@Marino4Norris @mhockey91 @Sidstick87 @Pens3lieve @gregb569 @mr_gardoki @mariohughes5

Do you guys think this team I constructed will easily win the cup if healthy?

Sabres are as thin as paper on the LHD besides Dahlin.

I mean... they have an upgrade key JJ in Riikola just sitting there... but yet they refuse to play him

the #3LHD spot is an upgrade for sure. that said, one 3rd pair Dman doesn't make a team unstoppable...

I mean this team is basically the same as the current pit roster but McCabe instead of JJ. I think Pens have as good of a shot as anyone to win the cup this year. Its really anyones cup. The fact that we got back Jake for this playoff run when we weren't expected to have him is huge though

No team wins the cup easily unless they are way better than other teams.

Like if you add McDavid to this team they would win easily.

I think this team has a very good shot at winning the cup (25%).

If JJ comes back strong and plays well in the 3rd pairing role like he did in the beginning of the season. They will be fine.
We got 4 healthy defense men again.......we can finally hide JJ again.

Agree they would be much better off with Riikola.

Well they’re definitely still a favourite but if they got a good third pairing LHD, they would have no weaknesses as a healthy team. JJ was voted 2nd worst defenceman & least valuable overall player this season by JFreshHockey, any time you have a liability to that extent it lowers your chance of winning.

I mean, with this team they have the best players (Sid & Geno), they have arguably the best forward depth & the defence (minus JJ) is tremendous. So they should be favourites undoubtedly.

There’s no denying that when JJ got paired with Marino, he made defensive contributions at an above average rate. If he can find that level again, that’s all PIT needs.

Favorites doesn't mean you get an easy cup though. There are teams with better defense and goaltending like the Blues.

the front runners in the east are in no order: Boston, Tampa, Pitt, Washington

and in the west: Blues, Avs

everyone knows im one of the biggest Johnson haters on this site, but like Pharrow said, as long as we have a healthy d core with no injuries, we can shelter him in the bottom pairing and he'll be fine for us.

It’s obvious better that he’s going to be sheltered, but I don’t think Schultz really supports Jack’s game all that well. Historically, Jack has played his best alongside reliable shutdown defenceman like Savard & Marino who are excellent at limiting the opposition from getting scoring chances. When Jack played with Schultz last season & even this year in a limited role, they were always badly outshot & outplayed.

Isn't that an understatement.
If there is one defense man on the penguins who looks more lost than JJ in the Dzone it's Schultz.

But if the puck is already going forward, Schultz is at least capable of keeping it in the Ozone. Which if the lower lines can keep it there, is where it should be.

No doubt Schultz’s horrible defensive play is a reason to Johnson’s poor results. They’re going to need to shelter them with most offensive zone starts & against the opposition’s weakest forwards.

This was what I wanted from the start!! AND - I HOPE & PRAY IM WRONG BUT - IMO that Kahun Trade could end up being one of the worst value trades for GMJR in all his time here.

- I think everyone on here knows how much I like McCabe & how he'd fit PIT D-system perfectly
* just think he is good player but has been on a bad team for so long now

*** BUT The losses of Juggs & Simon almost created a need for Sheary now, so its a tough call now
+ this move would give us a great Left side & put JJ in AHL next yr

Sooo it will prob end up being a team like FLA or DAL that wins the Cup?? Bc the league Favs at start of playoffs almost never win it all?? LOL

At first I wasn’t a fan of that Kahun trade at all, but It did buy us some depth in case of injuries which is necessary on a long playoff run. We have Rodrigues / Laferty as our two extras. Crazy how Jugs / Simon literally announced they were done for the season during the shutdown lol. My guess is, they didn’t expect hockey to resume so they decided to take care of their surgery earlier rather than later so they could have a full 2020/21 season

There’s a chance Bjugstad could be back this playoffs, his new surgery was 8 weeks & I believe they did it in early June.

Kahun definitely had more value than Sheary, that’s for sure.