Penguins/NHL
Kyle Dubas’ vision of Erik Karlsson keeping the Penguins window open has finally happened, just not in the time period Dubas projected. When FSG was courting Dubas June of 2023, Dubas laid out a plan for the future we’re seeing over the last 18 months but a big power move from Dubas was confidence he could acquire a game changing player in Karlsson who could elevate the current group and reopen the contending window. Dubas’ confidence was due to his pursuit of Karlsson via trade in his final season as Leafs GM where those discussions he was confident of establishing a relationship with the Sharks on a potential move, even though he was changing GM chairs.
Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s 5-4 shootout win over the Jets was another master piece from Karlsson who is not only playing at peak Ottawa Senators level, those in the hockey world believe from a two-way standpoint Karlsson is on such a heater right now where he’s playing the best hockey of his career. I will say it again, i’m not sure everyone is realizing the level Karlsson is playing at right now. This is greatness and a Norris Trophy type impact in all areas of the rink. Karlsson is dominating with his skill and eyes and he’s a step ahead of the opposition before the puck is on his stick. One knock on Karlsson is over the last couple years he’s lost his fastball in the ability to beat goaltenders with shot. Somehow all of a sudden, he’s back to ripping snap shots in picking corners with movement in his shot we haven’t seen in a while……
What we’re seeing this season from Erik Karlsson is what the Penguins brass dreamed of when they acquired the 2023 Norris Trophy Winner and the Karlsson the Penguins are getting right now is probably even a level higher than they envisioned as a best-case scenario. Dan Muse deserves a lot of credit from even an initial summer meeting between Karlsson and Muse. As some league execs believe Dubas and his staff would have jumped at any opportunity to unload Karlsson, Muse was excited and intrigued to coach Karlsson and we’re seeing the benefits. Some believe Mike Sullivan often made mistakes of not knowing how to handle Karlsson from a mental standpoint and constantly nitpicked the limitations in his game behind the scenes; Muse was the opposite, he made Karlsson feel like the man from day 1 after their meeting and it’s paying dividends.
And what a change in discussion we’re going to have this summer where Karlsson is eligible extension and loves To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
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Third Line Being Underused?
The Penguins 4th line has been a great story all season. But, as playoff hockey is pretty much here down the stretch, was Saturday a sign of the coaching staff relying too heavy on the 4th line in head-to-head matchups?
Muse and his staff made attempt after attempt to try to matchup the Connor Dewar unit against the Mark Scheifele line and we saw the unit be around 20% in driving possession. What played out, though, was the third line of Anthony Mantha-Ben Kindel-Justin Brazeau just not seeing the ice enough in a 50-50 game.
Noel Acciari was at 14:45 in even strength ice time, Justin Brazeau (10:28) and Anthony Mantha (11:25) were around three and four minutes less. Elder Soderblom (13:30 ESTOI) just shouldn’t be seeing the ice more than a likely 30 goal scorer in Anthony Mantha or a Ben Kindel.
Other usage issues to watch moving forward is Pittsburgh strongly needing to find the right mix on the blueline. Game after game Sam Girard just doesn’t look like one of Pittsburgh’s top six defensemen and that really says something. Can’t believe I’m saying this but is Ryan Graves worth a look for the Penguins?
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