.
- coohill

Angelo Esposito was one of the main pieces going to Atlanta, no? It helps that he never panned out into becoming much of a player.

McGroarty, Novak, Lizotte, Accairi, and Nieto all ruled out for the rest of the season.

Bemstrom, Ponomarov, and Puustinen all recalled.

F this team's treatment of Poulin
- Tojo.[/img]

I'm surprised Broz didn't get a call up. Glad Ponomarov finally gets a shot.

Angelo Esposito was one of the main pieces going to Atlanta, no? It helps that he never panned out into becoming much of a player.
- lemieux_66

Yep. Could blame Shero for drafting him in the first place but...

I don't even recall who Atlanta got with our 1st but they didn't work out.

Pens are resigning Erik Christensen next season just for shootouts. Jeebus, it's sad to say we have needed that for over a decade.

RIP Ray

The Hossa deal could have been such a bad deal giving up a good amount of pieces then him leaving. But Pascal Dupuis turned out to be such a steal that it was way way worth that plus the Hossa rental.
- coohill

Tojo, you don't think maybe they know Poulin mentally doesn't have what it takes to play in the NHL so are cutting ties with him?
- MickV

I don't really know what it is, but obviously they aren't interested in trying him.

Poulin is 3rd in goals and 4th in points among forwards eligible to be called up. He's done that while playing the bulk of the season on the third line. Kills penalties. Is willing to fight. Even his analytics from the 6 games he got were among the best on the team, so he wasn't sinking them. Yet they've called up 8 forwards near the end of the season over him.

It's not a big deal in the long run, Poulin wasn't going to drastically alter the team. They must see something, I just don't get it. I've seen enough of Puustinen and Bemstrom already.

EDIT- imagine subpar skating is a part of it.

I'm surprised Broz didn't get a call up. Glad Ponomarov finally gets a shot.
- 123Kid

I felt like Broz started real hot, but he's faded down the stretch. This is just goals, but he had 6 his first 11 games compared to 2 in his last 20 and has slid to 9th in forward points.

Not a big concern, he's still had a good rookie year, but I didn't think he was breaking down the door like Koivunen and McGroarty were.

I'm not a big believer in Ponomarov, but I agree, about time they called him up and got a quick look at him going into next year.

Maybe, he's never looked good playing up, but my point was he missed significant time for mental health, and their coaches interact with him daily in the AHL, presumably they know if he can handle this or not ... and it appears they decided a while ago that he can't.
- MickV

Mentally speaking the NHL is way easier than the NHL. More money, better travel, you play 3 in 3’s in the A. He’s just not Avery good player.

Curious - think we can take advantage of Nashville again for their first this year? Swap picks and we add a 3rd? We would move up 2-4 spots.. might have to be a 2nd actually..

I felt like Broz started real hot, but he's faded down the stretch. This is just goals, but he had 6 his first 11 games compared to 2 in his last 20 and has slid to 9th in forward points.

Not a big concern, he's still had a good rookie year, but I didn't think he was breaking down the door like Koivunen and McGroarty were.

I'm not a big believer in Puustinen, but I agree, about time they called him up and got a quick look at him going into next year.
- Tojo.

The Pens don’t have one prospect that’s “breaking down the door” we’re just so used to having none. Koiv is the best we’ve seen in awhile and he’s still not exactly tearing up the AHL. Temper your expectations a bit. Pat Maroon and Austin Watson had better AHL numbers than Groats or Koiv.

One prospect Im interested in learning more about, but who I like is Malcolm Spence. Interested to see Marshall's video on him.

The Pens don’t have one prospect that’s “breaking down the door” we’re just so used to having none. Koiv is the best we’ve seen in awhile and he’s still not exactly tearing up the AHL. Temper your expectations a bit. Pat Maroon and Austin Watson had better AHL numbers than Groats or Koiv.
- Grinder47

Pat Maroon and Austin Watson were top ten scorers in the AHL? As rookies? Lol you're terrible.

Pat Maroon and Austin Watson were top ten scorers in the AHL? As rookies? Lol you're terrible.
- Tojo.

Takes a special mind to be completely against tanking and wanting to be good for crosby’s last years while also rooting against our prospects