There's one big area in which the Penguins will miss Patric Hornqvist next season.
That's the net-front role on the power play.
After Hornqvist was traded to the Panthers this offseason, there just isn't anyone on the roster who can play that role in the same way that Hornqvist did. There's no bull in a china shop who is just going to create havoc in front of the net.
During one of the power play's cold streaks last season in November, Mike Sullivan pointed to Hornqvist's absence due to injury as one of the factors in the unit's lack of success.
"We haven’t had a net presence as consistently the last handful of games. That’s one thing that (Hornqvist) brings to our power play that’s important,” Sullivan said. “You have to make it tough on the goalie. You’ve got to take sight lines away. You have to limit his ability by being in and around the crease."
With Hornqvist gone, someone on the roster is going to have to take on that spot in front of the net on the man advantage. Who steps up?
We can start by looking at what the Penguins did in games last season when Hornqvist was not in the lineup.
When Hornqvist was injured in November, Nick Bjugstad started out on the top unit in front of the net, with the hope that his 6-foot-6 frame would be useful in screening the goalie. The experiment was unsuccessful, with the Penguins recording no goals in the combined 16:10 that Bjugstad was on the ice on the man advantage. Bjugstad was injured in mid-November, and from then on, if anyone was parked in front of the net on the power play it was Jake Guentzel. It wasn't an unfamiliar role for Guentzel on the power play, after spending time in that spot in the second unit and at times on the top unit in the 2018-19 season.
If Guentzel were to slot into that spot on the top unit regularly next season, the expectation wouldn't be that he would play the role the same way that Hornqvist did. For one, he's not going to be the immovable object in the crease that Hornqvist was:
Guentzel has a different skillset. He's a more agile skater, so most of the time he'll try to evade opposing players in the crease, rather than what happened in the clip above. Guentzel is also a better passer and playmaker. He's better at seeing opportunities like this one, moving into an opening to set up a teammate like he did last season against the Kings to assist on a Bryan Rust goal:
That's what Sullivan was looking for early last season when Guentzel was in the net-front role.
"Jake has a unique ability to play in that traffic area," Sullivan said in October. "For a guy that’s not overly big or strong, he just finds the quiet ice in the traffic and he has that sixth sense that allows him to be effective in that area."
Guentzel also has the hand-eye coordination to still provide tip-ins from that area of the ice as well, and while also staying ready to capitalize on rebounds like this goal from last season against Toronto:
Guentzel's hands help in this role too, like this goal against the Canucks last season where he quickly knocked the puck out of the air and switched from his backhand to his forehand to tap the puck in:
Other than Guentzel, none of the Penguins' other candidates for the top power play unit have experience in that kind of role.
A player doesn't have to be the prototypical, gritty net-front guy to find success in that role, he can also do that job by having the hands and by being good positionally. Guentzel can do that, and right now he's the best option the Penguins have.
