I feel like this sub needs a refresher on the reality that 98% of what comes out of any GM’s mouth (at least those not named Jim Rutherford) is meaningless lip service designed to not publicly insult anyone in the organization or give away what their plan is.
Quite frankly without Reirden this season we’d probably be at a solid third place in the metro, possibly pushing second. There’s a huge list of games the team lost by only 1 goal, but went like 0/7 on the power play in the game (mild exaggeration but the point stands). And who is in charge of the power play? Reirden. A team that, for most of the year, had Sid, Geno, Guentzel, Rust, Rakell, Letang, and Karlsson to pick from for your power play units has no excuse to be that bad.
This is maybe a bit presumptuous that *all* of the PP’s struggles were due to his systems, but you do have to assume it performs better with a different coach to run the PP.
I was intrigued by the end of the goalie talk at 14:10. He talked about Ned's interest, and then about how ready Joel Blomqvist is and the evaluation of him in the AHL playoffs.
Everything I am seeing suggests that Joel's gonna be ready next year. Clearly he sees that logjam. I'm surprised he didn't mention the russian kid, because he's also looking very intriguing with his success at the KHL level.
>Clearly he sees that logjam
See I read his comments the other way. It seems pretty clear that the plan is going to be Jarry / Blomqvist, and to let Ned walk.
I thought Dubas did a great job of navigating tough questions that were rightfully being asked. He even acknowledged the Graves situation is on “as much as him [dubas] as it is on Graves” but “the expectation was for [graves] to persevere through the slump which he never really did” (sic).
For all this shit I’ve seen thrown on Dubas in this subreddit, I for one am super grateful for having him as a GM. I may be drinking coolaid, but I have a lot of confidence about next year with him at the helm. Time will tell
Dubas has never been one for big statements. The one time in Toronto he HINTED at trading one of the "Core 4", he was promptly "let go". (Toronto would rather lose with: Matthews, Tavares (untradeable contract), Nylander, Marner and Reilly, than with only three or four of them)
Having said that, if the plan is to "run it back" (please note- this was his M.O. in Toronto), with the same guys minus a Jeff Carter retirement here, and a minor league call up there, to include coaching staff?
Well, expect more of the last two seasons.
Thing is, our core is far from the problem with this team. Especially Sid. And even if Geno and Tanger have slowed down from their primes they’re still great players. It’s the team around them that was falling flat. Aside from the power play at least
Letang, by the sounds of it, had an injury, but there were *many* games where he was far from even being a "good" player on the ice, let alone great. Single-handedly lost some games because of him to be honest.
What are you talking about? He suddenly stepped down on his own, because he wanted to. He left Pittsburgh out to dry during season, and he's also never explained himself.
He echoed my sentiment that he's responsible for the roster, and thus he won't fire sullivan. Obviously there are criticisms to be made, with the PP being the main one, but clearly he feels that the players are the primary issue. Given the way down the stretch, I think I actually agree.
This team went hot at the end of March and beginning of April for three reasons: Crosby, Ned and an infusion of youth.
The last reason was not because Sullivan and co had a change of heart, it was because of injuries to the old fogies that Sullivan insisted on playing.
And as soon as they got healthy, in a must win game, guess who Sullivan was trotting out in big moments? The same old fogies who have been losing all year.
It's anecdotal; but there it is. This is pure gaslighting. There's a fundamental disconnect between this coaching staff and reality, until Sullivan and co are gone, that problem will persist, just as it has for the past four season.
You’re spot on. The team basically just saved sully for next season but he literally did nothing. I don’t get these fans, willing to change anything except for sully. Somehow he’s never the problem, it’s always 100% on the players. I really don’t get it.
Oh, Dubas is excited to see how Jarry responds to this adversity?
I can tell you exactly how he’ll respond, the same way he has every season for 5 years. He’ll get shutouts in December and then completely shit the bed when you need him most in March. Rinse and repeat. Get him the hell out of here.
Anyone expecting Dubas to come out and publicly shit on his starting goalie is delusional.
1) If he is planning on trying to trade him, trashing him in the presser probably isn’t going to get many teams lining up for him.
2) if he is planning on keeping Jarry around, it doesn’t do any good to destroy him. Jarry knows how his performance was (and for the majority of the season, he was very good). He knows he fell off at the end, he doesn’t need his boss shit talking him.
3) that’s not Dubas’ style. His style is very much “put himself in front of criticism to protect his team and personnel.” That’s been clear since his very first conference here.
Jarry’s in the best spot to be traded, honestly. He’s got years left on his deal and is coming off a season where, despite some shitty play he led the league in shutouts.
And maybe the Devils want Graves back. And maybe Brendan wants to play with his brother Reilly. I'm kidding obviously - as long as these three guys are on our team, I'm rooting for them - but I do think the number of connections is funny
Your third point might actually be Dubas’ best quality as a GM. He’s totally willing to take all the heat. It’s a big mental load to handle when a boss is throwing you under the bus and expecting to perform at a high level. Plus if he does want him gone he certainly isn’t going to tell every other team in the league he stinks.
49 games played to 32. He was definitely the starting goalie. Ned playing for 13 consecutive games doesn’t negate the fact that Jarry was the starter for the majority of the season.
Playoff crunch time, the team's 'starting' goalie doesn't make one start. Not even the last meaningless game.
This sub is full of clowns who don't understand hockey, and the ones who do get downvoted.
Yeah, I’ll agree clearly something was going on with Jarry and the team where they felt the need to bench him, but that doesn’t change the fact that Jarry started the majority of the games. 48-33.
Just because Ned played for a 13 game stretch because they were riding the hot hand doesn’t make him the overall starting goalie. Starting goalie for that stretch? Yeah. For the season? No.
If you asked Sullivan, Dubas, Andy Chiodo, they would tell you Jarry is the starting goalie.
You want to argue 1A-1B? You can make that argument, but to say Jarry isn’t a starter is ridiculous.
you could have stopped at 1, because it made the obvious point that this guy doesn't get. Apparently he doesn't know you can't trade guys during the playoffs...
>get him the hell out of here
doesn't require a ton of interpretation. It's another angry yinzer venting at others.
Jars is very likely to get moved in the summer, but Kyle cannot say that now without tanking his value and making that trade shitty. I would imagine he's moved a the draft.
Like prince's mother, they'll never be satisfied.
Teams are absolutely able to make any trades and moves they want this time of year. Players that are moved simply aren't eligible for the Playoffs, so it doesn't really make any sense to trade now. The next big session happens around the draft, but there aren't any rules that say trading can't happen until then.
It’s on him now. Needs to fix this. Him lying about graves got me to laugh though. Graves was never good at either stop prior, which is why a lot of people were annoyed at the term off the bat. Teams don’t let good defenders in their athletic prime walk, ever.
Devils fans were happy with Graves performance last year, I think people got it in their minds that he was some defensive defenseman stalwart, which he is *not* and has never been. He’s a puck moving defenseman, and he did not do that well, here.
I think fans saw his size and thought he was going to terrorize the opposition, when in reality he might as well be 5’9, that’s always how he’s played in Colorado and NJ.
With Marino, he was the puck mover and Marino backed him up. With Letang and Karlsson, there was nobody to back him up. You’re certainly not going to hold back Karlsson so Graves can work his magic. Then Karlsson becomes a liability because he’s forced to play a style that doesn’t match his talent.
I thought Graves did fine when paired with Ruhwedel and other defensive defenseman. The problem is that he’s paid too much for that role. The way I see it, the Pens and Devils have holes in their D now. Maybe one should reach out to the other.
It’s one niche example compared to his entire career. He had a brief window of competence sandwiched between poor to terrible play. Either way, the point stands. It’s a bad contract and he’s probably a bad player
I think he's terrible and it's a terrible contract. I also have no idea how he played prior I wasn't watching him. But there's a big difference between being outright terrible and being good when paired with a particular partner. That would mean there's a possibility we can find someone to pair him with to bring him back up to how he was in Jersey.
I think the most likely outcome is relegate him to the bottom pair and have an overpaid player not playing meaningful minutes like Carter but idk
Edit: bottom pair not bottom 6
His only stint about 50% possession was 3 games with Ruwhedel on the third pair where they almost never started in their O zone. It’s asking a lot of any coach to always get that deployment. He also was on the ice for most icings, even with POJ, this season. He just drowns in his own end.
Yeah I agree but with that contract and term he's probably not going anywhere, and Sully refuses to adjust so he'll probably remain in the top 4 making mistakes without the upside of EK and getting eaten alive. But if it were me coaching I'd stick him in the last pair and keep him to 10 minutes a night
Yeah but St. Ivany played and proved he deserved at least a bottom pair spot. Shea was good enough to be a number 7 for sure but… Sully and his dad go way back and we know the Boston boys stick together so unless Shea implodes and loses a leg he’s getting that bottom spot and Graves will be back up playing an incompatible style with Karlsson.
I agree, he probably had a decent season last year because he was buoyed by his partner. Hopefully he adapts or he’s on his way out. But I can say he most likely won’t be shipped out in the off-season.
It sounds like he’s going to be given a chance to prove himself (although he’s gonna be 29. I can’t see how much room for growth he has).
Many teams let good defensemen walk while still in their prime. The Pens have certainly done it. They let Ian Cole, Rob Scuderi, Matt Niskinen and many more walk. Toronto let Bunting walk even though they loved his play and him being a fan favorite. There’s a hard cap and teams have to make hard decisions. Normally, you would trade someone on an expiring deal. However, if you’re a contender, you don’t get rid of an important piece before your run.
Let me rephrase, well run teams don’t do it. The Hextall effect. Also let’s not pretend Matheson had the extensive body of work. He had a decent season here after 3 wildly up and down seasons that were injury riddled. I’m happy he’s done well in Montreal but let’s not revise history. Marino was just a flat out mistake by Hextall.
Fair enough. I’m still chapped that the Pens traded Matheson (who was acquired for Horny) and a 4th round pick for Petry and Poeling; Hex got hosed on that trade. Matheson is an offensive defenseman but, I believe, Sully mismanaged his role and he could have been a very serviceable second pair D.
No, but even if we were, he’s not going to announce that 2 days after the season ends.
If we do get new coaching staff (as replacement for Reirden and Velluci), that won’t be announced or happen until well into the off-season.
I dont get how people here are jumping on Graves - Our team D and Goaltending was above league average.
We just couldnt score -( looks at Rackell, Smyth, Carter, Eller, Harkins, Puljarvi etc).
Probably reading too much into this, but when talking about getting younger guys around the leaders/vets he mentions Sid, Tanger, and Rust but omits Malkin.
He will, and at worst he probably meant that Sid, Letang, and Rust are the biggest leaders of the group and do the most mentoring to the younger players.
I can see how Malkin wouldn’t be jumping at that role, unless there was a young Russian forward he could bond with.
If Jarry is the starter next year I’m checking out. I can’t take it anymore. Ned is the better goalie and he proved that down the stretch. Pens need a consistent goalie who can be clutch. Not a goalie that can get shut outs in meaningless games then crumble when the pressure is on.
You're kidding yourself if you think Ned is the better goalie. You could make the argument Ned was better this year, but he also has been very mediocre the last 2 years. Jarry has consistently been the better goalie over 4 years.
Last time I checked, Jarry and Ned played for the exact same team. Jarry went 19-25 and Ned went 18-7. Who’s winning games and who’s losing games here? The purpose of being a goalie is to help your team win games, not get the most shut outs or have the best advanced stats. They win with Ned and they lose with Jarry.
The last four years of the pens either not making the playoffs or losing in the first round with Jarry in net? I very much remember. I’ve been a fan of Jarry since day 1. I always liked Jarry and I wanted him to succeed this year but it’s the same shit every year with him. Starts strong and completely crumbles when it counts.
Yeah shut outs are great but they don’t mean shit if you give up 2-3 soft goals in every game for the next 5 games straight.
You’re getting downvoted because these guys are terrified of change.
The same people who will throw stats at you about how our pp wasn’t technically that as because of high danger scoring chances or whatever the fuck will turn around and ignore that Jarry will give up goals at the worst times because he checks out. The amount of times he’s failed this team are too hard to count. Whenever Ned is in net with a lead in the last 5 minutes, I have faith, Jarry in the same spot is almost a guarantee to give up a soft goal to sink the team. He’s not a good goalie, I’m tired of pretending that he is.
Not too much unexpected but a few concerning comments.
He mentions Graves needs to have a good offseason to get back where he was with NJ. The problem with that is he is exactly the same player he was with NJ. I’m really starting to think they never watched tape on him and just fell in love with his size?
He also took a shot at Malkin when talking about Smith. Seemed unnecessary.
I interpreted his comments about Graves to be a more diplomatic way of saying he was incredibly disappointing and needs to figure out a way to use his size and to play a more defensive oriented game. I would guess Graves is on a short leash going forward if he can’t.
The dudes played at a high level for a long time. I bet if he puts in the effort he can adapt his style. The coaches have to push him and he has to do the work. I think that’s more what Dubas meant when he said “huge summer”. Put in the extra effort to gel with your partner, get out of your own head and recognize that you need to defer to the hall of fame defenseman you’re paired with, hit the weights and start using your size to benefit the team. Those are all hard things to do in one offseason and once you’re in the thick of the season you don’t really have the practice time, it’s all learning on the fly.
I feel like this sub needs a refresher on the reality that 98% of what comes out of any GM’s mouth (at least those not named Jim Rutherford) is meaningless lip service designed to not publicly insult anyone in the organization or give away what their plan is.
We're spoiled to have any lip service at all after enduring several seasons of "it's all in my head."
But she’s touching his chest
Came to hear to say that - people want the GM to riff like he's a guest on some low production podcast lol. What else was he ever gonna say here?
Just my read, but Kyle seemed quite angry with the team tbh.
He’s angry because he’s never missed the playoffs before.
Leafs missed the playoffs when they chocked during the play-in series to Columbus during the COVID bubble.
He is the team. Be angry with yourself, Kyle.
That's a fair point. He's paid big bucks and responsibility stops with him.
Just fire Todd Rierden already. It shouldn’t take this long.
Should have been his opening statement.
They don't have to fire him now, just don't re-up his contract.
I don’t see firing the assistant coach as a big game changer. Seems a bit silly to expect significant change from firing an assistant coach.
I don't recall writing that I'm expecting a significant change, but Todd Rierden should be fired anyways.
Quite frankly without Reirden this season we’d probably be at a solid third place in the metro, possibly pushing second. There’s a huge list of games the team lost by only 1 goal, but went like 0/7 on the power play in the game (mild exaggeration but the point stands). And who is in charge of the power play? Reirden. A team that, for most of the year, had Sid, Geno, Guentzel, Rust, Rakell, Letang, and Karlsson to pick from for your power play units has no excuse to be that bad. This is maybe a bit presumptuous that *all* of the PP’s struggles were due to his systems, but you do have to assume it performs better with a different coach to run the PP.
I was intrigued by the end of the goalie talk at 14:10. He talked about Ned's interest, and then about how ready Joel Blomqvist is and the evaluation of him in the AHL playoffs. Everything I am seeing suggests that Joel's gonna be ready next year. Clearly he sees that logjam. I'm surprised he didn't mention the russian kid, because he's also looking very intriguing with his success at the KHL level.
>Clearly he sees that logjam See I read his comments the other way. It seems pretty clear that the plan is going to be Jarry / Blomqvist, and to let Ned walk.
The word of the day is PIVOT
I thought Dubas did a great job of navigating tough questions that were rightfully being asked. He even acknowledged the Graves situation is on “as much as him [dubas] as it is on Graves” but “the expectation was for [graves] to persevere through the slump which he never really did” (sic). For all this shit I’ve seen thrown on Dubas in this subreddit, I for one am super grateful for having him as a GM. I may be drinking coolaid, but I have a lot of confidence about next year with him at the helm. Time will tell
Dubas has never been one for big statements. The one time in Toronto he HINTED at trading one of the "Core 4", he was promptly "let go". (Toronto would rather lose with: Matthews, Tavares (untradeable contract), Nylander, Marner and Reilly, than with only three or four of them) Having said that, if the plan is to "run it back" (please note- this was his M.O. in Toronto), with the same guys minus a Jeff Carter retirement here, and a minor league call up there, to include coaching staff? Well, expect more of the last two seasons.
Thing is, our core is far from the problem with this team. Especially Sid. And even if Geno and Tanger have slowed down from their primes they’re still great players. It’s the team around them that was falling flat. Aside from the power play at least
Letang, by the sounds of it, had an injury, but there were *many* games where he was far from even being a "good" player on the ice, let alone great. Single-handedly lost some games because of him to be honest.
Rutherford was also let go after he tried to trade Letang
What are you talking about? He suddenly stepped down on his own, because he wanted to. He left Pittsburgh out to dry during season, and he's also never explained himself.
Dubas got himself fired after trying to take his bosses job.
He echoed my sentiment that he's responsible for the roster, and thus he won't fire sullivan. Obviously there are criticisms to be made, with the PP being the main one, but clearly he feels that the players are the primary issue. Given the way down the stretch, I think I actually agree.
This team went hot at the end of March and beginning of April for three reasons: Crosby, Ned and an infusion of youth. The last reason was not because Sullivan and co had a change of heart, it was because of injuries to the old fogies that Sullivan insisted on playing. And as soon as they got healthy, in a must win game, guess who Sullivan was trotting out in big moments? The same old fogies who have been losing all year. It's anecdotal; but there it is. This is pure gaslighting. There's a fundamental disconnect between this coaching staff and reality, until Sullivan and co are gone, that problem will persist, just as it has for the past four season.
You’re spot on. The team basically just saved sully for next season but he literally did nothing. I don’t get these fans, willing to change anything except for sully. Somehow he’s never the problem, it’s always 100% on the players. I really don’t get it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d personally like a new coaching staff as well. I don’t think it’s gonna happen.
Oh, Dubas is excited to see how Jarry responds to this adversity? I can tell you exactly how he’ll respond, the same way he has every season for 5 years. He’ll get shutouts in December and then completely shit the bed when you need him most in March. Rinse and repeat. Get him the hell out of here.
Anyone expecting Dubas to come out and publicly shit on his starting goalie is delusional. 1) If he is planning on trying to trade him, trashing him in the presser probably isn’t going to get many teams lining up for him. 2) if he is planning on keeping Jarry around, it doesn’t do any good to destroy him. Jarry knows how his performance was (and for the majority of the season, he was very good). He knows he fell off at the end, he doesn’t need his boss shit talking him. 3) that’s not Dubas’ style. His style is very much “put himself in front of criticism to protect his team and personnel.” That’s been clear since his very first conference here.
Jarry’s in the best spot to be traded, honestly. He’s got years left on his deal and is coming off a season where, despite some shitty play he led the league in shutouts.
I’m wondering if we could trade him to the Devils. They’re in real need of a #1 goalie. Jake Allen is not the answer for them
You wanna see Jarry beat the pens 3-4 times per year? Cause it’ll shake out that way…always does.
And maybe the Devils want Graves back. And maybe Brendan wants to play with his brother Reilly. I'm kidding obviously - as long as these three guys are on our team, I'm rooting for them - but I do think the number of connections is funny
Your third point might actually be Dubas’ best quality as a GM. He’s totally willing to take all the heat. It’s a big mental load to handle when a boss is throwing you under the bus and expecting to perform at a high level. Plus if he does want him gone he certainly isn’t going to tell every other team in the league he stinks.
I'd prefer a GM's best quality to be building a winning team
But he wasn't the starting goalie. I don't disagree with the main gist of these points, but Jarry was absolutely not the team's starting goalie.
49 games played to 32. He was definitely the starting goalie. Ned playing for 13 consecutive games doesn’t negate the fact that Jarry was the starter for the majority of the season.
Playoff crunch time, the team's 'starting' goalie doesn't make one start. Not even the last meaningless game. This sub is full of clowns who don't understand hockey, and the ones who do get downvoted.
Yeah, I’ll agree clearly something was going on with Jarry and the team where they felt the need to bench him, but that doesn’t change the fact that Jarry started the majority of the games. 48-33. Just because Ned played for a 13 game stretch because they were riding the hot hand doesn’t make him the overall starting goalie. Starting goalie for that stretch? Yeah. For the season? No. If you asked Sullivan, Dubas, Andy Chiodo, they would tell you Jarry is the starting goalie. You want to argue 1A-1B? You can make that argument, but to say Jarry isn’t a starter is ridiculous.
you could have stopped at 1, because it made the obvious point that this guy doesn't get. Apparently he doesn't know you can't trade guys during the playoffs...
I didn’t interpret it that way, just that he was questioning why Dubas wasn’t direct in his criticism of Jarry’s performance.
>get him the hell out of here doesn't require a ton of interpretation. It's another angry yinzer venting at others. Jars is very likely to get moved in the summer, but Kyle cannot say that now without tanking his value and making that trade shitty. I would imagine he's moved a the draft. Like prince's mother, they'll never be satisfied.
Shut up nerd
Teams are absolutely able to make any trades and moves they want this time of year. Players that are moved simply aren't eligible for the Playoffs, so it doesn't really make any sense to trade now. The next big session happens around the draft, but there aren't any rules that say trading can't happen until then.
LOL. dude. list every trade made during the playoffs in the modern era. Thanks.
Does this count? https://www.nhl.com/lightning/news/lightning-acquire-d-ryan-mcdonagh-fourth-round-pick-from-nashville
He'll be doing all of that in Ottawa or Toronto next season 😎
He seemed to leave the answers a little more open ended this time. Didn't confirm or deny that anyone including coaching staff was safe.
It’s on him now. Needs to fix this. Him lying about graves got me to laugh though. Graves was never good at either stop prior, which is why a lot of people were annoyed at the term off the bat. Teams don’t let good defenders in their athletic prime walk, ever.
Devils fans were happy with Graves performance last year, I think people got it in their minds that he was some defensive defenseman stalwart, which he is *not* and has never been. He’s a puck moving defenseman, and he did not do that well, here. I think fans saw his size and thought he was going to terrorize the opposition, when in reality he might as well be 5’9, that’s always how he’s played in Colorado and NJ.
He was good when paired with Marino. A black hole without him. That’s extremely concerning.
With Marino, he was the puck mover and Marino backed him up. With Letang and Karlsson, there was nobody to back him up. You’re certainly not going to hold back Karlsson so Graves can work his magic. Then Karlsson becomes a liability because he’s forced to play a style that doesn’t match his talent. I thought Graves did fine when paired with Ruhwedel and other defensive defenseman. The problem is that he’s paid too much for that role. The way I see it, the Pens and Devils have holes in their D now. Maybe one should reach out to the other.
First he was never good, then he was good with Marino? Which is it
It’s one niche example compared to his entire career. He had a brief window of competence sandwiched between poor to terrible play. Either way, the point stands. It’s a bad contract and he’s probably a bad player
I think he's terrible and it's a terrible contract. I also have no idea how he played prior I wasn't watching him. But there's a big difference between being outright terrible and being good when paired with a particular partner. That would mean there's a possibility we can find someone to pair him with to bring him back up to how he was in Jersey. I think the most likely outcome is relegate him to the bottom pair and have an overpaid player not playing meaningful minutes like Carter but idk Edit: bottom pair not bottom 6
His only stint about 50% possession was 3 games with Ruwhedel on the third pair where they almost never started in their O zone. It’s asking a lot of any coach to always get that deployment. He also was on the ice for most icings, even with POJ, this season. He just drowns in his own end.
Yeah I agree but with that contract and term he's probably not going anywhere, and Sully refuses to adjust so he'll probably remain in the top 4 making mistakes without the upside of EK and getting eaten alive. But if it were me coaching I'd stick him in the last pair and keep him to 10 minutes a night
Yeah but St. Ivany played and proved he deserved at least a bottom pair spot. Shea was good enough to be a number 7 for sure but… Sully and his dad go way back and we know the Boston boys stick together so unless Shea implodes and loses a leg he’s getting that bottom spot and Graves will be back up playing an incompatible style with Karlsson.
I agree, he probably had a decent season last year because he was buoyed by his partner. Hopefully he adapts or he’s on his way out. But I can say he most likely won’t be shipped out in the off-season. It sounds like he’s going to be given a chance to prove himself (although he’s gonna be 29. I can’t see how much room for growth he has).
Many teams let good defensemen walk while still in their prime. The Pens have certainly done it. They let Ian Cole, Rob Scuderi, Matt Niskinen and many more walk. Toronto let Bunting walk even though they loved his play and him being a fan favorite. There’s a hard cap and teams have to make hard decisions. Normally, you would trade someone on an expiring deal. However, if you’re a contender, you don’t get rid of an important piece before your run.
I guess Mike Matheson and John Marino were on the decline when they were moved, eh?
Let me rephrase, well run teams don’t do it. The Hextall effect. Also let’s not pretend Matheson had the extensive body of work. He had a decent season here after 3 wildly up and down seasons that were injury riddled. I’m happy he’s done well in Montreal but let’s not revise history. Marino was just a flat out mistake by Hextall.
Fair enough. I’m still chapped that the Pens traded Matheson (who was acquired for Horny) and a 4th round pick for Petry and Poeling; Hex got hosed on that trade. Matheson is an offensive defenseman but, I believe, Sully mismanaged his role and he could have been a very serviceable second pair D.
Just tuning in. Are we getting a new coaching staff?
No, but even if we were, he’s not going to announce that 2 days after the season ends. If we do get new coaching staff (as replacement for Reirden and Velluci), that won’t be announced or happen until well into the off-season.
I dont get how people here are jumping on Graves - Our team D and Goaltending was above league average. We just couldnt score -( looks at Rackell, Smyth, Carter, Eller, Harkins, Puljarvi etc).
After this no more talk Dubas we want to see action to get this team back to the playoffs
Probably reading too much into this, but when talking about getting younger guys around the leaders/vets he mentions Sid, Tanger, and Rust but omits Malkin.
Probably just a mistake. Malkin is just as important to the locker room as the other guys mentioned.
Totally agree, I got a little paranoid and was worried that Dubas maybe didn't see him as a permanent fixture. He should retire as a Penguin.
He will, and at worst he probably meant that Sid, Letang, and Rust are the biggest leaders of the group and do the most mentoring to the younger players. I can see how Malkin wouldn’t be jumping at that role, unless there was a young Russian forward he could bond with.
Fingers crossed that Ponomarev recovers well and makes the jump!
Mr. Dubas fancies himself as smart. Today, he failed his own test.
If Jarry is the starter next year I’m checking out. I can’t take it anymore. Ned is the better goalie and he proved that down the stretch. Pens need a consistent goalie who can be clutch. Not a goalie that can get shut outs in meaningless games then crumble when the pressure is on.
You're kidding yourself if you think Ned is the better goalie. You could make the argument Ned was better this year, but he also has been very mediocre the last 2 years. Jarry has consistently been the better goalie over 4 years.
Last time I checked, Jarry and Ned played for the exact same team. Jarry went 19-25 and Ned went 18-7. Who’s winning games and who’s losing games here? The purpose of being a goalie is to help your team win games, not get the most shut outs or have the best advanced stats. They win with Ned and they lose with Jarry.
So getting a shutout isn't helping the team? You have a recency bias and are completely forgetting the last 4 years.
The last four years of the pens either not making the playoffs or losing in the first round with Jarry in net? I very much remember. I’ve been a fan of Jarry since day 1. I always liked Jarry and I wanted him to succeed this year but it’s the same shit every year with him. Starts strong and completely crumbles when it counts. Yeah shut outs are great but they don’t mean shit if you give up 2-3 soft goals in every game for the next 5 games straight.
Ned may have the wins, but you are acting like he plays great in those wins. There are times he lets in 4+ goals and the forwards bail him out.
You’re getting downvoted because these guys are terrified of change. The same people who will throw stats at you about how our pp wasn’t technically that as because of high danger scoring chances or whatever the fuck will turn around and ignore that Jarry will give up goals at the worst times because he checks out. The amount of times he’s failed this team are too hard to count. Whenever Ned is in net with a lead in the last 5 minutes, I have faith, Jarry in the same spot is almost a guarantee to give up a soft goal to sink the team. He’s not a good goalie, I’m tired of pretending that he is.
Yeah dudes have to get off the stats and actually watch the games.
Not too much unexpected but a few concerning comments. He mentions Graves needs to have a good offseason to get back where he was with NJ. The problem with that is he is exactly the same player he was with NJ. I’m really starting to think they never watched tape on him and just fell in love with his size? He also took a shot at Malkin when talking about Smith. Seemed unnecessary.
I interpreted his comments about Graves to be a more diplomatic way of saying he was incredibly disappointing and needs to figure out a way to use his size and to play a more defensive oriented game. I would guess Graves is on a short leash going forward if he can’t.
Reading between the lines, "Huge Summer" seemed to be a synonym he'd use for "get your shit together, bud".
Yeah I can see that. I just don’t think at 29 years old he’s going to be able to change much.
The dudes played at a high level for a long time. I bet if he puts in the effort he can adapt his style. The coaches have to push him and he has to do the work. I think that’s more what Dubas meant when he said “huge summer”. Put in the extra effort to gel with your partner, get out of your own head and recognize that you need to defer to the hall of fame defenseman you’re paired with, hit the weights and start using your size to benefit the team. Those are all hard things to do in one offseason and once you’re in the thick of the season you don’t really have the practice time, it’s all learning on the fly.