CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Who will be Jason Zucker's center when the Penguins open the regular season Oct. 12 in Tampa?
That isn't settled yet.
How many goals can Zucker be penciled in for in 2021-22?
No way of knowing now.
What kind of role will Zucker play in whatever the Penguins are able to accomplish during the coming season?
That, Mike Sullivan suggested Saturday, is a pretty easy one to answer.
"(Zucker) obviously going be an important player for us moving forward," he said.
Barring a radical change in plans, Zucker will enter the season as the second-line left winger, with Kasperi Kapanen on the other side and the guy between them still to be determined.
Radim Zohorna opened training camp there, but was replaced by Evan Rodrigues, who seems to be the frontrunner to retain that spot.
Zucker, understandably, did not express for a preference for who he would prefer to see take on that duty, but does know the qualities he' likes his center to possess.
"Someone who can carry the puck through the neutral zone is always nice," he said. "They can disperse the puck and dish it off from there. Typically, when a centerman can carry the puck through the middle, it's going to open up a lot for the wingers."
That dovetails nicely with Sullivan's take on the type of center who could maximize Zucker's offensive output.
"A center who would be complementary would be a guy who has the ability to distribute the puck, who can put pucks into areas that allow (Zucker) to play to his strengths," Sullivan said. "Whether it's putting the puck in play to give him an opportunity to get into a footrace, having the ability to find (Zucker) when he gets some open ice and then down low in the grind game, supporting that grind game down under the hash marks."
Zucker has the potential to be one of the forwards who can help to plug the offensive holes created by the absence of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, although he has not scored to expectations since the Penguins acquired him from the Wild Feb. 10, 2020.
Zucker scored a career-best 33 goals with the Wild in 2017-18, and averaged one goal every 3.45 games in Minnesota. Since joining the Penguins, he has 15 in 53 games, which works out to one every 3.53 games.
That's not a major decline, but the Penguins felt his output could rise significantly when working with more skilled players than those with whom he played with the Wild.
It hasn't happened yet, but it certainly still could.
Given that players almost never publicly criticize a teammate or express any concern about his productivity, it was no surprise that Teddy Blueger spoke of his confidence that Zucker's goal-scoring touch will return this season.
"He's done it many years before," Blueger said. "He has that reputation. He has a high-end skill level. He's quick. He's fast. He's got all the tools. ... We all know he's going to do it. We all believe in him."
Zucker, of course, is more cognizant than anyone of the issues he's had putting pucks in the net as often as expected, and said his approach to trying to end a dry spell is pretty basic.
Literally.
"Typically, it's just keeping it simple," he said. "That's the best way you can do it. You have to go back to as simple of a game as possible. Just try to get pucks on net, crash the net. Get a goal off your (rear) or off your shoulder, something like that, where you can start feeling good about it.
"It doesn't matter how a goal goes in, you're going to feel good about that happening."
MORE FROM THE PRACTICE
• Sullivan said Tristan Jarry is scheduled to play the entire game against the Red Wings when Detroit visits PPG Paints Arena Sunday at 12:08 p.m.
• The Penguins are "really encouraged" with Crosby's recovery from wrist surgery surgery, Sullivan said, although he did not offer a target date for Crosby, who has been working with skills coach Ty Hennes, to rejoin the lineup. "Sid is progressing with both his on-ice and off-ice rehab," he said. "He's in really good shape from all the skating he's doing and we're looking forward to next steps."
• Sullivan said he anticipates a "feeling-out process" and that "we'll go through some growing pains" with the NHL's promised crackdown on cross-checking, but noted that similar changes in the past have worked out well. "At the end of it, it usually results in a better game," he said.
• There are the personnel groupings used during Group 1's workout:
Jake Guentzel-Jeff Carter-Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker-Evan Rodrigues-Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn-Teddy Blueger-Danton Heinen
Drew O'Connor-Brian Boyle-Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-John Marino
Marcus Pettersson-Mark Friedman
Juuso Riikola-Chad Ruhwedel
• Group 1's practice was heavy on special-teams work, with the following personnel combinations used: No. 1 power play -- Guentzel, Rust, Kapanen, Carter, Letang. No. 2 PP -- Zucker, Rodrigues, O'Connor, Matheson, Marino. No. 1 penalty-kill -- Blueger, Lafferty, Dumoulin, Ruhwedel. No. 2 PK -- Heinen, Boyle, Pettersson, Friedman.
