pens d-men

obviously Letang stands to benefit substantially from the injuries to Gonchar and Whitney. Who else do you guys see stepping up and benefiting?

Hal Gill, clearly! He should get at least 40 points.

Awesome, Sentium, just awesome. But why don't you tell us how you really feel about all the hype on Goligoski and Letang since Gonchar and Whitney are out? You're calling Goligoski for 60 points, right?

Actually, Goligoski is a lock for 70.

There are some Goligoski haters on here who just can't wait to see him trip on a blue line and never be heard from again. It's kind of unwarranted...a backlash to the lemmings who jump on every "dark horse" or "breakout candidate" that is posted.

The interesting thing I've noticed is that Goligoski's career thus far is VERY similar to that of Ryan Whitney...look up their career stats, here...I've done it for you:

Whitney:http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=63061
Goligoski: http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=72455

Whitney is a more physical defenseman, not surprising considering that he is 4" taller and 40 lbs heavier than Goli.

I don't presume that there are any locks, but 40 points is well within Goligoski's capabilities this season.

What I'm opposing in all of this Goligoski frenzy is some of the advice that some people give, saying that people should drop bonafide studs for a flavor of the month guy like Goligoski. That's just madness. Sure, he's a nice dark horse, but at this point, he is nothing more, and you should not drop bonafide studs for a relative scrub like Goligoski.

I agree sentium, but the question was simply asking who is most likely to step up on the Pens blueline...and Goligoski is that man. No one in this thread is saying you should drop an established contributor. I only had to drop Harrold to pick up Goligoski...and I'm quite glad I did.

No, Goligoski isn't the man most likely to step up. Letang has at least an equal chance and opportunity of stepping up.

Edit: And what's keeping me from commenting on what is being said in several other threads?

I think anyone who drafted Goligoski this year got him very very late. I got him as my second last pick. So he is someone that all of us who drafted him, are hoping gets at least 40 points. I'd like to see him have a Toby Enstrom type year. But he could get more because of the team he plays on. I don't think anyone is suggesting he is the second coming of Brian Leetch, but he is a nice pick up.

yeah I've seen all the Golgoski hype now for weeks but I guess what I've got my eye on is this. Considering that the Pens 1-2 punch in Gonchar/Whitney are out for awhile who will be the 1st and 2nd tier d-men? Pairings would even be nice if you could. Like clearly they wouldn't do Letang-Golgoski (cept on the PP maybe) because the lack of experience and defensive awareness would kill them. So what do you guys see: a)as the defensive line pairings and b)as the PP pairings on the point?

I've only seen a bit of the Pens so far on TV but it looked like they were going with Letang-Orpik