Hockey Trash Talk & BS thread

Kovalchuk will not return to the NHL this year:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/article/kovalchuk-staying-in-khl-for-another-season-1.796346

From what's been said this is because of a combination of things. First off, New Jersey wasn't going to do him any favors which limited his ability to come back to a competitive team. Secondly, if Kovalchuk waits a year he can sign a deal as a plus 35 player which opens up a lot of bonus structure similar to what Marleau got in TO. Considering Kovalchuk is only coming back because his Rubles aren't worth the shit paper they are printed on, a heavy incentive deal gives him the opportunity to make an insane signing bonus plus maybe a few performance bonuses to boot.

 

also because he wanted a minimum 3 years at 6-7 mil. Thats too much risk for teams right now

 

I think he will be fine. It's not like that was his only good year. The few before that were also very solid and he played like 60 games. Plus, in the playoffs he has been a monster. I think Dallas is much improved now and Bishop will give them that key/timely save that they have been lacking. I don't like Radulov, as a fan but that was still a nice addition if he plays the way he did last year. Add in Methot and that is pretty nice.

 

I actually think it is a good signing. 700k? He is going to have way less pressure on him than the Dallas tandem they had going on. We have Murray. It was a complete luxory to have MAF the last 2 runs (granted we had to use him). I'm not seeing how he sucked as a Shark. He was pretty solid.

 

You realize he is the back-up right? When you are a team that is tight against the cap. then you need to make sacrifices. Should we have gone out and spend 2m on Ryan Miller or something? Ya it would've been nice, but Rutherford is supposedly shopping for a legit 3rd line center. I'd rather use that money to get the center and make sure the D core is what it needs to be. I have zero worries about goaltending with Murray as the starter. Also, Niemi is 1 year deal as a transition until next year when Jarry will be on the team full-time. He is ready now, but they want Gustevson to get a year in the AHL under Jarry before he assumes the starting role once Jarry is on the big club full-time. Also, if somehow Murray gets hurt, Niemi likely wouldn't even need to start, as Jarri could come up and step right in (like Murray did over Zatkhoff 2 years ago). So ya, I'm sure you had that all figured out though, right?

 

lol .. cheese is expensive.

 

Because every goalie out of Pittsburghs minor system is going to be another Murray dotchaknowit.

 

This guy is scary bad.

 

I just explained it?^^^

Jarry is 1 of the best prospects in the AHL and is NHL ready. Everyone thought he was going to step up after MAF left but the Rutherford said he wants him to start 1 more year in the AHL to help Gustevson transition into his first year in the AHL. If there is an injury to Murray this coming year, Jarry would come up and start, just like Murray did over Jeff Z 2 years ago, when MAF went out.

Then next year, Jarry moves up to back-up Murray, Gustevson starts in the AHL.

 

Don't be a goon. Never said anything about him being as good as Murray. But he made the AHL All-star game and they really like him. The Niemi signing for cheap helps him transition to the NHL and Gustevson transition to the AHL.

 

I'm not being a goon. The guy hasn't proven anything in the NHL. To imply that a great AHL career will result in savoir status should Murray go down is a stretch. The Pens have to cut corners in some spots in order to keep their top end talent. That's why Niemi is there.

 

You are. That was noted before.

I'm simply saying that Niemi is a good bargain. And they Pens feel like they have another really solid goalie in the pipeline that they can use, which makes his signing on the cheap, less of a gamble. They have been grooming Jarry alongside Murray, even before Matt blew up. No one said anything close to savior, so not sure why that word or anything similar was being thrown around. What I meant in comparing him to Murray, is that it has already been said that the plan is for Jarry to get games this coming season in the NHL, as they feel like he is NHL ready. If an injury should happen to Murray, they will likely bump Jarry into the starting role to get NHL reps, while Niemi remains back-up. This is for reps and for his development, not to save the team or elevate them to another level, as you are somehow suggesting that I implied that previously. Pretty simple.

 

All I'll say is that if Pittsburgh picked up Neimi just to ride pine the pickup makes no sense. If that's their plan they should of just brought their young backup up to the NHL and found another AHL level goalie to slot into the farm system.

 

OK but he's not going to ride the pine. How is this hard to understand? He's going to play like 20 games. But at the same time, if they can get Jarry some NHL experience, they will start him a little bit (like a Murray injury in reg season). Look at the way the 3 goalies were used 2 years ago. Same thing.

 

That's not what you said originally though. Your original point was that Niemi will just sit on the bench while Murray and the new kid play most of the games.

All in all this argument sounds a lot like the Toronto D argument. You seem to always assume that your team knows the best move while everyone else's could of made a better one. The truth is Pittsburgh can and will fuck up at some point and carrying Niemi just doesn't make sense whether you play him or not.

 

C to the McD signs for 8 years - 12.5 per year. I like it. Works for everyone. Nice work PC......now let's go get that Cup!!

 

Better than 13.25 I guess but under a static cap I wouldn't count on a cup.

 

I read all your previous posts on it. Agree to disagree