The National Hockey League and NHLPA hammered out an agreement on Sunday calling for a 56-game season that starts right quick…January 13 to be exact.
Due to the covid pandemic and travel restrictions instituted by our neighbors to the north, the NHL will re-align into four new divisions for the coming season. Here’s how those divisions look:
East: Penguins, Boston, Buffalo, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Washington
Central: Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay
West: Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, San Jose, St. Louis, Vegas
North: Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg
Training camps for the seven non-postseason teams can begin on December 31…for all others January 3. There will be no exhibition games.
Teams will play exclusively within their respective divisions. This means our Pens will square off against their division brethren eight times. It should make for some heated rivalry games, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the days of the old Patrick Division in the early 90s.
Or as the old saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt.
It should be wonderful for fans. But for the team itself? Maybe not so much.
Here’s where the Pens overall lack of size and physicality and stubborn instance on clinging to their speed game may finally come back to bite them. The Bruins, Flyers, Islanders and Capitals all embrace a heavier, hybrid style that combines skill and toughness.
We’ve seen how well our Pens have fared against these types of teams the past three postseasons.
Too, the added passion may lead to increased hitting and chippy, intense play. Before all is said and done, we’re sure to get a snootful of Alex Ovechkin and fellow DC marauders Tom Wilson, Garnet Hathaway and Brenden Dillon on a regular basis. Hardly a comfort.
While our Pens have spunk and compete as hard as anyone (fourth in the league in hits) their determined style also took a rather sizeable toll in man-games lost last season. Something about physics and a larger body colliding with a smaller one…or vice versa. And lest we forget we’re down kamikaze winger Patric Hornqvist, our physical heart and soul.
Could be a clear-cut case of being in the wrong place with the wrong style at the wrong time. Kind of like wearing a tuxedo to the running of the bulls.
Oops!
Too, the playoff format is as straightforward as it is unforgiving. The top four finishers in each division qualify for the postseason. That’s it. No wildcards. No cross-over seeding to account for the strength of the competition. No short series.
The first-place team plays the fourth-place team, the second-place team squares off against the third. The division winners then square off against each other to determine who plays in the Final. I’m not sure how those matchups will work, especially since the North (Canadian) division will eventually factor in.
Based on last season’s records, the Pens would’ve finished fourth in the East…six points ahead of the Islanders. They would’ve drawn the Bruins as their first-round foe. And we thought Montreal was bad…
The playoffs are hardly lock. Not with young phenom Alexis Lafreniere leading a burgeoning stable of young talent on Broadway. Buffalo, too, should be greatly improved, with Taylor Hall and Eric Staal to teaming with oh-so-lonesome superstar Jack Eichel. Even New Jersey possesses a talented young core (Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier).
There will be no pushovers. The Pens will need to earn every point.
Taxi Squad
Borrowing a page from the NFL, the NHL has authorized teams to carry four-to-six man “taxi squads” in addition to the regular 23-man roster to plug gaps in the event of injuries and/or covid infections.
Teams are required to carry a third goalie as part of the squad…Pens GM Jim Rutherford indicated Maxime Lagace will fill that slot. Others filling out the squad could range from minor-league veterans such as Frederick Gaudreau and Zach Trotman to prospects such as Cam Lee and Drew O’Connor.
Nolan invited to Camp
JR spent part of his Monday videoconference talking up Jordan Nolan, a hulking 6’3” 219-pound left wing whom he signed to a minor-league deal back on December 6.
An eight-year NHL vet, the 31-year-old Nolan spent six seasons with Los Angeles, where he won two Stanley Cups while filling a physical, fourth-line role for the Kings. The son of former Pen and NHL coach Ted Nolan was a member of the 2018-19 Blues champions as well, although he didn’t qualify to have his name engraved on the Cup.
A player of modest skills (24 career goals), Nolan hits like a freight train and fights at least reasonably well (picture Tom Sestito).
“We like this player. We will see how camp goes,” Rutherford said. “At any time, we can flip his American League deal to an NHL contract. He brings a dimension to his game that is important for teams.”
Hey all,
One of my all-time favorite Penguins announced his retirement. Defenseman Deryk Engelland, the very definition of heart, toughness, character and a never-say-die-attitude, hung up his skates following an 11-year NHL career that would’ve done Horatio Alger proud.
In an era when few players moved up from the low-minor leagues to enjoy a big-league career, Deryk did just that. While he was always somewhat limited…I seem to recall he could be turned easily…he worked hard at his game and I loved his straightforward, take-no-prisoners style. He didn’t crush people, but he always took a piece of you…always let you know he was there.
And when it came to fighting, my word was he tough. I’ll never forget his kayo of Colton Orr…a truly fearsome slugger…in October of 2010. And his bloodying of Philly’s equally scary Jody Shelley a few weeks later. Victories that established him among the league’s very toughest fighters.
Later, he stuck his nose in against the likes of Ryan Reaves and more than held his own.
Crazy as it seems, I’d almost wished the Pens would’ve signed Deryk this fall as a tough, veteran insurance policy to back up Chad Ruhwedel on right-d…before they signed Cody Ceci.
Anyway, thanks for the memories Deryk. You were the very definition of heart-and-soul and a true inspiration.
Rick
Just an observation,
Washington just signed Conor Sheary (and they can have him) for $735,000, while we paid him $3 million (gave him the contract to begin with and then traded to get it back).
With the Sheary signing the Caps that bring the total of ex Pens on their roster to 4; Hagelin, Schultz, Sheary, and Sprong. And I read somewhere with Lundqvist out for the season that they were looking at trading for MAF. I am not so sure they could work that deal (They are already over the Cap Limit) but that would be weird to see that many former Pens in a Cap uniform.
Rick
Great article – you know where I stand on the Pen’s lack of grit/toughness.
Each year it seems to put us further and further behind the eight-ball.
I’m really confused as to why the Pen’s aren’t going after any of Free Agent
bargains that remain unsigned. JR can’t possibly be comfortable with the
structure of our 3rd and 4th lines. This really concerns me!!
How long can JR and Sully sit back while are smaller skilled players take
a physical pounding “it’s beyond rediculous” !
I’m also wondering why the media doesn’t apply the same pressure for the
Pen’s adding toughness as they did to get Jack Johnson run out of town.
Can’t wait for the season to kick off in January but I have my doubts about
this teams chances of making the playoffs.
Go Pen’s
Hey Mike,
Talking about the 3rd and 4th lines, that is, in part, to what I was alluding below in my reply to Pens4ever about the number of ifs. There are so many reclamation projects in the bottom 6 (and on the bottom D) that the laws of probability are stacked heavily against all of them panning out. Of the list, Jankowski, Rodrigues, Sceviour, (I’ll even throw in McCann, who had a really bad year trying to play Center last year and ZAR who is marginal at best and will becoming off a shoulder injury), and Matheson and Ceci (even Pettersson who regressed a little last season) on D, I would think the best possibilities for the laundry list of question marks would be McCann to make a come back, if he is moved back to Wing and with a good Center and Rodrigues, if he is given the opportunity to pivot some decent wingers.
I would think that the odds are better for a couple of the teams prospects to fill those roles than most of the above projects.
My only worry about JR going after another FA is that he will go after another softie for Sullivan to have an excuse to keep a bigger player on the bench, the taxi squad, or in WBS/Europe/Juniors.
Speaking of which, I am not so sure that JR doesn’t recognize the need for bigger players. He has acquired them over the seasons (Reaves, Oleksiak, Gudbranson, now O’Connor and Zohorna) but Sully, to date, has been the one refusing to use them. My only complaint about JR (on this front – I have others) is that he puts up with Sully wasting his acquisitions.
I guess we will start finding out in less than a month. I can’t wait to be able to talk about what is actually happening rather than what someone is projecting to happen.
Hey Mike,
I don’t know if you’ve seen this, but Pensburgh surprised me by doing a video series of Penguins fights, starting with the 2010-11 season. They’re up to 2012-13 and I think intend to run all the way up through 2019-20.
I must say, given their seeming aversion to physical players, I was surprised to see them do this. But it’s provided an interesting walk down memory lane and reminded me of just how tough our Pens used to be. Eric Godard, Mike Rupp, Deryk Engelland, Arron Asham, Tanner Glass…even comparative lightweights like Joe Vitale and Tyler Kennedy.
My word, was Asham tough for his size. Talk about a piledriver right and granite chin. They just don’t make ’em like that any more.
Anyway, Mike, it’s worth taking a gander at. Enjoy!
Rick
Hey everyone, just like to start by wishing all a Merry Christmas, stay healthy and safe …
I am excited about hockey being back in the New Year.
But I am a realist… tough division, big teams, I don’t think the flightless birds are going to do very well…. I hope I am wrong though.
Merry Christmas to you too Pens4ever!
I am right there with you – I love hockey, love our Penguins, but reality bites. There are way to many if this happens or that happens to count on anything. Like you, I would love to see all the stars line up and all the ifs be fulfilled, but I am not holding my breath.
Hey Rick,
Thanks for the Update!!
You getting stir crazy yet?
I didn’t think Poulin could be on the Taxi squad since he is only 19.
I think with Poulin, they could keep him around on the regular roster and spot play him up to 9 games and then send him back down to Jrs so as not to used up his exempt status like they did with Sprong.
I think I read somewhere that although ZAR is tracking well he will still miss some time at the beginning of the season. So, I would actually like to see them do that; let Poulin play 7 – 9 games while the QMJHL is shut down. Furthermore, I Poulin shouldn’t be playing 4th line, he should at least be put on the 3rd line but I must confess I would love to see him on a line with Crosby and Kapanen.
With Larmi on loan to HPK Liiga, Blomqvist and Clang just drafted, and D’Orio not really developing, Legace could only be the Taxi squad Goalie but that is really sad.
Speaking of Blomqvist and Clang
Blomqvist played 2 games for Kärpät of Liiga (Finland’s Elite League) and posted a Sv% of 0.914 with a GAA of 1.50 and a SV% of 0.908 with a GAA of 2.56 in Hermes of Mestis (Finland’s version of the AHL)
Clang has a 0.939 Sv% with GAA of 1.81 in GP for Kristianstads IK of HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden’s version of the AHL)
And both of these kids were named to their respective National Jr Teams.
I already trust these kids more than any Penguin goalie after Jarry. To bad they can’t come over.
It will be interesting to see if Gruden, O’Conner, Lee, or Maniscalco will get a shot at the Taxi Squad.
Can’t wait for camp to start!!!