As I was reading about the Nashville Predators team reset on NHL.com, the old 1970s sitcom Different Strokes suddenly popped into my head.
Whatchu talkin’ ‘bout Buker?
Let me explain.
There are many different approaches to team building in the NHL. A lot of organizations, our Penguins a prime example, place a premium on skill and speed. And there’s no question that being fast (and good) greatly enhances a team’s chances for success. A point driven home when our Pens set the NHL on its collective ear and blazed to back-to-back Cups in ’16 and ’17. Recently reinforced when the uber-fast and talented Avalanche skated over, around and through two-time defending Cup champion Tampa Bay.
Most teams prefer a hybrid approach, blending skill and speed with an underpinning of muscle. I’d put more recent Cup winners Washington, St. Louis and the Lightning in that category.
Then there’s old school. The type of squad that Nashville is building in the Music City.
Count me among those who think the Predators are going to be murder to play against this season. For starters, they’ve got more than their fair share of talent. Perennial Norris Trophy candidate Roman Josi tallied a Bobby Orr-ish 96 points in 2021-22. Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene each topped 40 goals while making an impressive set of top-line bookends for Mikael Granlund.
But what strikes me the most…literally…is the Preds’ physicality. They come at you hard and often, to the tune of a league-high 2470 hits last season. (By contrast, our Pens had 2010.) And they have no shortage of players who, in the immortal words of Flyers great Bobby Clarke, “…take the shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humor.”
Among the forwards, the list includes burly second-liners Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Johansen (both 20-plus goal guys) and Calder Trophy candidate Tanner Jeannot, who piled up 24 goals and 318 hits in ’21-22. Among them a crushing, head-on demo job of Kris Letang on April 10 and subsequent punch out of a game but way overmatched Mike Matheson in a follow-up tilt.
FYI…Jeannot’s 14 fighting majors topped the NHL, one ahead of teammate and noted scrapper Mark Borowiecki. Two more than the dozen the Pens accumulated as a team.
Fellow backline thumper Mattias Ekholm and 215-pound newcomer Ryan McDonagh provide additional size and aggression. As if they needed any more beef, the Preds signed 6’4” 207-pound Zach Sanford (169 hits) to a one-year deal for $850 K. (By comparison, we signed 5’10” 176-pound Josh Archibald for $900 K.)
That’s a lot of collective meat on the hoof and heavy forecheck thundering your way. Better buckle those chin straps, boys.
“Smashville” indeed.
In many ways the new-look Preds remind me of John Tortorella’s brutal Columbus teams from a few years back. The Jackets boasted the likes of Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner, Josh Anderson, Scott Hartnell and the much-reviled Brandon Dubinsky, who took special delight in heaping abuse upon our captain Sidney Crosby.
Talk about tough to play against. I hated them but envied them if that makes any sense.
Of course, the makeup of those teams stands in stark contrast to the way our Pens are constructed. While our guys certainly compete and get their noses dirty…Crosby and Jake Guentzel are the epitome of “hockey tough”…there’s no one in our lineup remotely on a par with the Preds’ stable of bruisers.
Different strokes for different folks. Or in this case, hockey teams. One of the toughest clubs in the league back in the early 2010s, the Pens haven’t put a premium on physical play (or players) since before Mike Sullivan took over. And, hey, we won those back-to-back Cups while embracing Sully’s “just play” mantra, while the Preds and Blue Jackets have won bupkis.
Still, I can’t help but wish we had a little “Smashville” snarl. Especially come playoff time when the stakes are higher and the goin’ gets considerably tougher.
Rick
I totally agree – it almost appears to me as if Hextall is trying to give the appearance we’re becoming a
bigger team. The problem as I see it is we have yet to address the teams lack of toughness. Even if you
add Big Z and O’Conner to the mix we do gain size but again is it the right kind of size?? For me the answer
is NO. If we don’t add toughness then Sullivan should be forced to go with our younger players. It wouldn’t
shock me at all if Archibald was on the opening day roster. GO PENS
Rick
Totally agree with your assessment of the Pred’s. I also think Bill Gueirin is taking the same approach
in Minnesota. The game has changed since the Pen’s last won their back to back Cups. For the most
part teams that can contend for the cup have a nice balance of Skill, Speed, Size and Toughness. This
is an area where Pen’s management has failed to make the necessary adjustments to the roster and
IMO have struggled to gain traction in the playoffs. I really had high hopes that Hextall and Burke
would address the issue immediately after their hiring. I will say that GMJR tried to rectify the problem
but was cock blocked by Sullivan. GO PENS
Hey Mike,
Funny how the Pens never get around to addressing the size/toughness issue. While I understand Ron Hextall had a lot bigger fish to fry this offseason, it always seems to be the last item on the list…the one we never get to.
I, too, had hoped Hextall and Brian Burke would rectify things when they arrived. They’ve sorta kinda taken us in that direction with the addition of players like Jeff Carter, Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta (and last season Brian Boyle). And while all of those guys have a physical element to their game, none of them possess a Jeannot-type edge.
I’m reminded that Hextall actually defanged the Flyers when he took over in Philadelphia. Totally counterintuitive, given the type of player he was (he once tried to kill the Pens’ Robbie Brown). While he did draft for size when he was in Philly, most of the players he cultivated (ex: Joel Farabee, Travis Sanheim) seem to embrace an almost business-like approach to the game. I recall watching the Flyers over the past couple of seasons…teams stocked with a fair amount of Hextall talent…and thinking they were one of the more lifeless, passionless teams I’d ever seen. A far cry from their Broad Street Bullies hey day. But I digress.
The poster child for the type of player Hextall favors may well be Ryan Poehling. GMRH commented that he and his staff really liked Poehling when they were in Philly. The kid does have size (6’2″ 197) and he’ll use the body as a matter of course (a less than imposing 40 hits in 57 games last season) but he’s certainly not any type of a genuine physical presence and I hesitate to call him a power forward. To sum up…a Farabee-type player.
I think this is what we have to look forward to in the coming seasons.
Rick
Jumping in here Rick,
Lets see Carter 37, Petry 34, Rutta 32, and Boyle 37. Everyone Keeps talking about speed, but who is faster a 37 year old or a 26 year old. Who is more injury prone, a 37 year old or a 26 year old. All of the moves you mention have either exchanged kids or draft picks for aging veterans or were FA signings of aging veterans over younger, fresher legs. It is still way to early. It doesn’t matter how old the average player on the roster is in contrast to the average age of the players whose skates hit the ice.
Rick, do you recall when I quipped that Mike Johnston was an Archaeologist/Paleontologist looking for fossils to put on his roster. Well, I may have to resurrect that sarcasm and apply it to GMRH and HCMS
Rick & The Other Rick
I couldn’t agree more – The similarities between the Pen’s and the NBA’S Los Angeles Lakers is
concerning. I remember listening to an interview a sports broadcaster did with Charles
Barkley and something Barkley said has always stuck with me – He said star players do what
star players do but your role players and bench win Championships. The Lakers have the best
player in the world “Lebron James” and have surrounded him with mediocrity – they’ve dumped
most of their available cap space on three players. The Pen’s have basically done the same
thing with Crosby, Malkin and Letang. I don’t believe the Pen’s are in a win now mode – I think
their goal was to keep the fanbase happy by signing Malkin and Letang and allowing them to
finish there careers as Pittsburgh Penguins and then remain as competitive as possible by filling
their roster with older more experienced players. In a lot of ways I feel like I’m watching a re-run
of the former Pirates management group bringing in a player that’s struggling in the majors but
selected high in his draft class ( Ty Smith – 2018 1st round pick & Ryan Poehling – 2017 1st Round pick”).
I can live with the Marino trade getting a 3rd rounder + cap relief but the Matheson trade to me
was a major mistake on Hextall’s part. I do like Petry the Petry when he was 30 and not the one getting
ready to turn 35 in December. The Pen’s talk about speed yet they trade one of the fastest skaters in
the NHL – SOMETHING DOESN’T SMELL RIGHT?? I look forward as always to your feedback. GO PENS
Hey Mike,
Funny you quote Barkley, I didn’t hear that interview but what he said is spot on. Ever since 2016-2017 the teams supporting casts has continued on a downward spiral.
I do want to see more prospects in the organization after all it is a numbers game, the more prospects we have the better the chances are that we find a good player. However, our Pens aren’t letting the kids get a chance to play. I will be surprised if our favorite flightless fowl goes into the season with any rookies on the roster. So, for me Smith and Poehling are a waste. Unless a kid walks on water he will not get a chance. Puustenin had a pretty good first game, getting an assist, but was never heard from again.
As for Matheson, I have to agree, it makes no since to trade the young, fresh legs of Matheson’s for Petry’s old worn out legs. I too like Petry, but he is old as you note and he is also a RHD. Sully still has Letang. What he doesn’t have anymore, since the Matheson trade is an NHL calibre LHD. It is hypocritical to preach speed and then trade it away.
Hey Mike,
I’ve been tied up lately, but I wanted to take a moment and respond to your comment. Some very astute observations, by the way.
Over on Pensburgh, Gretz, who always seems to have a good take on things, published an article titled, “Bottom-six, salary cap, and goaltending: Looking at 3 questions that still exist for Penguins.” He pretty much echos your sentiments down the line. In particular, he points out that we were a top-heavy team near the end of the Shero/Bylsma era, a shortfall that came back to haunt us in the postseason.
On the flip side, I remember the back-to-back Cup teams and how kids like Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl and Bryan Rust (a bottom-sixer back then) played such key roles, along with the likes of Nick Bonino and even Eric Fehr. They all contributed tangibly to those Cup wins.
Can’t forget Phil Kessel skating on the third line. Huge.
Hindsight’s always 20/20. And, overall, I think Hextall’s done a good job through a very challenging offseason, the pricey signing of Kapanen not withstanding. But Gretz questioned the Rutta signing in particular and upon closer examination I agree with him. Did we really gain that much over much cheaper options in Ruhwedel (great metrics) and Friedman? Honestly, no, unless Hextall plans to deal Dumoulin or Pettersson and slide Rutta into one of those slots.
Bottom line. The Rutta signing, the Kapanen overpay and the Josh Archibald throwaway adds up to about $4.5 million (assuming Kappy would’ve signed for less) that could’ve gone to strengthening the bottom six or even middle six.
Rick
Rick
Also, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to reply to my post.