Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford has never been one for sitting out on a trade season. He made this clear once again after he moved Riley Sheahan, Derick Brassard, and three 2019 draft picks to the Florida Panthers for centers Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad early yesterday. This undoubtedly was Rutherford’s way of righting a wrong that he made last year when he gave up multiple players and picks to get Brassard late on last years’ deadline day. The purpose of last years’ Brassard trade as well as this one was to sure up depth scoring and to solidify center depth as a whole.
That formula is the reason the Penguins have found success during the Rutherford/Sullivan era, but it has needed the proper retooling ever since the Penguins lost center Nick Bonino to the Nashville Predators in the summer of 2017. The Penguins thought they filled that hole last year after the Brassard trade but the fit just wasn’t right. Brassard looked uninspired and lost in a bottom six role. He scored just 23 points in 54 regular season games with the Pens, as well as 4 points in 12 playoff games. More importantly he just didn’t fit the mold that the Penguins established for their third line center. However, newly acquired Nick Bjugstad fits the mold fairly well.
Bjugstad has struggled this season, scoring just five goals and seven assists in 32 games with the Panthers this season. He was also sidelined with an upper-body injury that forced him to miss 16 games between December and January.
When talking about a possible role for Bjugstad yesterday, Rutherford told Jason Mackey of the Post-Gazette that he expects him to start in the third line center role but might be moved into the top six to play right wing in the future.
My question is why? Bjugstad has the build and the tools to be the third line center that the Penguins have been missing since the departure of Bonino such as; hard on the puck, established passing prowess, can finish when necessary, and has a feel for the front of the net. Not to mention that he, similar to Bonino, is very good in the defensive zone thanks to his large frame. Bjugstad, along with Phil Kessel and Bryan Rust, could make for another dominant third line for the Penguins heading into the home stretch and the playoffs. The same type of third line as the HBK (Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel) line in 2016, and the 2009 third line of Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal, and Tyler Kennedy.
I’ve already mentioned the similarities between Bjugstad and Bonino, and Kessel is still the same pure scorer with amazing passing prowess. In 2016, Hagelin brought speed and energy to that line that kept defenseman on their toes and opened up the ice for his line mates. Bryan Rust fits that same mold, but also adds more of a scoring touch than Hagelin ever did. That is why this line could be the driving force to another deep playoff run for the Penguins.
We saw a small sample size of that line last night in Bjugstad’s Penguins debut, as the line accounted for two of the Penguins five goals in their victory over the Ottawa Senators. Bjugstad looked comfortable on the ice with Kessel and Rust as he picked up his first assist as a Penguin and was a +2 on the night. It’s only the first game so don’t read too much into the performance, but if that type of production persists it will be hard for head coach Mike Sullivan to pull that line apart.
The success of this line will bring a balanced attack to the Penguins lineup, with Kessel logging third line shifts away from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby and Guentzel have proven that their chemistry can be combined with any line mate to make a successful trio, and Dominik Simon has been able to fill that role as of late. Throw Tanner Pearson and Patric Hornqvist on Malkin’s wings and you have a solid three scoring lines, creating a massive matchup issue for NHL defenses.
Odds are Rutherford isn’t done making moves before the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 25, so we will most likely see another shift in the Pens makeup before the final stretch of the regular season. However, for the time being it looks like he and the Pens might have found their third line center.
コメント