Brandon Tanev is one of the most vigorous hitters in the NHL.
In 2019-20, his first with the Penguins, Tanev placed fourth in the league with 244 hits. He isn't particularly large (6 foot, 180 pounds), but is fearless, skates well and hunts pucks relentlessly, which explains why he was able to put up such a gaudy total.
If he can stay healthy, Tanev is a pretty good bet to lead the Penguins in hits again next season, too. Especially when the three teammates who placed directly behind him won't be around: Jack Johnson (183) had the final three seasons of his contract bought out and signed with the Rangers, Zach Aston-Reese (136) is recovering from shoulder surgery and Patric Hornqvist (107) was traded to the Panthers.
Which makes it reasonable to wonder whether the Penguins, as currently constituted, have the physicality they will need to be successful in 2020-21.
Jim Rutherford contends they do, in part because the game stresses skating and skill more than it has at times in the past.
"Do we have enough physicality to play in a very physical game and the old style of hockey," he said. "Probably not. Our team is built on speed. I don't think we have any less physicality than we had when we won in '16 and '17."
The absence of Hornqvist's feistiness figures to be particularly obvious on the power play, when he would set up near -- and sometimes in -- the crease to get rebounds, set screens and generally harass the goaltender in any way possible.
Who will take on his net-front duties isn't clear, and it's also possible the job will handled a bit differently if, say, Jake Guentzel assumes those duties on the No. 1 unit. Regardless, the Penguins can't cede the area around the opponent's crease.
"Not only on the power play," Rutherford said. "We have to have guys inside, going to the net. Now, getting right in the goalie's face and creating the havoc that Hornqvist did, we probably don't have a guy like that. But as for a guy who can go to the front of the net on the power play, yeah, we have guys who can do that."
MORE PENGUINS
• There's a lot to like about Anthony Angello, who is 6-foot-4, 196 pounds, can add some of the aforementioned physicality and has shown a decent offensive touch. He'll probably never have a place on a scoring line, but he didn't look out of place in a blue-collar role during an eight-game cameo in the NHL last season. The Penguins were impressed enough to give him a two-year contract worth $725,000 when he's with the parent club. Unfortunately for Angello, it's hard to see how he will be on the major-league roster when the 2020-21 season begins because he has a two-way deal, which pays a reduced salary ($100,000) when he is in the American Hockey League. Even with Aston-Reese out of the mix, there are 13 forwards on the NHL depth chart who have one-way contracts. Barring injuries, Angello will face the daunting task of outplaying one of those 13 so thoroughly that management will send that player to the American Hockey League and pay him a full NHL salary to be there (assuming he would make it through waivers). -- Molinari
• The Penguins' roster rarely remains static for long, whether it's because of injuries or slumps or Rutherford's willingness to make personnel moves. That means that by the time the 2020-21 season ends -- and we don't even know for certain yet when it will start -- Rutherford could be facing a series of challenging contract negotiations. At least for now, however, it is shaping up to be a relatively uneventful offseason in 2021, in that regard. The toughest thing might be working out a deal with John Marino, who will be a restricted free agent and probably in line for a substantial raise. Marino, though, is the only defenseman among those currently on the major-league payroll who will be seeking a new deal.Two bottom-six forwards, Evan Rodrigues and Colton Sceviour, are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents and three others -- Teddy Blueger, Mark Jankowski and Aston-Reese -- will be restricted free agents, albeit with arbitration rights. Rutherford declined to extend qualifying offers to retain the rights to Dominik Simon and Rodrigues after last season because of concerns about them receiving unacceptably high awards. Rodrigues was sent to Toronto in the Kasperi Kapanen trade and, after the Maple Leafs also declined to qualify him, subsequently accepted a one-year deal worth $700,000, down from the $2 million he was paid in 2019-20, to return to the Penguins. -- Molinari
STEELERS
• No matter where you looked on the gambling sites, the Steelers were listed high on the list of potential landing spots for Le'Veon Bell, who signed with the Chiefs Thursday night. It was never going to happen. Much like reports last year saying the Steelers looked into trading for him at the deadline, any reports linking Bell and a return to Pittsburgh were false. Mike Tomlin and Bell had a good relationship. It's how Tomlin kept Bell on the rails during his time with the team. But Tomlin also knows Bell well enough to know he wouldn't want to upset his locker room by bringing Bell back into the fold. While Bell was well liked by his teammates, there were some things done and said at the end that would have made a return awkward. And really, at this point, what would Bell's role with the Steelers be? Is he still an every-down back? Would he have been relegated to being a third-down back? We don't know because it's been three years since he's been a productive player in the NFL. Walter Payton would have struggled running for these Jets teams Bell has lined up with the past two seasons, so it's just impossible to tell if he has any juice left or if Father Time has caught up with him. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
• There seems to be a narrative that the Steelers are struggling against tight ends this season. Perhaps it is because the Broncos' Noah Fant caught a touchdown pass against them and then had a two-point conversion right after that. But after holding the Eagles' Zach Ertz to 6 yards on 1 catch -- on 6 targets -- the Steelers are allowing just 37 yards per game to opposing tight ends. Opposing running backs are getting just 34 yards per game through the air against them. So while receivers are making some big plays down the field, the Steelers are in the top 10 in defense against running backs and tight ends. That's a credit to Devin Bush, Vince Williams and Terrell Edmunds, who are the players who primarily cover the backs and tight ends. -- Lolley
• Everyone seems to hate the empty sets -- no running back in the backfield -- the Steelers run, with the exception of Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger was 9-for-9 on third downs for 93 yards and two touchdown passes against the Eagles in empty sets. He entered last Sunday's game 22 of 25 for 143 yards and four touchdowns out of an empty set. When the Steelers go empty, as they did on Chase Claypool's final touchdown catch against the Eagles, it forces the defense to commit at least five defenders to the eligible receivers. And unless it's single coverage across the board, that leaves only four or, at most, five people rushing the passer. The Steelers are a mismatch for any team in the league in that look because of their depth at wide receiver and tight end. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• The 2019-2020 international signing period finally came to a close Thursday, and the Pirates landed one more right-handed pitcher, 18-year-old Bladimir Dotel, bringing their total for the period to 49. An official total isn’t available, but it is safe to say the Pirates spent more in the international market than any other team this year. They started in the largest pool class and Ben Cherington acquired more space from three teams in their class – the Cardinals, Orioles and Diamondbacks. He used the money from those deals to sign high-priced free agents Solomon Maguire and Po-Yu Chen later than most high-ticket players sign. The Pirates will be in the second largest international spending pool class for 2021, roughly $5.9 million, and have been connected to outfielder Shalin Polanco, who should command a very large portion of that. That signing period will start Jan. 15. -- Alex Stumpf
• The Pirates' player development reorganization also includes changes in scouting, as major-league advanced scout Mike Basso and major-league scout Bob Minor are no longer with the organization. Both long-time scouts were parts of Neal Huntington's front office for most of his tenure. That's not necessarily a strike against either man, but restructuring and reorganizing leads to change. -- Stumpf
• There is absolutely no chance the Pirates will tender and keep everyone in their humongous arbitration class, with 19 players on the roster potentially due to go through the process. Some will surely be non-tendered or traded, not just for financial reasons, but because the Pirates will need to get their active roster down to 40 players again before the major-league offseason begins. Excluding Derek Holland and Keone Kela’s expiring contracts, the Pirates will need to remove at least nine more players from the roster before then. “It’s an active discussion within our group,” Cherington said about the arbitration class recently. “We can’t crystal ball it any better than you can.” The March agreement the league and players operated this season under will take the shortened season into account during the arbitration process, but the wording is vague so it's difficult to project the salaries. -- Stumpf