Penguins Update: Let’s Get Physical (Part Two)

During Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday night, Florida whitewashed the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers by a score of 3-0.

Fueling the Panthers’ victory was a fast, physical forecheck. Armed with to the teeth with kamikaze-style forwards such as Sam Bennett, Ryan Lomberg and Matthew Tkachuk, the visitors softened up the Blueshirts’ defense to the tune of 14 hits, including three each on prime puck-movers Adam Fox and Erik Gustafsson and four on heavy-footed underling Braden Schneider.

At the other end of the ice, the Rangers put just eight hits on the Panthers’ d and only one each on offensive types Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour.

The result? Fox, the Rangers’ most skilled defenseman by a country mile, had a rough night 5v5 with a Corsi of 40 and an expected goals for percentage of 38.74. Spared the wrath of Fox’s teammates, his Florida counterpart Forsling had a strong game by comparison, leading the rush on the game-opening goal and finishing decidedly in the pink in Corsi (68.42) and xGF% (56.48).

It pounds home a point…literally…that I’ve been trying to make for years. You don’t win the Stanley Cup without a healthy helping of physical play…and players.

You could argue that the last team to accomplish that feat was our Penguins. While it’s true our back-to-back champions didn’t employ anyone with an overly physical bent, we were armed with warrior types such as Chris Kunitz and Ian Cole, not to mention maniacal net-front presence Patric Hornqvist.

Since then, teams that have captured the Cup have done so with a blend of toughness and skill. Even the Avalanche, who most closely resembled our Pens in terms of style, employed heavies Josh Manson and Erik Johnson on defense and aggressive forwards Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. To say nothing of large-bodied stars like Andre Burakovsky, Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen.

If our Pens are ever to be successful again, we need to change the way we do business. Or more to the point, the way we construct a roster.

How to Transform a Hockey Lamb into a Lion (or at the very least…a Panther)

By my estimation, the Pens could use at least two forwards who combine skill with sand. As mentioned in a previous article, I’d love to see us pursue Tyler Bertuzzi or Jake DeBrusk or even Stefan Noesen this off-season, all who fit the bill. Internal candidates include a pair of former first-rounders, Sam Poulin and hulking Finn Jesse Puljujärvi.

The Pens also need to sign Baby Pens designated hitter Jagger Joshua post haste and plug him into the spot on the fourth line previously occupied by Jansen Harkins. With all due respect, he couldn’t possibly produce less and would add some much needed aggression and combativeness while riding shotgun for our aging core and stable of prospects.

Promising as they may be, Brayden Yager, Tristan Broz, Ville Koivunen and Vasily Ponomarev fit the long-standing black-and-gold mold of skill first and physical attributes a distant second. They’re going to need some protection from our Metro brethren, all of whom employ at least one gunslinger.

It’s time we kept up with the Joneses (and the Wilsons and Rempes).

On defense, we need a bona fide hammer with big-league props to replace pending RFA Pierre-Olivier Joseph and/or Ryan Graves, softies both when it comes to net-front battles. Kid defenseman John Ludvig oozes the desired edge and is certainly willing to stick up for his mates…I just don’t know if he’s got the ability.

I’d love to land Canucks masher Nikita Zadorov, although there’s likely to be a bidding war for his services that will put him out of our price range.

Fellow Muscovite and UFA-to-be Ilya Lybushkin plays a defense-first style and is a devastating open-ice hitter (think Darius Kasparaitis). He’s affordable ($2.75 million AAV on his current deal) and has a history with Kyle Dubas, who brought him to Toronto back in ’21-22.

An issue…he’s a right-handed shot. We need help on the left side.

Perhaps we could lure Other Rick’s old (coveted) friend, Nicolas Hague, out of Vegas…say in a deal involving ex-Misfit Reilly Smith. The 6’6”, 221-pounder and former second-round pick is entering the final year of a contract that calls for a modest $2.29 million. A mild disappointment with the Golden Knights, he’s seen a dip in his underlying numbers over the past few seasons. But he’s tough as nails and certainly fits the bill for the type of player we need.

As the old saying goes, nice guys finish last (or fifth in the Metro).

It’s time to add some snarl.

Sully for Keefe?

Now that the Devils have hired former Maple Leafs skipper Sheldon Keefe as their new bench boss, might we see something that to my knowledge has never happened in the history of the NHL?

Namely, a swap of coaches?

After all, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald was rumored to be keenly interested in Mike Sullivan, and Dubas and Keefe go way back. Even the particulars seem about right. Sully’s under contract for three more seasons…the Devils inked Keefe to a four-year pact.

The only trade involving managers/coaches that comes to mind occurred during the 1960 baseball season, when Cleveland GM “Trader” Frank Lane dealt Tribe skipper Joe Gordon to Detroit for Tigers counterpart Jimmy Dykes.

Okay, so I’m mostly blowing smoke. Even by the ultra-remote chance that such a deal is being bandied about behind closed doors, I doubt if the NHL would approve such a trade. Still, it’s an interesting juxtaposition, is it not?