Pensburgh wrapup: The Deadline Pickups

The biggest egg Poni layed was in the Montreal series where the whole team stunk. He got more physical and his backchecking started to come around. I know I’m probably alone, but a 20 goal winger isn’t exactly easy to come by for 2M anymore, and I wouldn’t hate it if he got another year to prove himself. I think with a little more time, he might be OK on Malkin’s wing. It’s not like he knew what the playoffs were all about before he got here.

Poni also outwitted Vizzini on the Cliffs of Insanity, so take that into consideration.

I’d take Leo over …why does Eaton have no nick-name?…Eats?

I’d take Leo over Eats if the price was the same, if Leo is much more…ehh maybe I’d go back to the value play and take Eats. I liked Leo a lot, I just think post concussion he was a bit deflated, to no fault of his own. I think a summers rest and he is back to normal.

BRENT

What the Pens do on defense depends on whether Sarge is resigned (2 years/$4M per year max). If he’s resigned, then the Pens have 3 offensive blue liners, so Eaton is the choice over Leopold since he’s better defensively (I’m assuming Lovejoy is on the roster, which seems a certainty). If Sarge isn’t resigned, then I hope Shero can sign both Eaton and Leopold ($2M each). I think there will be some interest in Leopold so he will get a salary bump, but he thought he went to heaven when traded to the Pens so I think he’d want to stay here.

I probably am one of the 3 Pens fans that think Shero should resign Poni if he can negotiate a reasonable contract. I’ve spent some time looking at FAs and don‘t see a preferable alternative. Kovalchuk, Marleau, Stempniak, Demetra, and Frolov will be out of range. Afinogenov is Malkin Lite, but just awful defensively, and probably out of range anyway (watched a Sabres playoff game last night from 2006, and, man, he is REALLY fast.) There are some near retirement players — Paul Kariya, Ray Whitney, Owen Nolan — who might be had on 1 year contracts to be on a Cup contender, but Whitney is small and poor defensively, Kariya had an awful season and is clearly on the decline, and Nolen is a Guerin clone who was a 3rd liner last year on a poor Wild team. Raffi Torres is a Kunitz clone who the Pens were reportedly interested in at the trade deadline last year, but isn’t a great skater and is weak defensively. Plus, while Pens fans were disappointed with Poni, Sabres fans wanted to throw Torres out of town for his poor attitude and ZERO goals.

Then there are the guys who used to be good but have been declining for a couple of years — Alex Tanguay, Christopher Higgins, and Marek Svatos. Any one might be worth taking a chance on as a second added forward on a low cost contract, but not as the prime off season addition.

There really are only 3 decent cap possibilities to replace Fedotenko— Poni, Colby Armstrong, and Vinny Prospal. Prospal had a good season last year but is primarily a center, has been wildly inconsistent, and is poor defensively. Armstrong would be welcomed back but really is a 3rd line player.

The PG had a picture of Poni after the last loss to the Canadians, sitting in the locker room by himself in uniform with a dejected look, and you could see he really cared and perhaps was disappointed he hadn’t played better (he did have a slapper in that game that was slightly deflected in). He’s only 30, he big (6’4", 220#), he’s been a consistent 20 goal 2-way player for years without a Malkin centering him, he’s had few injuries, and has been a plus player every year except for his few games with the Pens.. He can slap it when crossing the blueline, can crash the net, and can play in the corners. He had his moments last year — the tic-tac-toe pass to, I believe, Crosby for a goal, a couple crushing hits, a few near misses in the crease, a terrific run down back check, but he just seemed lost, perhaps overwhelmed. After 9 years in Toronto (and becoming a Canadian citizen) he was suddenly living out of a suitcase in a hotel room, which had to be a shock to him. I think with a full season with Malkin he’ll put up 25-30 goals and help defensively (unlike most of the other FA forwards). The issue to me is what it will cost to sign him, since the FA class is so weak. I think there’s cap room for 2 years at up to $3M, but that may not be enough.

The answer is not necessarily to find a free agent winger, but rather a third line center like Malhotra from San Jose to take Staal’s spot. I’ve seen the comments on this, and I like the idea. You don’t break the bank for wingers with many warts when you have answers in house.

I thought Poni was a good acquisition at the deadline, but it just did not work out. Best to cut losses than to double down in the face of strong evidence.

What are the Penguins priorities?
If you assume Gonchar is gone,
which seems like a 99% probability,
then priorities would seem to be:
1. A Top D (not named Leopold or Eaton)
2. 2 Forwards – possibly Cooke + ?
3. Then the rest of the D (Lovejoy + 2 veterans)
Thus, it will likely come to down $ remaining when it is time to sign Leopold and/or Eaton.
Sounds like Leopold will have slightly higher market value, and Eaton and Shero have a long history of being loyal to each other. The $$$ say Eaton is more likely.
They could end up signing both—with Eaton being the more likely of the two—however, it may also depend on who they sign as priority 1 above.