With all the amount of player movement the Penguins have made in the few days since we last gave a look at the organization’s depth chart a whirl, let’s look at it again now that the early rush of free agency has concluded.
First line forwards: Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust
Nothing has changed officially, though one wouldn’t be blamed for wondering what bringing in wingers like Andrei Kuzmenko AND Nick Robertson mean for the possible future of players like Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell..As it stands, the Rakell/Rust duo have remained in tact in Pittsburgh and remained penciled in as key players for the Pens next year.
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Other key NHL forwards: Evgeni Malkin, Egor Chinakhov, Ben Kindel, Andrei Kuzmenko, Tommy Novak
This essentially could be the core of the second and third lines of the team, as it stands today. Perhaps there is more movement to come and some names from this list are still to change. You wouldn’t think that would be Chinakhov or Kindel, but at this point who knows what the future might hold or big swings that the Pens might try to make. Kuzmenko stands in nicely as a Anthony Mantha type option for next season for a veteran secondary scorer, though there are very big shoes to fill there.
‘Fourth’ liners: Connor Dewar, Blake Lizotte
Still the same base of a fourth line is still here. It will be curious to see who gets the first crack at rounding out the line, Soderblom got some looks with Lizotte last season during Lizotte’s injury, so he could be penciled in here reasonably enough. Seeing how much opportunity a young player like Rutger McGroarty or Avery Hayes gets to have a legit shot at sticking out of camp in this spot is already setting up to be a key storyline for the fall.
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Fill out forwards (2 lineup spots, 2 more for scratches): Nick Robertson, Elmer Soderblom, Justin Brazeau, Hendrix Lapierre, Rutger McGroarty, Avery Hayes, Ville Koivunen, Filip Hallander, Tristan Broz
Now this is where something is going to have to give. Presumably the Pens acquired Robertson and Lapierre to play them, though neither have the style to be a fit in a defensive fourth line role the way that line has been previously constructed. Soderblom and Brazeau have strong cases to find a spot somewhere in the lineup regularly too, but there just isn’t enough spots currently open compared to the numbers on hand.
Then there’s a batch of young options right on the cusp of being NHL level players who all now look completely blocked out until future injuries occur. All this depth seems to indicate names from this list or from above have to be moved out in order to clear up the jam.
Left Defense: Sam Girard, Declan Carlile, Ilya Solovyov
The left side of the Pens’ defense lost Parker Wotherspoon and Ryan Shea but gained a player in Carlile who is about where Wotherspoon and Shea were in their respective careers 12 months ago as unestablished NHLers with some hopeful elements. This position is still very weak and ideally in need of a quality player to join up. Where and how the Penguins go about finding that, or if they even will be able to do so before the start of the season, who can say. At this point, the possibility looks very real for the less than ideal option of dressing four right handed defenseman going based on roster splits alone from this material on hand.
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Right Defense: Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Kaeden Korzcak
The Pens spent over $7 million in cap space in recent days to round out the right side of their defense by trading for Korczak and signing van Riemsdyk as a free agent. That’s good news for them to shore up what once was a weak area, not so much for the immediate NHL outlook for Harrison Brunicke. And it’s also curious that they have four legitimate right shot, right side NHL lineup caliber defenseman at the moment…Whether that foretells a summer trade of someone in this group or a plan to use a right shot on the left side remains to be seen.
Goaltender: Arturs Silovs, Sergei Murashov/Joel Blomqvist
No change here, as expected Stuart Skinner went onto free agency and the Pens didn’t make any move to replace him with an external option. The big question in net worth watching will unfold over training camp to see what – if anything – that Blomqvist can do in order to win a roster spot for opening day. Based on the track Murashov has been on, it would figure he is comfortably in the pole position for that upcoming battle.
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