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Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford has been consistent with his message about replacing Nick Bonino as third line center. He is going to look at the trade route. I totally agree with him that the original free agent class of centers is going to be overpriced and underwhelming. That was until this afternoon.
The Juice is loose. The Florida Panthers keep trying to fit in more terrible roster decisions before the month of June ends. They bought out former Penguin Jussi Jokinen.
There's a quick and easy solution to the third line center problem and it won't cost a single asset.
Jussi Jokinen has spent a lot of time as a winger, but he has been a successful center throughout his career as well.
He compares favorably to a first line center let alone a third line center. Although it deserves to be mentioned that this is a three year sample and his most recent year is the least impressive of the bunch.
The only hang up in this scenario is that the Penguins current GM is the reason he was traded to Pittsburgh in the first place. Jim Rutherford gave Jokinen away for a conditional seventh round pick AND picked up some of the salary.
This was after nobody took Jokinen off of waivers. Whoops!
Any reservations about Jokinen should be placated by the fact that Nick Bonino was pretty bad in 2016-17 and the odds of Jokinen being a bad possession player are slim to none. He is very positionally responsible and has a great mind for the game. He is not a fast skater, but can think the game fast. He is a good passer and can help facilitate transition. Playing fast is not only with your feet, but with the puck as well. Jokinen does the latter quite well.
No need to spend assets when good value is staring you in the face. Save them for other upgrades.
Whatever team signs Jokinen should be happy with the results.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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