This morning I was up bright and early, perusing other hockey sites, when a thought so terrible I hesitate to commit it to cyber-type occurred to me. I apologize ahead of time for taking our PP readers to a very dark place.
You’ve no doubt heard the old adage, “a failure to plan is a plan to fail.” With that in mind, what’s the Penguins’ plan should top guns (or top ‘Guins) Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin fall prey to the dreaded injury bug?
To digress, Sid and Geno missed nary a game in 2022-23 while enjoying injury-free seasons. A rare phenomenon, especially given their respective ages (35 and 36) and Malkin’s checkered health history. One that occurred…well…never in the previous 16 seasons the dynamic duo skated as black-and-gold teammates.
It was the first time Geno played a full 82-game slate since ’08-09 and only the third time in his illustrious career. As for Sid? It was the first time he skated in all 82 games since ’17-18 and only the second time in his likewise brilliant stay in the bigs.
At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, it isn’t likely to happen again.
Which begs the question. Who steps up to fill the void should either or both of our Two-Headed Monster miss time?
To my eye, the one need Kyle Dubas hasn’t properly addressed this summer is third-line center. At the risk of writing with a forked pen, free-agent pick up Lars Eller is solid…albeit strictly in his prescribed role. But at age 34, with his offensive output on the wane, is he capable of slotting up to a top-six role for more than a handful of games?
I don’t think so. Keep in mind, Eller scored 10 goals last season…or three less than Pens pariah Jeff Carter.
Personally, I would’ve targeted a more offensive type to anchor our third line such as Blackhawks speedster Andreas Athanasiou or Max Domi, both 20-goal scorers last season. But the Hawks re-upped the former (AAV of $4.25 million) and the Leafs, Dubas’ former employer, snagged Domi for a cool $3 million on a one-year deal. For reference, only $550 K more than we’re paying Eller.
Water under the bridge and well downstream at this stage.
It’s conceivable although highly unlikely another newbie, Noel Acciari, could be called upon to plug the gap. While he’s great on faceoffs and will chip in the odd goal here and there, setting up linemates is decidedly not his forte. In fact, he’s never breached double figures in assists over the course of his eight NHL seasons. For the record, nine’s his career best.
Once upon a time Jake Guentzel played center and could possibly slide to the middle in a pinch, although his weak defensive play would clearly mitigate against such a move. Ditto Mikael Granlund, provided he’s still around. He’s played center quite a bit and, unlike Acciari, is an excellent setup man. Perhaps the most compelling argument for not buying him out.
Another possible option…and once again I’m going to a dark (dark) place.
Carter.
At age 38, would Jeff have enough left in the tank to rise to the occasion as he did at the beginning of the ’21-22 campaign in Sid and Geno’s dual absence? Given the pronounced dip in the big guy’s play last season, a stretch to say the least. But it’s somewhat ironic the much-maligned vet might be our best option.
Among the kids, former first-round pick Sam Poulin comes to mind. Drew O’Connor, too.
No real BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY option in the bunch.
So what’s our best plan should Sid or Geno go down with an injury?
Pray. A lot.
Rick
I don’t disagree that Dubas should of tried to sign someone with scoring
potential as our 3rd line center. I do think he may of tried and found out
that players aren’t lining up in Free Agency to play for an aging team
with zero chance to make a run at the Cup. Really, the best way at this
stage to land any type of legit player is thru a trade and that’s why I
believe he’s hoping to land Karlsson. Also, who knows what’s really going
on and maybe theirs more players involved in the Karlsson trade than
we know. We can only hope that Dubas continues to reshape the current
roster.
Hey Mike,
Excellent insight on the fact that the Pens are no longer viewed as a garden spot destination, an observation shared previously by our friend Jim. Apparently, former GM Ron Hextall…who in hindsight attempted to improve the team more than he was given credit for…made a play for Jakub Chychrun last spring. But Chychrun preferred to go to the up-and-coming Sens.
Actually, I’m a little surprised Dubas was able to land Ryan Graves…generally regarded as the prize catch among free-agent defensemen. I do think his (Dubas’) name and reputation carry a little clout and help with the recruiting aspect.
Provided he’d stay injury-free, I think Karlsson would help mask offensive depth issues that might arise. As it stands now, I really don’t think our bottom six is going to contribute much more offensively than last season’s bunch. They should be better defensively and on the PK, provided Sullivan refrains from using Carter in an elevated role he’s no longer cut out for.
Rick
Hey Mike and Jim,
I am not going to argue that the Pens aren’t the premier Organization FAs are looking for, but identifying that and acknowledging it is only a fraction of the battle. The next part of the equation is figuring out why the team is no longer the belle of the ball with corrective action following that.
Let me ask you both, if you were a UFA how much of your decision is going to be based on confidence in the team’s direction. Yes, there are players that just want paid, but for those other players, isn’t the lack of players jumping on the Penguins cart a reflection of a lack of confidence in the team?
This team is like that whited sepulchre all white with media spin on the outside but rotting on the inside with aging players intractable coaching, and dreams of what once was.
So long as egos get in the way, nothing will change.
The Other Rick
Nobody wanted to hear it when I said that re-signing Malkin and Letang would
set the organization back at least 5yrs. Whats happening right now with the
Pens roster is a domino effect from making poor business decisions. I”m not
100% sure who’s at fault. As for the players Dubas is signing IMO he’s bringing
in a bunch of guys on the cheap that have a history of putting up productive
numbers at some point in their careers, and rolling the dice. I don’t think 3 or 4
of them will be around when the season begins or shortly there after. I mentioned
this is a previous post I think buy landing Karlsson it gives the Pen’s another
avenue to build assets which they currently don’t have at their disposal.
PS The Other Rick – Sullivan’s not going anywhere. I’m in agreement with you but
people around the NHL think he’s a “STUD”. Let it go!!
Mike,
The re-signing of Letang may not have been the wisest of moves, his Pnts/60 5 on 5 ranked 134 among defensemen who played more than 330 minutes while Karlsson ranked no. 1. Re-signing Malkin on the other-hand very well could have been the best Hextall could do. Geno is a 2nd line Center and checked in at no. 23. Checking in at 23 still defines Malkin as a 1A Center. The real problems occurred long before that re-signings occurred The real problem occurred when the team refused to to look at reality, when the Coach refused to understand the value grit and several GMs refused to acknowledge the limitations of their Coach.
You tell me to let it go, I can’t. I am not built that way. Oh, I realize that the Pens won’t get rid of Sullivan, at least not yet, just as anyone who has watched this team must realize that Sullivan will never add grit to his team, yet they keep beating that drum. The funny thing about it, The funny thing about these two realities is that they are inextricably tied to one another, the refusal to change the coach leads to a continuation of the failed lack of grit strategy. Like you and Rick, I want at least a modicum of grit on this team, but rather than want to complain about the symptom, I want to exorcise the root cause – the Coach.
If you and Rick want Grit, then the team need to tip the prime Domino.
Hey Rick,
Indeed, it is a very, very sobering thought, a thought I have voiced both in word and print many times this summer. Dubas and the entire Penguins Org seems to be content with trying to whistle past the graveyard rather than take any precautions.
I did want them to sign Athanasiou and said so several times while talking to people. That is probably why the team didn’t sign him. The team just can’t seem to bring itself to agree with me, these past 6 seasons.
I do remember when they tried to use Guentzel as a Center – it failed miserably.
If there is good news, it should be that precious few teams should take our favorite team seriously at the beginning of the season, so there is a chance that they won’t be playing us too hard, at least not hard enough to injure the 2-headed monster until mid-season.
Sorry, after a couple of interesting signings Dubas has just inked players to depress me.