Penguins/NHL
MONDAY’S PENGUINS BUZZ
The Pittsburgh Penguins feel internally they have one of the best forward groups in hockey 1-12. If you believe the Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz from the 2013 lockout shortened season are going to show up, then they probably do.
Unfortunately for the Penguins that’s not realistic.
Kunitz, 36, and Dupuis, 36, are why the Penguins are in a tough spot with David Perron who they surrendered a first round pick for that ended up being the 16th overall pick in the 2015 entry draft.
The player drafted in that spot, Matthew Barzal was a top-5 talent who dazzled in training camp with the Islanders and has the look of being a sure fire impact top-6 player down the road and likely contributor at the NHL level next season.
The Penguins have a history of bad asset management when they keep non-core players who are not a necessity for a Stanley Cup run instead of trading them for future assets before they sign elsewhere in free agency.
There have been so many players who fit the profile that the Penguins got nothing for because of the Stanley Cup or bust mindset every season.
Not moving Paul Martin for a lottery protected first round pick last winter was a blunder by the staff.
However, moving Brandon Sutter instead of playing the year out with him was Jim Rutherford’s best move as Penguins GM when it comes to value, acquiring Nick Bonino, young upside defenseman in Adam Clendening and a second round pick.
With David Perron a pending free agent and making $4.5 million this season, the ideal scenario for the Penguins is being able to get value for him before he walks for nothing by preferably trading him for a defenseman or getting a high pick back which is unlikely.
On the flip side, the dilemma with Perron is whether he’s expendable right now?
On paper he certainly looks to be but [hide] the Penguins have to be prepared that last year was the reality of where Chris Kunitz is as a player moving forward with the hands looking shot, and the team can’t trust Pascal Dupuis at this point.
Playing on blood thinners there’s obvious concern whether Dupuis can make it through the season and he will start the year sidelined with what is believed to be a lower body injury.
Dupuis won’t play in the Penguins first two road games, @ Dallas and @ Arizona. He could be sidelined for more than just a week.
Then there’s the unknown factor of how Sergei Plotnikov produces in his rookie season and how Daniel Sprong holds up over 82 games.
Will the Penguins get anything from Beau Bennett? Another burning question.
Not to mention there is a lot of wear and tear on Eric Fehr’s body, a recurring shoulder injury that scared teams off this off-season and he will be coming back from elbow surgery.
Perron’s future in Pittsburgh is 50-50 at best but the Penguins could get backed into a corner where he’s not worth resigning long-term but the Stanley Cup or bust mindset makes them feel obligated to keep him throughout the year. That has played out with so many others, it wouldn’t be a surprise if that’s what happens with Perron.
MONDAY’S PRACTICE BUZZ
*Ben Lovejoy will dress for the season opener as the No. 6 defenseman. Lovejoy was paired with Brian Dumoulin today, while Ian Cole – Kris Letang worked as the No. 1 pair and Olli Maatta – Rob Scuderi as the No. 2 pair.
*Penguin coaches continue to experiment with running two separate power play units and it’s something we’ll see early on. “We have the flexibility to go both ways,” Mike Johnston said. “That’s the game plan.”
Crosby’s unit today had Phil Kessel, Chris Kunitz, David Perron and Kris Letang on it.
Malkin’s unit included Ian Cole, Daniel Sprong, Patric Hornqvist and Sergei Plotnikov.
*The Penguins placed Tim Erixon on waivers to get some roster flexibility and if he clears, have the option to send him down at somepoint. Mike Johnston, though, wants to keep eight defensemen around for practice reasons.
“We’d like to keep eight here,” Johnston said. “When you look at lot of the drills in practice, it runs better if you have eight defensemen. If you want to have a competitive tempo, pace in practice, if you have six you really wear them out.”
Johnston wearing out his players late last season when shorthanded was a complaint from players to management in exit meetings. [/hide]
