Habs decline your offer 😂

Jk but you will appreciate Petry in time

I think Hextall's done an alright job this offseason considering we got most of the core back and didn't have to give up any high draft picks

But why are we worried about draft picks? Bringing the core back means you are still in win now mode right? As long as 87 is here we are in win now mode. When he is gone we turn into Chicago and start over

To be fair Geno was brought back because he was the best 2C available at that price. But yeah - the moves he's outside of signing Malkin, Rust, and Letang have been a bit puzzling

That one takes me back to being a kid!

Even with bringing Malkin he still could have went after forwards in the UFA market. Connor Brown for a 2nd is easy to say yes to, which is why the Caps did it. Tie Domi is so close with Mario I’m just shocked we haven’t signed Max. They just don’t want him I suppose and to me that’s crazy. They want to be a tougher team, harder to play against they say… well Domi and Brown aren’t big guys but they play a tougher game than most of the league. Burke and Hextall just want bigger people on the ice, hence Rutta and Petry.

I don't think you realize how painfully long that "rebuild" in Chicago has been. Same thing with San Jose, Detroit, LA, etc. And don't forget the years in between Mario and Sid the team was constantly talking about moving out of the city. The team we have now will most likely make the playoffs there's really no need to give up what little farm we have unless there's a glaring hole on the roster. Which other than the bottom 6 (where guys like that are pretty easy to find) I think this is a solid team

Exactly. If he just would have moved Pettersson or Dumo he could have been a player in FA.

The Rutta signing just seems really weird now that they got Petry - considering how well Ruhwedel played last year. The whole offseason the consensus was move a defenseman because we needed cap space for forwards. And here we are spending just as much money on D as we would have if we made no moves. At this point we don't have space for Domi - so that's probably the reason why.

Yeah the "they got bigger" argument is cracking me up. They got like 10 pounds heavier after the two trades yesterday

We are a one line team. That’s far from “solid”. The top line is so good they can carry this team with strong play from Tanger and goaltending that’s above average when healthy but this team will not get out of the 1st round.

The years between Mario AB’s Sid were hit and miss. We had some decent teams and some awful teams. And I have no idea why you brought up the old arena controversy because we have solid ownership and a new building. Why even bother mentioning that?

Zucker-Geno-Rakell is not a bad 2nd line. I think Nylander isn't getting enough attention as a possible option for the middle 6 also. I brought it up because I don't think the team will move obviously but its gonna be hard to draw fans in this city when you don't have two generational talents on the roster and the team is middling at best.

That line is… ok and nothing more. Zucker is hurt most of the season so banking on him for 82 is whizzing into the wind. Rakell worked well with Sid but not with Geno. If they don’t click then we are probably moving Rust down and Rakell up. It’s not a bad idea but it would absolutely suck to break up one of the best lines in the league.

Nylander and Puustinen will likely both get some looks in 2nd or 3rd line roles. That’s a good idea. I have that built into the team I made in this ACGM too. Where I’m not happy is the idea of not adding an experience winger like Vatarano via UFA or Brown via trade. We don’t have the cap space to get another winger, especially if they bring back Kapanen, which also would be a mistake.

“its gonna be hard to draw fans in this city when you don't have two generational talents on the roster and the team is middling at best.“

That day is coming when 87 hangs it up. That I can all but guarantee you. Then the question becomes what do you want to be… a bad team in a rebuild with high picks… or a team that is stuck in the middle? I can answer that with a rebuild is always preferred to having no direction. I’ll pick on a couple teams that seems to be “stuck” in Philly and Winnipeg out west.

Philly is definitely not good, but they also won’t rebuild and as a result they’re going to suffer until they get off the pot and accept that a rebuild is their only option. Winnipeg seems set on being a middle of the road up and down team with no real sense of direction. They went out and hired an old school coach who isn’t known for bringing along younger players. Now they’ll be stuck like Philly, with a seasoned coach who’s in win now mode but a roster that’s beyond subpar. I’d much rather be where Chicago is or Montreal than be where those teams are because then you have hope. A franchise needs hope. The reason we even have a team to root for is because back in the year of my birth 66 was drafted and forever changed the fortunes of this franchise. The Pens clearly wanted to be awful back then just like they clearly wanted to be awful circa 2004. No we can’t bank on having a special talent every generation to save us, but draft in the top 3-6 spots a few times and a smart franchise will be back to a playoff team. I think we’ve more than established ourselves as that kind of elite franchise now.

I definitely feel you on the top 6 winger. I really wanted Garland from Vancouver and felt like he'd be a perfect fit on a Sullivan team but I think after they sign Kapanen and maybe another bottom 6 guy this is the team.