I confess. It’s taken me a while to warm up to hockey this season. And more directly, our Penguins.
Images of our dispiriting sweep at the hands of Islanders fairly burned into my subconscious, it was hard for me to generate any real enthusiasm. But I gotta confess. Our boys are winning me over…big time.
Yeah, it’s easy to jump on the bandwagon on the heels of a feel-good 7-1 dismantling of those hated Flyers. But I’ve been likin’ what I see for a while now. Even when the Pens endured a hard-luck three-game losing streak following five-straight wins. I figured it was high time I wrote about it.
To my eye, the Pens are skating a lot like they did in the spring of 2016. They’re playing the same kind of game…fast and aggressive. Lots of straight lines. Lots of north and south. Lots of whooooosh.
They’re beating opponents to the puck and making things happen once they get there. You don’t rack up four chili (seven-goal) games at this stage of the season by accident. Especially in today’s NHL.
As much as I hate to coin a hackneyed old phrase, they’re “playing the right way” in Mike Sullivan-speak. Which stands in stark contrast to last season, when the troops were on the wrong side of the puck far too many nights, leading to a plethora of breakaways and odd-man breaks against. They appeared tired and disinterested to boot.
Give general manager Jim Rutherford a ton of credit. Few things are more difficult in sports than reviving a fading former champion. Yet he’s managed to transform an aging, cap-strapped team into one playing with fire, energy and enthusiasm. And he’s done it without the benefit of high-profile young talent or sacrificing too much from a gifted but aging core.
His targeting of Phil Kessel as the man who had to go was spot-on. Apparently there was a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on between “the Thrill” and Evgeni Malkin, who appeared revitalized before going down with a lower-body injury. Too, JR’s acquisition of John Marino from Edmonton for a sixth-round pick was nothing short of grand larceny.
Ditto many of his additions over the past nine months, including speedsters Jared McCann, Brandon Tanev and Dominik Kahun. It’s breathed new life into the team and given it a whole new identity. Or should I say an old one.
As the old adage goes, you have to be lucky to be good. Despite a spate of early season injuries, the Pens have enjoyed their share of good fortune. Kids like Sam Lafferty and Adam Johnson proved more than capable of stepping up and producing, which bodes well for the immediate future and gives JR some options on potential moves.
Between you and me, I wouldn’t mind seeing him deal Nick Bjugstad. Nothing against “Bugs,” but it would free up a ton of cap space ($4.1 million) and open the door for Lafferty, who proved he belongs in the big time during an impressive 10-game cameo (three goals and three assists).
While there aren’t any future Jake Guentzel’s buried at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, there’s enough bottom-six talent there with the likes of Lafferty, Johnson, Joseph Blandisi and ex-Duck and Devil Stefan Noesen (10 goals in 10 games with the Baby Pens) to cover any non-catastrophic injuries over the short haul.
Having espoused the positives, I only have a few concerns and they’re comparatively mild:
How will the Pens play now that Malkin and Alex Galchenyuk are back? Eschewing the simple approach that’s worked so well, No. 71 has a well-known affinity for making high-risk, high-reward plays…often at the other team’s blue line…often resulting in costly turnovers. Can Sullivan convince him to simplify his game? Can we carry a line that freelances? Grafting a two-way player like Tanev onto the unit to cover their collective arses a la Carl Hagelin might help.
What to do with Jack Johnson? While he gives it his all, it’s painfully obvious the veteran defender has morphed into a latter day version of Rob Scuderi. According to reports, Rutherford’s done everything in his power and then some to move Johnson, but a miracle deal along the lines of Scuderi-for-Trevor Daley seems out of the question. At what point do you say enough’s enough and either bench Johnson in favor of younger and infinitely more mobile Juuso Riikola and/or buy him out or send him to the minors? For now, JJ remains an albatross and the lone weak link on defense.
My kingdom for a tough guy. This probably isn’t an issue for most fans. But I’d still like to see the Pens add a tough guy who can fight and play and skate, preferably a forward. FYI…the Baby Pens quietly signed Reid McNeill to a PTO. A former sixth-round pick of the Pens back in 2010, McNeill stands 6’4”, tips the scales at 216 pounds. He’s no Erik Gudbranson, but he throws ‘em pretty fair. Still, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the big defenseman would suit up for the black and gold. Especially given Sullivan’s aversion to tough guys. But at least for now there’s somebody in the organization who can handle that stuff should push come to shove.
I’ll finish on a positive note…and then run for cover. I can’t believe I’m actually writing this, but I think Dominik Simon’s been a good fit with Sidney Crosby and Guentzel. He does a lot of little things well, is surprisingly skilled and defensively conscientious. No, his shot won’t break a pane of glass. But neither could Bob Errey’s, and “the Bibster” was a very effective sidecar for gunners Mario Lemieux and Rob Brown back in the day.
Suddenly, I see where Sullivan’s coming from.
Throw in some solid goaltending from Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry? Our boys are fun to watch again. And showing more than a hint of promise.
Hey Rick,
On an administrative note, Stefan Noesen is not on a Penguin Prospect. He is signed only on an AHL contract for WBS. He can’t be called up unless JR signs him.
Hey Rick,
I agree. I flat out love the lineup Rutherford put together for the way Sullivan coaches. It is probably on of the most solid lineups i recall ever seeing the Penguins have. The Pens dominated even in their loss yesterday.
I hear what you are saying with Lafferty and Bjugstad. I would want a little bit more of a track record with Lafferty before we trade an established player. I’m sure we will see a lot more of him this year with injuries. Sullivan gave him solid playing time so he must like what he sees. I’ve seen a lot of players come up on fire and fizzle out.
I think right now the biggest problem on the team is the powerplay. I’m going to divide it into the two problem areas. Problem one is Hornqvist needs to be on the main one no matter what. He doesn’t get assists for it, but his screening the goalie is the most important part.
That brings me to problem number two which I will address as the possible soon to be Kessel problem. There are not enough spots on the main powerplay to fit all of the players that feel they should be part of it. That creates resentment towards the coach who has to make the tough decisions.
Crosby
Malkin
Hornqvist
Shultz
Guentzel
That is who I would use on the powerplay. Guentzel has earned it unless he fails to fit in. You also have Galchenyuk a powerplay specialist and Letang.
I use Letang in game situations where the team is leading any time after late in the second period and take out Hornqvist or Guentzel. Simply to protect the lead.
Galchenyuk could possibly adopt the Kessel attitude of being unhappy with the coach because he probably won’t be used on the main powerplay. I hoping he is a team player not a Kessel.
I would have no problem them rotating Galchenyuk & Guentzel depending on who is fresher and who is producing better on the PP.
Hey Phil,
I haven’t been focusing on the power play (or lack of) as much as you and Other Rick. But I agree with you on Hornqvist. He’s the best net-front presence in the league by far, and you simply have to use him there with the man advantage.
I also agree with Schultz over Letang. The former handles and distributes the puck much better than “Tanger”…he’s much more of a classic power-play quarterback while No. 58 is more of a wild card. Maybe toss Letang out there once in a while in place of one of the forwards to shake things up.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s going to happen. The Pens keep shoving Letang out there…and have his whole career…simply because of his rep as an offensive defenseman, rather than considering whether or not he’s actually cut out for a role on the power play.
Regarding Galchenyuk, Sullivan doesn’t quite seem to know what to do with him at this stage. Understandable, given that the newbie’s been hurt. Hopefully, he finds his way…he does have talent.
Rick
Hey Rick,
We tend to agree on most things, or at least we are not that far apart.
I agree that I have seen some good things this year and have noted that I love the way the team seems to step it up in the face of adversity. That part of the team remnds me of the teams that won the Cup.
However, we start to split from there. I don’t want to say anything too forceful yet because the team may yet develop but they are far from 2016.
On Malkin – Kessel, everything I read over the Malkin – Kessel issue was Malkin getting caught up in between the Sullivan – Kessel feud, not that Malkin any problem with Kessel himself. There is an old saying that goes it takes 2 to tango. Kessel does have a reputation of being hard on coaches but Sullivan also has shown a propensity to upset his players to Mutiny. In New York the entire team went to management and said they would not play for that “coach”. Many though that they were refering to Tortorello but investigation from a journalist who had problems with Tortorello revealed that the players meant Sullivan when they said that. Since that reported had frequent run-ins with Tortorello and not Sullivan I don’t think he would then turn and lie about Sullivan being the problem. And then we had Sullivan and JR admitting that the team quit on them (aka Mutiny) during last years playoffs.
Someone may have had a sit down with Sullivan and brought him to the understanding that he can’t continue alienating players and has to learn how to deal with people he doesn’t like for the good of the team, and I hope so, but I don’t accept the current and propgated narrative that it was Kessel and Kessel alone.
Maybe at some point Galchenyuk will start doing something but a quick comparison Galchenyuk doesn’t have any EV strength points and the team only scores 2.3 goals per 60 minutes of his ice time – Kessel is pretty much the same, with Galchenyuk having a slight .2 goals per 60 for his team. But then again Pgh has scored a whole lot more goals. But as I warned when the trade happened, Galchenyuk is actually worse defensively; Galchenyuk is on the ice for 3.5 EVGA while Kessel is only on the ice for 2.8 EVGA. As it stands right now the only thing that the Penguins gained was cap space.
With the Penguins current struggles on the PP and Kessel’s 2.9 PPG/60 and a team PPGF/60 of 4.4 a solid argument could start being constructed that the $$$ they saved will cost them down the road.
As for Simon, as I wrote elsewhere, Simon only has 2 G this season, both in games the team has scored 7 goals, one against a goalie who last I look had Sv% of 0.953 and one against a goalie with a Sv% of 0.904. Of the 9 points he has, Crosby carried for 7 of those points, Guentzel was there to help him on one of the other points and Letang on the other. When not on the ice with Crosby he is almost invisible, yet he gets the promotion to play with Crosby. In the IIHF he had no points and I believe was a -3 or 4 when playing Countries with players in the NHL. All his scoring really came against Great Britain, France, and Italy, Brossoits and Elliotts of international hockey.
There is no evidence to support him adding to Crosby. Blandisi, A Johnson, Lafferty, Kahun, McCann, Tanev all have done more to earn time with Crosby than Simon. They have scored while skating with 3rd and 4th liners while Simon still is a passanger on Crosby’s hip, slowing him down.
Maybe someday Simon will really get it but all of the extra chances he gets while other players get nothing only makes me think that Sullivan still doesn’t get it. It makes me think he still hands out ice time based on whether or not he likes the player rather than what the player earns.
Hey Other Rick,
Great comments as always. Just a couple of push backs and a proviso.
First…Mike Sullivan. I know you don’t like him. And I’m not saying he’s a perfect coach by any stretch. He’s largely responsible for running every tough guy we get out of town. I don’t like the way he juggles lines, and he didn’t appear to adjust to his talent last season…part of the reason we went nowhere in the playoffs. And, yes, he appears to be a martinet at times. But no matter how you frame it, he did win two Stanley Cups. And his system does work when he has the horses to play it…like now.
Regarding Kessel, there’s no question he made the Pens’ power play go the past few seasons. However, I still think it was time to trade him…both from a cap standpoint and for other reasons. Namely, Malkin going to Rutherford and saying in effect “either he (Kessel) needs to go or I need to go.”
I hear ya about Galchenyuk. But he really hasn’t been able to get into any rhythm or flow due to injuries. I’d like to see him have a little larger sample size than five non-consecutive games before I start tossing advanced stats around. I still think the guy’s got ability. Whether he blossoms here as hoped remains to be seen. If he doesn’t, we’re not tied to him beyond this season.
Again, I can’t believe I’m saying this because I was never a fan before. But I’ve been watching Simon more closely and how he works with Sid and Guentzel. He does have chemistry with them, especially when cycling down low. And he does do a lot of little things well, like handling and passing the puck in traffic, which feeds Sid’s game.
Having said that, could someone else…aka…McCann or Rust or Lafferty do the same if not more? Maybe. We’ll see how it shakes out over time.
Which leads me to my proviso. I like our Pens…as long as they continue to embrace a speed game. A lot of the goals we’ve scored have been ugly ones that have come as a direct result of getting there first before the other team sets up, rather than from pretty playmaking. But if we slow down, as I fear we’re doing now that some veterans have returned to replace fast kids like Lafferty, Johnson and Kahun, in my mind we risk losing that edge. We’re not cut out to play half-court hockey.
That’s why I’d like to see Rutherford move Bjugstad sooner rather than later…so we can get a fast kid back in there.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Interesting. I have never thought about Bjugstad and his speed. I know the last three games he has been back in the lineup the Penguins have played great defensively and flat out dominated in the offensive zone. I wouldn’t have a clue if it has anything to do with Bjugstad, I’m going to try to pay closer attention to him!
Hey Phil,
I’m just worried that we’re going to lose our speed advantage with some of the slower veterans (yes, including Malkin) replacing the fast kids.
To me, that’s what really was giving us our advantage…the kids were just getting up and down the ice as fast as they could and catching opponents off guard.
But you take Lafferty and Adam Johnson and Kahun (healthy scratch) out of the mix and replace them with slower guys, well suddenly we’re not getting there quickly enough to pounce on other teams and get them rattled. And that’s how we were scoring a lot of our goals.
In my mind, team speed is our No. 1 priority.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Again, we tend to see many things the same but right now we are touch off.
To me Sullivan was on a team that won 2 Cups, that is totally different from winning 2 Cups. Having dug deeper into his history (at least what can be found) I don’t see him the same way the Penguins spin-doctors paint him.
I realize you are now Simon fan, but I find him to be an anchor or millstone on Crosby’s line. He has never manufactured anything on his own. Even against Brossoit and Elliott he still needed Crosby to hold his hand to get a Goal. The team would be infinitely better to have a player that can help that line rather than a parasitic leech draining off the potential of superstars.
As for our goal scoring, see my article, 28 of our 47 goals came in games against back-ups and struggling goalies in 4 games hardly an endorsement of this teams offense. In the other 10 games, the team only has 19 Goals.
I do like speed but you have to be able to finish, otherwise you outshoot your opponent 52 to 28 and still lose 2 – 1 in OT, not a recipe for success.
Hey Other Rick,
A last little nudge back on Simon. I’m not saying he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. And I won’t disagree with your assertion that he doesn’t create a lot on his own. But I do think he blends well with Sid and Guentzel and compliments their games.
Bottom line. If Sid didn’t want Simon on his line, Simon wouldn’t be there. So the kid must be doing something right.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Perhaps Crosby does want Simon on his line, sort of like a poor man’s hockey version of Brian Piccolo (Piccolo may have been a better at his position), but at some point a good coach would find a way to show 87 how 12 is dragging everyone done. A good coach finds Sid’s hot button, presses it, and gets him to do what is best for the team.
Rick “Great to hear from you”
I do agree with you on several points especially finding some toughness
that can keep us from being physically abused vs the tougher teams in
the league.
As for Simon – I’m not a hater and I agree he’s crafty with the puck and
makes an effort to do some of the dirty work at both ends of the ice but
(2) goals after 14 games playing with the best player in Hockey doesn’t
do it for me. If he finds away to score 20 this year I’ll be content but I don’t see it happening.
As for Bjugstad – I like his size / reach but I also thought with the way the
Pen’s team is constructed he may be the player to trade. I wasn’t overly ecstatic when we scratched Kahun after putting up 3pts in the previous
game. I could live with Rust or Bjugstad being moved.
Now JJ “Johnson” IMO the Pen’s have to find someone to give them what Johnson adds to the team. I realize he’s not the fastest skater in town but who on this team can manufacture 200 + hits and lead the team in block shots. Although he’s trade-able look how our defense shapes up without him in the top 6 – Teams like “Boston, etc….etc… will be living in Murray’s lap. Not something I want to watch – now if they can grab a physical D-Man or two I’m all in.
Hope your well – Look forward to your feedback!!
Hey Mike,
Good to hear from you, too. I’ve been spread thin on other writing projects and just haven’t had time to devote to the blog the way I used to. But it’s always good to read what you have to say.
Regarding toughness, I was really hoping to get Nick Ritchie in return for Gudbranson…a tough guy who can play a bit and really thrown ’em. If we do find a guy to handle the heavy stuff I think it’s critical that he be a good skater and have some overall game…otherwise Sullivan probably won’t play him.
I didn’t like sitting Kahun either. The kid’s finally gained some confidence after a rough start, has a big game and Sully puts him in the press box. What kind of message does that send?
In my mind, the thing that’s separated us from the pack a bit and has given us our edge is our speed. If we go away from that…and I fear that’s already happening a bit…then I’m not as sold on us. I don’t think we’re cut out to play a slower, muck-and-grind game. We’ve got to use our jets and turn ’em loose.
I don’t dislike Bjugstad for many of the reasons you mentioned, but in my mind he’s the one who needs to go. It would free up a nice chunk of change and enable us to work Lafferty back into the lineup, who I think belongs.
I hear ya about Jack Johnson. I feel kind of sorry for him…he gives it everything he’s got, he’s not afraid to get his nose dirty and he’s durable. By all accounts, a good guy in the locker room. And whatever his shortcomings 5-on-5, he does a decent job on the pk. It’s just that he gets trapped at times due to his lack of mobility, which leads to us getting hemmed in.
On the bright side, Marino does seem to be able to mitigate JJ’s weaknesses to an extent…kind of like Simon Despres once did for Rob Scuderi. At least for now, a temporary fix.
Anyway…my two cents for what it’s worth… 🙂
Rick