As we head into January we know that Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford would rather get his team set earlier than later. He’s not afraid of making moves, but he would rather the bigger ones completed sooner so the player can acclimate themselves to the team. It appears third line center might be on the shopping list, again.
“We win with balanced lines,” Rutherford said. “I do think that he’s got more to offer, but that’s an area we’ll be watching here to make sure that we’re getting what we need out of that position.”
“I do believe over the last few games he’s played better,” Rutherford said. “Certainly in these last few games he’s won some big faceoffs for us at critical times. He’s been more involved in the game. At that position, you either have to produce or you have to be a defensive, penalty-killing role player.”
I have two thoughts about the Brassard trade. The first is that the Brassard trade was a good risk and it made sense to make the trade. The second is that the trade hasn’t worked. I don’t have a concrete answer at this point to why is hasn’t worked. Perhaps Brassard has been more injured than what has been led on. Perhaps he’s a “bad fit” with the Penguins (I don’t know how that could be possible). Regardless, the production they were supposed to get from an offensive third line center has not been there and the boss is looking into the problem.
The comment that you have to produce or be a defensive, penalty-killing role player is half true. You need the first part if you are the Penguins. Looking for the third line center who is defensive and doesn’t contribute offensively won’t maximize this roster. If Rutherford is looking for a third line center to replace Brassard it would make sense. If he’s looking to trade Brassard and fill the position from within it would be sub-optimal.
Matt Cullen is a bottom five player in the NHL in CA/60 at 5v5 (71.02) among forwards who have played at least 200 minutes. It doesn’t get much better for Riley Sheahan (65.16) who is the 19th worst player in the league. Those aren’t good defensive numbers. You can get by with bad defense if you are a very productive player in the opposite end. Matt Cullen is a 1.33 points per 60 player at 5v5 and Riley Sheahan is 0.84. Neither player is in the ballpark with their production to offset the number of attempts they give up on the ice. The point being if the team moves on from Derick Brassard it will need to come from outside the organization.
It’s not always easy to find a Cup caliber third line center that fits the cap range of a team like the Penguins. It’s also tough to swing a trade with minimal futures. Jim Rutherford is going to have to be really creative or ride it out with Derick Brassard.
There are options like Jeff Carter and Charlie Coyle where I think the teams would be open to moving those players.
Brassard could potentially be a part of a Coyle trade, but Coyle is cost controlled for another year and is younger so it would take some enticing from Pittsburgh’s end to see a fit. I don’t think the Kings would be interested in Brassard. Somebody like Olli Maatta might get their attention.
You could try to swing a trade using Maatta for the third line center and then try to find a Maatta replacement with Derick Brassard. I wouldn’t be too concerned about the term left on Jeff Carter’s deal. The Penguins have made their bed and they are going to sleep in it at this point. They care about the now and only the now. The 2019 first round pick might as well already be spent.
The team will need to create cap space and other than the obvious candidate I think the team should probably move on from Riley Sheahan and his bloated 2.1M cap hit. Derek Grant can give you the same results (actually better this year) than what Riley Sheahan has. Sheahan is not third line center insurance. The team would be cooked if he were in that role anyways. You have to free up money somewhere and he seems like an obvious candidate among forwards.
Whatever choices the Penguins make regarding their third line center the goal should be for that center to be offensively minded. The defensive approach makes no sense for this roster.
Thanks for reading!
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