Back when Jim Rutherford was calling the shots for our Penguins, the one thing he did on a consistent basis was stir the pot. He always seemed to be looking ahead, and was never the least bit shy about pulling the trigger on a trade if he thought it would improve his team.
This stood in stark contrast to Ron Hextall, who embraced a more measured and methodical approach, making moves only when he deemed them absolutely necessary and often it seemed from a defensive posture rather than proactively. (Example: the ill-fated Mikael Granlund trade.) The difference between having an extrovert and an introvert at the helm. But I digress.
Current GM Kyle Dubas reminds me a lot of Rutherford.
Yesterday he signed speedy 26-year-old forward Colin White, late of the Florida Panthers, to a PTO. Another in a string of low-risk, potentially high-reward moves.
A former first-round pick of Ottawa in 2015 (21st overall), White was once regarded as one of the bright young jewels in the Senators’ system, thanks to a 14-goal, 41-point rookie season in 2018-19. Prompting Sens GM Pierre Dorion to ink him to a six-year deal with an AAV of $4.75 million.
Like so many other Dubas adds, White got derailed during the Covid seasons (which included a nagging hip flexor injury), although he did manage 10 goals in 45 games in ’20-21…roughly an 18-goal pace over a full 82-game slate.
It wasn’t enough to prevent Dorion from buying out the last three years of his contract during the summer of ’22. The Boston native hooked on with the Panthers last season, tallying eight goals and 15 points in 68 games while skating mostly on the fourth line.
So what does White bring to the table? In addition to speed (and lots of it), he has decent size at 6’1” and 194 pounds, although judging by his hit totals (a career high 61 last season) he isn’t overly aggressive. A center by trade and a right-handed shot, White’s versatile and can also play on the wing. He’s solid defensively and a decent play-driver, but not too good on draws (45.7 percent for his career). His ability to finish leaves something to be desired as well.
Still, an intriguing invite to say the least and perhaps a worthwhile reclamation project. One who could potentially morph into a poor man’s version of Evan Rodrigues.
Archibald Steps Away
After signing a two-year deal with Tampa Bay earlier this summer, former Pens forward Josh Archibald has informed the team that he intends to step away from the game. Accordingly, his contract was cancelled and the Lightning subsequently signed forward Tyler Motte on a one-year deal.
Although no reason was given, I hope it’s not due to the myocarditis that caused the former sixth-round pick to miss virtually all of the ’21-22 campaign.
Personally, I loved Archibald. Although small in stature (5’10” 176) he was utterly fearless, his speed, energy and kamikaze style of play reminiscent of former Pen Brandon Tanev. He was one of the few Pens in recent memory to have actually won a fight, and quite handily (over the Caps’ Rasmus Sandin).
I thought Josh did a nice job for us last season in a fourth-line role, providing a sorely needed jolt of adrenalin while dishing out 195 hits in only 62 games and registering a plus-6, third-best on the team. We were 34-23-5 with him in the lineup, 6-8-6 in the games he missed.
I wish him well.
