absolutely

Absolutely... not

If the pens don't sign Kapanen, Rutta and Archibald, they could have made a much better signing without sacrificing anything on the defense side, and not having to give up a 1st.

That was an interesting article but I believe it never stated the exact timing the initial offer took place. It was just stated that it was "over the summer". Was it pre- or post-draft? Was it before or after the first few days of the Free Agency frenzy? I remember Burakovsky being snatched up the day Free Agency started so I don't think there was really ever a chance.

I personally wouldn't like a Zucker + 1st Round cap dump type trade. I know he is frustrating to some, but Zucker has 1 year left and is coming into the season healthy not requiring surgery over the off-season. I'd like to give him a shot to perform during an all important contract year. He has elements to his game that benefit the Penguins when he is healthy. He's due to play more games than sit hurt.

He doesn't get a lot of credit from the fan base but Hextall has been doing great with the usage of draft picks as assets (I think of using a 2nd to acquire Rakell + re-signing Rakell to lock up 5/6 of the top-six). There is no way I could see him using a 1st in a simple cap dump move. He has been maneuvering through the flat cap era quite efficiently so far. $20M is off the books next off-season and I'd like to think Hextall rather just dip into that UFA forward group than throw away a 1st now to get Zucker off the books and sign someone now.

Zucker is a very misunderstood player. Does he live up to his contract? No, but that doesn't mean he's a bad player. He's not. Far from it. He's just had incredibly bad shooting luck. Fast, gritty and a VERY good two-way game. Wise decision by Hextall.

100%

I see some treat him like Brassard and I just don't understand it lol.

I said this previously, but if Zucker is healthy and plays around 70 games, I'm betting on him scoring 15-20 goals.

I like Jason Zucker when he’s healthy, but I don’t like Ron Hextall. Dude made the penguins more expensive, older and arguably worse this off-season.

Rackell is injury prone and overpaid, Petry is a downgrade from Marino, and Smith is a downgrade from Matheson. I am not sure why the Pens hired him but he needs to go.

Probably can score more than that tbh

Absolutely would have done this. Zucker may well rebound, but more likely to see him unfortunately injury cursed again— beau Bennett award.

I would also have included that useless first rounder POJ as a salary dump— good riddance, what a bust

Easily.

I have to respectfully disagree in certain aspects of this. Now, I don't love all the moves Hextall made. Rutta was unnecessary and Kapanen should have walked. That said...

1) Rakell isn't really THAT injury-prone, at least compared to other Penguins lol, but in all seriousness he averages out to playing about 85% of the regular season.

2) Petry is not a downgrade from Marino. Not completely. Is he as good defensively as Marino? No, but he's a major upgrade offensively which will have a HUGE impact for Geno who doesn't get a lot of ice time with Letang and he's a big physical presence that the Pens have been missing.

3) Rutta was unnecessary, but he should still be very good for the Pens, so the Pens defense as a whole should actually net a positive result.

4) Poehling is a younger piece that could yield some nice results bolstering bottom-six scoring in the absence of ERod... COULD being the key word.

The Kapenen signing was the major misstep when you see some of the bargains signed around the NHL like Kessel and Stastny.

EDIT:
I forgot to mention Smith and POJ. Solid asset management in this respect giving the Pens possibly two good young players ready to enter the NHL.

Wow. Well I'm certainly glad you're not the GM.

Fair point about the timing. It didn't say exactly when - and that plays a big part. I guess for this hypothetical situation I'm assuming it happened early on. If it happened a few weeks ago it would make sense to not even entertain it.

I think Hextall has done okay - maybe slightly above average. For all the good he did with the big contracts of Malkin, Letang, Rust - he equally messed up with players like Kap, Rutta, Archibald, and McGinn. I know Zucker only has 1 more year - but when your window is only like 3 years - you need to maximize each one. I don't really mind it though - I think a healthy Zucker can be very useful.

Rackell’s injury issues have been more frequent in recent years and he got hurt against the rangers.

Petry turns 35 this year and I wouldn’t want a blue line with him and Letang due to their age.

I hated watching Rutta in the playoffs and I thought he was terrible last year.

Adding Poehling doesn’t do enough to offset the loss of Marino and Matheson on the back end.

Kapanen has a two year deal and if I’m not mistaken he had a low shooting percentage last year. He could bounce back.

Oh I totally agree. Those signings were puzzling - you would have like 6mil to sign one forward. Could've definitely made the team better

Yeah Kapanen and Archibald are just about my only gripes with Hextall. That is $4.1M that could have been utilized better. Looks like they are betting on Kapanen to rebound, hopefully they know something we don't.

Poehling is a forward and will be on the 4th line, so that doesn't really have any affect on the defense.

I'm really not concerned about Petry's age considering the Pens window and how he's been able to continue playing solid hockey even on a bad team like MTL and playing in a role he shouldn't be playing. His offense combined with his nasty physical edge gives the Pens a big boost. Sid gets ice time with Letang mostly which has a huge impact on Sid's numbers, so Geno getting Petry will yield very good results.

Rutta will go from playing the first pair to the third pair which will be good for him. Again, we didn't' need him given the fact Ruhwedel has a been a rockstar for $800K, but he will be solid in a 3rd pairing role. Bad asset management by Hextall, but it won't have a negative impact on the ice.

Rakell's injury in the playoffs from a dirty play.

I think the issue is not only has his play not matched his money - but neither has his health. One compounds the other. I think Zucker can be useful and definitely a helpful player if he actually stays healthy.

I'm sort of indifferent, I would have been fine either way. But having someone like Burakovsky or Palat over Zucker no doubt makes this team better right now - so I think it can be argued that the move should have been made..

The only positive to Archibald is they can send him down without losing him and if they do lost him, then good riddens. I just would have preferred they don't sign him and give some of the young guys a shot like DOC, Puustinen, Nylander, Z or even Poulin.

I should’ve been more clear. What I meant was that adding Poehling doesn’t make the Matheson for Petry swap any better. Or the Marino for Ty smith swap for that matter.

I agree with you on Rutta being better in a reduced role, but I don’t agree about Petry. You can’t have too many old guys if you want to win a cup.

And IK rackell was hurt on a dirty play, but that doesn’t mean he’s not injury prone.

I get that logic and there is some merit to it, but IMO the Hextall has done a decent job of extending this window and next year the Pens will be in solid financial position to improve the lineup even more while still stocking the cupboard. The Pens are already starting with a better lineup than they did last year.

I mean, he didn't make them more expensive. Older isn't necessarily a bad thing. And he also made them arguably better. Rakell did get overpaid but nothing egregious. Petry is better than Marino by a large margin. Saying he's a downgrade is just incorrect

You hit any player in the head like that the result will be the same.

POJ isn't a useless first rounder or a bust