Pittsburgh Penguins: Clendening Being Sent To AHL For Conditioning Assignment Raises Questions

The Pittsburgh Penguins sent defender Adam Clendening to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning assignment Thursday. The move raises questions about the Penguins defensive depth and the names that were left behind.

As the news that the Pittsburgh Penguins sent Adam Clendening to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton arrived, my initial reaction was “Great! More David Warsofsky action!”

Not really.

While hardly the only offender on what is undeniably a patchwork blueline, Warsofsky has stood out like a sore thumb in the eight games since Mike Sullivan took over behind the bench for the Pens.

Is his willingness to fling the puck at the net the primary reason for #5 being a mainstay in the lineup while Clendening eats nachos each night?

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When you check out the advanced stats, Warsofsky sits with a Corsi For percentage of 56.6 which is good for second highest on the team behind Conor Sheary. It’s only an 11 game sample size (and Sheary’s is just seven), but that is a pretty strong possession number from the defender.

It appears to be enough for Sullivan to keep Warsofsky on the ice despite repeated defensive gaffes. He truly is a coach who likes to attack, attack, attack!

For Adam Clendening, though, this must be a serious blow to his confidence.

Not only has he sat in the press box for lengthy periods of time, but he is now sent to the baby Penguins to get some playing time because he could not crack a lineup that at one point featured Rob Scuderi.

A lineup that still features Warsofsky and the up and down adventures of Ian Cole night in and night out.

Clendening also has a positive Corsi For percentage of 53.6 in his nine games with the Pens this season, so it’s not like he was incredibly far off the mark compared to his smaller counterpart. He is also plus-3 on the season while Warsofsky is minus-7.

That leads me to believe that the issue could run deeper in regards to why he’s not seeing the ice. Perhaps he’s not practicing well, or potentially he could just need to get into game shape after all that time out of real game situations.

Next: Penguins Schedule Won't Get Any Easier

Whatever it is, Clendening managed just two games under Sullivan’s watch since he took over..

Now he’ll get to spend up to two weeks in the AHL presumably playing top four defensive minutes. After the conditioning assignment is over, however, what happens?

Does he go back to sitting in the press box or will Mike Sullivan give him a real shot in the lineup?

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