Penguins' Blue Line Depth Can't Hide Major Top-Four Concerns
Photo credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Penguins may have added several pieces of defensive depth this summer, but it's not going to mask the concerns in their top-4.
The Pittsburgh Penguins added multiple depth pieces on their blue line for the upcoming year, bringing in Matt Dumba, Parker Wotherspoon and Connor Clifton.
But Penguins fans can be excused if none of those names move their meters much.
Per analyst Josh Yohe, the Penguins are likely at the start of a "long and winding" rebuild.
Meanwhile, the Penguins' blue line remains something of a disaster on paper. It's deeper, with the additions of Parker Wotherspoon, Connor Clifton and Matt Dumba. Those are all reasonable, bottom-pairing NHL defensemen. But who will play in the top four? Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang were both horrendous defensively last season and, on paper, figure to eat the most minutes of any Penguins' defensemen.
The Penguins are mired in a 3 year playoff drought, the longest in the careers of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, along with defenseman Kris Letang.
Father Time is undefeated, and both Karlsson and Letang are on the wrong side of 35 years of age.
Despite this, they led the Penguins in ice time for Pittsburgh's defensemen with 23:14 and 23:31 per game, respectively. With their advancing age in professional hockey sense, they can't be realistically expected to shoulder that kind of load if the Penguins have any intention of getting back to the playoffs.
The Penguins do have multiple new defensemen, including Matt Dumba, Connor Clifton, and Parker Wotherspoon.
But none of them can be realistically expected to play top-4 minutes and look like bonafide top-4 defensemen for the Penguins. Dumba barely averaged over 15 minutes a game for the Dallas Stars last year, while Connor Clifton barely averaged 16 minutes a game for the Sabres.
Wotherspoon did average around 18 minutes per game for the Boston Bruins last year, but was also a below-average -10.
The Penguins are mired in a 3 year playoff drought, the longest in the careers of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, along with defenseman Kris Letang.
Karlsson and Letang Still Shouldering Heavy Minutes Despite Struggles
Father Time is undefeated, and both Karlsson and Letang are on the wrong side of 35 years of age.
Despite this, they led the Penguins in ice time for Pittsburgh's defensemen with 23:14 and 23:31 per game, respectively. With their advancing age in professional hockey sense, they can't be realistically expected to shoulder that kind of load if the Penguins have any intention of getting back to the playoffs.
New Additions Bolster Depth, But Who Can Anchor the Defense?
The Penguins do have multiple new defensemen, including Matt Dumba, Connor Clifton, and Parker Wotherspoon.
But none of them can be realistically expected to play top-4 minutes and look like bonafide top-4 defensemen for the Penguins. Dumba barely averaged over 15 minutes a game for the Dallas Stars last year, while Connor Clifton barely averaged 16 minutes a game for the Sabres.
Wotherspoon did average around 18 minutes per game for the Boston Bruins last year, but was also a below-average -10.
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