WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Penguins have dragged around two defensemen too many for a while. And before long, based on what we’ve witnessed of late, there’ll be a few forwards too many, as well.
Fine. So take full advantage of both.
Jim Rutherford will never concede he needs to make a trade, even in the most obvious circumstance. But he really does. And on defense, in particular, it’s got to happen soon, lest we’re subjected to more of Erik Gudbranson on the left side. It’s not a sustainable circumstance for Mike Sullivan and staff, never mind the players themselves. Chad Ruhwedel signed up to be a No. 7, but the rest need to do more than skate in circles each morning.
If I’m the GM, I’m taking a three-pronged approach:
1. Trade Gudbranson and/or Jack Johnson for cap space. If all that culls is a late-round draft pick, fine. If it culls less, whatever. Don’t sweat the optics. Prioritize creating the financial freedom to make the next move or moves without worrying about the cap.
2. Within that, strongly consider that any savings could be put toward a serious offer to keep Justin Schultz from becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. His once-broken leg’s finally regained full strength, and he’s been exceptional in the early going. He needs to be kept.
3. Make it clear to all of the injured forwards — yes, including Evgeni Malkin — that the way the current forwards are playing is the way they’ll all be expected to play. Do that now, not later. Let all four of them — Malkin, Nick Bjugstad, Alex Galchenyuk, Bryan Rust — watch these ongoing games through a more urgent lens. Let them see that a handful of Wilkes-Barre call-ups are getting the job done and, in Sam Lafferty’s case and maybe others, could be carving out permanent work in the NHL.
From there, watch, listen, learn. Find out who absorbs this, and who doesn’t. Whoever doesn’t — no exceptions — can’t receive special treatment. Lafferty has “earned the ice time he’s getting,” as Sullivan stated here after the Penguins blew out the Jets, 7-2, Sunday night. John Marino has “earned the ice time he’s getting,” as Sullivan stated Saturday morning in St Paul. That’s how it’s supposed to work. Earn the ice time. Earn the roster spot.
Some decisions will be hard. Executing any related moves will be harder. But this part should be academic.
• Not to leave Adam Johnson out. If it weren’t for Lafferty, he’d be making almost as big an impression, I’m guessing. He’s a one-man, virtually effortless forecheck in that he beats defensemen to a dump-in before they can even turn their necks. That’s an asset and a half in this system, and it’s why I pushed for him to make the roster right out of camp.
His size worries me — dude’s a rail — and, indeed, he absorbed two hard hits on this trip, one at each stop. But he’s made of tough enough stuff, and the rest overrides it.
• Sidney Crosby’s been the Penguins’ top performer in nearly every game they’ve played, including both on this trip. His eight points don’t scratch the surface of his impact.
• Not far behind him: Kris Letang.
And don’t think for a second the coaches haven’t noticed or appreciated that he’s been the one who’s led the defense, both verbally and by example, in fronting the puck at all points on the rink.
“It’s a demanding way to play the game,” Letang told me here. “But if everyone does it, if everyone has that mindset every time they go over the boards, it makes it a little easier for all of us to play the right way.”
• Quick: Describe the last odd-man break the Penguins allowed.
Hello?
I don't have an exact number on this, but I confirmed here with Sullivan -- since he and his staff track this -- that they've been no more than a couple a night for the past week.
• Tristan Jarry’s made one NHL start this season, and he’s won one NHL start the past two seasons. So his 27-save victory here Sunday shouldn’t change anyone’s mind about anything.
That said, Jarry might have more natural athleticism than any goaltender on the roster, and he’s more talented overall than Casey DeSmith. It’ll be good to see what he can do in Pittsburgh rather than Wilkes-Barre. And, again keeping everything in context, he did show some signs of accumulating confidence as the game progressed, as I'd confirm afterward:
• The NHL now has four teams with five wins: Hurricanes, Oilers, Sabres, Avalanche. The only one I see as a contender for anything more than Team of the Month is Colorado. It’ll be fun watching Nathan MacKinnon and crew here tomorrow night. Legitimately great talent, worth a ticket in his own right.
• Mason Rudolph vs. Devlin Hodges?
Uh-uh, that’s not the call the Steelers have to make, no matter how much fuss is kicked up all through this bye week.
It’s Rudolph vs. his health.
That’s it. Nothing more.
Mike Tomlin will turn to Rudolph the instant he’s medically cleared. As he should. It’s not just that Rudolph offers the greatest potential but also that he’s the best option to win now by fully opening the playbook.
• For anyone who's got four minutes to spare, push the play button below to see every single pass Hodges attempted in L.A.:
Rudolph's better than that.
• Defense matters in the NFL. Still. The Patriots just won a Super Bowl that saw 16 combined points. The Eagles won the previous Super Bowl because their defense overcame the injury to Carson Wentz. Currently, the league’s top half-dozen teams in total defense have a combined 24-9 record, and four of those losses belong to the outlier Broncos.
As Minkah Fitzpatrick told me, “As a defense, you always have to believe you can make a difference.”
They can. They sure did Sunday in Los Angeles. That’d been the only reason I picked them to beat the Chargers and to do so handily, because it’d already been clear Philip Rivers wanted no part of anyone’s pass rush.
• Rivers to Canton? Why does this subject even get broached?
• Losing Stephon Tuitt hurts, obviously. He’d been a brute up front. Bound for the Pro Bowl. But Tyson Alualu, a former first-round pick, doesn’t exactly represent some sizable step backward. I’ve written forever that the Steelers are lucky to be carrying someone of his pedigree and character for depth. Also, Javon Hargrave picks up more snaps. Not a bad thing in and of itself.
• Go right ahead and give up on 2019. But do so only after taking one final look at the remaining schedule:
• A few readers freaked out earlier this calendar year when I forecast the Browns as phony, pointing to all the national hype. I didn’t understand, then or now, how they were being taken so, so seriously by so many — media or otherwise — when they had no offensive line, a new and wholly untested head coach, and a quarterback who’s clearly way more bluster than bite.
• Only thing I dislike about the incessant complaining about NFL officiating is that some paint it as a new trend. Officiating is, beyond a doubt, better than it’s ever been. All that’s changed is that we now have a billion ways to magnify every single mistake.
It’s tantamount to complaining about how different players are these days because all their personal lives are laid bare through social media. As if the colorful 1970s Steelers wouldn’t have been the biggest social media darlings/daredevils of all time, had such a thing existed back then.
• Roger Goodell’s bungling of San Diego’s relationship with the Chargers doesn’t earn the NFL anywhere near the embarrassment it should. If that isn’t the most absurd situation in professional sports, I can’t imagine what is. The Bolts were beloved where they were, and they're utterly ignored where they are. Figure it out.
With all due apologies to the Nation for flooding their temporary soccer stadium, this is a terrible look for the league:
The Nation, Sunday night in Carson, Calif. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPSAnd this, the overnight TV ratings on NBC, is an even worse look. Check out No. 2:
• Has Bob Nutting fired everyone yet?
• By all means, let’s pretend the Pirates are undergoing an actual search for a new manager. They aren’t. It’ll be Jeff Banister, as I’ve been writing for months.
I offer that with zero cynicism for anything but the process, by the way. Banny would be a perfect fit for this team and these players ... with a competent front office over his head.
• The Nationals are now a win away from reaching the World Series, which would mark a first for the Washington/Montréal franchise. It also would leave only the Pirates and Mariners among franchises to not have reached the World Series since 1980.
Fun scene, too, down in D.C.:
Merry #Strasmas to all, and to all a goodnight.#NLCS // #STAYINTHEFIGHT pic.twitter.com/0BjEIgTRjt
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 15, 2019
And as long as I’m annoying you: The Nationals reaching the league championship series left only one franchise in baseball to not have done so since the current playoff format was implemented in 1995.
Yep.
• Don't know about you, but I’m thinking that firing the field manager, the pitching coach and a guy in Altoona ought to solve everything.
• Anyone seen the Parrot lately?
