Somewhat surprising news: the Pens have waived Jeff Taffe and intend to send him to the AHL if he goes unclaimed. Taffe carved out a pretty solid niche as a 4th line center that played responsible hockey in 45 NHL games last season and although he didn't touch the ice for a game in post-season play, we thought his place as 4th line center/13th forward was secure.
Bill Thomas and Paul Bissonnette though beat Taffe out, as the Penguins obviously must feel they have enough talent but not enough grit and toughness. Emergency goalie for the Sweden trip John Curry was also sent back to the AHL, as expected.
Taffe played in the first game in Sweden and even got some time in with the second powerplay unit before being a scratch in Game 2. We have to wonder if the coaches saw something they didn't like.
The Penguins roster now stands at 22 players, one less than the maximum. Did they waive Taffe to potentially put a claim in for one of the many veterans on waivers? Interesting.
Also since Kris Beech won't report to Wilkes-Barre, the team put him on unconditional waivers. He likely won't be claimed by anyone but this gives Pittsburgh an out to not pay him anymore as Beech tries to find a league over-seas to play in.
Showing posts with label jeff taffe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jeff taffe. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
28 profiles in 28 days....The depth
Welcome back to TST's 28 profiles in 28 days. Here's the backstories of players previously profiled:
Kris Beech....The Unwanted One
Matt Cooke...The New Ruu
Sidney Crosby....The Chosen One
Pascal Dupuis….The Iceman
Ruslan Fedotenko….The Battletank
Eric Godard....The Goon
Tyler Kennedy....The Sparkplug
Evgeni Malkin....The Showstopper
Janne Pesonen...The Finnish Wildcard
Miroslav Satan...The Scoring Winger (Who isn't Hossa)
Jordan Staal....The Gronk
Maxime Talbot...The Legs that feed the Wolf
Basics
Player Name: Jeff Taffe
How Acquired: Signed as a free agent in July 2007, resigned July 2008
Position: Center
Age: 27 (28 in February)
Contact Situation: Signed thru 2008-09 season, $550,000 (will make less if sent to the AHL)..unrestricted free agent after this season
History
Last Season Stats: 47 games played, 5 goals, 7 assists = 12 points....With Wilkes-Barre (AHL): 27 gp, 11g, 10a = 21p....NHL Playoffs 0 gp
Last Season Write-up: Jeff Taffe came to Pittsburgh largely as an after-thought to the organization, except to maybe provide some veteran scoring and leadership to the AHL club. And that he did, by the end of October Taffe was leading the AHL in goals (7) on a team that had only scored 30 to that point. When the Pens center core was depleted to injuries like Max Talbot and later Sidney Crosby, Taffe got the callup and made the most of it, playing 9:35 a night, mostly even strength. Taffe chipped in a few goals and did his part to try and keep them out of his own net. Somewhat solid, in unspectacular.
Career Year Stats: Last season, he saw significant NHL time and was actually a plus player for the first time.
Outlook
Player progressing, in prime or regressing: Taffe's got the experience to know what he's doing and the age and maturity as well. He's about in his prime as a NHLer.
Potential line-mates: 4th line wingers.
"Best case scenario" stats: 60 games played 7 goals, 10 assists, 17 points, a plus +/- rating...Taffe's the guy that's nice to have around, but not one to rely on to put up offense.
Interesting fact: Despite being a very skilled player, Taffe was supposed to grow a mustache for a month because he lost a shootout competition. He ended up getting called up and never held his end of the deal. Heaven help him if he's ever assigned to Wilkes-Barre this season.
Kris Beech....The Unwanted One
Matt Cooke...The New Ruu
Sidney Crosby....The Chosen One
Pascal Dupuis….The Iceman
Ruslan Fedotenko….The Battletank
Eric Godard....The Goon
Tyler Kennedy....The Sparkplug
Evgeni Malkin....The Showstopper
Janne Pesonen...The Finnish Wildcard
Miroslav Satan...The Scoring Winger (Who isn't Hossa)
Jordan Staal....The Gronk
Maxime Talbot...The Legs that feed the Wolf
BasicsPlayer Name: Jeff Taffe
How Acquired: Signed as a free agent in July 2007, resigned July 2008
Position: Center
Age: 27 (28 in February)
Contact Situation: Signed thru 2008-09 season, $550,000 (will make less if sent to the AHL)..unrestricted free agent after this season
History
Last Season Stats: 47 games played, 5 goals, 7 assists = 12 points....With Wilkes-Barre (AHL): 27 gp, 11g, 10a = 21p....NHL Playoffs 0 gp
Last Season Write-up: Jeff Taffe came to Pittsburgh largely as an after-thought to the organization, except to maybe provide some veteran scoring and leadership to the AHL club. And that he did, by the end of October Taffe was leading the AHL in goals (7) on a team that had only scored 30 to that point. When the Pens center core was depleted to injuries like Max Talbot and later Sidney Crosby, Taffe got the callup and made the most of it, playing 9:35 a night, mostly even strength. Taffe chipped in a few goals and did his part to try and keep them out of his own net. Somewhat solid, in unspectacular.
Career Year Stats: Last season, he saw significant NHL time and was actually a plus player for the first time.
Outlook
Player progressing, in prime or regressing: Taffe's got the experience to know what he's doing and the age and maturity as well. He's about in his prime as a NHLer.
Potential line-mates: 4th line wingers.
"Best case scenario" stats: 60 games played 7 goals, 10 assists, 17 points, a plus +/- rating...Taffe's the guy that's nice to have around, but not one to rely on to put up offense.
Interesting fact: Despite being a very skilled player, Taffe was supposed to grow a mustache for a month because he lost a shootout competition. He ended up getting called up and never held his end of the deal. Heaven help him if he's ever assigned to Wilkes-Barre this season.
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