Frankly, this time of year is my absolute favorite part of the hockey year. It’s the re-signing phase, the rumor mill week, the NHL Draft and, of course, free agency a week from today. It is all oh so much fun.
All right, enough of my ramblings on how much I love this time of year. You’re all here to read what I’m thinking on a number of moves, rumors, etc. revolving the Pens. If that’s not what you’re here to do… Oops.
The piece will be broken up into several sections. First, I will discuss the signing of Swedish defenseman Niclas Andersen. Then I will move on to discuss the re-emergence of former Pens assistant coach, Jacques Martin. From there I will discuss the rumor mill. That section will include my thoughts on the rumors of Phil Kessel, Patrick Sharp, and TJ Oshie. Finally, I’ll briefly discuss what I’d like to see the Pens accomplish over the next week. That will include re-signings, trades, the Draft and free agency.
Without further adieu, let us begin…. (enjoy it with a little White Stripes)
Pens Sign Swedish defenseman Andersen
Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2006 NHL Draft, Andersen never signed with the Kings after being drafted and played two seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia. He has been a staple in Swedish hockey after returning to his native land to play in the Swedish Elite League. The big defenseman has also participated as a member of the Swedish national team at several international competitions, including World Championships and World Juniors.
Andersen severed as the captain of the SEL’s Brynas team this past season. In addition to leading the team on the ice and in the locker room, Andersen set career highs by scoring 5 goals, posting 17 assists for 22 points in the 54 games he played.
Despite a career year offensively in 2014-15, Andersen is far from the offensive talent of current Penguin defenseman Kris Letang. Andersen is more of a stay-at-home defenseman, which shouldn’t be shocking given his 6’1”, 220 pound frame. He also played in all situations in his professional career, meaning he sees extensive ice time at even strength, on the penalty kill and even on the power play.
As for my thoughts on Andersen, I see him as a contingency plan if the Penguins are unable to re-sign Taylor Chorney or lack a seventh defenseman. Andersen has not played in North America, which means he will have to adjust to the smaller ice surfaces over here. He will need to make that adjustment, and it may take some time in Wilkes-Barre before he is ready to make the jump to the big show.
I personally like his physical size, but question whether he is fleet of foot. If he is not, I don’t see him flourishing in the Mike Johnston system.
My final thought on Andersen: he will either play the entire season in Wilkes-Barre with sporadic call-ups, or he will serve as the Penguins’ seventh defenseman out of camp. The former is most likely.
Martin Returns to the Coaching Staff
Martin was brought in following the debacle the Byslma administration showed during the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals against Boston. Martin, a former NHL head coach known for his defensive style, was added to Bylsma’s staff for the 2013-14 season to straighten out the defensive system. Whether it was all Martin or a combination of factors, the 2013-14 team was much more sound defensively, especially the likes of Paul Martin and Matt Niskanen.
Now, for Martin’s role this season. He will travel with the Penguins and serve as the coach in the press box for each game. The organization hopes that this well help the already strong defensive system Johnston has in place, but also help the younger defensemen that should see more time this season (Pouliot, Dumolin, Harrington, etc.).
I see this move in two ways. First, I really like Martin and think he is a benefit to the coaching staff. I love his defensive strategies and think he will be able to help current assistant coach Gary Agnew strengthen the team’s defense.
That being said, I see this partly as a negative too. What if the Penguins get off to slow start this season? Will Mike Johnston be on the hot seat after a horrid conclusion to last year’s regular season? Is Martin being placed in a situation where if he replaces Johnston he won’t be such a “new face?” I think this is the case. I doubt that Rutherford will make a move if the Penguins get off to a slow start, but I think Martin is taking on this new position to slide into the head coaching position if the organization decides to make a move.
Mike Sullivan Takes the Helm of the Baby Pens
But out with the old, in with the new as the Penguins announced last week that Mike Sullivan will be the new head coach of the Wilkes-Barre team. The 47-year-old has served as a coach for the past 13 years in the NHL, AHL and at the international level. He also played 11 seasons, appearing in over 700 games in the NHL from 1991-2002.
Sullivan served as an AHL head coach in the past with the Providence Bruins, Boston’s AHL affiliate. From 2007 to 2014, he served as an assistant coach in the NHL, mostly alongside John Tortorella in New York and Vancouver from 2009 to 2014. Sullivan spent this past season in the Chicago Blackhawks organization as part of the player development staff.
I think the Penguins replaced Hynes with a very good replacement. He was known as a defensive forward in his playing days and I would expect him instill those ideals in his forwards going forward. He will have big shoes to fill in Wilkes-Barre, but given that he will have a talented crop of players at hand, he should be able to mold many into solid players for the NHL.
My one reservation of him as a defensive coach comes from something I read by Mark Madden yesterday. Madden discussed how the Penguins affiliates tended to focus solely on defense and not let creative players expand their offensive prowess. He provided a good example in forward Tom Kuhnhackl, who was a scoring machine when he was drafted and has consistently seen his goal numbers drop in his time with Wilkes-Barre. I agree with Madden in this respect, the Penguins cannot afford to stunt their prospects offensive talents to drill defense into them. They need to have some defensive skills to succeed, but they cannot sacrifice scoring touch and consistency to be all defense. Let’s hope that Mike Sullivan plays his new team to their strengths and not try to change what got them to where they are.
The Rumor Mill
The Penguins and Ian Cole are very close to a deal. Cole was acquired for Robert Bortuzzo at the trade deadline last season and flourished under Mike Johnston’s system. He is a restricted free agent come July 1. Cole played Johnston’s system to perfection. He was well liked in the locker room and generally by the fan base. I think a full season in Johnston’s system will make him even better. I’m 100% on board with the Penguins re-signing him.
The Pens are working on a deal to bring back restricted free agent winger Beau Bennett. According to DK on Pittsburgh Sport’s Josh Yohe, Rutherford has been told that Bennett is healthy and making great progress in his offseason workouts. He expects him to be a big part of the Penguins going forward.
Now, I think Bennett has the talent there, but for him to succeed several things need to happen. First and most importantly, he needs to stay healthy. He has missed nearly half of every NHL season with some sort of injury. He needs to stay on the ice, period. Secondly, he needs to play with confidence and without fear. We have seen the last few years when he is healthy he is afraid to work the boards, worrying that he will be injured again. With Bylsma, he hardly saw playing time where he would flourish and most likely hurt his confidence. If Johnston allows him to play in a role where he can flourish, he could become the player we all think he is. Finally, and this plays into the last one, he needs to play the correct wing and he needs to play a top-9 role. He has often been placed on the wrong wing in a bottom six role. Hard to flourish when you’re out of position and in a situation that doesn’t allow you to be creative offensively. I’m willing to put my reservations aside one more time and put Bennett in a top six role on the proper wing, of course that is if he is healthy.
As for the possible buyouts, I have thought more and more on this and I honestly don’t see how this helps us much. Now hear me out before you go burning me at the stake for wanting to keep Scuderi around. Here is my reasoning: If you buy out Scuderi and Kunitz, you are only freeing up roughly a million dollars in cap space. They still count against the cap and you’re not even getting the benefit of getting them on the ice or something out of them in a deal.
Now, I think Kunitz had a down year where he was struggling with injury. But he has great chemistry with both Malkin and Crosby and has been reportedly being doing well in offseason workouts. I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt and to get one more season to show what he is.
As for Scuderi, the time has come to cut the cord. The contract is just too much for a 36-year-old, slow, stay-at-home defenseman that doesn’t fit the system. However, I really just cannot justify buying him out and not getting more cap relief than we’d get. I think the best move would be to eat some money in a trade and at least get a lower round draft pick for him. It’s better than cutting him loose and getting nothing in return. Now I know finding a trade partner will be difficult, but if someone would do it you have to make the move.
Finally, there have been multiple reports that the Penguins are willing to move Brandon Sutter this offseason. Bleacher Report posted an article stating that a Sutter trade is quote, “Imminent.”
I personally am a fan of Sutter’s and love what he brings to this team. I think he is a solid third-line center, a great penalty killer, has a nose for scoring big goals in big situations and is a great leader in the room. That being said, if moving him allows the Penguins to bring in a top-six winger, depth players and/or high draft picks, then you make the deal. I have a feeling we will see Sutter moved come the Draft this weekend.
![Picture](/uploads/2/9/7/5/29758071/856668066.jpg)
![Picture](/uploads/2/9/7/5/29758071/676657051.jpg?426)
The question again in this situation is what do you give up? Are you really willing to give up Olli Maatta or Derrick Pouliot in a package for TJ Oshie? I sure as hell wouldn’t move one of them in an Oshie deal. As I’ve stated before, I would not move Maatta or Pouliot in almost any deal. I think both are too important to the future. I also think moving either of them in a move for Oshie hurts this team more than it would help it.
Regardless of all the rumors, the biggest thing to remember is this: They are all JUST rumors. Granted, every rumor is based with some sort of truth, but for now they are just rumors. So before we go attacking each other and losing our minds over “what if” scenarios, let’s all calm down and wait for the moves to happen. Then we can all lose our minds…
What Needs to Be Done
Re-sign Blake Comeau.
I think Comeau had a great year for the Pens and had he recovered fully from that broken wrist he would have been even better, especially down the stretch and in the playoffs. He wants to be back and the Penguins really want him back, so a deal should be worked out. I think he would be a good fit on the Pens bottom six and occasional fill in alongside Geno for a short-term basis.
Move Scuderi For Anything.
We always make a joke saying “trade so-in-so for a bag of pucks.” Look, the contract sucks, and it will be hard to move him without eating some of it. However, I would rather eat some of the money and move him for a pick or some prospect than simply buy him out and get nothing for him. It will be difficult to pull it off, but you have to get something out of any move, even if it is just a bag of pucks…
![Picture](/uploads/2/9/7/5/29758071/776007114.jpg?250)
This is on everyone’s wish list of course, but we must be logical about it. As I stated above, a trade for a Sharp or Kessel just doesn’t make sense to me. I think the Penguins could make a deal based around Brandon Sutter, include someone like a Beau Bennett or Nick Spaling and maybe a Matt Murray or other picks/prospects to acquire a quality winger. Who exactly do I have in mind? I honestly don’t have one. If/when Rutherford makes that move, it will for sure be a surprise to me.
Add Money Smart Forwards in Free Agency.
At noon a week from today, NHL free agency will begin. The Penguins will have some money to play with and more if they are able to move Scuderi, Sutter or a Spaling. I don’t think the Pens go after a big name like Marty St. Louis, but I think its possible to take a one-year flyer on a Justin Williams or even throw a three-year deal out there to a quality young forward like Matt Beleskey. Two other names I would look at, just for depth roles at low prices, like Rutherford signed Comeau and Downie last offseason, would be former Penguins Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy. Cooke never wanted to leave the organization, his family stayed behind in Pittsburgh despite him moving on to Minnesota, and I think he would be a good addition on the fourth line and PK for a year at a million or less. Same goes for Tyler Kennedy. He wants to return as reported by Josh Yohe last week, and would be a good fit on the Penguins fourth line and in the Mike Johnston system. We all know TK loves to shoot, even if its shot wide. I’d be happy with any of those four names, but others will be out there as well.
Closing Remarks
I will be working an event this weekend, so I won’t be able to bring you in-depth draft coverage like I did last year. I will try to stay up-to-date with the draft as much as possible, but that will be done on the Twitter and Facebook pages (Twitter being the safest bet). I hope to have pieces for you on the draft the following week once I return from this event.
Next, if there is a big trade that goes down during the draft, I will try to post a blog piece on it with my thoughts and reactions. I can make no promises on this, but I will try. Again, for my immediate thoughts, check Twitter.
As for July 1st, I plan on live-tweeting the day’s events and will have blog pieces for you to follow the signings.
Essentially what I am saying is next week I will have a lot for you to read about.
Thanks for your continued support and as always, LETS GO PENS!!!