Pittsburgh Penguins Should Retool the Backside Six – The Hockey Writers – Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a number of work to do that summer season, particularly in the case of the underside six. The shortage of depth scoring has been a difficulty for just a few years now, and it’s about time the Penguins determine it out. Normal supervisor Kyle Dubas will retool the underside six over the offseason and hopefully convey in some further assist. 

Jesse Puljujarvi

In February, Pittsburgh signed Jesse Puljujarvi to a two-year cope with a median annual worth (AAV) of $800,000. He performed in 22 video games this season and scored three targets and one help for 4 factors. His underlying numbers have been sturdy, however he didn’t actually do something thrilling when he was on the ice. 

An enormous a part of the rationale for Puljujarvi’s lack of contribution on the scoreboard is inconsistent enjoying time. Head coach Mike Sullivan merely has to play him extra subsequent season and might’t bench him after one small mistake. He additionally struggled with accidents for a lot of the season and will by no means get right into a rhythm. 

Subsequent season, Puljujarvi needs to be a full-time bottom-six participant on the third line. He has good puck possession and is an efficient forechecker down low. If given a superb third-line middle who can feed him the puck, he has the potential to be a stable depth participant. Nonetheless, he isn’t the kind of participant who can create his personal offense and can’t be anticipated to run the third line himself. That may be setting him up for failure. He undoubtedly nonetheless has some untapped offensive potential that can come out if the proper items are in place. 

There isn’t a doubt that Puljujarvi must show himself subsequent season. His previous struggles can simply be defined by his damage historical past. At 26 years previous, he has to show that he has what it takes to make it within the NHL. The 2024-25 season will likely be a contemporary begin and an enormous alternative for him to point out that he might be part of the Penguins’ future. 

Dakota Joshua 

Dakota Joshua of the Vancouver Canucks will change into a free agent on July 1, and several other groups are keeping track of him. The Canucks have been eradicated from the second spherical of the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers in Recreation 7, and Joshua performed an enormous function of their success this season. He skated in 63 common season video games and hit a career-high in targets with 18. Throughout Vancouver’s playoff run, he scored 4 targets and had 4 assists for eight factors in 13 video games. 

Joshua can get to the online and rating targets. He’s additionally a particularly bodily participant, as he led the Canucks in common season hits this 12 months with 244, which ranked ninth within the NHL. He’s additionally nice on the penalty kill. 

Associated: Penguins Nonetheless Falling Brief in Key Areas

Joshua is strictly the kind of participant the Penguins want. Nonetheless, if he’s out there on July 1, Pittsburgh wouldn’t be the one occasion. He will likely be in excessive demand and on the lookout for a elevate. This can be one of many tougher offers of the summer season, but when Dubas is offered with this chance, he ought to make it a precedence. 

Resolution Time

With the draft lower than every week away and free company proper across the nook, it’s time for the Penguins to begin making choices. The underside six has been a nagging challenge for an extended time that must be mounted. It needs to be very clear by now that they received’t achieve success with out depth scoring.