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PFellah · 02-26-2018, 08:57 PM

Training Camp - 2017

Let's start by taking a quick look at the roster and seeing where we are at the start of pre-season.

GOALIES

The goaltending situation is probably the most straightforward part of the roster. Petr Mrazek will be the starter, with Michael Neuvirth backing him up. Louis Domingue is the definition of a warm body as a 3rd goalie. Malcolm Subban will probably start the year in the minors so he can play regularly -- but if this season goes into the tank quickly, I might look at shipping out one of the other guys and giving him a shot against NHL competition.

As a dark horse, there's Oscar Dansk, minding the net for the Chicago Wolves; he's one of two or three players who's not terrible.

DEFENSEMEN

At the top of the roster, there's three young core guys I pretty much want in the lineup every day -- Matt Dumba, Brayden McNabb, and Colin Miller. At the bottom there's at least three who weren't really in the plans for this year -- Slater Koekkoek and Ville Pokka were always projects for next year, and at 5'9", Brad Hunt doesn't seem like an every-day kind of guy.

It's the middle six that are the issue. Basically, we've got Engelland, Manson, Markov, Sbisa, Schmidt, and Theodore to cram into 3 spots. Theodore is young; he can probably start the year in the minors. Manson was a cost savings over Sami Vatanen, so I don't mind shipping him out. That gets it down to 4 guys, and we can probably just rotate scratches and keep everyone busy.

I have a half-formed idea that Markov is the sort of guy I might flip for a draft pick or a younger body later in the year, but for now, I'll put him in a defense pair with one of the kids (probably Dumba) and let things ride.

FORWARDS

Decision Point #1 -- we're pretty weak down the middle. Karlsson is a decent #1 guy, but it gets mediocre after that. I have some depth at LW, so I can convert Marchessault to #2 center and Cody Eakin gets line 3. Line 4 is either Grigorenko or Haula -- Haula is a better overall player but a) Grigorenko has a more offensive feel and b) Haula feels like a better fit as a utility forward who can plug in when needed. So we'll start the year with Grig on line #4 but switch to Haula if that line struggles.

Code:

XXXX - Karlsson - XXXXX
XXXX - Marchessault - XXXXX
XXXX - Eakin - XXXXX
XXXX - Grigorenko - XXXXX

Decision Point #2 -- split up Neal and Perron, or make one really strong line and patchwork the rest? At least to start the year, I think I'm going to split them up on even strength and put them together on the power play.

Code:

XXXXX - Karlsson - Neal
Perron - Marchessault - XXXXX
XXXXX - Eakin - XXXXX
XXXXX - Grigorenko - XXXXX

Decision Point #3 -- I kind of want Grabner and Rust on a speed line, though actually that argues for Haula as center, since he's fast enough (17) to keep up with them. We'll try it with Grigo and see how it goes.

Code:

XXXXX - Karlsson - Neal
Perron - Marchessault - XXXXX
XXXXX - Eakin - XXXXX
Grabner - Grigorenko - Rust

Decision Point #4 -- Slotting the guys that are left. At LW, Boedker and Dano, at RW, Strome and Tuch. Probably don't want the two kids (Dano and Tuch) playing on the same line because then it would clearly be the weakest and I'd have to shave its minutes down. I think I want Strome working with good talent, so that puts him on line 2. To avoid putting the kids together, that puts Dano on line #1, leaving Boedker and Tuch with Eakin.

Code:

Dano - Karlsson - Neal
Perron - Marchessault - Strome
Boedker - Eakin - Tuch
Grabner - Grigorenko - Rust

LEAGUE NOTE - TRADE

Since he was not selected in the expansion draft, and they were subsequently unable to get Marc-Andre Fleury to waive his no-trade clause, the Penguins eased their goaltending logjam by trading Matt Murray to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2nd round draft pick.

Ed: Totally unrealistic -- the Pens wouldn't trade Murray (I suspect they'd release Fleury or take pennies on the dollar for him first), and if they did, they'd hold out for more than a 2nd-rounder -- but whatever....

02-26-2018, 08:57 PM	#3
PFellah Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 64	Training Camp - 2017 Let's start by taking a quick look at the roster and seeing where we are at the start of pre-season. GOALIES The goaltending situation is probably the most straightforward part of the roster. Petr Mrazek will be the starter, with Michael Neuvirth backing him up. Louis Domingue is the definition of a warm body as a 3rd goalie. Malcolm Subban will probably start the year in the minors so he can play regularly -- but if this season goes into the tank quickly, I might look at shipping out one of the other guys and giving him a shot against NHL competition. As a dark horse, there's Oscar Dansk, minding the net for the Chicago Wolves; he's one of two or three players who's not terrible. DEFENSEMEN At the top of the roster, there's three young core guys I pretty much want in the lineup every day -- Matt Dumba, Brayden McNabb, and Colin Miller. At the bottom there's at least three who weren't really in the plans for this year -- Slater Koekkoek and Ville Pokka were always projects for next year, and at 5'9", Brad Hunt doesn't seem like an every-day kind of guy. It's the middle six that are the issue. Basically, we've got Engelland, Manson, Markov, Sbisa, Schmidt, and Theodore to cram into 3 spots. Theodore is young; he can probably start the year in the minors. Manson was a cost savings over Sami Vatanen, so I don't mind shipping him out. That gets it down to 4 guys, and we can probably just rotate scratches and keep everyone busy. I have a half-formed idea that Markov is the sort of guy I might flip for a draft pick or a younger body later in the year, but for now, I'll put him in a defense pair with one of the kids (probably Dumba) and let things ride. FORWARDS Decision Point #1 -- we're pretty weak down the middle. Karlsson is a decent #1 guy, but it gets mediocre after that. I have some depth at LW, so I can convert Marchessault to #2 center and Cody Eakin gets line 3. Line 4 is either Grigorenko or Haula -- Haula is a better overall player but a) Grigorenko has a more offensive feel and b) Haula feels like a better fit as a utility forward who can plug in when needed. So we'll start the year with Grig on line #4 but switch to Haula if that line struggles. Code: XXXX - Karlsson - XXXXX XXXX - Marchessault - XXXXX XXXX - Eakin - XXXXX XXXX - Grigorenko - XXXXX Decision Point #2 -- split up Neal and Perron, or make one really strong line and patchwork the rest? At least to start the year, I think I'm going to split them up on even strength and put them together on the power play. Code: XXXXX - Karlsson - Neal Perron - Marchessault - XXXXX XXXXX - Eakin - XXXXX XXXXX - Grigorenko - XXXXX Decision Point #3 -- I kind of want Grabner and Rust on a speed line, though actually that argues for Haula as center, since he's fast enough (17) to keep up with them. We'll try it with Grigo and see how it goes. Code: XXXXX - Karlsson - Neal Perron - Marchessault - XXXXX XXXXX - Eakin - XXXXX Grabner - Grigorenko - Rust Decision Point #4 -- Slotting the guys that are left. At LW, Boedker and Dano, at RW, Strome and Tuch. Probably don't want the two kids (Dano and Tuch) playing on the same line because then it would clearly be the weakest and I'd have to shave its minutes down. I think I want Strome working with good talent, so that puts him on line 2. To avoid putting the kids together, that puts Dano on line #1, leaving Boedker and Tuch with Eakin. Code: Dano - Karlsson - Neal Perron - Marchessault - Strome Boedker - Eakin - Tuch Grabner - Grigorenko - Rust LEAGUE NOTE - TRADE Since he was not selected in the expansion draft, and they were subsequently unable to get Marc-Andre Fleury to waive his no-trade clause, the Penguins eased their goaltending logjam by trading Matt Murray to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2nd round draft pick. Ed: Totally unrealistic -- the Pens wouldn't trade Murray (I suspect they'd release Fleury or take pennies on the dollar for him first), and if they did, they'd hold out for more than a 2nd-rounder -- but whatever.... Last edited by PFellah; 02-26-2018 at 09:06 PM.