What To Do, What To Do

Mike Adams | Pittsburgh Penguins

Nov 9, 11:11 AM | Hype this story!

With it appearing at least somewhat likely that Kris Letang could be out for at least a few games, if not much longer, the Penguins face some tough choices on how to replace him.

First off, Letang has absolutely sucked on the power play, so his loss there is no big deal. They are 0-fer since Geno got hurt, so how could his replacement possibly hurt the unit? Well, I guess they could give up shorties, eh? You’d have to think Mark Eaton and/or Martin Skoula would be possible replacements. I would not be in favor of putting Ruslan Fedotenko or Chris Bourque in this spot. Just put Eaton or Skoula there and tell them to wrist it at the net whenever possible. Or maybe, once Malkin comes back, they can talk him into doing it on an emergency basis.

Second, you don’t go out and pick up an offensive defenseman to replace Letang. Montreal panicked and picked up Marc-Andre Bergeron. Ask them how that’s working out. Besides, Sergei Gonchar will be back fairly soon, so you just muddle through without any offense back there until his return.

Finally, in terms of in-house replacements, the smartest thing does seem to be to swap Derek Engelland and Ben Lovejoy. At least the latter has a modicum of offensive talent. Engelland does not. So you at least end up with an offensively capable guy back there.

Hopefully, all of this is a moot point, and Letang won’t miss any time. The options are not at all satisfying if he does.

Comments

  1. DaBich

    Nov 9, 12:34 PM

    I have to stick up for Letang.
    Mike, blaming anyone for the lack of production on the Yeo Play is ridiculous. The person who runs it is the problem. Thankfully, Sarge CAN make it work is SPITE of the azzmunch running it. Therefore, you shouldn’t say Letang sucks on the PP, cuz the entire PP sucks as it stands.
    And if he does suck so much, why are the options so not satisfying if he is out? =)

  2. Moq

    Nov 9, 01:19 PM

    Given that our defence hasn’t been convincing the last few games, it wouldn’t be that terrible with a strictly defensive replacement for Letang if he’s out for a couple of games. Unless we have another offensive juggernaut at the blue line going unnoticed in WBS, I’ll prefer a bit of help to reduce the goals against.

    I think Letang has been something of a disappointment this season. There was some commotion at the Penguins message board when Goligoski was rewarded what some people felt was a generous contract based on a small sample of games at the highest level. Strictly speaking, Goligoski and Letang aren’t identical defencemen, but I do think that the feared value (among fans) of an extension to Letang is starting to drop. Giving him twice as much as Goligoski seems unwarranted right now.

    Regardless, I hope he’s capable of playing tomorrow or recovers swiftly.

  3. Two Sheds

    Nov 9, 02:34 PM

    There are three large problems, I would say.

    1. For the first part of the season thay’ve been playing just pretty well as a team with the exception of the goaltending, which has been excellent. That seems to have faltered in the last few games.

    2. As everyone has said, the power play has been awful sans Gonchar (and the team is 4-4). Not that it’s great with him here. Blaming Yeo isn’t really legit — it’s not like Bylsma has no control over things. It’s his responsibility to make it right, so all we can take from this is that he’s okay with it.

    3. Everyone talks about Crosby’s line, but when Malkin went out the Penguins essentially lost ~20m / game of productive second line play. Fedotenko and Dupuis and whoever have been awful, as their goal production and +/- ratings have shown. Bylsma would do well to treat Stahl’s line as a second line minutes-wise, and cobble together a different third line.

  4. Pens1967

    Nov 9, 05:39 PM

    I really don’t see blaming Letang for the PP failure. After all, Goligoski basically hogs the puck running the PP from the point.

  5. Jane

    Nov 9, 06:38 PM

    I don’t see blaming Letang either. How many times has he passed to Guerin and/or Kunitz, only to have them hit the cross bar or miss completely. On Saturday he got hurt right after he made a great play to Guerin, who didn’t bury it, and was going after the rebound when he got tripped up.

  6. Matt Bodenschatz

    Nov 9, 09:26 PM

    I didn’t take it that Mike was blaming the power play woes on Letang, but rather, saying that Letang has done little, if anything, to improve it.

    The reality is, the power play has been garbage — and that’s coming from someone who tries to find positives in all situations. All five players on the ice are at fault, and coach Yeo and coach Bylsma are at fault for not making adjustments.

    As for Letang specifically, I definitely think his start to the season is quieting concerns that he will make $4 million per year on his next contract. As someone above said, he and Goligoski are different defenders, but Goligoski is proving to be the more valuable of the two thus far this season.

  7. bag o' pucks

    Nov 9, 11:25 PM

    Two weeks out. Could’ve been worse. I also agree that Mike wasn’t blaming Letang for the PP incompetence, just pointing out he’s been a part of it along with everyone else. After the rollicking start, the Pens have gone 3-4.

  8. DaBich

    Nov 10, 06:59 AM

    I have to admit, I love what Gogo has brought to the game. I do believe however, that Letang will be just fine.

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