Simon Despres reassigned to AHL

Ray Shero announced today that defenseman Simon Despres was reassigned to Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins today.  Despres looked good in his 13 game stint with the Penguins, scoring 1 goal and 3 assists in 13 games on the big club.  He also played to a +4 and averaged 15:27 in ice time.  I would assume that this move signals a return to the ice for Paul Martin in time for the Rangers game on Friday night.  I saw nothing that would lead me to believe that 47 will be a full time member of the Penguins by next season at the latest.

Pens Blue Line Depth, Free Agency, Trade Asset Management

This year has been busy enough that I have had very little time to post anything other than game updates.  Tonight, I will make an exception, and will take a look at the impressive depth on the blue line, the salaries and time left on their contracts.  I and you can speculate on how King Ray uses these assets going forward.  Let's start with the top 2 defensive pairings.  Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang are both signed through the 2014-2015 seasons or two seasons after this one.  They make 3.75M and 3.5M respectively, bargains in my estimation.  Paul Martin and Zybnek Michalek are signed through 2015-16, or three years after this one at 5M and 4M respectively, both within market value.  So the top 4 are signed through two more years at least.  As I review the remainder of the list and the pending UFA status of James Neal, and the following season, Jordan Staal, Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy, Matt Cooke, Pascal Dupuis, and Craig Adams, I look at Paul Martin as a chip the Penguins will try to move this offseason despite his no movement clause, and his upside.  The 5M price tag, along with a glut of capable, younger, cheaper players makes him a target for cap relief.  Out of the remaining defensemen who have seen significant ice time this year, Matt Niskanen is a RFA at 1.5 million after this season, as is Robert Bortuzzo at $535,000.  Despite a rough night last night, Matt Niskanen has been a steady player on the blue line and seems to be a perfect fit for the Bylsma system.  He has 2 goals and 12 assists and has played to a +9 on the season. He is second to Letang in points for a defenseman on the Pens and leads all Pens blueliners in plus/minus.   I would think that Shero would try to keep Niskanen if the price and term were reasonable.  I would think Niskanen would relish the chance to stay.  Bortuzzo is a young guy they think can be a net clearing defenseman, and he is RFA, not UFA, but I am not sure where he fits here in the next year or two.  Deryk Engelland who makes $566,000 per year is signed for more two more years, and I like his chances to remain a 5th or 6th defenseman since he adds a physcal presence they lack on the blue line, he is cap friendly, and his overall game has improved by leaps and bounds.  Engo has 2 goals and 5 assists, and has played to a plus 5 this year.  He can also play the heavyweight role when necesssary,   What about Ben Lovejoy?  He has one more year after this one, he currently makes $525,000 per year, and also seems to fit the system of puck moving defenseman who make good first passes and can take the puck up ice to a tee.  A very solid, cap friendly player, but I don't think his ceiling is much higher.  Then you have Simon Despres, a highly touted, first round pick who almost made the club out of camp as a rookie last year.   Despres, our 2009 first round pick, is signed at a cap friendly $840,000 per year for two more years after this one, before he becomes RFA.  Despres has proven he can play in this league, NOW, but may not warrant enough ice time at this level IF we ever get healthy to keep him with the big team THIS year.  He needs big minutes to continue his development, so if the team gets to be 100% on the blue line, I see 47 heading back to WBS as he does not have to clear waivers.  I do see him however being the guy who makes Martin trade bait, as the more than 4M salary cap hit differential between he and Martin, and Despres' skill set and ceiling would seem to set up a possible move of Despres for Martin, with Martin fetching forward prospects to free up space for Neal and Staal.  Despres at 6'4" and 218 lbs is quick, agile, big, and getting more physical.  Could he be a bigger version of Tanger over the next two years?   Another intriguing decision centers around Alexandre Picard, a young defenseman who only makes $600,000 per year, and is RFA after this season.  Once the injury situation clears up, Picard would have to clear waivers to be sent to WBS, an unlikely event given his steady play, low cap hit, and the value on puck moving defensemen in the NHL.  He has 4 assists in 17 games, and is a plus 4.   I could see a Picard for draft picks move, similar to the Letestu move, simply because other GMs will know the situation King Ray is in with Picard.  After Picard you still have Carl Sneep at $850,000 per year and RFA after this season and Brian Strait at $861,000 (RFA after this year) who have played on the big club and look like possible fits for next year at this level.  Neither is flashy, but both have size, can skate, and have pretty good potential as 3rd to 5th defensemen at the NHL level.  After these two guys, you have this year's first round pick Joe Morrow, the 2011 first round pick and making $925,000 per year, signed for 2 seasons after this one before becoming RFA who made a strong case for a look at the NHL level this year, and may have on a team with less depth at the position.  Morrow has big upside as a solid defenseman with offensive skills, that I have making the move to the NHL, after a season in WBS next year.  Currently he plays for Portland in the WHL.  For Portland he has put up 9 goals and 20 assists in first 28 games, for better than a point per game as a defenseman.  Penguins scouts say that his skating and speed make him stand out at this level.  This year's second round pick, Scott Harrington beat out Morrow to make Team Canada for the World Juniors, as he is a more steady stay at home kind of player Team Canada favors over more offensive defensemen.  Still, he is a good skater, who makes good decisions with the puck and could be NHL ready in two years.  Harrington is currently playing for London of the OHL, and scouts say he plays the system well, and functions as a shut down defenseman who skates well enough to support the rush and add some offense.   At a current cap hit of $617,500 he is RFA after 2 more years.  Finally, you have Ulfie's son, Philip Samuelsson, also signed for two more years at $900,000, and projected as a solid NHL, 3rd to 5th defenseman.  Samuelsson is known as a guy who has great hockey sense, and can move the puck, even under duress.  He has to work on his skating. All of these prospects are bigger players at 6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches tall and 200 pounds or more.   Finally, the Pens have Boris Valabik, at $550,000 and RFA after this year in the system.  Valabik, like Picard, has played at the NHL level, and adds size and toughness, but probably is no more than a number 7 defenseman in the NHL.  He could stay for insurance purposes at league minimum.  If you count Valabik, the Pens have 11 defensemen in the system who have played solid time in the NHL.  Most teams are happy to have 8 or 9.  In addition, with Morrow, Harrington, Sneep, Samuellson, and Strait, and Bortuzzo  they have 6 more ready in a year or two.  That is a big stable of talent on the blue line.  The Penguins rate 7 of their top 10 prospects in their system as defenseman, with Tangradi, Bennett and Kuhnackl the only forwards regarded in that manner.  Tangradi who is RFA after this year at $845,000 could also be trade bait.  He has good size at 6'4" and 221 lbs., and a net front presence, so he has value to somebody, but thus far has not shown to be a fit in the Byslma system.  He has 10 G and 10 A in 24 games in WBS, but has not scored in 4 NHL games this season.  I am not sure how the Pens regard his future HERE, but he is an asset that still has value.  The biggest priority in my opinion for the Penguins would be to a. sign James Neal to a long term contract and b. obtain other young forwards who can score and c. prepare for two years out when much of the core of the team is up for contracts.  The above referenced stable of blue liners will be key to those objectives.  The question is, how will Ray Shero juggle the assets to keep this team a legitimate threat to win it all?  Stay tuned, it should be a fun ride!

Pens fall to Flyers 4-2

Strange night at the Consol Energy Center last night. At dinner, I had the pleasure of meeting Flyers owner Ed Snider while waiting in line for food. I have to say that he was a very friendly guy, who spent a few minutes talking about the Pens-Flyers rivalry, and also the concept of AHL holiday jerseys and how cool they were.  He mentioned some past Christmas jerseys of the Philadelphia Phantoms, and how much he liked them.  The conversation started with a compliment on my newly arrived WBS Penguins Alexandre Picard Christmas Sweater Holiday jersey.  Interesting start to the evening!  Great guy.

Anyway, on to the game.  After all of the hype about the nasty crowd, the crowd was pretty tame. The boos for Talbot and JJ were there, but not to the fever pitch advertised.  The game got off to a promising start for the Penguins as Jordan Staal cashed in on his 15th goal of the season at the 19:16 mark off of a great feed from behind the net from Tyler Kennedy who earned his 14th assist of the season. 1-0 Penguins.  However, Kimo Timmonen tied the game on a power play goal at 10:04 of the period off a great feed from Giroux and Simmonds.  Game on.  During that period the Pens and  Flyers both played a fast up tempo game that looked like it could live up to all of the hype.  That would change in period two, as the Flyers really began to dominate play, winning the puck battles and exposing the Penguins poor gap control defensively.  At the 13:57 mark Jaromir Jagr ripped a backhander past Fleury to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead.  As much as I hate to say it, a beautiful play by 68, who was the best player on the ice last night.   At 13:49. Matt Read beat Matt Niskanen to a Courtierer rebound to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead.  The Penguins looked almost timid at times during this period.  The third period started in a similar manner, but just when you thought the Pens would sleep walk through the rest of the game, Tyler Kennedy scored his 5th goal of the season blasting a rocket over the shoulder of Bobrovsky at 6:29 of the period from Malkin (28), and Simon Despres (3).  The assist extended Malkin's scoring streak to 9 games (6G and 13A).  And now we had a game!  Not much later, the Flyers took a bench penalty and the turkey was on the table!  But, as it had all night long, the Penguins power play fizzled with the game on the line, and Max Talbot sealed the deal with 24 seconds left to seal the deal for Philly at 4-2.  It was a strange game for me to evaluate to be honest.  On one hand, I really thought that for the latter part of the final two periods the Flyers were dominant despite the Pens outshooting them 26-23 for the game.  It just felt like Philadelphia was playing with swagger, winning puck battles and getting better chances.  Their team was evident all night, and the top line of Giroux, Hartnell and Jagr looked dangerous every time it was on the ice.  The Penguins seemed to be intent on making pretty plays instead of getting the puck on the net and getting their noses dirty digging out rebounds.  The Flyers top line played very well and you could see how dangerous a player Giroux is.  I thought that Geno played a disappointing game overall, as did our top line in general, but you will have that at times.  The negative view of the game is that the Penguins are now 0-2 against the Flyers and 0-3 against the Rangers and  Flyers, their top two rivals in the Atlantic Division.   The power play was a liability, and the Penguins looked almost flat despite the hype and magnitude of the game. The Penguins did not take advantage of the absence of Pronger to attack the Flyers net.  Marc Andre Fleury made a few ten bell saves or this game could have been a blow out.  The Flyers earned this game by outworking the Penguins and taking advantage of their opportunities.  The positive view of this game is that despite all of the above, the Penguins could have won this game pretty readily.  Jagr made the best back check play of life lifting Neal's stick just before he poked home a goal midway through the third period, and Joe Vitale hit a crossbar as well in that period. Both plays could have changed the outcome of the game.  The Penguins are also still missing not only Crosby, but Letang, Martin and Engelland from the blue line, which is half of their starting 6 and still made this a game.  I think that Letang's speed in particular on that top pairing makes a big difference in this game, as does Engo's toughness.   But in the end, all of that is part of the game, and the Flyers took advantage of their chances, and killed a late power play to secure the victory, and that is the name of the game.  On another note, Tyler Kennedy seems to be finding his stride, and was the most noticeable Penguins player on the ice. Orpik and Niskanen struggled last night.  I was surprisingly happy about the tribute to Talbot and the crowd reaction to it.  I also loved the lack of Jagr tribute!   The crowd, for all of the pregame hype was very vanilla though.   In short, put this one in the rear view mirror, focus on the Devils on Saturday, and let's get back on the winning track.

To Boo or not to Boo? That is the question!

Tomorrow night is a game that many fans had circled on their calendars on both sides of Pennsylvania since the schedule came out this summer.  First, and foremost, it should be a big game between two bitter rivals, with positioning in a tight Atlantic Division at stake.  Any time the Pens and Flyers play, it is an epic encounter, but tomorrow night's tilt will add more fuel to an already hot fire given the fact that it is Max Talbot's first game in Pittsburgh as a Flyer, and it is the return of Jaromir Jagr to Pittsburgh after a summer in which the locals thought 68 would be coming home to finish his career as the franchise's second most prolific offensive force in history.  I wrote a long piece that I won't rehash here telling fans that still hated Jags for his Dying Alive commentary to forgive and forget, and to welcome Jagr home with open arms.   We all know how that turned out!  Many fans plan to give both players a pretty nasty welcome to Pittsburgh run tomorrow.  Everyone is entitled to handle that any way that they want, but for me, I will give Jagr some venom, but not nearly the venom that most will.  I did not like the way he handled the events of this summer, I did not like the ending of his first tenure here, and I really don't like Jagr that much off the ice either.  That said, I have many memories of his contributions to both Penguins Stanley  Cups in the '90's, his Art Ross seasons, and his game tying goal in the first game of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals.  I also remember how much of a gamer Jagr was in the post season for the Penguins in the mid nineties prior to his "dying alive."  I will give 68 some shit, but my desire to really be an ass will be tempered by many on ice memories of his heroics in the black and gold.  Relative to Max Talbot, I have been all over the board here.  When it was first announced that 25 signed with the Flyers for 1.9M per year over 5 years, I was glad for  him thinking that if he got that offer, he would be nuts to not take it, as it seemed to be WAY more in both term and dollar value than he was worth to me.  So, even if it meant going from the Hatfields to the McCoys, anyone would have to accept a financial offer like that right?   Then, I heard that the Blackhawks offered the same kind of deal, and I felt less like defending Talbot, as the Hawks offered the same chance at winning, the same money, and it was not like hanging out with the dude who raped your sister, like joining the Flyers from the Penguins was.  And like many others, felt like Talbot had stolen his paychecks the past two seasons, scoring 2 goals in the 2009-10 season (but had a bad shoulder all year), and only 8 goals in the 2010-11 season.  His need for attention had grown a little old, particularly with his lack of production on the ice.  And like many others, I forgot about how big a role 25 played in our two glorious runs to the Finals, and in bringing the third Stanley Cup to Pittsburgh.  Chew on some of these facts before you decide to crucify the Super Star tomorrow night:

The Penguins were 11-1 when Talbot scored in the postseason, a .916 winning percentage;

Talbot had 5 career Cup Finals goals as a Penguin, only Mario with 10 and Kevin Stevens with 6 had more;

Talbot's willingness to let Carcillo use his face as a punching bag seemed to turn the momentum of a 3-0 deficit in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals of 2009 into a series clinching victory;

In the Stanley Cup run of 2009 Talbot had 8 goals in the playoffs, third on the team behind Crosby (15) and Malkin (14).   He finished with 8 goals and 5 assists and a +8;

Talbot scored the game tying goal in Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals with the goalie pulled to set up Sykora's game winner to force Game 6;

Talbot scored the opening goal in Game 3 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals.  A critical marker given the fact that the Penguins were down 2-0 in the series;

Talbot won a puck battle against Ericsson of the Wings to set up Tyler Kennedy's game winner in the must win Game 6 of the 2009 Finals;

Talbot scored both goals including the game winner in the decisive Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals to bring Lord Stanley's cup home again!

At the end of the day, the Flyers represent one of our biggest rivalries, and Talbot is now a Flyer, as is Jagr.  That said, both have been a big part of the championships of our favorite team, and I will find it hard to be too nasty tomorrow.  Go Pens!

Pittsburgh Penguins: In The Room Episode 2 part 2

Pittsburgh Penguins: In The Room Episode 2 part 1

Great Stuff!!

Pens beat Carolina 4-2

The Penguins win tonight at home to take their record to 21-11-4 with 46 points.  Tonight was a night with more milestones for Pittsburgh.  Jordan Staal became the seventh youngest player since NHL expansion in 1967 to play in 400 games at 23 years and 108 days.  Dan Bylsma won his 135th game putting him in a second place tie with Michele Therien for 2 all-time in wins for the Penguins.  The game started off with early chances by Malkin and a rocket by Staal hitting the crossbar.  The Canes then took a 1-0 lead off of a bad clearing attempt by Zybnek Michalek was interecpted by Tim Gleason, who shot it on net, while Tim Brent in front chopped home the rebound to give Carolina the lead at 9:37 of the period.  The period ended with Carolina up 1-0.  It stayed that way until about mid way through the second period at 11:50 when Chris Kunitz split Gleason and Allen at center ice and attacked the net, flipping a backhander from from the right circle at Peters.  James Neal crashed the net, and the puck went off of the shaft of Neal's stick giving him his 21st goal of the season from Kunitz (13) and Malkin (26).  A great play by Kunitz who did not quit on the play, and another point for one of the league's hottest lines.  The goal also puts Neal only one goal behind league leader Marion Gaborik.  The period ended in a 1-1  deadlock, and it was anyone's game.  But just like the other night against Winnipeg, a third period explosion by the Pens put this one away.  At 18:42 of the third, Steve Sullivan scored a power play goal, his 7th goal of the year, assisted by Malkin (27) and Neal (15) to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.  Just a little over a minute later at the 17:32 mark, Super Duper gets his 11th goal of the year off of a two on play from Tyler Kennedy (12), assisted also by Zybnek Michalek (4).  This would prove to be the gamewinner as it put the Penguins up 3-1.   Fittingly, Jordan Staal closed out the scoring for the Penguins at the 11:55 mark for his 14th goal of the season, assisted by Tyler Kennedy (13).  The Canes kept coming, and at 5:07, Tuomo Ruutuu made it 4-2 after a misplay behind the net by Fleury.  The game would end that way, 4-2 Penguins.  The win ran Marc Andre Fleury's record to 19-7-2 on the year.  Neal had two points with a goal and an assist, and both Kennedy and Malkin recorded two assists.  For Kennedy, he now has 5 points in his past 4 games, and Geno not only extended his scoring streak to 8 games, but with 287 assists he passed Jean Pronovost for 9th place all time in assists for the Penguins.  The Penguins outshot the Canes 52-18 tonight, the power play was 1 for 3, and the penalty kill a perfect 2 for 2.  The Penguins have held 3 of their past 4 opponents to under 20 shots, despite having both Letang and Martin on the shelf for all of those games, and Engelland out for the past two.  Pretty impressive number given the holes on the blue line due to injury.  Up next two big Atlantic division tilts coming up, with Philadelphia in here Thursday night with Mullet boy and STD making their respective returns to Pittsburgh, and a road game against New Jersey on Saturday.  Four big division points on the table, Lets Go Pens!