Polaris922

@B21 And they're high on Payerl right now. There was just an interview about him with Guerin.

So Tocchet has been hanging out at a coffee shop nearby where some if my coworkers stop for a break. He talks to them quite a bit apparently. I've spoken to him before but this is turning into a regular thing I guess. He told them yesterday a lot if his plans and ideas for toughening up the Pens lineup and expectations of players like Downie. Could be an interesting season...

Jokinen isn't worth $4+ million a year. I liked the guy but that was a lot of cash for a streaky player.

There's a lot of talk that they hired Mike Johnston as a temporary fill in for Babcock's last contract year... But I dunno.

http://bit.ly/1kEzhH9 The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed forward Brandon Sutter to a two-year contract, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford. The deal runs through the 2015-16 campaign, and has an average annual value of $3.3 million. Sutter, 25, is coming off his best playoff performance to date. He set new career highs in goals (5), assists (2), points (7), shorthanded goals (1) and plus/minus (+7), while his 2:57 average shorthanded time on ice per game ranked second among all Pittsburgh forwards. Sutter also recorded a new playoff career-high scoring streak of four games (2G-2A) from Apr. 21-28. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Sutter suited up for 81 of Pittsburgh's 82 games in 2013-14, tallying 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points. Sutter played a vital role in the NHL's No. 5-ranked penalty kill unit (85%), placing second among all Pittsburgh forwards with 2:18 shorthanded minutes per game. He also scored three shorthanded goals, which was good for first on Pittsburgh and tied for fifth in the NHL. Sutter spent four seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes before being traded to Pittsburgh with Brian Dumoulin and a 2012 first-round draft pick (Derrick Pouliot) for Jordan Staal on June 22, 2012. In his six-year NHL career, Sutter has accumulated 77 goals and 75 assists totaling 152 points in 415 career games. The durable center has missed just one game over the past four seasons and has netted at least 10 goals in each of the last five years. Drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes first round (11th overall) in the 2007 NHL Draft, Sutter played four seasons with Red Deer of the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 2004-08, where he was coached by his father, Brent. With Red Deer, Sutter scored 68 goals and tallied 86 assists for 154 points in 205 career regular-season games. He also took home a gold medal as a member of Team Canada at the 2008 World Junior Championship.

Don't sell the Pens short on this option...

Overpaid. Under thought. Owners are idiots. See you at the next lockout.

@sarsippius I was thinking more Giroux's GOLF injury not that he was playing an away game of pocket pool. Lol

According to Cap Geek that leaves over $4 million with 20 signed. 2 goal, 7 D, and 11 forwards signed. I think we're sitting okay for Sutter.

I hope not. Sutter has a solid defensive presence on that third line.

Must be a Flyer thing.

I agree on retaining Weber. The reason being the signing saved their fan base, and in turn may have saved their franchise.

Thanks! I think you should come visit the facility and pass this on to the doctors

I read that article too about doing away with them and Button's quotes. It's a good one. But I stand by my comments that when making an offer sheet you have to expect the targeted team may just hold that against you. The Weber offer was embarrassing to the NHL in my eyes. I just don't see Poile making any deals with Philly unless it really helps Nashville. A lot.

The only player since the lockout to successfully sign an offer sheet and it not be matched by the team was Dustin Penner who moved from Anaheim to Edmonton. That wasn’t before Brian Burke challenged Kevin Lowe to a fight in a barn calling the move “gutless” and “an act of desperation for a general manager who is fighting to keep his job”. None have been as outspoken as Burke and the attitude seems to be moving more towards acceptance of it as part of the business. But some have clearly not been thrilled in press releases and statements in the handling of such offers.

Way to go @Poulin20 !

The fact remains that offer sheets taint relationships between teams. General managers say it. Journalists say it. It's no great surprise. Does it mean they won't deal with one another? No. Does it mean you might have to sweeten it a little to get it done? Yes.

Please show me where I said teams wouldn't deal with anybody that did it to them. I seriously think half the posters in this thread are only reading the words they choose to read. It's always easy to win a debate when you create both sides of it.

Well... Numbers wise... There are STILL 61 RFA's right now. How many before the signing frenzy? Double that? But let's stay conservative with @radoran 's earlier figure of 90 by the time you can throw offers. The argument that only a couple are worth pursuing is invalid. A lot of these guys are top six or good checking line scoring forwards, or promising defensemen. Why hasn't anyone offer sheeted Subban? Kruger? Johanssen? Sutter? Niederreiter? Frolik? Schultz? Sobotka? Schwartz? Silfverberg? Smith? Smith-Pelly? There are plenty if teams who would love those guys in one role or another. But let's stick with math instead of subjective evaluation. 28 years... 90 per year... 2520 opportunities for offer sheets. There have been 35. That's 14%. That's a pretty rare bird. Now the idea that some are worth it some are not only holds so much water. If there is truly no backlash for throwing offer sheets, why haven't there been any thrown at Torey Krug? Or Subban? Ryan Johansen??! I'd love to have that guy and who cares if the Blue Jackets are mad right? I just see too many RFA's out there every year worth going after, that would command mediocre draft picks, and yet nobody goes after them. That tells me there's a lot more stigma on offer sheets than just "oh but it's allowed".

Gotta disagree about the rarity and impact of offer sheets... But this line absolutely blew me away. I honestly never thought I'd see a Flyers fan use the word "tanking" outside of a discussion about the Penguins... :ph43r:

You forgot the outrageous cap hit part

@radoran Thank you. I feel like every person that jumps into the conversation means we have to start all over. Lol.

Childish or standing on principles? Matter of perspective.

Once again the focus isn't on any one deal... It's on a relationship that was built by these transactions that helped BOTH clubs. But that relationship is a bit tarnished now I'd say. That's the point. I'm not debating the individual merits of any one exchange. I'm debating the impact the Weber offer sheet has had.

@JackStraw I didn't say that he gave you gifts, it was that you had a good relationship with a successful trade partner. @flyercanuck Deals are frequently made with one side conceding a little to the other. Beneficial to both but maybe a little tilted and considerations down the road to return the favor. The Lecavalier deal could be just such a deal. Would it benefit the Predators? It MIGHT if VLC rebounds a little. Would it benefit the Flyers? Absolutely. That's a risk Poile might be more inclined to take if he feels the Flyers might consider his taking the risk in the future. And don't kid yourself into thinking that kind of stuff doesn't happen. There were a few deals between the Pens and Whalers that clearly benefitted the Pens more, and now look who's GM? Relationships matter. In business as well as most other facets in life.