Penguins Update: Four Years Burnin’ Down the Road…

It was a favorite lyric from Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 blockbuster hit, Born in the USA.

The subject of the song, a disenfranchised Vietnam vet, wails, “I’m ten years burnin’ down the road, nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go…”

Sorry, Boss, but I’ve absconded with your lyrics to describe the present plight of the Penguins’ third line. Or more to the point, the fact that we’re still scrounging to fill Nick Bonino’s skates four years down the road.

Indeed, since “Bones” departed for the warmer climes and twangy tones of the “Music City” for a cool $16.4 million during the summer of 2017, GM Jim Rutherford has had a terrible time replacing him. Or not replacing him as the case may be.

The list of would-be substitutes at third-line center reads like a cavalcade of failed experiments in lineup patching…Greg McKegg, Riley Sheahan, Derick Brassard, Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann.

Add newcomer Mark Jankowski to the list.

Actually, I’m not being entirely fair. Sheahan enjoyed a decent first season here. As disappointed as most of us were with Brassard, he tallied 12 goals in 54 games in the Steel City…a respectable 18-goal clip over a full season. And Bjugstad showed promise when he first arrived.

However, none displayed any staying power.

So why has Bonino been so hard to replace? He isn’t large or fast or tough or especially gifted, nor does he blow goalies away with his shot. Yet he was a spectacularly successful anchor for the third line during his two-season stay in the ‘Burgh. One that resulted in back-to-back Cups.

Some of it, to be sure, is serendipity. He had the good fortune (or vice versa) to skate on a line with Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin. But there’s more to it than that.

To me, Bonino’s a rarity…a player who adds up to more than the sum of his abilities. Loaded with intangibles. In a way, he reminds me of a poor man’s version of Ron Francis, the Hall-of-Fame center who was a driving force for our Cup-winners in the early 90s.

Like “Ronnie Franchise,” Bonino thinks the game exceptionally well and always seems to be in the right place at the right time, despite his lack of jets. Tough on draws. Excellent penalty-killer and defensive player. Gritty. The kind of guy who would do anything to win.

Remember when Bonino tried to practice with a broken tibia during the 2017 Cup Final?

Talk about heart.

To say nothing of the subtle skills that blended so seamlessly with Kessel and Hagelin while weaving lots of HBK magic during the glorious 2016 Cup run.

Why am I rhapsodizing so wistfully about the Hartford native?

You don’t win Stanley Cups, let alone compete for them, without a strong third line. And ours hasn’t been the same since Bonino left.

I don’t mean to prejudge a player before he’s even had a chance to lace on his skates. But from everything I’ve read and my own observations, I don’t think Jankowski’s the answer. He feels a lot like Sheahan shortly before Riley was shipped off to Florida.

A glimmer of hope? Perhaps there’s a potential third-line center lurking in the weeds in the form of Teddy Blueger.

Touted as a future third-line pivot almost from the moment he was drafted back in 2012, the 26-year-old Latvian has a Bonino feel to him. Blueger has some sand and he’s a solid defensive player, gleaning votes for the Selke Trophy (so did Bonino). He’s a better skater than Bones. And he’s got some skill (back-to-back 21-goal seasons with the Baby Pens).

The lone fly in the ointment, albeit a large one? The kid’s a dud in the faceoff circle, winning a paltry 45.1 percent of his draws at the NHL level. He’ll need to improve if he’s to step into an expanded role.

Let’s hope he’s up to the task.