The Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cups with an attack-oriented style fueled in no small part by blistering team speed. An approach Matt Larkin of The Hockey News aptly described as “organized chaos.”
“It’s reading and reacting and understanding that the faster you can be, the faster you can do things, it puts your teammates in a better situation when they get the puck,” said the recently retired Chris Kunitz. “Gives them more time to make that next play, catch someone else out of position.”
Quick to mimic the Pens’ blueprint, other teams followed suit. While clubs like Toronto and Carolina ramped up the pace to virtual warp speed…my word are they fast…the black and gold seemed to slow overnight.
It didn’t help that super-sonic Swede Carl Hagelin was traded for comparative plow horse Tanner Pearson. Or that the black-and-gold bled off speedy role players such as Josh Archibald, Conor Sheary and Scott Wilson. Those guys were perfectly suited to coach Mike Sullivan’s get-there-in-a-hurry game.
So, too, was HBK Line standout Nick Bonino, who wasn’t especially fast but anticipated the play very well. Ditto Kunitz.
Bogged down by an aging lineup and a passel of slow-footed additions such as Derek Grant and Jack Johnson, we seemed to spend most of last season chasing the puck…and the opposition…instead of the other way around.
Yes, we registered 100 points. But as GM Jim Rutherford was quick to note, “…it wasn’t a comfortable 100 points.”
A glance at our 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage tells me my perception wasn’t just a by-product of my aging imagination. Last season we placed 15th in the NHL with an uninspiring mark of 49.74, well off the pace of league-leading San Jose (54.87) and the aforementioned Hurricanes (54.81). A sizable drop from 2017-18, when we finished fifth at 52.26.
The Cup teams? In ‘15-16 we finished second at 52.72…over 55 percent after Sullivan took over if memory serves me correctly. We just blew past opponents. The following season, we fell to 16th at 50.14, but played without mobile puck-mover Kris Letang for the final six weeks of the regular season.
I’m not suggesting there’s a direct correlation between team speed and a high shots attempts percentage. But it sure doesn’t hurt to be quick to the biscuit. And if you can possess the puck? Usually good things happen.
As the old saying goes, the best defense is a good offense.
Rutherford obviously feels the same way. It’s interesting to note that nine of the bottom 13 finishers in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage last season are no longer in the organization, including Phil Kessel (46.70) and Olli Maatta (46.59).
Too, that’s why I’m reasonably excited about the off-season moves that brought in quicksilver forwards Alex Galchenyuk, Dominik Kahun and Brandon Tanev. Blend in speedy spring-time acquisition Jared McCann and burners Adam Johnson and Bryan Rust (if he stays put)? The Pens should be considerably quicker…at least up front.
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Elite Prospects says regarding their skating.
Galchenyuk–Isn’t flashy, but a powerful skater with tremendous edge work, as he can glide through the offensive zone like on rails.
Kahun–A smart forward, who plays a reliable two-way game and is present at both ends of the ice using his tremendous skating abilities.
Tanev–Very good mobility, and his speed might be his most prominent asset.
In terms of 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage? Okay, not quite so promising. All three finished below the break-even mark with Kahun leading the pack at 49.95, followed by Tanev at 48.99 and Galchenyuk bringing up the rear (47.32). Kahun and Tanev finished slightly above their respective team’s percentage…Galchenyuk slightly behind.
Let’s hope that joining forces with the Pens’ high-powered core might elevate those rates. Especially Galchenyuk, a gifted former number three overall pick who hasn’t quite found his niche in the big-time despite a 30-goal season with Montreal in ‘15-16.
Still, I like the look of our squad up front, even without top gun Kessel, who frankly appeared to have lost a step last season…especially when coasting to the bench for line changes.
The bottom line? Last season Sullivan all-too-often tried to pound a square peg into a round hole by getting a team that wasn’t that all that fast to play a speed game.
This year, his personnel should be a better fit.
Hi Rick,
Great article. Well done.
I agree that this years Pen’s should be faster than last years team. Speed kills for sure.
The 2016 Cup winning team was as much an accident as great planning but boy they were exciting to watch in the play offs. Injuries and lack of depth players FORCED Jimmy’s hand and they had to use inexperienced and really not NHL caliber players from WBP to fill in .They had no choice.Same with Matt Murray coming in when MAF went down. It was Tristan Jarry who had the higher pedigree and the better Junior career. But Murray got the job done.The rest is History.
To note Rick, I believe it was the HBK line that was the real force that won us the Cup in 2016. Plus some very timely goal tending from Murray. Not to take anything away from Crosby but the 2016 Cup Win was as much a desperation move as anything else. But again they were exciting to watch and they got the job done. 2016 Champions !!
Can that magic be repeated again in 2020 ?? That is the real question.
When I watch the reruns of the Islanders sweeping us 4 games straight in 2019 there were a lot more issues than just team speed.
1. Turnovers. We coughed up the puck to many times. Crosby, Malkin, Letang, almost everyone did. Why ? Because the Islanders forced the Pen’s to make mistakes. The Islanders had a system and our Coaching Staff failed to adjust. 2. The team defense was simply awful in the series. We kept making the same mistakes over and over. 3. We have no physical presence to counter the bigger Islanders. 4.Specialty Teams.Theirs were better than ours. The Islanders played more disciplined than us. They did not give the Pen’s a chance to burn them. We need to be able to win hockey games playing 5 on 5 and not relying on the Power play. I know that sounds crazy but I believe it is true statement.
We have no Cap space and we will need to win with what we have now. Actually we need to trade a significant player to makes us Cap ready for October so Jimmy has little wiggle room to work with.
The other reality is the entire league has become faster, bigger and better and no where is that more evident than the Metropolitan Division. The Caps are better.The Rangers,Devils,Flyers,Cannes and many others are better as well. Making the Play offs for 2020 is not a sure thing Rick. I am praying that we do and we are not a 7th or 8th seed. To many great teams now.
On a local note Rick, recently the NHL writers put out an article rating the top 20 centers in the league as of now. #1 was Mc David. #2. Crosby, Not bad for a 32 year old. # 3. 23 year old Nate Mac Kinnon .
As you know both are products of the Cole Harbor/ Halifax Minor hockey program. Both are great friends and Sid mentors Nate thru out his career.They both promote local minor Hockey together and even do National TV commercials together as well. For a small population base we are all very proud to have two of the top three centers in the World coming from Atlantic Canada.
Interesting on that same list was Malkin rated at 12 th. I read the list and I marveled at just how many great Centers there are now in the league and i thought Geno should have been a few spots higher, maybe 9 th. But again I am reminded that in 2016 these same writers had Crosby #1 and Geno # 3. So it is hard to criticize these same professionals.
I truly think the same can be said of Letang and a few others and it is not a criticism but a fact that Sidney is a special individual, a truly generational player ala Wayne,Bobby, or Mario, but all the others, Father Time is not in their favor. Yet we will still pay them the same. That is the real source of our Cap problem. It was self inflicted.
Your thoughts..
Jim
Hello Jim,
Interesting thoughts as always. And I wholeheartedly agree that speed wasn’t our only issue last season. As you so aptly noted, we were incredibly sloppy with the puck…not just during the Islanders series when we played right into the hands of Barry Trotz’s structured system…but during the regular season, too.
I’ll also go out on a limb and agree that Mike Sullivan didn’t have his finest season as coach. I never played the game and I’ll be the first to admit I’m not an Xs and Os guy. But to my eye, Sullivan seemed both loathe and perhaps even unable to adjust from his puck-possession game. Especially when it became evident his team didn’t have the speed to play that style.
I’ll be interested to see how he does now that the team seems a bit more suited to his style. Hopefully, he…and the Pens…will regain a little luster.
There’s no question we’re a fading former champion, although on a whole Rutherford’s done a good job of making us younger starting with the Florida trade last spring. I thought Crosby had perhaps his best all-around season last year and Letang had one of his best years as well. While the same can’t be said for Malkin, he was only one season removed from a 98-point campaign.
But yes, our core guys are getting older and may not be able to shoulder the same load as they have in the past. That’s why it’s important the supporting cast contributes…big time. I think they will. Guentzel, Hornqvist, Galchenyuk, McCann, Bjugstad, Rust, Kahun and Tanev should flesh out three pretty solid and productive lines. I really Teddy Blueger, too. If Aston-Reese can stay injury free, I like the look of our forwards.
Defense is a whole other matter. I love Dumoulin. Letang remains a dynamic player, but he’s both mistake and injury prone. I really like Schultz, too, but he’s proving to be a little brittle as well. Pettersson…who we’ve yet to sign…played pretty well for a kid, but he seemed prone to coughing up the puck under pressure. I thought Gudbranson was a pleasant surprise…really solid. And I love his physicality and presence. But if he and Johnson play together on the third pair? I don’t know how well they’ll hold up.
While I like Johnson’s shot-blocking and hitting, we spend a lot of time in our own end (and yielding shots) when he’s on the ice.
And if injuries occur, as they invariably do? Ruhwedel’s not a bad No. 7, but I don’t necessarily want to ride him for long stretches although his 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage was decent. I thought Trotman did a nice job for us last season, but again he’s limited.
Anyway…didn’t mean to give an impromptu scouting report. But to your point, I still think we can be a good team…maybe even better than last season. But, yes other teams have improved, and they’re hungry. And, no I don’t see a Cup in the crystal ball.
Rick
PS—I think Crosby is the finest all-around player in the NHL. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone play better two-way hockey night after night, game in and game out than he did last season. Just a consummate professional and first-class guy.
PSS–Totally forgot to mention Juuso Riikola on ‘d.’ While he possesses some intriguing attributes…decent wheels, a hard shot and surprising physicality for a guy his size…it remains to be seen if he can put it all together in the bigs.
Hey Rick & Jim,
Putting my 2 cents in here.
It is said that it is not in victory, but in defeat that character is defined.
Rick, that is an understatement when you say Sully didn’t exactly have a banner season. In 2 consecutive lost seasons Sully showed his character as blame deflector rather than leader. In 2 consecutive seasons he blamed his players rather than himself for his failures.
Sorry, unless he changes or is changed I am very nervous about the upcoming season.
I don’t see Galchenyuk scoring more than 20-25 Gs with 45-50 pnts while posting a -15 to -20. Although he is only 25, he hasn’t really shown he can put it all together. He spent time demoted to Az 4th line last year, with Sully’s go-to tactic of switching line combinations rather than adapting to opponents tactics, I can easily see him down there. The team trade down in scoring without picking up defensive acumen.
McCann, I am hopeful, but still not all that confident that McCann will not follow Pearson into oblivion now that the honeymoon phase is over. McCann wasn’t as bad as many against the Isles in the playoffs, but he also wasn’t quite as good as Kessel, Malking, Murray and Schultz last playoffs. Nor did McCann distinguish himself in the World Tournament.
Malkin? no he didn’t finish the regular season all that hot, but he was one of the precious few that did show up in the Isle series and before Sully screwed up the team Chemistry, he was on fire and on pace to a record season. While Sully kept his grubby little fingers off of the Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel line Malkin had 7 Gs and 13 As and was +3 while Kessel had 7 Gs and As with a +4. Then Sully, looking to bolster other areas that he himself messed up, broke up that line combo, and the team fell apart.
During MJs only full season, many people questioned whether or not Crosby at age 27 had lost a step. The Penguins look very slow and the offense had ground to a halt as MJ demanded that the O insulate the Defense. That wasn’t all that long ago. But Crosby put to rest that thought by having several big seasons without MJ,
I love the Speed game, but as I noted below, speed isn’t just about physical skating ability. and just because a team has fast players, a coach may not actually use the right ones.
(Adam Johnson has shown some ability to suggest that he should have been given the opportunity to replace Hagelin but wasn’t afforded that chance)
If Sullivan hasn’t learned from his horrendous performance of last year, the team is doom to at best repeat if not back slide. Galchenyuk is poised to be Sully’s next doghouse resident when he starts making his mistakes. Opponents have already figured out how to disrupt Sully’s breakouts, if they don’t change, the same frustration will set in, the same lack of confidence, and the same quit that happened in the playoffs against the Isles will result.
Add to that the loss in Goals already from trading down from Kessel to Galchenyuk and the potential loss of goals from Rust to sign Tanev and the team will be in a sorry place offensively.
Defensively, well if the coach and GM are whining that the Fs need to insulate their D then they are acknowledging that the D is inadequate and in this assessment I agree. Schultz and Dumoulin are the only 2 that I have any confidence in. Yes Letang is a great offensive talent and has a lot of fire but he is no, I repeat, he is no defenseman. As for the rest of the team D it is broken down into potential NHL talent and 5-7the Defensemen. There are no players to take on that middle pairing.
The Goalies are strong but with no D help will once again be assaulted.
Hey Rick,
Excellent, excellent stuff!!
I love the speed game. I miss the furious forechecking of those Cup teams.
From what I have read and the little I have seen of Kahun, I am hoping he can have a breakout season. I am hoping he gets some top 6 minutes to see if he can be the defensive anchor on Malkin’s line, pretty much the way Hagelin was at times, but with a better offensive Potential of 62. If not Kahun then maybe A Johnson gets that slot.
However, I don’t share your optimism about Galchenyuk. The team traded downward here. Galchenyuk has most of the same limitations as Kessel with less up side. I really wish JR would have found a way to pull that trade off before the draft and weaseled a draft pick out of it instead. I would have rather had the potentiality of a draft pick then the baggage of a poor man’s Kessel. I fear the Penguins have taken on another Brassard and won’t be able to parlay this gaffe to a McCann – Bjugstad.
As for Tanev, I won’t deny that at a better price I would love this addition but I fear the team will end up losing Rust, so in essence they will have traded Rust for Tanev and that would be a downward trade as well.
I do share your believe that the Penguins “O” still won’t be their weak spot. Their weakness will once again be “D”. Out of their own mouths they acknowledge this but don’t even seem to understand their importance of their own words.
The team’s constant whining that the forwards need to come back to help the defense is an acknowledgement that the “D” is failing. If the team had better “D” they wouldn’t need to worry about the Forwards coming back and playing a 200 foot, Mike Johnston, slogging hockey game.
I am not going to completely blame the players either. It has to be very hard to run a breakout when every team knows where you are suppose to go with the puck and get there 1st.
The Penguins were an older team last season, mainly because the refused to play the younger faster players, worrying too much about not losing that they didn’t win. However, the team wasn’t simply slow from an organic, biological foot-speed perspective. As I just noted above, other teams looked faster because the team never changed up its tactics and opponents knew where they were trying to push the puck and got there 1st. Also, the frenetic line changes slowed down the teams attack speed as players constantly had to try and adapt to the revolving door of line-mates and pairings. Finally, they started losing confidence and morale, slowing them down even more.
I remember just a few short years back under the before mentioned MJ, there were many people who thought that both Crosby and Malkin had lost a step and drop a notch in skill, but it just was that the coach was played out. Finally, JR switched horses in mid stream and even before Hagelin got here the team began to look faster. (Johnston was gone after 12/11 I believe and the Hagelin deal wasn’t until 1/16.)
I am always hopeful and I see a potential here. I can’t wait to see how it plays out. However, I am not going to allow myself to get fooled again.
Again, great stuff, especially how you wove it all together.