I wonder if Max's days as a Penguin really are over, or if the possible bump in the salary cap will keep the Superstar here. I hope it's the latter.

Adams is durable, but only averaged 12min per game. I'd like to keep Talbot over Dupuis or Asham.

Good move, and at a fair price. Not sure about a 36 year old grinder, but we'll see.
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The Penguins have a lot of bodies at center.

They also have a lot of bodies at left wing. Kunitz, Neal, Staal, (if he plays there) Tangradi, and Cooke. I know Bylsma feels that wingers should be able to switch sides, but I don't think that its that easy. Kennedy is their only natural RW and he's an RFA, plus there has been debate about wether Shero will even bring him back.
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Adams...Can take faceoffs.

I can take faceoffs too, and lose them as well.

A $125K raise is pretty good, more then what most of us make in a year...

Love Adams, but why give him a raise?

I would not have offered a raise to Adams or Dupuis. If they want the same money, great. If not, thanks for the memories.

Rupp and Talbot, I would offer them less money.

If Nick Johnson is on our third line, I'm picking Philly to win the East next year.

Love the move. Won't miss Talbot since Adams will be staying. Now I'm just hoping for Rupp and Dupuis, as long as Dupuis is good with a little less money.

Hooray!

He was picked up on waivers and hasn't done anything since that he hadn't done before. That makes me wonder if he could have found employment elsewhere for that kind of money. Maybe Shero acceded to his coach's infatuation with Adams to preserve staff harmony. Nevertheless, there's no way Adams should have gotten a raise without Shero knowing that another team had offered him the same. Especially when the Pens have to find ways of paying free agents that are far more in demand.

Those who feel that Adams didn't deserve a raise to $675,000 (over $300,000 less than what Talbot made this year) need to remember how much the PK suffered when a key component (Matt Cooke) was removed. This is a good move that and the money is more than reasonable.

How exactly is Shero supposed to know that "another team had offered him the same" until it was too late? Pretty sure as a UFA Adams is under no obligation to report to GMRS that he has received an offer from another team and then proceed to divulge the details of the offer?

Good signing. You need guys like Adams to win cups.

I think Talbot is gone. I read he wants four years...I can't see Shero agreeing to that. I like Talbot, but he is replaceable for less money. Yes, he's a 'locker room' guy, but we were worried when Colby left and we were OK. We were worried when Malone left and we were OK. We'll be OK when Max leaves. He'll always be the Game Seven hero and will always be warmly received in Pittsburgh. But, like Ryan, he needs to leave and grab the money while he can.

I love what Talbot brings to the table. But when you're paying Sid and Geno $8.7 mil, Fleury and Martin $5 mil, Staal and Michalek $4 mil, and Orpik, Letang, and Kunitz a combined $11 mil you can't overpay a guy with Talbot's stats. The fact is that he is still feisty and has same charisma, but there are guys that can do the same job on the ice for less money. And forward spots need to be opened up for guys like Jeffrey and Tangradi.

Student, why all of the negativity towards Craig Adams? Did he kick your dog or something?
http://blogs.sites.post-gazett...1-09-29-10

Keep in mind when suggesting that Adams is overpaid, the NHL minimum salary is $500,000.
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Hey, check it out, Basher was here and he wanted to keep a player!

Somehow the overrated and overpaid Craig Adams has managed to get his name on the Stanley Cup TWICE!!! Should probably start the season in Wheeling though.

I missed the debate between Goat and Student last time around, but thoroughly enjoyed reading it today (thanks for the link, Goat!)

The point of a guy like Adams is damage control when the opponents' stars are on the ice. If hockey were like soccer and there were no line changes, you'd want your skill players on the ice for the full 60 minutes, and you'd expect that if your team's skills were greater than the opponents', you'd win.

However, hockey is designed to allow for specializing. You generally won't see the top scoring line of both teams on the ice at the same time, because the most gifted offensive players are (usually) not as good defensively. The reason the Staal-Cooke-Kennedy line has been so awesome for the Penguins over the past few years is not because they were pouring in the goals, but because they were so good at preventing the opponents' top lines from scoring so that Sid's and Geno's lines could go out and work their magic.

It's a war of attrition; if the Pens' third and fourth lines can come close to a +/- of 0 over a season, the first and second lines can win a lot of games for the Pens.

Disgruntled Goat:

I like your sense of humor. Maybe you should stop calling yourself disgruntled. The truth is, Adams tried to kick my dog, but missed, as usual. My dog gave him a signing bone for trying.

While anyone who posts on a blog should be ready for criticism, I’m flattered that my post has drawn so much attention from you and your friends, even though several other posts also decried the Adams signing.

Actually, I admire Adams and the way he plays. Everybody loves a player who is willing to shed his blood to win a game. The issue with me is that money given to one player is money that can’t be used to retain or obtain another player.

Adams has been a minus player for most of his professional career and has no upside. Certainly, he has value as a penalty killer, but the decline in PK efficiency after the Cooke suspension better supports the value of Cooke more than it proves the proficiency of Adams. There is a truckload of players in the AHL who work as hard, kill penalties well, and would play for less. Some may even have more upside. Sure, I might be wrong in thinking that Adams could be replaced by one, but the Blackhawks felt the same way. Certainly, the argument that having his name on two Stanley Cups solidifies his qualifications is absurd. Anyone who thinks that should opt for resigning Ruslan Fedotenko. Oops! I forgot. Ruslan was invited to the Rangers for a tryout last year and made the team. But the team didn’t make the playoffs.

Likewise, the notion that great third-line defensive players like Staal and Cooke and purely defensive players like Adams allow superstars to work their magic loses some of its luster under statistical scrutiny. In 2010, their last full years, Staal was plus-19, Crosby plus-15, and Malkin minus -6. Cooke was plus-17. Since Staal’s line often played against the opponent’s best and severely outscored and “out-attritioned” them, maybe that line was the magical line. I would be delighted if Adams could break even against lesser competition, through his defense or offense.

Now, allow me to ask you a question. Maybe it was DePaoli from The Insider on Pittsburgh Sports who wrote that Bylsma, while loving Adams, has a personal dislike for Talbot. Is it possible that Bylsma would allow personal issues to influence personnel decisions?

Revision/clarification to my last comment:

1. The Rangers made the playoffs but lost the first
round.

2. I used a colloquialism in saying that a player's name appears on two cups. It would have been better to say his name appears twice on THE Cup.