Say this for Penguins GM Jim Rutherford. He didn’t take long to make a splash in free agency.
Two days after dealing Phil Kessel to Arizona, the plucky exec inked former Winnipeg left wing Brandon Tanev to an astonishing six-year deal at an average annual value of $3.5 million.
I say astonishing for a couple of different reasons…primarily the length of the contract but also the fact that Tanev really didn’t establish himself as a bona fide bottom-six NHL forward till this past season when he tallied a solid 14 goals and 29 points for a very good Winnipeg team.
Having expressed that, some of the Toronto native’s numbers were eye-popping to say the least. Namely, his 278 hits (third in the league) and 81 blocked shots (third among forwards). So, too, are his five shorthanded goals over the past two seasons.
Plus, he’s regarded as an excellent defensive forward and penalty killer. Perhaps a buzz-saw version of Carl Hagelin.
Which brings me to his core attributes. From what I’ve read, shy and retiring this kid ain’t. To the contrary, he’s a bundle of energy…fast, aggressive, ultra-feisty. A kamikaze on skates. Dare I say, a welcome departure from many of our present forwards, who at times last season displayed all the intensity of a collection of wet dish rags.
“I think I’m a very physical and fast and tenacious player,” Tanev said when asked to describe his style.
“Determined,” offered his trainer, former Pens hard rock Gary Roberts.
Still, the long-term contract appears to be a bit of a crapshoot, especially for a player who’s already 27, employs such a physical style and isn’t all that large (6’0” 180 pounds). But obviously the Pens want to be faster and more difficult to play against, and they checked both of those boxes…plus a bunch of intangibles…with this signing.
“We felt so strong about Tanev that we were willing to go as far as had to go to make sure we got him,” Rutherford said. “You never know with any player, the term of the contract, whether it works, how long it’s going to work, but it’s what you have to do to get the player.
“We’ve changed the make-up of our team,” JR added.
Indeed, he has. Hopefully for the better.
Puckpourri
The Penguins also signed defenseman David Warsofsky and forward Andrew Agozzino to two-year, two-way contracts. Each is expected to provide organizational depth and will earn $700,000/season at the NHL level.
It’s Warsofsky’s third tour of duty with the Pens. The diminutive 29-year-old defender previously donned the black and gold for 19 games over a two-season stretch (2015-17). He tallied a goal and an assist to go with a minus-9.
Agozzino, a 28-year-old left wing, spent his entire pro career in the Colorado organization. He has a goal and four assists in three separate stints with the Avalanche totaling 21 games.
On June 26, the Penguins re-signed defensemen Kevin Czuczman and Zach Trotman to two-year, two-way deals, also with an AAV of $700,000 at the NHL level. Trotman, 28, played well for the Pens while filling in for the injured Kris Letang during the 2018-19 season, tallying an assist and registering a plus-4 in 13 games.
The guy throws punishing checks (3rd most hits in the NHL last season), is supposedly a great penalty killer and just for fun:
Even Strength Goals per 60 mins last year:
Brandon Tanev: 0.76
Phil Kessel: 0.75
What’s not to like, other than the price paid.
Rutherford said there is a good chance the Pens will make more moves including that of a “quality player.”
Johnson? Letang? Rust?
So far I’m liking all of the moves. Pens are really deep now.
Exactly Phil,
You don’t sign a 3rd/4th line player to a 6yr contract in this Cap era. Over the next 6yrs laws of probability say that even a team as pathetic as the Penguins will have a 3rd/4th line young player come through WBS who will be getting paid less than $1 million so the team could afford to have top end top 6 talent. Even if the stumbling bumbling Penguins fumble the opportunity to bring in young cheap kids through their system, next year there will be another Tanev type player going UFA that they could pluck. There was no need to panic and sign low end talent to bad contracts.
More importantly, has JR not learned anything about Captain Bly, he doesn’t play physical players; Cole hit people – exit Cole, Reaves hit people – exit Reaves, Oleksiak hit people – exit Oleksiak.
And please stop with the attempts to compare Tanev to Kessel by picking and choosing which stats, particularly ones that are most likely anomalous ones. Tanev may have .76 G/60 last year, but over the last 3 years his G/60 is 0.54 while Kessel’s is 0.90.
Tanev is 27 and didn’t get his first TOI until he was 25. There is a very good reason why a player doesn’t get a sniff of NHL ice time until he is 25, they aren’t that good. They are bottom 6 players rarely seeing the opponents checking line.
Furthermore, Winnipeg scored 2.08 GF/60 when Tanev was on the ice at even strength while Pittsburgh, despite Captain Bly causing all kinds of Locker Room drama, enough drama that Dupuis commented on it last Dec, scored 2.78 GF/60 when Kessel was on the ice (and remember, Kessel only saw limited time top 6 time because Bly was still living in 2016 looking to resurrect the 3 headed monster). Tanev’s career
A Letang trade is the most important thing the team can do now. Dumping Letang’s defensive liability is the only way this team will have a chance of doing something this year, even more so than Johnson. However, dumping Johnson would also be a step forward, especially now that JR screwed up with another bad contract in Tanev.
However, dumping Rust may not be such a good idea. Outside of Rust, the team really only has Bjugstad and Hornqvist as Right Handed shots. (BTW Rust’s G/60 was 0.96 at even strength and the team’s GF/60 while Rust was on the ice was 3.08 – so did the Penguins really benefit from the signing, um.. that’s a big negative, they are in a worse spot, tied down another 6 years vs Rust’s 3.)
Sorry, it looks more like JR has no idea of what he wants to do and is running around in 10 different directions slapping together a pathetic patchwork quilt that will not draw flies at the box office. I prefer to be a cheerleader for this team like you Phil, like I was in 2016 when I was one of the first to believe in the Penguins Cup team, but this team is far, far removed from those heady days and they are not simply trending downward but are in a free fall. Every move JR and Sully have made starting all the way back to after their first Cup team has weakened the team. The dissolution started out slow but started to grow (Dr Suess anyone) and now the hole they have dug is nearing out of the playoff status with several years of rebuilding to get it back.
Hey tOR,
I have a conundrum. Do I trust 3 time Stanley Cup winning Hall of Fame builder GM Rutherford’s opinion on this or go side with you and your locker room problem Daniel Sprong was traded I’m going to rip on two time Stanley Cup winning coach Mike Sullivan until he is fired, glass is going to always be half empty until he is fired opinion. Tough one.
Rutherford has picked some great diamonds in the rough out of the Canadian wilderness before like Bonino and Shultz. Why doubt him now? Tanev is a guy that has been through the ringer and will do whatever the coach needs him to do and not throw tantrums like Reaves and Kessel did.
St. Louis just won the Cup using a well rounded team that wore opponents down and out.
I’m looking at NHL salaries now and it is a whole new world. If every player on a team gets paid evenly, that’s around $3.8m per player. Panarin went for over $11m a year on a ridiculous contract.
LOL, had to laugh at the king and all time reigning champion of picking an choosing stats (especially with Murray) calling me out.
You may want to stop reading that whiny “Ryan Wilson” I pretty sure he’s a 15 year old who goes to games on his parents five game ticket plan and screams shoot the puck non stop. I read three things he “wrote”, he posts stats to look intelligent, but i’m not sure he actually understands hockey.
I agree, try to get rid of Letang or Johnson or both first, then if needed Rust. Rust may be needed to move Johnson.
FYI, the glass is always 100% full. It’s just a matter of what’s in it.
Phil,
If Sprong was the only player Sullivan couldn’t get along with, then you are right, chances are it is Sprong. If Sprong and Kessel were the only 2 players that ran a foul of Sullivan, then I could still be talked into believing it was the players.
The list has grown now. By name, Cole, Reaves, Sprong, Oleksiak, Maatta, Kessel, and Malkin. Only Malkin remains of that 7. And by the way 7 of 18 is now getting dangerously close to half a team.
Not have these players been black balled by the Coach after the playoffs, both 2 time Cup – passenger and his toadie JR indicted the whole team saying that no one wanted to play for said Captain Bly.
Everywhere you look the evidence, to all willing to see, the problem is Sullivan.
As for 3 time Cup winning JR. What has he done for this team lately? Remember Carolina? That team is only now crawling out of the hole he dug them. The last good deal the Pens made was Justin Schultz. Maybe the Brassard trade will shake out but it is still too early to tell. If McCann can put up numbers like he did in the last month of the season or turn into another Tanner Pearson who disappears after the honeymoon phase.
Sundqvist wins the cup as a 3rd line Center while Reaves gets traded for Tobias Lindberg who in turn only plays 15 games in WBS before he himself gets dealt away. The player (LHD) I wanted the Penguins to draft with their first pick that got traded away in that deal scored 32 points in 75 regular season games in the AHL and 11 in 22 playoff games and was a +32. The player the Penguins did draft did attend the Penguins development camp is not signed due to injuries that may have ended his career.
Wilson for Sheahan? I guess, maybe. Really that was a push. You didn’t give up much nor did you get anything.
Cole, 1st rnd pick and Gustavsson For Brassard? Unqualified bust.
Jamie Oleksiak for a 4th round pick? Had we kept him yes, but we traded him back for what we paid. Evidence of senility on JRs part? Possibly.
Signing Matt Hunwick? Derick Grant? Jimmy Hayes? Jack Johnson?
You may consider the Pettersson – Sprong trade an qualified win, I only consider it a win at this point because Bly would never have used Sprong.
All the while the Penguins get deeper and deeper in Cap debt.
So, do I trust in the architect of this debacle? No! Particularly with his track record in Carolina as a warning.
As for Murray, I never used only 1 stat to try and back up my thoughts
Ryan Wilson? I read what everyone writes and says and triangulate to the truth. I don’t just read the pablum spun by press agents to obfuscate their limitations.
Over the last 2 seasons I said I would love to eat crow and say you were right Phil and I was wrong, but the Pens lost in the 2nd round last year and swept in the first round this year. I wasn’t wrong. All the so called experts declared that the sun revolved around the earth and the earth was flat. They were wrong. Doormen on a Stanley Cup Championship team and GMs that sign and trade players at random may not really know more than the average fan. That is why the get fired with such rapidity in the NHL.
Waiting for the Velluci era!!!
Hey tOR,
I’ve noticed every single time you make this list of players two time Stanley Cup winning Coach Sullivan “chased out of town” a player who is missing every time.
Marc-Andre Fleury.
I know the reason you don’t have him on the list is because you like Murray and you believe two time Stanley Cup winning Coach Sullivan made the right choice.
Maatta and Oleksiak were victims of being the odd guys out. Better choices, or at least Two time Stanley Cup winning Coach Mike Sullivan believed/believes there were/are better options. Exactly like he believes in Murray.
The rest of the guys were problems. Kessel wouldn’t accept where and when two time Stanley Cup winning Coach Mike Sullivan wanted him to play. Reaves and Sprong thought they were top six guys… lol. Sprong is a head case. Cole self admittedly didn’t follow team policy and was benched constantly for it.
Should a coach let the players run the team?
As for 3 time Stanley Cup winning Hall of Fame builder GM Rutherford, I believe you are using what happened in Carolina as a map rather than a warning.
If you follow Rutherford and Carolina’s downfall it was because of the players they lost to free agency a couple weeks after the Cup and included getting rid of their coach way to fast.
That coach has been to two Stanley Cups since then with two different teams.
Phil,
Excuse after excuse for Sullivan.
I don’t count MAF because he left Pgh due to the Expansion Draft. The team had to leave a goalie exposed to the draft and their options were a young 2-time Stanley Cup winning goalie or a good but aging goalie. However if you want to count MAF great that just makes my case even stronger, 8 players.
Oleksiak and Schultz were the best combination defensive pairing the team had while Oleksiak was on the team. In the partial 2 seasons he was in Pgh Oleksiak was the 5 highest scoring defenseman in raw points with 25, 4th if you look at P/60, tied for 2nd in goals, 4th in G/60, 3rd best +/- only behind Dumoulin and Schiltz and tied for 1st in hits/game. Yes, Sullivan thought there were better options because he didn’t like Oleksiak.
Maatta didn’t fare quite as well as Oleksiak but he did have the 5th best +/-, higher than Letang’s. Maatta only had one bad play in this years playoffs and was benched. Letang was the best offensive weapon the Islanders had this past post-season.
So, Sullivan had better options? Well if he did, he didn’t use them.
Should 2-time Stanley Cup doorman let the players run the team? interesting question Phil. You mean should he have let the worst defensively responsible D man, Letang get the second most TOI/game of his career last year. Sully preached defensively responsibility to his forwards yet allowed the defenseman who was only +4 (7th best +/- among 14 defenseman) 25:37 TOI? Should he permit a defeseman who can’t play defense to dictate where and when he plays but not a forward who does provide offense, over 1 Pnt/G the same freedom. Should that coach allow a Center to tell him who will be on his line and not a Wing where he will play?
If a coach holds 1 player to a standard, he has to hold all players to that standard. Not pick and choose otherwise he looses the respect of the players and then they tune him out. Sullivan is the problem, not the players. Sullivan is a doorman not a Coach!
Legitimate top 6 high scoring Wingers are a commodity in the NHL, doorman Coaches are a dome a dozen.
Very few Coaches actually coach the team, most are doorman and that is why they get fired with such rapidity.
Sprong may have a bit of personality issue (a kid that needs taken down a peg or 2) but he is a top 6. Only thing is, the top 2 enters didn’t want him. Therefore he was the perfect answer for the 3-headed monster on the 3rd line, not Kessel.
Reaves, was getting less 7 minutes of TOI per game, lowest of all forwards. He was an afterthought. He didn’t think he was top 6, he just wanted more TOI. I am not going to pretend I like the initial trade I would have rather had Sundqvist and drafted Hague but Reaves earned more than 6:45 TOI.
I have to run but will address the JR issue later.
Just wanted to let you know that I didn’t read past the quote below don’t plan on it. I’m worried what onlookers might think of me.
“Legitimate top 6 high scoring Wingers are a commodity in the NHL, doorman Coaches are a dime a dozen. “
Hey Rick,
You already know what I think. The odds Crosby and Malkin will win another Cup just got a little longer. The dissolution of this team is picking up steam. The Penguins are getting to be a laughing stock. People I know from Washington, Philadelphia, Detroit, Buffalo, and Carolina are laughing at us. The ones I know from Carolina are saying, “See I warned you.”
Unfortunately all I can do is bide time until December, when this greatly diminished roster is out of the playoff hunt and Lemeiux et al finally pull the trigger and promote Vellucci and Guerin, ending this madness.
I just wish they would have done this 2 years ago when the Penguins’ doorman threw his first hissy fit and JR placated the popinjay by trading Cole and Reaves.