Official 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs Discussion Thread

[Brutus1]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMike80

Malkin is going to break the bank with his next contract. There's no way Pittsburgh is keeping him....

Nah, you're wrong. He's going no where.

[BuckeyeMike80]

Originally Posted by Brutus1

Nah, you're wrong. He's going no where.

Sure thing....

Actually I see Pittsburgh doing something similar to what the Wings have done...namely....they have their superstar and the franchise is buoyant again. Now they'll build up the minors and acquire not quite as pricey but solid free agents.

Pittsburgh's real issue is that the only true solid top 4 defenseman they have is Gonchar. They'll need to either develop another one or sign one and that will cost too.

Top 4 defensemen are at a premium right now in the NHL.

[BuckeyeMike80]

Originally Posted by jimotis4heisman

yup and staal is 52%, sid 49 and malkin 41.4 during the playoffss...

All 3 will have to go much better against the Wings or they'll be chasing all series long.

When other teams chase Detroit it plays right into Detroit's system.

[Brutus1]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMike80

Sure thing....

Actually I see Pittsburgh doing something similar to what the Wings have done...namely....they have their superstar and the franchise is buoyant again. Now they'll build up the minors and acquire not quite as pricey but solid free agents.

Pittsburgh's real issue is that the only true solid top 4 defenseman they have is Gonchar. They'll need to either develop another one or sign one and that will cost too.

Top 4 defensemen are at a premium right now in the NHL.

True, but the strength of their minor league system is on the blueline. Whitney, Letang on the big club, with Goligoski, Sneep and Strait nearly ready to play. IMO, Letang will pass Whitney. I love his solid 2 way play.

[daveeb]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMike80

Malkin is going to break the bank with his next contract. There's no way Pittsburgh is keeping him....

Wrong. He is going no where. If he gets offered 8.7mil a year, he will stay.

Malone could get a hometown discount. He hasn't been that consistent over the last few years. And, he loves playing in Pittsburgh.

Frankly, the Pens, in their limited financial situation of the 90s (Which was even harder than having a cap), had Lemieux, Jagr, Francis, and Barasso the whole way.

I could see the Pens keeping Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, Whitney, and Letang. As long as they keep the 3 centers, the goalie, and two defenseman, they will always be able to build around that, period.

Khabibulin, after finally getting something resembling, but not truly, a defense to help him out, posted a 2.63 GAA this year. Tampa still had a terrible goaltending unit. Khabibulin on Tampa Bay's squad woulda posted a 2.4-2.5 GAA. They should have held onto him somehow.

[jimotis4heisman]

Originally Posted by Brutus1

Yea, with regard to Malone, maybe Phoenix makes him an offer.

I'm expecting the Pens to try to get extensions done with Malkin and Staal before they are actually rfa's. I'm not sure when they can approach them about extending, but I'm sure they'll try to do it like they did with Crosby.

They certainly would be worth much more on the open market, but I think a realistic number, for an extension would be around 8.5M for Malkin and 4.5 for Staal. Do you think I'm way off on those numbers, JO? The contract length for both is a question. Maybe 4yr 18M for Staal, making him an ufa when he's 25. I'm thinking Geno will be in Sid's neighborhood in money and length, say 5yr/43.5M. I could be way off on the numbers, but I think I'm fairly close. Sid took less for a reason and I think that reason was that so Shero could keep the core players.

I don't anticipate re-signing MAF to be a problem.

i do not know what kind of hometown discount theyd get.

other thoughts-do you lock sid up past 12/13 with a ricky d type deal?

i guess that brings up the oilers comments not the 2000s oilers but the 80s oilers. this team could put it together for some runs trade a key piece or two and still have a couple of good years like oilers and their cup after gretz left.

or maybe like the nordiques if offer sheets are out their. the price tag is steep, though not scott stevens steep. still offer sheets could build crazy long term depth for the franchise.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMike80

Malkin is going to break the bank with his next contract. There's no way Pittsburgh is keeping him....

hes a 10m type player. many outside of pitt covet him more than sid as a player

Originally Posted by Brutus1

I can't give them too much credit. Sid, Geno and MAF were no brainers. Malkin was the consolation prize in the AO sweepstakes. He's turned out to be ok.

I'll give them credit on Staal, because after Johnson, there was no clear #2 and Staal was possibly considered the most raw of the next few prospects. Had Eric not scored 100 points the year before, I'm no so sure the Pens would have drafted Jordan. He's been amazing and has played well above expectations since he arrived at his first camp.


My bottom line thinking is that they spend the money building around the three centers. Every one of them are developing into great players on both ends of the ice.

they still hit on everyone of those guys. look at the other guys and look at how many top 10 picks dont work out.

i just wonder if you can have three centers who make 9, 9 and 5m each. thats 23 of maybe 60m iin future payroll. toss in a young now experience goalie, likely the most sought after in maf (the other big rfa is pazzy who has been injury prone and you have carey price as another young rookie) and their is always a nice market for netminders, they dont grow on trees.