Penguins Update: ‘Canes (and Others) Musclin’ Up

Perhaps the title of this article should be, “How many different ways can Buker broach the same subject?” Lol.

I couldn’t help but notice the defending Metro champion Hurricanes spent their free-agent dollars this summer on guys who can play and provide some bite to their lineup. Indeed, forwards Michael Bunting and Brendan Lemieux and defenseman Tony DeAngelo, all noted for their abrasiveness, make an already difficult foe that much tougher.

The ‘Canes weren’t alone in seeking aggression. Toronto procured a healthy splash of mustard by inking Todd Bertuzzi, Max Domi (Tie’s son) and our old friend Ryan Reaves (pictured above).

“All three of those guys can play with snot,” said Leafs star forward Mitch Marner. “They bring a lot of intensity to our whole roster, three guys who aren’t afraid to get in peoples’ faces and down and dirty. 

“At the same time, they bring a lot of pace and can do a lot of things around the net, add a lot of different qualities to our team and they all have that grittiness. What Ryan does is going to make people not want to get down and dirty too much with our team.”

It’s no secret teams that employed a physical style went deep into last spring’s playoffs. The Cup-winning Golden Knights boasted a cadre of “quiet” tough guys in William Carrier, Keegan Kolesar, Nicolas Hague and Brayden McNabb. The runner-up Panthers…Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, hard-hitting Radko Gudas and spitfire Ryan Lomberg.

As for our Penguins? True to form, we’ve added a token physical player in Noel Acciari, a kamikaze forward cut from the Brandon Tanev cloth but by no means a heavyweight. At the same time, we bled off Jason Zucker, arguably our most physical (197 hits) and inspirational player. One whom coach Mike Sullivan noted, “…has the ability to drag us into the fight.”

It’s as if there’s some unwritten rule or quota that prevents us from employing more than one player with a physical bent.

Maybe there is…in Sullivan’s mind.

“If we were to try to copy the Stanley Cup champion every single year, we would be all over the map with the style of play, a philosophy of play, an identity of what Penguins hockey actually looks like,” Sully said. “I think it’s more important that we’re true to our group.”

Perhaps. But other teams, including some of the most successful, don’t seem to be operating under the same constraints.

I’ll wrap up by paraphrasing an observation from another site. The commenter lamented that we aren’t hard to play against (totally agree) while noting this wasn’t always the case. He specifically mentioned players like Matt Cooke, Tyler Kennedy, Chris Kunitz, Brooks Orpik and Max Talbot. Guys who played with an edge.

Indeed, when Ray Shero took over as GM back in 2006, one of his first priorities was to make us harder to play against.

Sure wish we had that mindset now. Or to quote new Maple Leafs GM, Brad Treliving, “As much as the game’s changed, some things have never changed. At the most important times, the rink shrinks. There’s no space. You need courage. And we wanted to add players like that.”

Amen, Brad. Amen.

Playing Chicken

At the risk of riling my esteemed colleague, Other Rick, by broaching a sensitive subject (or “poking the bear” as we at PP are fond of saying), it appears Pens boss Kyle Dubas and Sharks GM Mike Grier are locked in a high-stakes game of chicken regarding l’affaire Erik Karlsson.

In the battle of wills, who’ll flinch first?

Complicating matters, Jeff Petry, a likely component of a potential trade, is rumored to have nixed the idea of playing in San Jose. Part of the reason he consented to coming to the ‘Burgh in the first place was to be closer to his family and Michigan home. But I digress.

Will Dubas ferret out a third team willing to take on Petry’s cap hit ($6.25 million for two more seasons)? Among potential suitors that check all the boxes, the rebuilding Blackhawks have nearly $13 million in cap space and a need for an established veteran presence on their blue line.

Then there’s the not-so-small matter of what it’ll cost us for the Hawks (or another team) to take Petry off our hands. Namely, a first-round pick?