The Confluence
Penguins’ Final Cuts may be Hardest in Recent Years
by Tony on 09/30/10 at 05:13 PM ET
Comments (4)
The Penguins are down to 28 healthy bodies remaining in their training camp, comprised of 16 forwards, 10 defensemen and 2 goaltenders. Not including Jordan Staal (foot) and Casey Pierro-Zabotel (finger). Staal, who spoke with the media today but didn’t really give any sort of updated timeline, will miss at least the first month of the season. Barring something highly unusual, CPZ will be reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton soon.
With the available roster spots now down to a precious few, let’s take a look at what parameters need to be taken into account before GMRS and HCDB make their final cuts;
- Waivers: A huge factor in determining some of these cuts. Because of the formula the NHL/NHLPA uses to determine whether a player has to clear waivers or not, the Penguins will expose the following bubble players to waivers if/when they are reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: Deryk Engelland, Ben Lovejoy, Andrew Hutchinson, Ryan Craig, Mark Letestu.
- Roster size: Will the Pens want to have 23 players on their roster, meaning they’ll have 3 players scratched for every game, or will they go with, say, 22? If they do decide to go with 23, will they keep players with the parent club at the expense of denying them games at the AHL level?
- Simon Despres: This kid deserves his own parameter, he’s definitely raised some eyebrows, and GMRS has stated as late as today that he has a legitimate shot at not only being on the roster for the maximum 9 games before he gets reassigned to Juniors (like Kris Letang), but to stay the entire season, similar to what Jordan Staal did. I still believe (just my opinion) that Despres will eventually get sent down, but maybe he gets those 9 games. If he does, it’s doubtful he’ll simply be in the press box eating popcorn, so that will also affect the other bubble defensemen that will be kept or not.
- Forwards: Looks like it’s down to Dustin Jeffrey, Mark Letestu and Eric Tangradi, and to a lesser extent Ryan Craig, who has missed much of camp with a sore groin. It’s difficult to make an educated guess when hardly any of the games have been televised, but from all accounts Letestu and Tangradi have both had excellent camps. Tangradi has proved to be a definite asset with his net-front presence (as witnessed in the pic above), and has certainly not looked out of place. As far as Letestu goes, some fans have even used the term “lock” when it comes to his place on the roster. The “problem” for HCDB is do you give Letestu and/or Tangradi a roster spot, but then make them a scratch? In addition, it’s fair to mention forwards like Eric Godard and Tyler Kennedy. While I don’t believe GMRS will cut either of those players, it’s going to be interesting to see who will become regular starters and who will be scratches. It’s a good problem to have.
- Defensemen: Besides the “Despres issue”, you’ve got three other defensemen fighting for the last roster spots at that position in Deryk Engelland, Ben Lovejoy and Andrew Hutchinson, and as mentioned above, all must pass through waivers if they are cut. Lovejoy has been one of the Penguins’ top defensive prospects, mainly for his offensive capabilities, Engelland for his physical play, and Hutchinson for a mixture of both. In the end, I really don’t see them exposing Lovejoy to waivers, and I also believe they’d roll the dice and take their chances on the waiver wire with either/or Engelland and Hutchinson. In addition, this decision must also be weighed with what they end up doing with Despres.
So in summary, these are going to be some very difficult decisions for the Penguins, certainly the hardest choices they’ve had to make in recent years.
Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Comments
Joe Starkey on 93.7 The Fan Said that from conversations he has had with pens officials & people who cover the team, That Despres is definitely in the Pens Top 6 D men & Starkey says he thinks 50/50 whether or not Despres gets sent back to Saint John even after the 9 games
Posted by Evilpens on 09/30/10 at 07:51 PM ET
Even with all the D we have that need to pass through waivers? Hes the easiest to cut because no one can touch him in the Q
Posted by pensfan29 on 09/30/10 at 10:15 PM ET
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What a great problem to have/worry about, huh?
I’ve read (somewhere, can’t remember exactly where, though) that the Penguins are pretty much 100% sure that if they cut Letestu he’ll get picked up. If that’s the case, I don’t see him going anywhere.
Posted by Flashtastick56 from Milford, CT on 09/30/10 at 05:38 PM ET