A Look at what Mark Letestu's Extension Means for Forwards

For someone who has seen Letestu play hockey since his first game in Wilkes Barre in 2006-07, it was a feel good story hearing that he’s getting a two year deal with the Pens after spending five years in the organization.

Paul Martin: yo, Zach, penguins, you down?

Parise: ya brah, i am game.

bam. parise is our new winger

i can dream cant i?

I would keep Dupuis, Adams, Conner, Jeffrey, and Tangradi.

I like Kennedy and Talbot as human beings — but they haven’t exactly been scoring machines, and to me it depends on how they perform for the rest of the season and what kind of money they want.

Rupp is a toss up for me. We have Engo to fight, but he’s a solid fourth liner and good for more than fighting… if we let Eric Godard go, it might be good to keep Rupp around.

I would actually consider considering Comrie. He did well in the preseason and then got hurt in the second game of the season, so we never really got to see him play healthy during the regular season. There’s no reason he can’t be in the mix of options.

$625k is a great deal. Letestu will likely be the 3rd line center for that period (with Staal slotting into the top 6) which helps greatly. Letestu thinks the game well, has great positioning and great hands. Glad they got this done and early. Compared to guys likes Talbot and Kennedy, Letestu probably adds more and at a cheaper price.

Another good move by Shero.

Tangradi and Jeffrey are in as good cheap options for the value that they can bring. that leaves 4 of the remaining players. probably one or two enforcers stay on so id say Rupp and Asham/Talbot. that leaves space for another two which i would then guess to be Kennedy who shouldnt demand too much and Adams a great PK guy

Besides the six through next year i think if Jeffrey/Tangradi still aren’t ready they can tear up the AHL there are 7-8 spots.

I would order my priority list of guys to get as:
Keep: Dupuis, Kennedy, Conner, Adams with Jeffrey/Tangradi possible
Drop: Godard, Asham, Rupp, Comrie, Talbot

Could keep Talbot maybe for depth at a cheap price, or acquire a top six guy.

For the deadline I would like to think Shero could pull off something great. I hope for:
A top six winger(Neal) for a package involving Goligoski, prospects and/or pick followed by a move to pick up a veteran defenseman with experience to be defensively responsible in the third pairing with Engelland.

I may be in the minority with this but dear GOD DO NOT GET RID OF TALBOT!!!!!!

Okay, now that that’s out of my system, I’ll explain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIYMnJ6KK8Y&feature=related

:) Okay, for real this time. I’ll try to explain. This guy is such a fan favourite. He is a great locker room presence. He is a monster on the PK. He has the capability of playing anywhere in the 4 lines, something I think has to be taken into account. I bet Superstar could even stop some pucks if you strapped the pads on him. :) haha.

After Talbot, Dupuis is the next guy for me. Unless Shero can pull off something to get Sid a 5-star winger without getting rid of essential personnel, Duper and Kunitz are the best fit to be on Sid’s wing. TK is an RFA and I don’t know if teams will be busting down the door to acquire him. Plus I really like TK. He just needs to find more consistency. If they aren’t going to go with the Staalkin line, then the Beast Mode line (TK-Staal-Cooke) needs to be kept in tact. Poor Comrie hasn’t been given a chance yet because of his injury. Can Shero gauge how he’ll fit in the lineup based on the very few preseason games he played? We’ll see. I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping him. I like all the other guys, especially Rupper and Conner. I think Connor has been great lately, a bit of an unsung piece of the Pens, like Steigy and Errey talked about during the game tonight. It’s hard for me to make the decision of who I wouldn’t want Shero to bring back. They all bring something to the table, some more than others though and Shero has to figure it all out. Good luck. lol.

Niclas Bergfors, Jamie Benn – two guys I would love to see in Pens sweaters…Jamie Benn I absolutely respect and love his style of hockey, he would be an awesome fit…Bergfors is this years’ Svatos, but still would like to see a tryout at least.

I think we need to let Godard, Rupp, Asham, Comrie go…they all will walk most likely.

MUST re-sign those other guys…we talk about a core team all the time, and our top core is signed, we need to lock down a bottom core!

Guys, trade deadline is 6 weeks away, time to see some trades! I love trade deadline time!

Players want to play in Pittsbiurgh.

Letestu is perfect for that third line and rare uses on the second if need be. I see Conner getting a shot with Staal and Malkin. If we can trade Goligoski, Dupuis, and Talbot, the other guys will do just fine. Then we can focus on draft picks, giving younger guys a chance to fill some spots, or maybe get a young talented winger. I have faith in a D-Third of Engo and the Reverend.

I know there was talk last year about Benn or Neal, but what makes you think that’s still an option? Last year the Stars were crap. This year, they’re near the top. What’s their motivation to give away one of their rising stars? (no pun intended)

My opinion is that the Pens should be looking at Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, and New Jersey. But man would Michael Ryder be a good fit too.

Geno’s out tomorrow @ N.J.(undisclosed injury).

Talbot and Kennedy are RFA, you can probably keep both for cheap. Rupp, Godard, Asham will all probably go. Connor has been really good, I imagine they’ll hold onto him. Dupuis seems pretty expendable to me, they’ll probably try to sign someone better for the top line. I think Adams is replacable too, I’d like to bring in a better faceoff guy for the 4th line center and PK duties, I wouldn’t be opposed to signing him for 1 year/league min deal though.

Kunitz-Crosby-?
Connor-Staal-Malkin
Kennedy-Letestu-Cooke
Talbot – ? – ?

Let’s be honest guys we all love him, probably one of the biggest icons of a championship and has good defensive skills BUT he really bring nothing to the table to offer that we need (unless a move to wing is in store). We have enough defensive forwards, god knows enough centers (when healthy), and his one million could be put towards a piece we need. I think Shero is going to have to put personal feelings aside and give him a low offer or let him walk. Talbot will be a guy I would i will miss along with the memories, but his skill sets will not be missed by many.

… you can’t be serious about giving up so easy on Max… this team will not be the same without him… not hockey-wise, but chemistry-wise. He might be overpaid at $1,1 M, but he should be OK with taking a pay-cut and say get $0,75M. And for the same price would you take Rupp instead of Talbot???

So after the rant… here’s my keepers: Kennedy, Adams, Talbot, Jeffrey, Tangradi, Conner
and goners: Rupp, Asham, Godard, Comrie and Dupuis

For a 13th forward I hope the Pens can go after a top 6 winger (especially if there’s a cap increase), but I don’t see the Stars letting Benn go any time soon.

dont you think?