Let’s broach this subject backward: I don’t care about FRINGE ASSET MANAGEMENT.
I don't care about it in June or July, I'll additionally admit, but I really, really don't care about it in mid-January when the Penguins -- at ice level, anyway -- are making an authentic and easily affirmed push toward the Stanley Cup playoffs amid an Eastern Conference field that's as accessible as any in recent memory.
But I'll be blunt: It couldn't be more plain that Kyle Dubas and the front office still somehow do care about FRINGE ASSET MANAGEMENT and ... man, that just blows my mind.
Oh, the game?
Yeah, there was one of those here tonight at PPG Paints Arena, the Penguins' 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets, but I swear, this isn't about that. Certainly not in any isolation.
No, it's about playing players who shouldn't be playing -- as much or at all -- principally because, if they happen to play well -- their potential trade value can increase.
I mean, let's call it for what it is.
There can't conceivably be a single member of Dubas' staff, including Dubas himself, or Dan Muse's staff, including Muse himself, who'd have thought Arturs Silovs should've started this game ahead of Stuart Skinner. Not with Skinner having won four of his past five starts and allowing seven total goals in those. Not with Skinner arriving from Edmonton with back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances on his resume. Not with Columbus representing one of the East opponents that has to be beaten out. Not with a four-game Western swing now following.
It's not just illogical. It's insane.
Silovs absolutely didn't lose this game -- he made several strong stops, notably in overtime -- but just as absolutely, he's made 22 starts for the Penguins so far, and he's won exactly eight of them. He's a clear-as-day backup in this scenario ... except that he hasn't been handled that way, in that he's been rotated religiously with Skinner, just as he'd been rotated with Tristan Jarry while the latter was going 9-3-1.
Why?
Because he's not part of the franchise's future, given Sergei Murashov's gifts, and he's already shown he might not even be backup material, what with his failures to stop anyone one-on-one -- my God, he's now conceded 13 goals on 20 shootout attempts, including 2 of 4 in this one -- his awkward mechanics with rebounds and, especially evident on this night, his inability/unwillingness to command the puck below the goal line.
And get this: Of the NHL's 32 goaltenders who've made as many as Silovs' 22 starts -- presumably those who should be earning that many -- his .897 save percentage ranks 27th.
So, again, why? Is there a hope that someone might offer, what, a third-round NHL Draft pick rather than a fourth-rounder? And if so, is that worth disrupting what this very real team's doing in front of our eyes? Really? With enough picks already stockpiled to form a prospect army?
Play Skinner. A lot. And either play Silovs a lot less, or move on in whatever form.
Or, if not, let's at least dispense, please, with any pretense that handing him half the starts is what's best for the team.
And what, as long as I'm at it, about Brett Kulak?
He, too, came in the Jarry/Skinner trade, with an aim of applying all his veteran-osity to fortify the top four of the defense, and it was an inspired idea. One problem: He hadn't been good at all in Edmonton, and he's been objectively worse here.
No, seriously, what WAS this?
SPORTSNET PITTSBURGH
It's as if he was handing Kirill Marchenko travel tips on his way to the Pittsburgh net.
With a modest exception or two, it's been that way since Kulak got here. But despite this, both he and, for some reason, Jack St. Ivany were immediately installed as a defense pairing to replace both Connor Clifton and Ryan Graves, who'd been the top pairing leading into that span. And no matter how either of the latter two have fared since -- Clifton might've been the Penguins' best player at any position on this night -- nothing removes Kulak or St. Ivany, who's also been almost as awful, from the lineup.
Why?
Take a wild guess.
Here's a suggestion for Dubas, Muse and all concerned, maybe a little homework for the five-hour flight to Seattle this weekend: Ask everyone on that aircraft with a title to write up their ideal lineup for the next game, albeit with the stipulation that there should be no FRINGE ASSET MANAGEMENT or other factors beyond beating the Kraken.
I'll bet a bunch of priorities would change with a bang.
JEANINE LEECH / GETTY
Jack St. Ivany upends the Blue Jackets' Cole Sillinger.
• Repeating for emphasis: This isn't about blaming Silovs for a game. It's about not entering the entire evening with the proper priorities in place.
• Also for further emphasis: Dubas and Muse are smart. They've surrounded themselves with smart people. They know -- and I mean KNOW -- they didn't suit up the right people for this game. Which is, by far, what makes the whole thing that much more maddening. This game mattered.
• The flip side of the Penguins' shootout record being 1-7 -- Silovs alone has gone 1-6 -- has been almost as brutal to behold, but that'll be only doubly true if Egor Chinakhov's ever left out of the line again. My goodness, he's just unfair in that event:
SPORTSNET PITTSBURGH
• Wouldn't mind seeing Chinakhov in three-on-three OT, either. Finishing sure isn't his issue.
• This wasn't great in any sense. Slow start to the first. Slower start to the second.
Muse acknowledged as much regarding the latter: "It was a great majority of the period. Everything was too slow. It was a combination of too slow and poor execution at times. Breakouts were slower. We were slowing it down. We’d hesitate before we’d move it up the ice. They are an aggressive team, and it allowed them to get right on top of us. I didn’t like the second. I thought overall, the first period there, a lot of good things. In the third period, I thought we corrected those areas that I think we were missing in the second.”
That's obviously on everyone.
• My favorite Bryan Rust is a terse one after a tough loss:
• Justin Brazeau's a big boy at 6-6, 232, but he's let his game slide into some sloppiness, most of it by being far too cute. He's scored a bunch of goals, but that doesn't give license to turning the puck over at the Columbus blue line with a between-his-own-legs pass attempt.
• Loved Ryan Shea's showing. Usually do. But he's now on the third pairing, while Kulak's logging the second-most ice time at five-on-five of any position player.
• Outstanding overall performance by Kris Letang, one of his best of the season. And not just because he planted that shot-pass right onto Sidney Crosby's blade to tie with a minute left:
SPORTSNET PITTSBURGH
All three of the Core were terrific, actually. Evgeni Malkin was electric at times.
• Imagine that being less important than what kind of pick can be had for Silovs or Kulak.
THE ASYLUM
Grind: Maybe just try playing the best players?
Let’s broach this subject backward: I don’t care about FRINGE ASSET MANAGEMENT.
I don't care about it in June or July, I'll additionally admit, but I really, really don't care about it in mid-January when the Penguins -- at ice level, anyway -- are making an authentic and easily affirmed push toward the Stanley Cup playoffs amid an Eastern Conference field that's as accessible as any in recent memory.
But I'll be blunt: It couldn't be more plain that Kyle Dubas and the front office still somehow do care about FRINGE ASSET MANAGEMENT and ... man, that just blows my mind.
Oh, the game?
Yeah, there was one of those here tonight at PPG Paints Arena, the Penguins' 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets, but I swear, this isn't about that. Certainly not in any isolation.
No, it's about playing players who shouldn't be playing -- as much or at all -- principally because, if they happen to play well -- their potential trade value can increase.
I mean, let's call it for what it is.
There can't conceivably be a single member of Dubas' staff, including Dubas himself, or Dan Muse's staff, including Muse himself, who'd have thought Arturs Silovs should've started this game ahead of Stuart Skinner. Not with Skinner having won four of his past five starts and allowing seven total goals in those. Not with Skinner arriving from Edmonton with back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances on his resume. Not with Columbus representing one of the East opponents that has to be beaten out. Not with a four-game Western swing now following.
It's not just illogical. It's insane.
Silovs absolutely didn't lose this game -- he made several strong stops, notably in overtime -- but just as absolutely, he's made 22 starts for the Penguins so far, and he's won exactly eight of them. He's a clear-as-day backup in this scenario ... except that he hasn't been handled that way, in that he's been rotated religiously with Skinner, just as he'd been rotated with Tristan Jarry while the latter was going 9-3-1.
Why?
Because he's not part of the franchise's future, given Sergei Murashov's gifts, and he's already shown he might not even be backup material, what with his failures to stop anyone one-on-one -- my God, he's now conceded 13 goals on 20 shootout attempts, including 2 of 4 in this one -- his awkward mechanics with rebounds and, especially evident on this night, his inability/unwillingness to command the puck below the goal line.
And get this: Of the NHL's 32 goaltenders who've made as many as Silovs' 22 starts -- presumably those who should be earning that many -- his .897 save percentage ranks 27th.
So, again, why? Is there a hope that someone might offer, what, a third-round NHL Draft pick rather than a fourth-rounder? And if so, is that worth disrupting what this very real team's doing in front of our eyes? Really? With enough picks already stockpiled to form a prospect army?
Play Skinner. A lot. And either play Silovs a lot less, or move on in whatever form.
Or, if not, let's at least dispense, please, with any pretense that handing him half the starts is what's best for the team.
And what, as long as I'm at it, about Brett Kulak?
He, too, came in the Jarry/Skinner trade, with an aim of applying all his veteran-osity to fortify the top four of the defense, and it was an inspired idea. One problem: He hadn't been good at all in Edmonton, and he's been objectively worse here.
No, seriously, what WAS this?
SPORTSNET PITTSBURGH
It's as if he was handing Kirill Marchenko travel tips on his way to the Pittsburgh net.
With a modest exception or two, it's been that way since Kulak got here. But despite this, both he and, for some reason, Jack St. Ivany were immediately installed as a defense pairing to replace both Connor Clifton and Ryan Graves, who'd been the top pairing leading into that span. And no matter how either of the latter two have fared since -- Clifton might've been the Penguins' best player at any position on this night -- nothing removes Kulak or St. Ivany, who's also been almost as awful, from the lineup.
Why?
Take a wild guess.
Here's a suggestion for Dubas, Muse and all concerned, maybe a little homework for the five-hour flight to Seattle this weekend: Ask everyone on that aircraft with a title to write up their ideal lineup for the next game, albeit with the stipulation that there should be no FRINGE ASSET MANAGEMENT or other factors beyond beating the Kraken.
I'll bet a bunch of priorities would change with a bang.
JEANINE LEECH / GETTY
Jack St. Ivany upends the Blue Jackets' Cole Sillinger.
• Repeating for emphasis: This isn't about blaming Silovs for a game. It's about not entering the entire evening with the proper priorities in place.
• Also for further emphasis: Dubas and Muse are smart. They've surrounded themselves with smart people. They know -- and I mean KNOW -- they didn't suit up the right people for this game. Which is, by far, what makes the whole thing that much more maddening. This game mattered.
• The flip side of the Penguins' shootout record being 1-7 -- Silovs alone has gone 1-6 -- has been almost as brutal to behold, but that'll be only doubly true if Egor Chinakhov's ever left out of the line again. My goodness, he's just unfair in that event:
SPORTSNET PITTSBURGH
• Wouldn't mind seeing Chinakhov in three-on-three OT, either. Finishing sure isn't his issue.
• This wasn't great in any sense. Slow start to the first. Slower start to the second.
Muse acknowledged as much regarding the latter: "It was a great majority of the period. Everything was too slow. It was a combination of too slow and poor execution at times. Breakouts were slower. We were slowing it down. We’d hesitate before we’d move it up the ice. They are an aggressive team, and it allowed them to get right on top of us. I didn’t like the second. I thought overall, the first period there, a lot of good things. In the third period, I thought we corrected those areas that I think we were missing in the second.”
That's obviously on everyone.
• My favorite Bryan Rust is a terse one after a tough loss:
• Justin Brazeau's a big boy at 6-6, 232, but he's let his game slide into some sloppiness, most of it by being far too cute. He's scored a bunch of goals, but that doesn't give license to turning the puck over at the Columbus blue line with a between-his-own-legs pass attempt.
• Loved Ryan Shea's showing. Usually do. But he's now on the third pairing, while Kulak's logging the second-most ice time at five-on-five of any position player.
• Outstanding overall performance by Kris Letang, one of his best of the season. And not just because he planted that shot-pass right onto Sidney Crosby's blade to tie with a minute left:
SPORTSNET PITTSBURGH
All three of the Core were terrific, actually. Evgeni Malkin was electric at times.
• Imagine that being less important than what kind of pick can be had for Silovs or Kulak.
• Thanks for reading my hockey coverage.
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