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The Pittsburgh Penguins are not any man’s land. They’re only a few factors out of final place within the Metropolitan Division, but are nonetheless in some way a few factors out of a wild card spot.
After getting embarrassed in entrance of their hometown followers on Monday, Nov. 11, in opposition to the Dallas Stars, normal supervisor Kyle Dubas made the primary of what could possibly be many strikes, buying and selling Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals.
The Penguins must modify their roster to remain in competition. If and when these gamers finally go away Pittsburgh, they are going to be part of an ever-growing checklist of NHLers who as soon as skated with the membership.
Trying throughout the league in early November, this is the most effective lineup of former Penguins gamers and the way they’d rank on this season’s workforce.
Goalie – Casey DeSmith (Dallas Stars)
Casey DeSmith is having a resurgence with the Stars, incomes a 2-2-0 report in 5 video games with a 1.79 GAA and .910 SV%, which might be tops amongst present Penguins goalies.
With Pittsburgh, he was 58-44-15 with a 2.81 GAA and .912 SV% over 5 seasons.
Defenseman – Mike Matheson (Montreal Canadiens)
Mike Matheson performed two seasons in Pittsburgh and has been with the Montreal Canadiens for the final three. Final yr, the blueliner performed all 82 video games and scored 11 objectives and 62 factors.
This yr, he is collected ten assists in 16 contests and is the fourth-leading scorer on his workforce and not using a single purpose. On the Penguins, Matheson can be tied with Erik Karlsson, who has two objectives and eight assists.
Defenseman – Ian Cole (Utah Hockey Membership)
Contemplating the variety of former Penguins defensemen enjoying outdoors the NHL, Ian Cole is without doubt one of the few nonetheless within the league and makes this lineup based mostly on his six factors in 16 video games with the Utah Hockey Membership.
As a member of the final two Stanley Cup wins in Pittsburgh, Cole would rank among the many high ten scorers on this season’s lineup and be certainly one of three skates with a constructive plus/minus score at plus-3.
Proper Wing – Stefan Noesen (New Jersey Devils)
Stefan Noesen is on tempo to have his finest season whereas skating with the New Jersey Devils. He is obtained seven objectives and 14 factors in 19 contests. Over the previous two seasons, he is averaged 36 factors and is now on tempo for 30 objectives and 60 factors.
Though Noesen would rank beneath Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in factors, he’d be the workforce’s main purpose scorer with seven lamplighters.
Left Wing – Jake Guentzel (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Jake Guentzel left the Penguins lower than a yr in the past, that means this dialogue continues to be contemporary in followers’ minds. Though the 30-year-old is not enjoying with the Carolina Hurricanes anymore, as one of many high free brokers, he is plying his trade in Tampa Bay and on tempo for a 76-point season.
Related: Sidney Crosby Career Goal Tracker: How Close Is The Penguins Captain To 600 Goals
Guentzel has already scored 5 objectives and 13 factors in 14 video games, which aligns along with his 0.93 profession points-per-game common. He was certainly one of 4 Penguins gamers to attain 20 objectives final yr, together with Malkin, Crosby, and Bryan Rust.
Heart – Jared McCann (Seattle Kraken)
Jared McCann could also be one of the crucial well-known one-that-got-away tales, because the Penguins misplaced him within the enlargement draft to the Seattle Kraken. Since debuting within the Pacific Northwest, he is turn into a 40-goal scorer and now has over 100 lamplighters with the Kraken after compiling simply 66 objectives with three groups.
Because the Kraken’s main scorer with 19 factors in 16 video games, McCann is already on tempo for an additional 40-goal marketing campaign with eight objectives. Solely Crosby scored 40 final yr for the Penguins, turning into the primary one since Guentzel in 2021-22 to succeed in the mark.
Honorable mentions: Mikael Granlund (San Jose), Jason Zucker (Buffalo Sabres), Evan Rodrigues (Florida), Reilly Smith (New York), Marc-Andre Fleury (Minnesota)
Though all these gamers are thriving in different cities, Penguins followers can solely think about what number of shut video games the workforce might have gained within the season’s early phases with a bit of additional firepower.
