Can the PTO Invitees Help Our Penguins?

When Penguins GM Mark Dubas signed three players to professional contract offers last week, I confess I didn’t know a whole lot about them other than what I could glean from their box cars.

With a little more time to delve into the details, it begs the question. Could any (or all) of them become the next Brian Boyle and actually make the team?

MARK PYSYK

(RD, 6’1” 196, 31, 521 GP, 28 G, 76 A, 104 PTS, -18 +/-, 512 HITS)

As I wrote in my previous article, Pysyk could prove to be a savvy signing by Dubas…albeit with a significant caveat. Signed as a free agent by Detroit last summer, the 10-year NHL vet missed all of last season because of a torn Achilles that required surgery.

Pysyk appeared to be poised for a return to the lineup in February when he suffered a setback and was shut down for the remainder of the season. Although his second rehab stint appears to have gone smoothly, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman opted to let the former first-round pick walk.

Could the Red Wings’ loss be the Pens’ gain?

When healthy, Pysyk is a good skater with puck-moving skills and a defense-first mind set. Qualities that no doubt make him attractive to the Pens and in many ways a perfect complement to high-profile right-siders Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang.

“Pysyk is more about just being a simple defender,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “…minute-eating, safe defender.”

The Sherwood Park, Alberta native also gets a favorable rating from JFresh.

In short, he sounds like a slightly souped-up version of the guy he might be replacing, Chad Ruhwedel. Ironically, they were Sabres teammates for four seasons at the start of their respective careers.

It should be noted that Ruhwedel’s 5v5 goals for percentage (GF%) and expected goals for percentage (xG%) have generally been better than Pysyk’s, although Chad’s benefited from playing a more sheltered role for better teams.

LIBOR HAJEK

(LD, 6’2” 209, 25, 110 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 PTS, -9 +/-, 79 HITS)

Perhaps the best way to describe Hájek is a younger, swifter, left-shot version of fellow Czechian Jan Rutta, who departed in the Karlsson blockbuster one short year after his arrival.

Yet it’s still hard to get an accurate read on exactly what the former second-round pick of the Lightning brings to the table. For the past four seasons and change he filled a depth defenseman role for the Rangers (14:53 ATOI) a la Ruhwedel, including a high of 44 games (out of a possible 56) in 2020-21.

As witnessed by his boxcars, offense is definitely not his forte. Hájek’s possession numbers are hideous…three straight seasons below a Corsi of 40 despite favorable offensive-zone starts. His GF% and xG% are likewise poor. Yet he’s reputed to be a solid defender and a player who was valued by the Rangers. At least one local media site (that shall go nameless) feels he has a legitimate shot to supplant defensively challenged Pierre-Olivier Joseph for a third-pairing slot.

An opinion that wouldn’t appear to be supported by JFresh.

Yikes. Jack Johnson-esque.

AUSTIN WAGNER

(LW, 6’1” 190, 26, 178 GP, 23 G, 19 A, 42 PTS, -19 +/-, 403 HITS)

Given all the new faces up front, not to mention the holdovers, competition for bottom-six forward slots figures to be fierce. Wagner, who’s played in only seven NHL games over the past two seasons, would appear to be the longest of long shots to nail down a spot.

However, the former fourth-round pick of the Kings has at least two things going for him that might give him a leg (or skate) up on the competition.

For one, the Calgary native’s fast. Make that fast. And we all know how much coach Mike Sullivan covets speed. Second, he plays with an aggressive bent, dishing out over 140 hits in each of his first two seasons with the Kings. While hardly a heavyweight, he’ll drop the gloves when push comes to shove, which makes him a rarity in these parts.

Did I mention he’s fast?

Too, Wagner’s an aggressive forechecker, which dovetails nicely with Sullivan’s puck retrieval system. Picture a larger, portside version of Josh Archibald.

Although Wagner’s scored as many as a dozen goals in a season (as a rookie in ’18-19), finishing is an issue. Since he’d likely be skating on the fourth line, maybe not be a big deal. And there are a couple of notable outliers on his resume.

Embedded in that rookie season was a 5v5 goals/60 mark of 1.32, which ranked 12^th in the league among players who appeared in at least 20 games, along with a dazzling (and unsustainable) 17.9 shooting percentage. During his final season of junior, Wagner exploded for 16 goals in 22 playoff games for Regina of the Western League. Shades of Nathan Légaré.

Again, a long shot to make it for sure, but not an impossibility.