Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Fear of Janne...

Image curtosy of The PensBog (i can't believe i didn't find this earlier)

Over the past couple weeks, the main Janne topic of conversation between Kevin and I is a major question that we really have not brought up to the blog....If there are no injuries or trades, who would Janne replace on the current penguins roster?

I'm not saying we have this team made up of superstars, but pretty much everybody brings something of quality to the table as of right now, and I can't see anybody getting benched. Even the guys who aren't that great of hockey players bring something to the table in their energy or back checking ability. Anyways i'm gonna go through the lower group of players and give reasons why and why not they could be benched for the J-Man

1) Pascal Dupuis
I think it's fairly obvious over the past few months that this blog has a nice bit of distaste for Dupuis ability to finish on key passes and key goal opportunities. Some people may say he was one factor between us and a Stanley Cup. Although he has very little ability around the net, he actually has a fairly good shot from the outside, but he rarely uses it. Also, he is a very good 2-way player, and beneficial on the PK. Another thing with him is we know he can play an entire game. Although Janne is doing well in the AHL, it still can be a question if he would be able to match the 60 min enegery of a guy like this or our next player...

2) Tyler 'Pigman' Kennedy
I always think of tyler kennedy as a young Troy Polamalu...running around the field with little direction, allowing his athleticism and energy to make the majority of his plays. Kennedy needs to let his skill form a little more and rely on skill more than just the hop in his step before he can be considered a very good player. Even more so than Dupuis, it is very unlikely that if Janne came up he would be able to match the intensity that Kennedy brings every game for 60 min.

3) Eric Godard
I do make fun of Mikey T's obsession w/ being "Tough," but you do need to have a little toughness going on. Straight up, Godard brings nothing to the table but his fighting as of right now. Last year he only had 2 goals, so dont' expect too much from him there. But in terms of replacing his ability to manage the violence on the ice, Janne won't even come close...

4) Max Talbot
I was about to finish this article, but then I thought of adding Max here. Yeah I know, I love Max, he is probably one of the funnest penguins around. Max has some nice skills around the net, and is a great line mate for Sid. Oddly, I do kind of see him and Janne having similar styles of play (max is alittle more physical)... I do think he would be the least likely out of any of these players to get traded or benched so Janne can play but I thought it might be an interesting point to bring up for discussion. Since out of all of these guys, Max will be commanding the most money on the market next year, he may be a viable person to replace with somebody who is cheaper and can do the same thing he does...

Anyways, in conclusion, I do not believe any of these players will be sat or sent away for Janne to come up and play (unless janne starts on a 50 goals in 50 games streak or something of equal ridiculousness to that), I just wanted to bring up the main point that as of right now, we dont have any major holes in our game. I really think that as of right now, Janne's best chance would be if somebody gets injured... Well anyways, love to hear all of your comments on the issue...Go pens

No comments: