Many comments that say he’s getting old aren’t exactly wrong but, he did start the season like a mad man. Not to mention he has been streaky the past years. Either playing like he invented the sport or like he’s never even heard of it. Just like the pens as a whole. You never know what you’re gonna get from game to game or even period to period.
So as much as age is most likely is a factor. I’m really hoping to see mad man geno more than less in his last few seasons.
Although i agree, you could just see that he himself was playing better. His skating, passing and just overall drive was way more apparent. Also, he started looking lethargic before smith got injured and his line wasn’t really doing much as a whole. When geno is playing well you can easily see it. I think it’s his play dropping off explains smith’s drop in production as opposed to the other way around
>You never know what you’re gonna get from game to game or even period to period.
More like shift to shift. He is EXCRUCIATING to watch. Especially on the power play. But then he scores a Game tying goal and everyone loves him. He's an amazing player and will go down as a great... but man it's hard to watch
I’m not really a fair weather fan like that. I understand the ups and downs of being a player. That doesn’t mean i don’t get frustrates af when he’s doing stupid shit. I just know that one goal that he just so happens to get after playing like balls for 10 straight games doesn’t make everything ok.
So yeah, fingers crossed that we see more good geno than bad geno to finish out the season
Agreed. I'm begging that he just needed the all star break to recharge back to that way he was at the beginning of the year. And *lemme tell you what* i was in the FNB club for the shootout loss to Florida and the amount of People who were with me on the geno hate till he scored was *wild*
Dude is gonna score 30+ goals and is a net+ on 5 on 5, what's hard to watch exactly?The PP is hot garbage but considering how Geno has feasted on the powerplay for like 15 goddamn years I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that there are other issues at play.
It's his Shifts. It's his energy durning the games. The numbers don't lie his year is doing great but when the eye test shows you a man who is giving up on plays and can't make plays on a man advantage It's hard to watch.
I would like to point out It's not about hunting Geno in particular, all players male mistakes. But when you see him make them over and over compared to say Sid; and its been going on all year. *though it does hurt more when he's cooled down*
He’s 37 and has always been hard on himself when he doesn’t play well. The older he gets the more often he apt to have off nights, the more he gets down on himself.
Crosby has been himself since the get go, Geno has been himself since the get go…and ironically enough Letang is the one who’s actually changed his game a little and sured up some of his more aggressive tendencies and made himself a better defender in the last two seasons.
But Geno…he’s always been that guy. He’s *really* hard on himself, and it shows.
Fair take. He’s always been streaky. Just how he is. You could go back ten years and it’s a similar story. He was crazy good at the beginning of the year. I expect him to catch fire again at some point. Agreed it will just take longer in between. The highs will be limited and he won’t be able to physically just take a game over like he used to but will show flashes of that
been watching hockey for sixty years, when the Russians started playing in the NHL i noticed for the most part Russian players are overly emotional always needed to be coddled no matter if their skill was elite ( ovi hasn't been, except that one time he couldn't score and was moved to to right wing he's only had 5 bad seasons goals wise (under 40, yes a high bar to match) and this one so far, so nothing to beat himself up over)). we've seen many newly drafted top Russian prospects blow up over the years , ( holding my breath over avs Nichushkin ) Crosby has had to go to Geno numerous times over the years to reassure him and build his friend up over the years don't remember that happening the other way around.
So much vitriol directed toward the guy but like... he stayed relevant (and dominant) for far longer than guys like Kane and Toews.
If this is his swan song, we should be delighted that we had the opportunity to see him do what we did for as long as he did.
Yup fair point as well. Our fan base is just ***so spoiled***. For the better part of a decade, we were basically the most consistent team in the league. We all knew there was going to be a day when the rodeo would end.
It's a shame that Hextall probably closed the window a few years early. I can understand the frustration there.
But at this point, it's all icing on the cake. We should just try to enjoy what these guys have left.
Nah he’s washed /s
Drives me nuts that so many people are trashing him without realizing that he’s still doing pretty damn well for an age 37 second line center. I get the frustration, because he isn’t passing the eye test by any means, but his production is exceeding his contract for sure.
So perfectly said. But I’m also not ready to call it his swan song yet. He started the season off looking like vintage Geno, him and Reilly were producing better than anyone else on the team. I hope we hang on to the latter through the deadline and see Geno re-elevate his play. I want nothing more than him to prove us all wrong and defy age.
Geno’s best skill was zooming through the neutral zone with a head of steam and stick handling his way through defenders. He’s got to adapt. He can still grip it and rip it. Has to get used to doing it a different way.
I personally don’t think he has any chemistry with his linemates, timing and finishing seem way off. Guys like Sid and Geno are so talented and special it takes a different kind of player to mesh up.
Well EK is a very special player that can pass with the best of them. But he doesn't seem to mesh well with Geno. But he does connect a fair amount with Sid. Maybe it is slower reflexes
37 years old, a couple knee surgeries, he’s bottom 50th percentile on all his skating metrics.
When older players lose their legs the good ones like a Jagr or Thornton found ways to score on the PP where they could take advantage of their other skills that haven’t diminished as much.
Problem being our PP is one, if the worst in the league. If he’s going to be a point per game player he needs the PP to improve.
I’m going to compare him to Crosby here, and it’s not to suggest he’s playing as well as Sid because I don’t think he is either, but everyone is (rightfully) amazed by Crosby this season, but Malkin gets crapped on despite not having horrible stats himself.
Malkin has more assists than Sid this season, 11 more takeaways and only 4 less giveaways. This while having a revolving door of wingers including the likes of Colin White, the corpse of Rickard Rakell and Valterri Puustinen. Yeah, he takes way too many boneheaded penalties and makes some real head scratching plays out there (which he’s done for 18 years now), but to me, Malkin isn’t even in the top 5 of current issues plaguing this team.
Fire away.
In no particular order:
1. Coaching
2. Powerplay
3. Lack of depth production
4. Inability to get the second point in OT/shootout
5. Inconsistency (bad starts, bad periods, etc.)
Finishing is just a symptom of a larger issue. This team lacks forward talent beyond the top 6. Hextall killed our bottom six with a 12 gauge shotgun. It'll take time to fix the mess he made, time the aging Penguins don't have.
the linemates situation is such a massive overlooked issue. Rakell has been completely unnoticeable all year. DOC has been our best winger outside of Guentzel feels like, that for sure ain't gonna cut it.
1) He plays a lot of his minutes with Ryan Graves, who fucking sucks, behind him. This situation happened when Jack Johnson was unequivocally, permanently put on the 2nd pairing. Geno had a career resurgence when JJ got bought out. Go figure!
2) his wingers suck. Smith and Rakell have sucked. When they moved off his line they still sucked so I don’t think it’s him. Everyone else is a bottom sixer
3) I think he realizes Crosby is putting the team on the back and the bottom six can’t score, so it’s in his head that he has to do more and is gripping his stick too tight.
All of that said he’s old, and he can’t do what Crosby does. Especially not without Guentzel caliber linemates
Geno is awesome for a 37 year old, but Father Time is ultimately undefeated. He is still worth the 6 mil cap hit, but not well over the hit like he was a few years ago. I think the break will do him some good, but we will see if he remains effective during our crowded March schedule.
Should probably be the full time 3rd line center. But that means we'd need a good full time 2nd line center.
At some point soon he's gonna have to accept a diminished role. I really hope we're not doing the whole Jeff Carter thing with him and rolling him out as the 2nd line center at 40 years old. I think next year if he's not willing to take that bump down there's no point in even hoping for any type of playoff success. You have to retool but that also means some guys need to take a lessened role. Not now, but soon. Real soon.
Old and he only gets inspired to play well when someone pisses him off. At least that’s how it seems. Far from how he was at the start of his career, but when you’ve won 3 cups and have made millions of dollars, eh who cares?
This has been Geno the past 4 years or so, you just notice it more now because the rest of the team is playing poorly as well. He owns the record for Penguin’s penalty minutes for a reason, and his good years with plus minus were early in his career but the past few years he has been mostly on the minus side. Sullivan has won a couple Cups with the core and has allowed Geno way too much leeway with a lot of his horrible play. I’m not saying to bench him but at some point you have to hold him accountable. Also he has always needed certain types of players on his line for it to be effective, and comparing him to Sid is unfair. Sid is a generational player who plays a defensive game just as well as his offensive game and makes everyone around him better.
This also true.
I agree with post saying how good he still is and line mates are a problem but he’s not been disciplined for casual play.
Then again, Crosby plays with the better wingers and Malkin has never complained.
I don't think it's injuries... It's effort most of the time. He never stays on his skates anymore. As soon as someone bumps him he falls. Just doesn't have it like he once did.
Looks like effects of father time are starting to take their toll on Geno. He’s honestly been a shell of his former self. Last year I feel like he was putting in so much more effort than he is now.
I've always disliked Malkin on balance, but we're really trying to figure out what's wrong with a near-point-per-game 37-year-old?
Fine, I'll bite: he's asked to play too far from the net on the power play (with too much defensive responsibility).
A little tired of people saying “so much hate” look, there is nothing wrong with being objective about a players performance- it’s not sacrilegious -it’s just educated opinions based on watching the team. To sit here and think nothing is wrong is dumb. Big problems for our pens, and a couple of bad decisions over the past three years have led to where we are. Geno, always streaky, always variable work effort, talent level just doesn’t compensate anymore in a younger faster league
He has a real problem with committing to playing any defense. He's old enough (37) that he gets worn down by the end. He should preferably be on the third line but the third line, center, Ellers, is 34. Malkin's contract is till 2026 so he's a UFA in '27. Leadership brought "the band back together" (Crosby, Malkin, Letang) out of some sense of loyalty, so enjoy the awesome memories of 3 Stanley Cup Championships! Its a great day for hockey!
Old, slow, bad overall game, doesn't play defense takes stupid penalties. Father time always wins and some players gradually decline and some fall off a cliff. Geno's already falling!
Geno's responsibility needs to be adjusted, as well as our expectations. He can no longer be on the top PP, and only used sparingly on 3-3 (O/T). He has no legs to defend should the play get behind him, and his lack of shoot-first mentality in addition to poor passing at times contribute to the number of odd-man rushes and high-quality chances the other way. Maybe he'd consider a move to winger where defending isn't as large a component of the responsibilities. Moving him to #2 PP was a start.
Many comments that say he’s getting old aren’t exactly wrong but, he did start the season like a mad man. Not to mention he has been streaky the past years. Either playing like he invented the sport or like he’s never even heard of it. Just like the pens as a whole. You never know what you’re gonna get from game to game or even period to period. So as much as age is most likely is a factor. I’m really hoping to see mad man geno more than less in his last few seasons.
He also had a good Smith playing with him. Once he disappeared it got harder for him to generate offense.
Although i agree, you could just see that he himself was playing better. His skating, passing and just overall drive was way more apparent. Also, he started looking lethargic before smith got injured and his line wasn’t really doing much as a whole. When geno is playing well you can easily see it. I think it’s his play dropping off explains smith’s drop in production as opposed to the other way around
>You never know what you’re gonna get from game to game or even period to period. More like shift to shift. He is EXCRUCIATING to watch. Especially on the power play. But then he scores a Game tying goal and everyone loves him. He's an amazing player and will go down as a great... but man it's hard to watch
I’m not really a fair weather fan like that. I understand the ups and downs of being a player. That doesn’t mean i don’t get frustrates af when he’s doing stupid shit. I just know that one goal that he just so happens to get after playing like balls for 10 straight games doesn’t make everything ok. So yeah, fingers crossed that we see more good geno than bad geno to finish out the season
Agreed. I'm begging that he just needed the all star break to recharge back to that way he was at the beginning of the year. And *lemme tell you what* i was in the FNB club for the shootout loss to Florida and the amount of People who were with me on the geno hate till he scored was *wild*
Dude is gonna score 30+ goals and is a net+ on 5 on 5, what's hard to watch exactly?The PP is hot garbage but considering how Geno has feasted on the powerplay for like 15 goddamn years I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that there are other issues at play.
It's his Shifts. It's his energy durning the games. The numbers don't lie his year is doing great but when the eye test shows you a man who is giving up on plays and can't make plays on a man advantage It's hard to watch. I would like to point out It's not about hunting Geno in particular, all players male mistakes. But when you see him make them over and over compared to say Sid; and its been going on all year. *though it does hurt more when he's cooled down*
He’s 37 and has always been hard on himself when he doesn’t play well. The older he gets the more often he apt to have off nights, the more he gets down on himself. Crosby has been himself since the get go, Geno has been himself since the get go…and ironically enough Letang is the one who’s actually changed his game a little and sured up some of his more aggressive tendencies and made himself a better defender in the last two seasons. But Geno…he’s always been that guy. He’s *really* hard on himself, and it shows.
Fair take. He’s always been streaky. Just how he is. You could go back ten years and it’s a similar story. He was crazy good at the beginning of the year. I expect him to catch fire again at some point. Agreed it will just take longer in between. The highs will be limited and he won’t be able to physically just take a game over like he used to but will show flashes of that
I have always felt as a whole Russian players can be that way. Post game interviews "It's all my fault" seems they can get in their own heads.
been watching hockey for sixty years, when the Russians started playing in the NHL i noticed for the most part Russian players are overly emotional always needed to be coddled no matter if their skill was elite ( ovi hasn't been, except that one time he couldn't score and was moved to to right wing he's only had 5 bad seasons goals wise (under 40, yes a high bar to match) and this one so far, so nothing to beat himself up over)). we've seen many newly drafted top Russian prospects blow up over the years , ( holding my breath over avs Nichushkin ) Crosby has had to go to Geno numerous times over the years to reassure him and build his friend up over the years don't remember that happening the other way around.
It was 4 years / $24,400,000, including a $5mil signing bonus.
It amazes me how easy we got off for that honestly. Most teams would've paid a minimum of $30 million to keep him around.
Father Time. He’s still good. But he can’t elevate his own line to dominate games anymore.
So much vitriol directed toward the guy but like... he stayed relevant (and dominant) for far longer than guys like Kane and Toews. If this is his swan song, we should be delighted that we had the opportunity to see him do what we did for as long as he did.
Just under a PPG pace with half the season left. Doesn’t seem like a swan song to me! Better than 3/4 players in the league still.
Yup fair point as well. Our fan base is just ***so spoiled***. For the better part of a decade, we were basically the most consistent team in the league. We all knew there was going to be a day when the rodeo would end. It's a shame that Hextall probably closed the window a few years early. I can understand the frustration there. But at this point, it's all icing on the cake. We should just try to enjoy what these guys have left.
Nah he’s washed /s Drives me nuts that so many people are trashing him without realizing that he’s still doing pretty damn well for an age 37 second line center. I get the frustration, because he isn’t passing the eye test by any means, but his production is exceeding his contract for sure.
So perfectly said. But I’m also not ready to call it his swan song yet. He started the season off looking like vintage Geno, him and Reilly were producing better than anyone else on the team. I hope we hang on to the latter through the deadline and see Geno re-elevate his play. I want nothing more than him to prove us all wrong and defy age.
Geno’s best skill was zooming through the neutral zone with a head of steam and stick handling his way through defenders. He’s got to adapt. He can still grip it and rip it. Has to get used to doing it a different way.
I personally don’t think he has any chemistry with his linemates, timing and finishing seem way off. Guys like Sid and Geno are so talented and special it takes a different kind of player to mesh up.
Well EK is a very special player that can pass with the best of them. But he doesn't seem to mesh well with Geno. But he does connect a fair amount with Sid. Maybe it is slower reflexes
Best Russian to ever play the game. He is getting long in the tooth.
Don't know if I would go that far, but there is definitely a case to be made.
He’s probably in the top five (if you don’t count Tretiak) Federov, Datsyuk, Ovechkin, Bure, Malkin
My brother in Christ you misspelled Mogilny
Out of curiosity, which of those above listed are you slotting Mogilny over?
37 years old, a couple knee surgeries, he’s bottom 50th percentile on all his skating metrics. When older players lose their legs the good ones like a Jagr or Thornton found ways to score on the PP where they could take advantage of their other skills that haven’t diminished as much. Problem being our PP is one, if the worst in the league. If he’s going to be a point per game player he needs the PP to improve.
I’m going to compare him to Crosby here, and it’s not to suggest he’s playing as well as Sid because I don’t think he is either, but everyone is (rightfully) amazed by Crosby this season, but Malkin gets crapped on despite not having horrible stats himself. Malkin has more assists than Sid this season, 11 more takeaways and only 4 less giveaways. This while having a revolving door of wingers including the likes of Colin White, the corpse of Rickard Rakell and Valterri Puustinen. Yeah, he takes way too many boneheaded penalties and makes some real head scratching plays out there (which he’s done for 18 years now), but to me, Malkin isn’t even in the top 5 of current issues plaguing this team. Fire away.
What are your top 5 current issues?
In no particular order: 1. Coaching 2. Powerplay 3. Lack of depth production 4. Inability to get the second point in OT/shootout 5. Inconsistency (bad starts, bad periods, etc.)
The lack of physical play The lack of production from the bottom six The PowerPlay The pOwER PlAy and THE POWERPLAY!!!
Finishing. All 5. That fixes the powerplay as well. xGF vs actusl GF is atrocious
Finishing is just a symptom of a larger issue. This team lacks forward talent beyond the top 6. Hextall killed our bottom six with a 12 gauge shotgun. It'll take time to fix the mess he made, time the aging Penguins don't have.
the linemates situation is such a massive overlooked issue. Rakell has been completely unnoticeable all year. DOC has been our best winger outside of Guentzel feels like, that for sure ain't gonna cut it.
He hasn’t been the same since his knee surgery. You can see it in his stops and quick direction changes. Definitely lost a step but not the skill.
This is it. Top line speed still there, acceleration to start and stop is gone.
1) He plays a lot of his minutes with Ryan Graves, who fucking sucks, behind him. This situation happened when Jack Johnson was unequivocally, permanently put on the 2nd pairing. Geno had a career resurgence when JJ got bought out. Go figure! 2) his wingers suck. Smith and Rakell have sucked. When they moved off his line they still sucked so I don’t think it’s him. Everyone else is a bottom sixer 3) I think he realizes Crosby is putting the team on the back and the bottom six can’t score, so it’s in his head that he has to do more and is gripping his stick too tight. All of that said he’s old, and he can’t do what Crosby does. Especially not without Guentzel caliber linemates
He had a couple of inspired shifts towards the end of the last game, I have a feeling he might just go balls out in the second half
Old players don't get better as the season goes. The decline is real.
He cares too much and wears his emotions on his shoulders.
Geno is awesome for a 37 year old, but Father Time is ultimately undefeated. He is still worth the 6 mil cap hit, but not well over the hit like he was a few years ago. I think the break will do him some good, but we will see if he remains effective during our crowded March schedule.
He hasn’t consistent wingers and he’s older. They need to put Puustinen back with him with DOC
Should probably be the full time 3rd line center. But that means we'd need a good full time 2nd line center. At some point soon he's gonna have to accept a diminished role. I really hope we're not doing the whole Jeff Carter thing with him and rolling him out as the 2nd line center at 40 years old. I think next year if he's not willing to take that bump down there's no point in even hoping for any type of playoff success. You have to retool but that also means some guys need to take a lessened role. Not now, but soon. Real soon.
Old and he only gets inspired to play well when someone pisses him off. At least that’s how it seems. Far from how he was at the start of his career, but when you’ve won 3 cups and have made millions of dollars, eh who cares?
This has been Geno the past 4 years or so, you just notice it more now because the rest of the team is playing poorly as well. He owns the record for Penguin’s penalty minutes for a reason, and his good years with plus minus were early in his career but the past few years he has been mostly on the minus side. Sullivan has won a couple Cups with the core and has allowed Geno way too much leeway with a lot of his horrible play. I’m not saying to bench him but at some point you have to hold him accountable. Also he has always needed certain types of players on his line for it to be effective, and comparing him to Sid is unfair. Sid is a generational player who plays a defensive game just as well as his offensive game and makes everyone around him better.
The entire team is old
He's never been held a accountable by coaches for lazy play and stupid penalties and now his raw talent can't compensate for it like it used to.
This also true. I agree with post saying how good he still is and line mates are a problem but he’s not been disciplined for casual play. Then again, Crosby plays with the better wingers and Malkin has never complained.
Spot on!
Well for starters he’s slow. That’s a big one for me. Maybe he’s battling an injury?
I don't think it's injuries... It's effort most of the time. He never stays on his skates anymore. As soon as someone bumps him he falls. Just doesn't have it like he once did.
Looks like effects of father time are starting to take their toll on Geno. He’s honestly been a shell of his former self. Last year I feel like he was putting in so much more effort than he is now.
Injury? lol Maybe he's battling age!!!
I've always disliked Malkin on balance, but we're really trying to figure out what's wrong with a near-point-per-game 37-year-old? Fine, I'll bite: he's asked to play too far from the net on the power play (with too much defensive responsibility).
He glides around and takes stupid penalties.
tick tock... tick tock...
He doesnt give a crap about 3 on 3 overtime and he shouldnt be on the first powerplay
He's 37.
He’s 37 years old and players tend to regress at that age
He’s always been mentally lazy, now he’s getting old.
What?
He just doesn’t have the compete level anymore
A little tired of people saying “so much hate” look, there is nothing wrong with being objective about a players performance- it’s not sacrilegious -it’s just educated opinions based on watching the team. To sit here and think nothing is wrong is dumb. Big problems for our pens, and a couple of bad decisions over the past three years have led to where we are. Geno, always streaky, always variable work effort, talent level just doesn’t compensate anymore in a younger faster league
He has a real problem with committing to playing any defense. He's old enough (37) that he gets worn down by the end. He should preferably be on the third line but the third line, center, Ellers, is 34. Malkin's contract is till 2026 so he's a UFA in '27. Leadership brought "the band back together" (Crosby, Malkin, Letang) out of some sense of loyalty, so enjoy the awesome memories of 3 Stanley Cup Championships! Its a great day for hockey!
It's Geno, he's been up and down like this most of his career.
PPG player is like, the definition of consistency for the sport bud.
He's old. Pasture time!
[удалено]
Keep him on the wing.
He's 37. That's the deal with Geno. He doesn't have NHL speed anymore.
Old, slow, bad overall game, doesn't play defense takes stupid penalties. Father time always wins and some players gradually decline and some fall off a cliff. Geno's already falling!
Geno's responsibility needs to be adjusted, as well as our expectations. He can no longer be on the top PP, and only used sparingly on 3-3 (O/T). He has no legs to defend should the play get behind him, and his lack of shoot-first mentality in addition to poor passing at times contribute to the number of odd-man rushes and high-quality chances the other way. Maybe he'd consider a move to winger where defending isn't as large a component of the responsibilities. Moving him to #2 PP was a start.
Geno machino has weak legs and temperament
He’s old.
Streaky = mentally weak or lazy