Pens Offseason Talk

[Ice]

One last ride for the Core? With a pretty mid UFA class, I don't see why Malkin at a reasonable rate (3-5 mil?) doesn't make a lot of sense. He did well with the transition to wing, and I'd honestly hate to see him elsewhere.

Defensive help, certainly. Girard isn't it, and somebody solid to go with Letang, who's definitely deteriorating. Does EK want to do another couple of seasons here, or go to a contender? His trade value will likely never be higher than at the draft, after a surprisingly good season.

Some of the young guys are looking good in the AHL playoffs for WBS, which is certainly a good thing.

With the cap going up by an unexpected amount, the Pens have some serious spending to do just to get to the cap floor with a little over 45 million in a vailable space. What we don't know is whether new management is going to want to spend, now, or later, like previous ownership has. Getting to the floor with some deals taking on salary for picks and a few judiciously chosen reclamation projects feels like the way to go in this class of UFAs, though, which Dubas did a good job with last year.

What say ya, Pens faithful of Fury?

[bradshaw2ben]

Anyone seen Bill Zonnon play in Juniors or last night in the Calder Cup? Not sure he's as far along as Ben Kindel but honestly, he might have more upside. In his first professional game last night, in Round 2 of the Calder Cup playoffs, he and Murashov were easily the two best players on the ice. Zonnon backchecked great, has that sneaky puck magnet stick where he comes away from contested situations with the puck, has a big and accurate one-time slapper, and has those buttery hands the chicks dig. He was a point per game guy in Juniors playoffs and kept it going last night. I'm very excited about that kid's future.

[Ice]

Zonnon last night, Koivunen, Broz and Ilyin in the Bears series... Murashov with the SO to start the new series, big, athletic, talented, but gave up some juicy rebounds last series. Some interesting prospects on their way up the pipeline. Now some defensive stockpiling, please.

Read earlier today some scouting service has the Pens prospects ranked 8th in the NHL. Feel like that might be a little high, but there's certainly been some improvement down on the farm.

[bradshaw2ben]

Zonnon last night, Koivunen, Broz and Ilyin in the Bears series... Murashov with the SO to start the new series, big, athletic, talented, but gave up some juicy rebounds last series. Some interesting prospects on their way up the pipeline. Now some defensive stockpiling, please.

Read earlier today some scouting service has the Pens prospects ranked 8th in the NHL. Feel like that might be a little high, but there's certainly been some improvement down on the farm.

What do they have, maybe two legit defensive prospects in Wilkes-Barre? I feel like they could use some of that goaltending talent to make a move for a legit D man or two.

Last night was like watching the 2024-25 pens late in games. I'm not sure any of those 4 Springfield goals were the fault of the goalie. Bad bounce on one or 2, horrid line change on the goal that changed the game. Just got to tip your helmet to the other guys... great comeback.

There is some promise there though.