Comments on: Darryl Sydor AND Petr Sykora headed to the igloo!

By: kamullia

kamullia — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 10:57:09 +0000

Scratch that about the defensemen. It was not reported in any major media outlet, but the Penguins site announced that they have re-signed both Whitney and Scuderi. I believe this is the amount they will carry on the roster, and I feel they will probably sign another inconsequential defenseman for depth.

By: kamullia

kamullia — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 09:33:18 +0000

I bow to your scouting prowess, as it is your strong suit as evidence from your spelling and grammar which you undoubtedly mastered while typing those reports.

By: kamullia

kamullia — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 09:25:08 +0000

They will sign another defenseman, but it will be depth. I would not be surprised if they signed two, actually, because of possibly not being 100% positive that Letang will make the grade.

As it stands, they have Eaton, Gonchar, Whitney, Orpik, Sydor, and Letang and that is only 6, with no one ready to step up from WBS and that includes Goligoski if he decides to sign a pro-contract, which I doubt he will. Maybe Shero can trade for another Kwiatkowski for another 4th round pick like last year?

We share the same overall feelings about these signings.

By: kamullia

kamullia — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 09:15:22 +0000

Do not get me wrong. I do not deny in the least that this is an improvement. But as I went into depth in another post, my problem is that it is not enough of an improvement, especially with the strides that other teams are making thus far. And that is why the good moves are not enough. Now, if by “good” you mean the mid-point between “great” and “poor,” then we are talking the same language because that is the message I was trying to convey, that his job is average. But that portrayed image that was given around the league about Shero being a well-above-average manager, is fast eroding so much that if you wait a couple of seconds, you will hear the sonic “boom.”And as I also said in my other post, the saving grace is that most of the big improvements are being done out West. But I expect Ottawa to re-sign Emery and be on the hunt again, I always expect something from Lamoriello (only a fool would expect otherwise), NYR and Philly are certainly not chumps, and I also expect that Toronto when it is all said and done will be well improved and in the hunt again (Blake’s signing and his play with a true upper caliber center in Sundin will have a great effect, I fear). If Buffalo, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay make some improvements from their present roster, the Penguins may have a tough time getting in.At any rate, in my other post I did mention that Shero typically seems to redeem himself with pulling better than average trades, therefore that’s where his strength lies, and hopefully that will make up for these lukewarm moves.

By: kamullia

kamullia — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 08:54:08 +0000

I certainly had my reservations about the Roberts' impact on the Penguins, but he did fair better than I expected, and I am more than happy to admit to that.

However, my issue with that trade was not over acquiring specifically Roberts, but at giving away Welch for him. With all the specific high offers from Toronto, and Ottawa for Roberts, there is true reason why Florida was willing to part with him for Welch, whom I still believe will be a solid #4, if not better at the NHL level for years to come.

In other words, my issue with Roberts was not acquiring him. It was the price.

I share your hope, and not the enthusiasm, that there are more moves in Shero's agenda. Positive moves, and no more Kwiatkowskis, Ekmans, and Pivkos. The Pens need them.

By: habsoverserver

habsoverserver — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 08:37:19 +0000

surrounding the young superstars with cup winning veterans sounds like a well conceived plan.

By: Jrugges

Jrugges — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 08:22:02 +0000

Lol, I wish I knew you personally so I could make a bet with you for $$ that both Staal and Malkin will get more points than they did last year… Even if all what you said did come true about Malkin and Staal not getting around the same numbers is kinda dumb. Your not very good at scouting good young players b/c I'll tell you these two are sure fire can't miss prospects that are only going to keep getting better with more experiance. Not to mention you can't stop Crosby, so he's able to get anyone he plays with back on track and scoring again.

By: czarrichter

czarrichter — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 08:05:35 +0000

i'm not sure how i feel about these signings. they definitely aren't going to sign or trade for another defenseman now, where would he play? the only way they are going to get a more defensive defenseman now is by trading orpik, which i don't see shero trading our most defensive defenseman for a higher priced defensive defenseman (unless they sit letang for yet another year, which i hope not). i also think that the signing of sykora means that shero is planning to not have espo play this year, so you have to ask yourself is sykora a better option than espo (which is unfair and hard to say). i don't see them adding another winger via free agency either because our roster is full as it is, unless they trade malone or EC. i don't know, i'm not feeling great like i would have if they signed kariya and/or hannan, but i'm feeling the team is better and for a lot less money, and a better penguins team than last year could do some damage; however, the atlantic division just got A LOT tougher already this week.

By: intelligentscorpio

intelligentscorpio — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 08:02:46 +0000

Sabourin's loss on waivers last year was a mistake. Shero took a chance and it backfired. By bringing him back for .5 a season to back up Fleury is a good move. Fleury can play 60 games without any problem and Sabourin can pinch in when and as needed. He did play well for us in the past.

Sykora is a consistent winger and has the Mettalurgik connection with Malkin, but really, he is a proven player and I think that's a good signing.

Sydor, a wonderful performer is now older and may not be a pp quarterback, but still has good defensive skills. He is fairly consistent in his assignments, and is a good pickup.

Overall, all three are upgrades on Thibault, Ouellette and Melichar. So, my friend, I have to disagree with you that Shero has not done a good job on day 1. I think, he has not blown the doors open to the barn, but by using the money available to him in solidifyng Whitney and getting these three players is a much needed improvement over the last season. It gives us depth, experience and calms down the youngsters and gives them a chance to learn the game and to perform well in difficult situations and in the playoffs.

Good is the rating, not great, not poor.

By: kamullia

kamullia — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 07:56:01 +0000

Sydor is not a great defensive defender, but has become more of a power play specialist as of late. The days of Sydor being a great defender went by when the clutch, grab, and hold went out the window in the new CBA. He has been good defensively in Dallas, but as I pointed out, he showed some serious struggling to keep up in the faster NHL last year, being beaten on one-on-one's constantly. The point being of my post, as far as Sydor, is that there were plenty of comparable cheaper choices or more fitting choices to the defensive style of Therrien (i.e. faster). In the end the addition of Sydor will not help reduce the GA of the Penguins, which is their real problem. Hence Shero has yet to fix their defensive loopholes. Shero needed a true defensive defenseman, and certainly one of better caliber than Darryl Sydor.

Proven scoring prrodution? From Staal and Malkin? Last I checked they were rookies last year, and finalists for the Calder, therefore I fail to see how one year proves anything. Do I expect them to get better? Absolutely. Would I be shocked if they did not or regressed? Not in the least. Malkin needs to get in better shape, as shown by the fact he was exhausted by the end of the season, while Staal did report fatigue himself, but I expect him to rebound better having a brother to guide him through the process. But the reason why the term "Sophomer Jinx" is available, is that is so recurrent that it merited a description.

Sykora could work out because on the wings he seems a bit rejuvenated, but I do have some doubts because he is on the smallish side, has been streaky, and the Pens better protect him because if there is a proven history with him, is that he gets rattled if given physical confrontation. And the last one specifically, is how teams have targeted is the best game plan against the Penguins.

Power play schemes will most certainly change this year. With both probably Malone and Recchi receiving reduced roles. In fact, I would not be surprised to not see Malone at all in the PP, and Recchi be in charge of the second unit.

Marc-André Fleury has only one full season under his belt as an NHL goaltender, and that was last season. I do expect him to get better and I think he acquainted himself well, but I still believe he probably is in need of a lot of veteran guidance, which all of a sudden he is deprived of.

And as far as the playoffs, it is a little early to talk about who and how will they be making the playoffs. What I said was that Shero needs to do better to assure the Penguins a spot, because this is not good enough since you must keep in mind that making the playoffs relies on being one of the top eight teams in your conference. Your team can be in the playoffs and improve even from the year before, but if 8 teams improve even more, your team will be missing the playoffs. Altogether, the Pens are in the Atlantic which now has become a goaltending powerhouse of sorts, and have yet to add solid scorers, plus still have defensive troubles. While in the same conference, it is hard to argue that the Rangers just made some big improvements, same as Philadelphia. And while the Islanders and New Jersey have yet to make improvements, at least in the case of the Devils I expect them once again to battle for a playoff spot.

The only saving grace Shero has at this point is that the majority of the upgrading by teams has been done in the West, but if the trend of movements by the rest of the league, vs. the trade of movements by the Pens, keeps being superior before the start of the season, the Penguins could very well be sitting looking from the outside into the playoffs. And that is not the experience that the young guys need.