Since there isn’t a whole lot going on in Penguin land (the calm before the storm?), I thought I’d piggyback onto an article I’d originally posted last summer regarding the correlation between size and the Stanley Cup.
Curious about how newly crowned Cup champ Vegas compared to the rest of the league, size wise, I looked ‘em up on Elite Prospects, which ranks teams in terms of height, weight and age. That the Golden Knights ranked fourth in average weight (a robust 203 pounds) out of 32 NHL teams hardly came as a shock, given their heavy, forechecking style.
Nor did it surprise that our paperweight, playoff missin’ Pens ranked 31st with an average weight of 193 pounds. To expand a little further, seven of the 10 heaviest teams made the playoffs, while five of the six lightest teams missed the postseason.
It continued a trend of recent Cup winners ranking among the heaviest teams in the league, starting with the Capitals in 2018 and continuing on through the Blues, Lightning and Golden Knights.
| Season | Cup Winner | Avg. Wgt. Rank | Avg. Wgt. | Pens Avg. Wgt. Rank | Pens Avg. Wgt. |
| 2022-23 | Vegas | 4 | 203 | 31 | 193 |
| 2021-22 | Colorado | 12 | 199 | 30 | 195 |
| 2020-21 | Tampa Bay | 1 | 204 | 30 | 193 |
| 2019-20 | Tampa Bay | 4 | 203 | 31 | 193 |
| 2018-19 | St. Louis | 4 | 203 | 26 | 198 |
| 2017-18 | Washington | 7 | 203 | 24 | 198 |
Even the Avalanche, who most closely resembled our back-to-back Cup winners in terms of speed and style, ranked among the top third in the league in average weight, while boasting skilled redwoods such as Andre Burakovsky, Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen up front and heavies Josh Manson and Erik Johnson on the blue line.
So why do I keep banging this gong in pretty much every article I write? Nowhere in any interview he’s given during his eight-season tenure in the ‘Burgh have I ever seen coach Mike Sullivan mention a need for size.
Speed, yes. Brawn and aggression, no.
Actually, Sully did make one reference to size shortly after the Islanders knocked us out of the first round in 2021. Indeed, literally the first words out his mouth following our ouster were, “We didn’t lose this series because we weren’t big enough.”
It may not have been the only reason…Tristan Jarry was dreadful in net…but it certainly was a contributing factor. The Isles were the ninth heaviest squad in the league. We were the lightest.
I understand Sullivan favors the speed game that won us those two Cups, and that’s all well and good. Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy favors a fast, forechecking style too. But that’s where the comparison ends. Cassidy also recognizes that hockey players come in all shapes and sizes, while Sullivan prefers to stick to his narrow small ‘n’ speedy mold.
It may have worked back in ’16 and ’17. But the game…and our opponents…have evolved. I fear Sullivan hasn’t.
I’m hoping that our new president of hockey ops and acting GM Kyle Dubas will override Sullivan’s preferences and do what’s best for the team.
I think he will.
Where’s the Beef?
Continuing with my “Where’s the Beef” theme, a week or so ago Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now noted that, while the Pens’ defense tends to be lightweight in makeup, the Golden Knights’ blueliner corps is considerably heftier.
Taking Dan’s idea a step further, the Golden Knights top six on ‘d’ averaged a robust 212 pounds. The Pens top six, including UFA-to-be Brian Dumoulin, 197 pounds.
Strip Dumoulin, a likely departure, from the mix and replace him with Ty Smith? Our average weight among rearguards plummets to 192. A full 20 pounds lighter than the Golden Knights.
Befitting a Stanley Cup champion, Vegas boasts a near optimal blend of puck movers (Shea Theodore), all-arounders (Alex Pietrangelo and Nicolas Hague [pictured]) and sturdy stay-at-homers (Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb and Zack Whitecloud).
Kingerski, who covered the Golden Knights’ Cup run in depth, stressed that their primary role is to take care of business in their own end. A departure from our drive-the-offense-through-the-defense style that my esteemed partner, Other Rick, has taken issue with on numerous occasions.
None of this is especially encouraging.
It points to a need for a significant overhaul on the black-and-gold back end along with a change in philosophy, especially from the coaching staff.
Good luck with that. Especially in a cap-strapped environment where most teams are looking to unload dead weight. There’s liable to be a long line of sellers.
A ray of hope?
I think Dubas is wholly capable and will do everything in his power to make us a more balanced team, in the short run and especially over the long haul. But make no mistake, he’s got his work cut out for him.
Hey all.
Dan Kingerski on PHN did another excellent article yesterday titled “Dubas in the Spotlight, But Will Sullivan Make the Calls?” where he explained the differences between the Golden Knights’ (and Bruce Cassidy’s) philosophy for his defensemen versus Mike Sullivan’s.
In a nutshell, Cassidy wants his d-men to protect the goalies…or guard the fort so to speak. Not so with Sullivan, who wants his defensemen to aggressively pursue the puck in the d-zone in order to help drive possession. Which is why he prefers more mobile (and generally smaller) defensemen.
His system puts an extra onus on his centers to come back and defend down low.
While I understand to a degree what he’s trying to accomplish (again, it’s all about puck possession), it also means a lot more can go wrong in the d-zone (and usually does). Often right in front of our own net … 🙁
Rick
Rick
Going back to one of your previous articles you mentioned Ryan Graves. I think now
that the Devils have inked Bratt to an 8yr deal for 7.875mil per and their in negotiations
to sign Meier for what looks likes another 8yr deal both Graves and Wood will become
expendable. I would be happy with both if Dubas can find a way to get it done.
“Your thoughts”?
Hello Mike.
I did a little research on Wood and Graves. According to the site “Allaboutthejersey,” Wood’s greatest assets are his speed (regarded as one of the fastest skaters in the league) and his feistiness. He’s great on the forecheck, which would please Mike Sullivan, and he has some finishing ability…roughly a 15-16 goal scorer per 82 games over his career. Certainly not bad for a bottom sixer.
The drawbacks…he isn’t very good defensively and he’s reputed to be error prone, although his giveaway numbers aren’t high. He almost sounds like a plus version of Sam Lafferty. For a guy who plays with a fair amount of aggression, his hit totals aren’t especially high, either. It kind of dovetails with my impression that while he’s a straight-line dynamo, there isn’t a whole lot else to his game. I guess, too, there are concerns about the hip surgery that caused him to miss virtually the entire ’21-22 season.
If we could get him at reasonable rate on a shorter term, I’d bite. But he’s rumored to be looking at $4 on a 4-5 year deal.
I’d feel a little more sure about Graves. He sounds like he’d be the perfect replacement for Dumoulin…I’d described him earlier as a Dumo-plus because he does score some goals. He and Marino made a real solid defensive-oriented second pair for the Devils. It might be a bit of stretch to say he’s a top-pairing guy, which is where he’d likely play with us. But he’d be at least as good as the alternatives.
Actually, the Devils have another intriguing left sider who’s an RFA to be…Kevin Bahl. Giant kid…6’6″ 229 pounds. (Amazing, isn’t it, how other teams get guys like this but we don’t. By design, I’m afraid.) More physical than Graves, and would come cheaper…but is likely being groomed as Graves’s replacement. We’d probably have to sign him to an offer sheet and we know how that sort of thing goes.
Hope you’re having a good summer.
Rick