Pittsburgh Gets a New Goon

So long, Eric Godard. Hello, Steve MacIntyre. The Penguins found a replacement for the dearly departed Godard, who recently signed with Dallas, in MacIntyre – a mountain of a man at 6’5”, 250. The former Edmonton Oiler signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $600,000 at the NHL level.

MacIntyre is your typical NHL tough guy. When he dresses, he barely plays. And when he plays, he fights. According to hockeyfights.com, MacIntyre has 14 NHL fights in 78 games over parts of three seasons. (For those interested, MacIntyre also has 2 goals and 2 assists.) The good news? He usually wins. This deal is probably just a blip on the radar. I don’t see MacIntyre playing much in Pittsburgh this season…unless, of course, Arron Asham can’t stay healthy for a second straight year. But when he does suit up for the Pens, I’m sure we’ll see Big Mac show off his pugilistic skills.

The bottom line is the Pens NEED a guy like MacIntyre in the system just in case. And it sure won’t hurt to have him in the lineup against the Islanders. For the uninitiated, here’s MacIntyre’s one-punch KO of Ivanans.