Jamie Oleksiak will not get the Marc-Andre Fleury treatment, and he's OK with that. Actually, he kind of laughed about it.
Nope, no video tribute, no standing ovation or really much of anything for Oleksiak on Friday night when he returns to Dallas' American Airlines Center with the visiting Penguins.
"Spent a few years there and whatnot, the closer and closer it gets, you kind of get into a routine where it's another game," Oleksiak told me after practice Thursday. "I think that's kind of how I'm approaching it."
Truth is, Oleksiak was a bit underwhelming in his five-plus seasons with the Stars, the organization which made him the 14th overall pick of the 2011 draft. Last year he played a career-high 41 games for the Stars, scoring five goals and two assists, while averaging 16:23 ice time.
The Stars thought so much of Oleksiak this season that he was made expendable, and was acquired by the Penguins in exchange for -- get this -- a conditional fourth-round pick in 2019.
But avenging a perceived sleight is not what is motivating him Friday. He is thinking more long-term. Though the Penguins are 12-8 since he was acquired, and he's been a big part of it, no pun intended, their playoff spot remains tenuous.
"Every point is big, every game is huge for us," Oleksiak said. "I'm not going to approach it any differently than any other game."
When the Penguins take on Oleksiak's former team, it'll be his 42nd game of the season, split evenly between Dallas (21) and Pittsburgh (21). The 25-year-old has made a seamless transition to the Penguins and has played most recently with Ian Cole to form a formidable shutdown pair.
"Everyone's made the transition really easy," Oleksiak said. "It's a very welcoming group. It's a really friendly organization. It's been fantastic."
Fittingly for a guy who stands 6-foot-7 and 255 pounds, he's thrown his weight around liberally, adding an element that had been lacking on the defense corps. He's been willing to drop the gloves too, manhandling the Flyers' Brandon Manning and the Rangers' Brendan Smith in fights.
But, most impressively, Oleksiak has also shown some pretty good offensive skills with a pair of goals and assists, like this power play goal in Philadelphia on Jan. 2:
And he has shown he has a big shot from the blue line, like this missile Jan. 7 against Boston:
Oleksiak would not be the first defense reclamation project to pan out for the Penguins (see Cole, Ian and Schultz, Justin) but working with assistant coach Sergei Gonchar -- his former teammate in Dallas -- seems to have brought out the best in Oleksiak's game.
"He's a guy that's done so much in his career, he's kind of been there and done it all," Oleksiak said of the 2009 Stanley Cup champion defenseman. "I think just being able to pick his brain and have him work with me on little things, like video, it's huge to have an asset like that to help you out."
His skating might be his greatest strength, which is saying something given his size.
No, Oleksiak isn't Gonchar and probably never will be, but he is a fluent skater for a big guy and he uses that to help in the offensive zone. Last week against the Capitals, Oleksiak not only joined the rush, he led it a few times:
"On this team, there's so much speed, so much skill, it kind of comes with the game plan," Oleksiak said. "They encourage the D to jump up in the play in the league now where teams back-check so hard and play so well defensively. Having a fourth guy in there (offensive zone) is huge. It's no different here.
"We have a great group of forwards and D-men who can make plays with the puck and can contribute offensively. That game against Washington, it was a bit of a track meet. Just had a couple opportunities to get up there. That's definitely one area of my game I think I can contribute a little bit with my skating."