Having to play without some key contributors is nothing new for the Penguins.
Fact is, having their lineup of choice intact has been the exception, not the rule, in recent seasons.
And probably for a lot longer than that.
But what they're facing now is different. For while they've had plenty of experience at trying to get by without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin -- or both -- they generally aren't missing both from the start of the season.
That figures to be the case this fall, though, as Crosby recovers from a wrist operation and Malkin from knee surgery.
While no return date has been announced for either, both are expected to be sidelined until the regular season is underway.
The only positive of those two being unavailable now is that Mike Sullivan and his staff will have an entire training camp to experiment with possible replacements for them in the middle of the top two lines. That's preferable to having to find someone to fill in for them on the fly, as would be the case if they were hurt while the season was in progress.
Obviously, the Penguins can't call upon players of similar ability to replace them -- clubs don't routinely keep a few spare future Hall of Famers on hand, just in case they're needed -- but they do have some established players who can help them remain competitive while Crosby and Malkin heal.
Especially if Sullivan and the assistants can piece together forward units whose members have complementary talents and styles.
What follows is one proposal for how the lines could be constructed for the start of the season, and the rationale for putting them together that way:
The line: Jake Guentzel-Jeff Carter-Bryan Rust
The logic: Although the Penguins shouldn't assume Carter, at 36, will put up points the way he did after being acquired from Los Angeles at the trade deadline (nine goals, two assists in 14 regular-season games), he will be their most skilled offensive center when the regular season begins and thus is the favorite to get squatter's rights to Crosby's place on the top line.
Carter actually has more career goals (399) than assists (363), which suggests he is not the ideal set-up man for Guentzel and Rust, but both are capable of manufacturing some scoring chances for Carter, and the Penguins aren't going to fret much if their goals are coming from centers rather than wingers.
Carter and those wingers presumably will need some time to adapt to the nuances of their respective games, but all three have instincts and hockey sense that should facilitate the adjustment. Working together through camp and in some exhibition games might well be enough to get them in synch.
If Guentzel or Rust couldn't get comfortable with Carter, Danton Heinen might prove to be an adequate short-term Band-Aid, although it would be folly to assume that he would be a good fit there.
The line: Jason Zucker-Even Rodrigues-Kasperi Kapanen
The logic: Malkin is averaging 1.17 points per game since entering the NHL. Rodrigues is averaging 0.37. Malkin has had 85 or more points in a single season five times. Rodrigues has a total of 86 points in his career.
The point is, the Penguins can't reasonably expect Rodrigues to consistently generate points the way Malkin does. (There's a reason Malkin will be paid $9.5 million this season, while Rodrigues will earn $1 million.) Nonetheless, with Crosby and Malkin out and Carter bumped up to the No. 1 line, Rodrigues likely is the best candidate to temporarily assume Malkin's spot between Zucker and Kapanen.
He has enough playmaking ability to be able to generate some scoring chances for his linemates -- the onus will be on his wingers to take advantage of a healthy percentage of the ones they get -- and can be responsible and effective enough defensively that he shouldn't be a liability in the short term if bumped up to a more prominent role than he otherwise would be expected to fill.
The line: Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Brock McGinn
The logic: With Crosby and Malkin out of the mix, Blueger likely is the Penguins' No. 2 center, with a solid two-way game and some still-untapped offensive potential. As such, he easily could be projected as a good fit between Zucker and Kapanen, and Blueger probably would do a credible job if deployed there.
However, there was a synergy about his line last season, when Brandon Tanev was used on the right side, and it's entirely possible that the same will be true if/when McGinn is plugged into Tanev's old spot because McGinn's game shares some qualities with that of Tanev. At the very least, it's worth giving that unit a chance to show what it can do during the preseason.
If there's no real chemistry with McGinn, who has played primarily on the left side, Sullivan can abandon that configuration, although there would be no obvious candidate to replace McGinn. Rust almost certainly would perform well alongside Aston-Reese and Blueger, but removing him from the top line would create a void that might be difficult to fill.
Heinen might merit consideration for the third-line job, with the caveat that putting him there could alter the line's grinding, blue-collar identity and perhaps, more importantly, its effectiveness.
The line: Danton Heinen-Brian Boyle/Sam Lafferty-Anthony Angello/Radim Zohorna
The logic: Boyle, who will attend camp on a tryout contract, is 36 and didn't play last season, so there's no way to really know what the Penguins can expect from him. The best-case scenario would be that he can do a passable impersonation of the guy he was a few seasons ago, when Boyle was a solid bottom-six guy.
Regardless of whether Boyle sticks, it's hard to say exactly what the fourth line will -- or should -- look like, although it would feature genuine size (and potential toughness) if it's made up of some combination of Boyle, Lafferty, Angello and Zohorna. Heinen would not fit in with that rugged mold.
One factor that could influence who gets a spot on the fourth line -- especially if the training-camp competition would have no clear winner -- is that Lafferty and Angello would have to clear waivers to go to Wilkes-Barre, while Zohorna would not.