The Perfect Winger
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Dec 17, 11:28 AM | Hype this story!
Does the perfect winger exist?
Is there really a player out there capable of playing with Sidney Crosby?
The answer to both is yes!
But contrary to popular belief, the perfect wingers is not the only player capable of playing with Crosby.
He does not need Marian Hossa and his $7+ million contract flanking his right side. He also does not need Marian Gaborik taking up an injured reserve spot. And he doesn’t need Ilya Kovalchuk on his left side.
What Crosby does need, however, are two wingers who compliment each other as much as they compliment him.
And, to be honest, that’s all he is ever likely to get with he and Evgeni Malkin both making $8.7 million per year and Marc-Andre Fleury making $5 million per year.
In the salary cap era, most teams are lucky to have two superstar players, let alone three or four, and with Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar, the Penguins certainly have broken the mold.
Which is exactly why adding another big ticket player just doesn’t make sense.
The Penguins already have $31.4 million locked into five players. Add in Jordan Staal, due for at least $3 million next season, and Brooks Orpik at $3.75 million, and the Penguins are up to $38.15 million spent on seven players for next season.
With the current salary cap of $56.7 million – which is expected to decrease next season – the Penguins will be left with just $18.55 million (at the very most) to sign the remaining 16 players.
Alone, that will be a difficult task, considering Miroslav Satan, Petr Sykora and Ruslan Fedotenko, all playing top-two line roles, are slated to be unrestricted free agents and will either need re-signed or replaced. Add in another high-priced player such as Hossa, Gaborik and Kovalchuk, and the complications become immense.
Of course, salary-dumping trades remain a possibility, with the names of Whitney and Gonchar being tossed around on occasion, but they aren’t as likely as some might assume. Whitney is signed to a bargain deal for four years beyond this season, while Gonchar has a no-trade clause that could be used to block any movement.
With all that being said, the math just doesn’t work when considering the addition of a superstar winger.
So, back to my previous point: all Crosby and Malkin need are wingers who compliment each other.
Last year, we saw two lines that truly dominated.
Crosby and Hossa teamed up with Pascal Dupuis to form the top line, while Malkin and Sykora teamed up with Ryan Malone to form the second line.
What’s the difference between the lines?
The answer is simple.
One had two superstars and a third/fourth liner, while the other had a superstar center and two complimentary players who filled specific roles.
Both had similar success, which ultimately should defeat the idea that Crosby needs a sniper for his line to be productive.
With Hossa and Dupuis, Crosby had a player capable of sniping, back-checking and battling hard in all three zones, as well as a player who skated hard and worked the corners. Because Hossa was such a talented player, Dupuis was a fine compliment.
Unfortunately, Satan is not Hossa – which explains why his paycheck is significantly less – and, as a result, Dupuis looks much more out of place on the top line.
With Satan playing first line right wing, the Penguins need a bigger body to play the physical game, but also a player who has decent hands capable of scoring a few goals.
If the top line was balanced, production would be fine.
Don’t believe me? Look at Malkin’s line.
As the season progresses and as Fedotenko settles into a permanent role on Malkin’s left side, he is becoming more comfortable. Fedotenko provides enough physicality to compliment Malkin and Sykora, which is allowing the line – and specifically its wingers – to become significantly more productive than it was earlier this season.
Once the Penguins find a similar compliment for the first line – either through their farm system or via trade/free agency – production from the wings will increase.
I’m not saying a superstar winger wouldn’t be nice. I’m simply saying a superstar winger isn’t necessary and, with the economics of the NHL, isn’t possible.
Comments
Brandon
Dec 17, 12:46 PM
I completly agree and I believe you and I have had a discussion about this before in the comment section of one of your previous posts. One rumor that I have heard is Tampa wanting to shed some salary with the trade of a player, mainly St. Loius, with the Pens being named as a prospective suitor. I know he would be a nice speedy winger who has valuable playoff expierence, but does he still fall in that superstar role with his age 33, or for the right price via trade could he play that complimentary winger? He is signed through the 10-11 season.
RyanS
Dec 17, 12:48 PM
I think Hossa was the perfect winger for Sid to make that line the best in the NHL regardless of who is the second winger, if given a full 82 game season to work together. He has the size, strength, two-way game, and the ability to put it in from virtually anywhere in the offensive zone.
Damn you Hossa.
Matt Bodenschatz
Dec 17, 01:17 PM
Brandon, I suppose there was a slight vagueness to the word “superstar.” By superstar, I mean highly skilled AND highly paid.
St. Louis would be okay, but I believe he is more of the same. Sykora and Satan are somewhat passive wingers who avoid contact, for the most part. St. Louis may not fit the exact description, but he’s small and not physical enough to compliment either of the current wingers — plus his $4 million contract and age might work against him for the long haul.
Crosby needs grit and size on his left side to counter Satan’s passive style and to create some extra room. Eric Cole (who is on the last year of a $4 million contract and likely due for a reduction in pay) fits the bill. So do Tuomo Ruutu, Andrew Ladd, Nik Antropov and Mike Cammalleri. RJ Umberger (pricey), Nathan Horton (young and pricey), and Mike Knuble (division rival) also fit the mold, but all seem unlikely options.
RyanS, you miss the point, though. With $18.55 million left after the current big budget players are accounted for, signing Hossa for $7 million would have left $11.55 million for the final 15 players on the roster. Depth is extremely important, as we learned last year when Crosby, Fleury, Talbot, Hall, and Roberts went down with injuries, and as we’re learning now, as the team struggles through multiple injuries. What happens if they have Hossa, then he gets hurt? Who fills in for him? Where’s the depth?
The Penguins don’t need THE best line in hockey. They need two solid scoring lines and a checking line. With a superstar center on each of the top two lines, there is ZERO need for superstar wingers. Would they be nice? Yes. Are they necessary? No. The Penguins need complimentary second-tier players. We saw how it worked with Malone-Malkin-Sykora last year and how it is starting to work with Fedotenko-Malkin-Sykora this year. Give Crosby and Satan a winger who compliments them — like someone mentioned above — and that line will be among the best in the league.
Luke
Dec 17, 05:07 PM
yah the current penguisn team could use a kevin stevens, rick tocket, john leclair type of player. That is the only thing I would like to see the pens ad. Now i’m not sure who would fit that mold in todays game but thats what we could use.
bag o' pucks
Dec 17, 07:02 PM
Tom, Caputi & Zabotel certainly have potential. Jeffrey, too, I doubt he’d have much trouble with a permanent shift to wing. Henrich has yet to consistently find his own defensive zone and may not have the wheels for the NHL. Wallace is a pure grinder, almost zero offensive ability. And Minard is a sniper of AHL caliber. To say they’re all as capable as Malone is not even close to the mark.
s. miller
Dec 17, 08:19 PM
Prucha would be a nice fit with Crosby! The rangers stick him on the third and fourth line and expect him to score thirty goals again, won’t happen! Put him in the right situation he will and he is still young. Throw Voros in the trade maybe for Pesonen and stone (minor league players that won’t effect the cap) and I’d take it!
Andrew R
Dec 17, 08:25 PM
I think its well documented how I feel about this issue. I do think Shero should attempt to bring in a top-flight winger who can play with Sid and/or Malkin. I have said this does not have to necessarily happen this year or next year, but Shero must does so in my opinion, at some point while the Penguins have Sid and Geno locked in at $8.7 million.
On another note, there does seem to be a major difference between the ability of Malkin and Crosby to find chemistry with teammates: Malkin seems to mesh and find chemistry with not only more players, but different types of players, while Crosby seems to need a more specific type of winger. Malkin has found strong chemistry with, among others, Ryan Malone, Petr Sykora, and now Ruslan Fedotenko. He has raised the production of these players, but each plays a distinct game: Malone, a physical, front of the net game; Sykora, a triggerman who scores from the high slot down to the faceoff dot as well as on the rush; and Fedotenko, a mixture of the previous two.
Crosby, on the other hand, tends to need wingers with speed who can think the game on his level and have the hands to finish his feeds. He has only found strong chemistry with Colby Armstrong and Marian Hossa. Crosby turned Armstrong into a point per game player for the last 45 games or so to end the 05-06 season. They were unable to rekindle that chemistry in following seasons. Crosby and Hossa found chemistry entering the playoffs last year, but I would contend that while both had exceptional post-season numbers last year, I cannot say that either truly raised the other’s game beyond what they could alone still be capable of achieving. Also, I do not recall many instances where the two created scoring chances merely by accentuating each other’s talents in the way you see Sid/Malkin or Malkin/Sykora create chances.
I do think this is a reason not often stated in the argument about which player is better (as if that really matters to Pens fans), but it certainly seems to be the underlying reason that it always seems to be “Shero needs to find a winger for Sid” rather than “Shero needs to find a winger for Malkin.” The latter is not something I have heard, but the former is seemingly on message board repeat.
DaBich
Dec 18, 06:30 AM
Andrew R, I follow your reasoning and I agree. The caliber of the player we bring in doesn’t have to be the best, but he has to “fit” with Sid or Malkin. And there are no guarantees there. So, maybe we should look within first before committing to another salary that doesn’t work. Try some of our AHL guys.
bag o' pucks
Dec 18, 01:01 PM
Tom, I never contended that Malone was a great player. I simply stated that some of the players you mentioned are either unknown quantities, as of yet (Caputi, Zabotel, Jeffrey), or will never be NHL top six forwards (Henrich, Wallace, Minard, Stone, etc).
I’m not a Malone advocate and would not have paid him what he received from Tampa, either. But you stated two things that are patently ridiculous: 1) Malone was ordinary. Since when is a 20-goal scorer ordinary? and 2) that many of these players could play just as well as he did. If they could, why aren’t they?
The Pens have called up 8 players this year, has Henrich been one of them? What about Wallace’s whole 7 AHL points makes you think he’s a top six NHL forward? The fourth line winger job was Stone’s to lose, and he did just that, but he’s a top six NHL forward? Not even close on any count, Tom.
bag o' pucks
Dec 18, 03:34 PM
Malone has scored at least 22 goals in three of his four seasons, with the lone exception being the season he lost 18 games to injury. He’s on pace to score 27 again this year with a pretty lousy Tampa squad. He’s clearly overpaid now, but you’re still not giving him his due. He was a two-time 20-goal scorer before he ever met Malkin.
No one can dispute that the Pens lack grit, but crashing the net is not the entire equation when playing with guys who create like Crosby & Malkin. One must still have the hands to finish. Malone does. Most of those other guys don’t. Not at the NHL level. Cooke’s fearless about going to the net, but he didn’t last long with Malkin because he doesn’t have the hands to consistently finish plays. There’s no telling that Caputi or Zabotel will, though I’m as hopeful as anyone (that said, I wouldn’t rush either kid into the NHL).
In a year or two? Perhaps. But right now, at this moment, the Pens do not possess in their system anyone who could capably fill the role that Malone played last season. I’m not saying Malone’s the only guy who could, either. I’m saying the Pens don’t have a top-six power forward. I think they were hopeful Staal would fill the role, but he’s much more comfortable at center and, apparently, not quite ready to make the full-time jump to wing, if he ever does.
Tough to argue that guys don’t get consistent opportunity. With the way Therrien juggles lines I’m skeptical we’ll ever see consistent lines.
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