Okay, so no one’s ever accused me of being the brightest bulb on the planet. Certainly not my professors at IUP, where I was fortunate to earn a degree. (Still have nightmares that I didn’t.) And I’ll be the first to admit there are nuances that go with running an NHL team that are beyond my immediate ability to grasp. However, some of the Penguins, or more to the point, Kyle Dubas’ moves this summer have left me scratching my head.
Without further preamble, here goes in no particular order:
Extending Tommy Novak
Don’t get me wrong. I happen to like Tommy Novak. I thought he did a really nice job for us, especially after coach Dan Muse slipped him into the second-line center slot between Evgeni Malkin and Egor Chinakhov.
He possesses playmaking skills and smarts and, at least to my eye, wasn’t as timid or perimeter as his detractors make him out to be. Backed by his impressive WAR chart, his underlying numbers were good across the board and some of the best on the team. Apparently, he’s a neutral zone wizard.
But extending him for three extra seasons beyond 2026-27? Man, I just don’t know. You’d hope by that time—before then actually—that Bill Zonnon at the very least would be able to step into a middle-six pivot slot.
And what about Tristan Broz? Technically at least, I know he can play on the wing. But center is where he’s shone. Barring a serious injury to one of our incumbents, extending Novak basically slams the door on Tristan.
Of course, extending Novak, and at a fairly reasonable rate ($4.65 million AAV) doesn’t preclude the possibility of trading him somewhere along the line. But, at least for now, he and defensemen Kaedan Korczak will be the longest tenured Pens extending into the future.
Acquiring Hendrix Lapierre
From a fit standpoint, this move makes the least sense to me. Yes, Hendrix Lapierre does possess some pedigree, specifically speed and playmaking chops. He was at least reasonably productive as a rookie for the Caps a couple of seasons back, producing at roughly a 35-point clip. Ben Kindel type-output.
Having said that, there doesn’t appear to be anything resembling a spot for him on the current roster. Although he can play wing, like Broz his best position is center, where we’re already set with Sidney Crosby, Novak, Kindel and Blake Lizotte. Barring injury, he certainly isn’t gonna displace one of those guys.
The only real opening the Pens have is at right wing on the fourth line, Noel Acciari’s former domain. Given that Lapierre’s a left shot and about as far from the type of hardscrabble player “Cookie” is as you can get, I don’t see a fit there.
Kind of a wasted move, in my book.
Signing Andrei Kuzmenko
Speaking of wasted moves, signing the much-travelled Kuzmenko to a one-year-deal for $5 million, presumably to replace Anthony Mantha, left me completely flummoxed.
I do understand the premise. Kuzmenko’s sort of in the same boat as Mantha was last summer, coming off an injury-shortened campaign and a stretch of declining production. The 30-year-old Russian does have a 39-goal season on his resume, albeit four seasons ago, and he can definitely fire the biscuit, as his sterling career shooting percentage of 20.4 will attest.
Despite my negative impression, he could even be a sneaky good signing a la Mantha.
However, despite some surprisingly good underlying numbers that bely his rep as a one-trick pony (a slow one at that) it’s hard to imagine Andrei being as effective overall as Mantha, especially in the physical aspect of the game (an average of 16 hits per season).
My real rub? Acquiring the hockey version of Suitcase Simpson appears to block the path of one of our top prospects, Rutger McGroarty in particular. While it’s become apparent McGroarty may not possess top-six pedigree, especially as a goal-scorer, there’s enough of an all-around aspect to his game to make you believe he may be an effective third-liner at the very least.
However, we’ll never find out if Rutger doesn’t get an extended opportunity.
