Bunting has more 5v5 goals than Guentzel since the trade. More 5v5 points. More hits. More takeaways.

I don’t see those trends stopping ever. Guentzel did not deserve the icetime in Pittsburg and they’re seeing what happens when it’s properly distributed.

Pittsburg upgraded when they moved Guentzel because he is ——mid——(relative to elite wingers given all the minutes). Replacing his icetime was easy. The return was exceptional because Guentzel is not. People just assumed he was exceptional because the penguins played him 21 min a game with a goat. Jaden Schwartz would look really good playing 21 minutes every game with Crosby, get every pp1, double shifted for pp2, every good offensive minute. It wouldn’t mean Jaden Schwartz is Mitch Marner, he’d still be Jaden Schwartz - a guy who needs to have the energy to explode with the puck to get past some d and if you give him 21 min a game he can’t do that because that’s not how sprinting works.

It is extremely difficult to earn 21 min a game as a winger. You have to not only have absurd offensive skills, but the intelligence to conserve energy and awareness to play 2-ways. There are maybe 2-3 wingers worth that any given season (Marner now, historical puck possession gods like Datsyuk, prime patrick Kane, etc.) Guentzel is nowhere near the list of those skaters. He’s missing half the tools. He is on an entirely different tier of player, well below those who do “deserve” the highest workload. Playing him as if he were locked potential, creativity, probably was the source of some resentment, and disrupted the proper use of energy and matchups during the game.

The penguins built a trap, put themselves in it, thrashed about when their new gm freed them from the trap, and now have been the 4th best team in the east since.

Yea no moving Guentzel for Bunting and some prospects especially now not looking good

Guentzel's the guy u wat come playoffs and is the guy who meshed well with Crosby

Also 5 on 5

15 gp Bunting 4 goals 4 assists

13 gp Guentzel 4 goals 8 assists

Both have around 17mins of ice time

So where's the more come in?

Pitt F'd up as Guentzel be better and for Crosby should not have done that.

It's cool that its close. But they teams are all below 500. If it was this close and they were all playing well it'd be way better. This season is a solid argument against play in rounds.

I really really hope we never (or at least not for a long time and a lot of expansion teams) get playin in the NHL. The first round in the NHL is the best first round of any sport.

I think it's unfair to say the Pens "F'ed up" given the circumstances at the trade deadline. Everything that could possibly go right for the Pens has happened, which is not something the Pens were banking on at the TDL. Obviously with the power of hindsight it's easy to say the Pens should've kept Guentzel, but there was only a slim chance of the Pens going on a run. Bunting has been a good replacement on Crosby's wing, I don't think it's all bad for the Pens.

At this point, they HAVE to make the playoffs or else this run will be a detriment to their future. If they just miss the playoffs, not only was this run for nothing but their top 10 protected first will still be going to San Jose, which will be a major setback for the rebuilding Pens. I honestly feel bad for Dubas, this is probably the worst case scenario for him. He sells off his best winger (and one of his best players), only for this team to make a late season surge that will result in them losing their first AND facing an absolute juggernaut in the first round of the playoffs. A team like Boston or NYR would absolutely dummy the Pens, so this run will have been all for not. Really crappy situation for him and the Pens. No one would've predicted this run, certainly not Dubas.

Yea no moving Guentzel for Bunting and some prospects especially now not looking good

Guentzel's the guy u wat come playoffs and is the guy who meshed well with Crosby

Also 5 on 5

15 gp Bunting 4 goals 4 assists

13 gp Guentzel 4 goals 8 assists

Both have around 17mins of ice time

So where's the more come in?

Pitt F'd up as Guentzel be better and for Crosby should not have done that.

Like if Pitt walked away for one or two of Morrow, Nadeau and Niskinin along with Bunting then sure u could live with that but they got a bunch of lottery cards, some okay picks and Bunting.

Guentzel 5v5 has 2 goals, 9 points in 13 games.

Bunting has 3 goals, only 7 points, I guess I read it wrong.

Anyway, sourced from hockey ref. My fail, but I wasn’t tryin to lie, must have clicked wrong at some point. Still, more goals.

I think the penguins were better the day they made the trade, they’ll be better in the coming seasons, and they’ll be better long term. They didn’t have the ability to play guentzel the minutes his skill set demanded, instead they were trapped with him, and he had to be removed to unlock the roster.

He was the easiest person to replace on the entire roster because he wasn’t efficient for the role. Had he been given appropriate minutes he probably would have had a larger impact. Mike Sullivan didn’t do that. No return would have been better than keeping him, getting an nhler who is having near equivalent impact along with prospects is highway robbery.

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/g/guentja01.html

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/b/buntimi01.html

Always double check for future referenced

“Even strength” includes 3v3 overtime and I don’t count it.

“5v5” is where it’s at.

Also bunting 2 apples rn, including a dirty pass to Malkin, ties guentzel for points, needs 1 more to make my erroneous claim correct.

In general as said before Guentzel's the better player especially for playoffs

Bunting's been nice but Pitt weakened itself there as even if they make it losing Guentzel is gonna hurt em especially if they face Carolina

Pitt would have dont this with Guentzel anyways as rn basically make or break mode as they dont want to waste another year of Crosby

Again they ****ed up

I think we have to agree to disagree on this one.

I think the 8 mil aav and 21 min a game guentzel would have taken going forward would have continued to be a net negative and replacement level nhlers at appropriate icetime for their skill level is far better than greatly overextending players because the center likes them. Bunting and the prospects are icing on the cake. The freedom is amazing. Using players appropriately is very important to the way I think about the game.

I don’t think there’s a team in the NHL that has a better future than the Dallas stars. Incredible drafting and asset management

WPG, Min, and CAR says hi

HM: NSH

Average Age

DAL: 11th oldest
WPG: 10th oldest
MIN: 8th oldest
CAR: 9th oldest
NSH: 6th oldest

Age of current lineup isn’t be-all-end-all, but these are all very veteran lineups. NSH and MIN have decent prospect pools but none are top-10.

Average Age

DAL: 11th oldest
WPG: 10th oldest
MIN: 8th oldest
CAR: 9th oldest
NSH: 6th oldest

Age of current lineup isn’t be-all-end-all, but these are all very veteran lineups. NSH and MIN have decent prospect pools but none are top-10.

Flyers are officially #SlackinForMacklin

Brady Tkachuk goes after Nico Hischer for disrespectfully putting the puck into the empty net after the whistle. I'd like to see Senators fans navigate this moral quandary after calling for the public execution of Morgan Rielly just a short few months ago for a similar thing... Keep in mind, Hischer's show of disrespect was much more subtle than Grieg's slapshot.

I know Leafs fans get a lot of lack for being insufferable, but man Sens fans are pretty awful too