With his steel grey eyes and angular jaw, Steve Oleksy bears more than a passing resemblance to former Penguins hit man Ulf Samuelsson. Plays a lot like him, too.
Indeed, since replacing injured defenseman Trevor Daley on December 17, Oleksy’s added some much-needed spice to the Pens’ backline. Through his first five regular-season games wearing the black and gold, No. 61’s dished out 10 registered hits, along with numerous jabs, hacks and whacks.
No stranger to dust-ups, the sturdy 6’0” 190-pounder dropped the gloves in consecutive games against Columbus and New Jersey. In particular, his rousing, toe-to-toe slugfest with the Devils’ Miles Wood helped spark a 4-1 Pens triumph on December 23 and earned an admiring fist bump from teammate Scott Wilson. Not to mention a cut on the bridge of the nose to serve as a hard-earned badge of honor a la one-time power forward and current Pens assistant Rick Tocchet.
While physical play clearly is Oleksy’s bread and butter, he’s been highly effective in other aspects of the game, as his sterling Corsi For % of 58.3 at even strength suggests.
During last night’s 5-2 victory over the Devils at the Prudential Center, the 30-year-old defenseman contributed 16 minutes of solid, stay-at-home defense. Including 5:34 on the penalty kill—second-most on the team. His presence had a steadying effect on youthful partner Derrick Pouliot, who played a relatively error-free game after struggling in recent outings.
Needless to say, Olesky’s made a strong impression on Mike Sullivan, a kindred spirit who carved out an 11-year NHL career on guts and guile.
“He’s an inspiring guy…” said the Pens’ coach in admiration. “He plays the game so hard. He wears his emotions right on his sleeve. He sticks up for his teammates. Steve-O is just a great teammate, and that’s one of the reasons why he’s here. He’s a great character guy. He’s all-in with this organization and this team.”
A mindset born through adversity. The longest of longshots to make it to the NHL, Oleksy literally hauled himself up hockey’s ladder one rung at a time. Following a nondescript three-year collegiate career at Lake Superior State University, the Michigan native turned pro in 2008-09 with the Las Vegas Ramblers of the East Coast Hockey League. After logging his share of hard miles at hockey’s lowest level, he graduated from the ECHL to the AHL in 2011-12.
The very next season Oleksy made his National Hockey League debut with Washington. Over a three-year span he played in 62 games with the Capitals and tallied a respectable 19 points, to go with 86 penalty minutes and a plus-15. However, by 2014-15 he was back in the AHL full-time, serving as captain for the Hershey Bears.
Seeking a fresh start, Oleksy signed with the Penguins during the summer of 2015. Skating in 63 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the determined defender with the chiseled physique and granite chin piled up 19 points and a team-high 123 penalty minutes.
A frequent call-up during the stretch run and postseason, he hoisted the Stanley Cup in classic “black aces” fashion, even though he didn’t dress for a single game. It was Oleksy who handed the Cup to Sullivan during the club’s on-ice celebration.
Somehow appropriate, given the similarities between coach and player.
Whether Steve’s feel-good story continues once injured regulars Daley and Kris Letang return remains to be seen. No doubt Oleksy understands his role.
One thing is certain. Whether he suits up every game or sees spot duty, he’ll sacrifice his all for the good of the team.
Dumoulin Hurt
The Penguins have lost another key member of the defensive corps.
Brian Dumoulin, a vital cog in the team’s march to the Cup last spring, suffered a broken jaw in the late stages of last night’s win over New Jersey, GM Jim Rutherford announced today. The rangy defenseman was struck by a rising shot as he pursued a Devils forward through the slot with 6:30 left in the game.
He’s expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
Hey Guys
I hope Matt Murray gets better soon and that Tristan Jarry gets a real chance to play now that he is being called up. He is a great talent and in my opinion we have 3 NHL caliber goalies not just 2. GREAT FOR US.He is tearing up the AHL just like Matt did.
Plus I see they sent D. P. back to WBS again.
As the old saying goes” Cream rises to the top”.
Should be interesting in 2017 with a very tight race to qualify for the playoffs.It seems that 12 of the 16 teams in our conference keep winning and parity is now arrived in spades. Nobody can take a night off.
Cheers
Hey Jim,
I hated to see Murray get hurt, but getting to play 2-games against an anemic NJD Fleury looks like he may be finding his game again. Granted a couple of those goals MAF gave up against NJD were over-reaction plays where he took himelf out of the play, over-all he has been playing like we knew he should.
I really want to see what Jarry can do at the NHL level, but with the Pens getting some well deserved rest, I am hoping Murray misses little time in the way of games and would rather see Fleury really get a chance to prove to the rest of the league he still has it; not just to shut up his detractors but to possibly generate some trade value, to show he is worth at least $5 mil.
As for Pouliot, Rick and I were just talking about him. It doesn’t surprise me that he is being sent back down with the Pens due for that rest and Daley, Maatta, and maybe even Letang coming back. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of players, including Jarry, to get reassign to WBS for next week so that those kids/prospects get more playing time while the big club gets some rest. However, in the case of Pouliot, there are several other candidates who look more qualified for the 7th and 8th D spot.
I also agree that 2017 should be a very exciting Winter and Spring. With most of the best teams in the league centered in the Metropolitan Division, we should see a lot of great hockey.
However, I am dreading the 2017 summer. The expansion draft and some UFAs make me a bit nervous.
Hey Coach
Good point about MAF and increasing his trade value.
I guess I want to see Jarry play a couple of times against real NHL caliber talent. Maybe to let our Fans realize how good he really is and how close he is to being NHL ready.
With regards to this summer and possible player moves I am very excited about the different possibilities. I know that MAF will be gone but there are others as well. Change is exciting…but necessary. The team can not continue to age every year with out consequences. It will catch up to us.
Look what happened to the Islanders of the 80’s when they failed to trade their players and kept them to long AND they never recovered. Yet teams like Chicago continues to trade stars and remain very competitive in a cap Era. That to me is the way to go.
So on another topic I hope Justin S. continues to produce and then this summer somebody will offer him 6 or 7 million and we can get 1 or maybe 2 first round picks plus a second and a third pick.
That would be amazing and it could happen if he continues to produce at a high rate.Remember the Caps paid Matt Niskenin ? 5 or 6 million and he was no where near the offensive player Justin is.
Plus the young guys will need raises to keep them.
So it will be an interesting New Year for sure.
Jim
Hey Jim,
I agree with you 100%, trade veterans while their value is still high to ensure draft picks to keep the club a serious contender year after year. I believe in loyalty but also practicality.
However with the up coming Expansion Draft and UFA I really am a little worried. The Pens can only protect 7 Fs 3 D and 1 Goalie. They also have to expose 2 Fs and 1 D who are signed through next year and have played more than a whistle stop of NHL time as well as 1 G signed through next year. Also, Schultz, Bonino, Cullen, Kunitz, and Daley are all UFA so next year the Pens could be looking at 6 openings on the NHL roster with nothing in return. There are some kids in the minors who do appear ready or near ready (Sundqvist, Guentzel, and maybe Jarry) but maybe not enough particularly on D.
To address Schultz particularly; he is UFA so the Pens get nothing if they don’t resign him. However, with other UFA and possibly a salary lost to the Draft and or possibly a trade, they may find $$$ to sign him. If they do find a way to sign him, I think they should keep him and since I have heard some people say Mario is impressed by him, and if that rumor is true, they just might find a way.
Of Course, the Pens could expose Schultz to the draft and LV could possibly take him. They are allowed to draft a few unsigned UFA and that could protect the rest of the roster.
As can be seen, I have lots of ideas of what may happen but am going to hold onto them for now, at least until later in the season before trying to flesh them out. For now, even though I don’t mind the idea of trading, particularly to get enough of a new wrinkle in the team to help it win back-to-back Cups, I can see trading, even at the deadline, being down a little this year, as teams look to the future and try to guess who will and will not be exposed to the draft so they can evaluate who they need to protect and who they can risk to try and sneak through.
Hey Coach
Good news is , and another brilliant move by Jimmy R. is that according to Cap Central. Com and other NHL sites apparently Justin S. Is now an RFA ! He was a UFA before but now he became an RFA when he signed the 1.4 million dollar, 1 year deal in 2016.
Apparently that is how the CBA works.
Crazy….but real good for us. THAT BOY WILL BE WORTH ALOT TO US THIS SUMMER.
Also my friends assure me that we can only lose 1 quality player at the expansion draft. So yes 1 will hurt but not cripple us moving forward.Plus we will get our share of the 500 million dollar expansion fee which I read was over 12 million.That will pay for a lot pain my friend.
The real issue is the 6 up coming players and who do we keep and who we let go.
Great points you make Coach….Always.
That is why I enjoy you, Rick, Phil,55 on Point and others on this blog site. All very knowledgeable and
Passionate about the game of Hockey.
Cheers
Hey Coach ,Rick.
I just came home from my Saturday am coffee stop with my buddies and they raised many hockey related issues. Being the only Pen’s fan among Leaf,Habs,Bruins and a few Ottawa fans causes some great debates. Good news is, to most of them the Pen’s are their second favorite team, so they cut me a little slack.
Main issue today was the 2017-18 salary cap.The NHL have already posted that they believe the cap will not increase. May go down.
Talking about the new incoming President and his proposed changes to North American Free Trade Agreement, especially in the auto sector, and increasing US interest rates will cause the Canadian dollar to drop significantly. Thus reducing the income the league receives as it is paid in US dollars.Most people in the USA do not realize that the single largest revenue source for the NHL is the English and French media agreements that generates over a billion dollars Cdn. annually. So when the CDN. dollar drops by 15%, that affects the Cap.Today they all agreed the Cap will go down or at best remain constant. That affects the Pen’s big time because we have 9 players making over 54.5million ,about 75% of the total cap now!
So in 2017 if Chris Kunitz,Trevor Daley resign for the same amount they are paid now, Matt Murray’s new salary starts and that adds 2.4 million to the Cap.
Nick Bonito salary of 1.9 million will double at least for next year, ( add another 2 million ), and then Brian D. Salary of 800 K will indeed double or triple for 2017, ( add another 1 million for sure )….
That is over 5 million in 2017 salary increase.
How do u pay for it? Without a major trade you simply can not do it.!!
That was the discussion today at the Rink.
So forget about paying Justin 6 or 7 +million he will get on the open market, if he continues to play
the way he does now.
Are only hope is to play Justin alot,let him play in the Allstar game, and hope somebody offers him 7.3 million or more because then we will get 2 first picks instead of just 1 first round if he is paid 7.2 million.The other picks stay the same.
Barring major trades of at least 2 big contracts we can not sign Justin S.
The business of Hockey. Pretty boring to many.
PS: The only other hope is the new President does not repeal the trade agreements and this is all a bad dream. Good luck on that!
Have a Happy New Year Everybody.
Cheers
Hey Jim,
Interesting stuff; from a purist stand point you hate to think about the business side, but unfortunately it is a necessary evil.
I said this at the end of the year last year, that if the Pens didn’t get an extension on Bonino before the season started, he would be gone, UFA. I still fear that might happen. My biggest fear is going into next year with only Crosby and Malkin returning at C, having to replace both the 3rd and 4th line C. Yes, I do believe Sundqvist is ready and may even be a 3rd line C, but he isn’t getting NHL time right now, so that scares me for next year.
As for Kunitz, I do like him, e brings a lot to the table, and the Pens aren’t as deep at LW as they are on RW, but Kunitz’ current salary is not commiserate with his return. So, I do think there will be money there. I wouldn’t mind seeing him resign, not at all, but more like a Cullen type contract.
However, on D, the Pens are really hurting. If the Pens do not resign Schultz they have to find a way to keep Daley. As for Domoulin, I do think he is developing and should get a raise, maybe double his salary, but if he starts asking for triple his salary, I am sure the Pens could find someone else with equal return from a skill stand point in the 1 – 1.5 mil range.
It may not happen, but my bias is trying to find a way to keep Schultz. Yes 2 first round picks certainly would help this team in the future, considering how few first round picks they have had recently, but considering the failure of many of the few first round picks they have made, I may rather just stick with Schultz, unless they can get a top 5 pick out of it; a no brainer type.
There still is a lot of hockey to be played before then though, so we can see how things develop.
Lets go Pens, finish the year with a W
Hey Rick,
I just saw Dumoulin is out 4-6wks with a broken jaw from that slap shot near the end of the game last night. That could Oleksy time to claim, at least, an alternate slot on the club. The team may also have to recall another D man at least for tonight if Maatta is a no-go.
Ouch.
While I was hoping for the best, it sure didn’t look good when Dumoulin went down last night. He’s going to be tough to replace.
All these injuries are certainly putting our depth on defense to the test. Not that I’d wish it to happen this way, but it looks like Oleksy stays in the mix. At least for a while.
Ruhwedel, too (he’s impressed me).
Thanks for the update, Other Rick.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Agreed, both Ruhwedel and Oleksy have been really doing their share to help out, but then again, that happens on championship teams; their farm team stands up when the chips are down.
Seems to me that I recall you and I discussing how we both felt that the Pens would need 8 – 9 D-men to get them through the season. Although, at least I was thinking more in the line of nickle and dime injuries. I really hate seeing these kind of injuries.
Fortunately for the Pens, NJD is one of the more anemic offenses in the League and Carolina is about a midling offense. Hopefully, either Letang or Daley, or both can get back before we play the Habs. I think they are 5th in the league in goals per game. If Letang and Daley don’t make it back by then, Oleksy, Ruhwedel, and Pouliot will really be given the acid test.
It is also fortunate that the Pens will have the 1st week of the year off to give their walking wounded a chance to heal.