Pittsburgh Penguins' Top 5 Personnel Decisions This Summer

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Jan 3, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Beau Bennett (19) against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at the Consol Energy Center. Canadiens defeated the Penguins 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O

With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2014-15 season coming to a close in a somewhat disappointing fashion once again, the team’s management group will head into another offseason of change.

As injuries played a central role in the Pens’ demise, sweeping changes certainly won’t be in order. But the team simply didn’t do as well as expected – during the regular season or postseason – so changes are to be expected regardless.

That said, let’s take a look at the top 5 personnel decisions that General Manager Jim Rutherford must deal with this summer.

Feb 6, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Craig Adams (27) skates against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Pittsburgh Penguins won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

5. The depth forwards

Pittsburgh’s depth at the forward position has long been an issue. With so much salary and offensive focus committed to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the club has often found it difficult to suit up an adequate bottom-six.

This season saw a notable improvement in this depth, though it still wasn’t enough to help the Pens to a better postseason result.

Thus, GM Jim Rutherford will have to assess what worked and needs re-tooling, as five of these depth forwards are now unrestricted free agents.

Each presents very different issues.

In Daniel Winnik and Maxim Lapierre, the Pens have two forwards who joined the team late but made quite an impact upon their arrival. Winnik was fairly solid throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, most notably on the penalty kill. Lapierre was similarly reliable, especially in the faceoff circle, and he showed his mettle during the grind of the playoffs as well.

Both would be worth bringing back to Pittsburgh, but as each already makes over $1 million per season, a return would seemingly only occur if the forwards agreed to remain at similar salary levels.

Steve Downie presents an entirely different problem. The forward showed flashes of excellent play this season, chipping in with 14 goals and 28 points and plenty of feisty, physical play, but also led the league in penalty minutes with 238 (the highest total of his career). Considering the Pens had trouble limiting their penalty minutes come playoff time, there’s a good chance Downie isn’t brought back to the black and gold next season.

Another forward who has most likely seen his time in Pittsburgh come to an end is veteran forward Craig Adams. The oft-maligned winger is also an unrestricted free agent and, at the ripe old age of 38, is a long shot to return. That being said, Adams is a reliable penalty-killer and was only making $700,000 per season, so Rutherford could roll the dice on one more season with the winger.

Dec 18, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Blake Comeau (17) skates with the puck against the Colorado Avalanche during the overtime period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 1-0 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

4. Blake Comeau

Winger Blake Comeau was the biggest surprise of any player on the Pens’ roster this season.

Signed to a one-year, $700,000 deal, Comeau surpassed all expectations, earning his place among the Pens’ top-six and contributing with 16 goals and 31 points in 61 games (a 20-goal pace, when projected over a full season).

Comeau also came up with five game-winning goals and established some decent chemistry with Malkin, making him a likely candidate to return.

The big issue here will be the fact that he’s clearly in line for a raise.

Should he choose to take a discount to return to Pittsburgh, Rutherford may be able to bring Comeau back with only a slight bump in salary.

However, after showing he can still score at a 20-goal clip, other clubs will certainly offer a higher dollar amount, meaning Comeau could leave town for a bigger contract, as was the case with Jussi Jokinen last year.

At age 29, one could hardly blame Comeau for looking to cash in before his career comes to a close, though he’s proved himself as an excellent potential addition to this team.

Nov 8, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) celebrates his second goal against the Buffalo Sabres with defenseman Paul Martin (7) during the first period at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

3. Veteran UFA Defensemen

The Penguins have two veteran defensemen who have become UFA’s – Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff.

Ehrhoff is an interesting case, as the team didn’t get to see what he can truly do, as injuries limited him to only 49 games this season.

When he was active, however, he looked solid for the Pens – though not excellent. If the Pens could bring Ehrhoff back at the same $4 million price that they got him for last summer, then he could be a solid addition.

2. Ian Cole

Of all the tumultuous changes that took hold of the Penguins’ blue line this season, one move turned out to be a great one for Pittsburgh – the trade that brought Ian Cole to the Pens from St. Louis, in exchange for Robert Bortuzzo.

Cole stepped up in a big way after the Pens’ blue line was decimated by injuries, logging a career-high in average ice-time (his average in St. Louis hovered around 15 minutes per game, yet Cole played an average of 23 minutes for the Pens during the playoffs).

Moreover, Cole provided the Pens’ blue-line with the steadiness it needed as more and more names dropped off the roster. He showcased his offensive capabilities as well, jumping into plays and emerging as one of the few remaining saviours of the Pens’ transition game.

A former first-round draft pick (18th overall) who, at age 26, seems to be just entering his prime, Cole will be a player the Pens undoubtedly try to retain.

They’ll have options, as Cole will be a restricted free agent, meaning Pittsburgh won’t be forced to outbid other clubs who would certainly pay top dollar.

That being said, they’ll still have to come to an agreeable number, as the young defender is certainly due a raise from his previous $900,000 contract.

Jan 27, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Beau Bennett (19) skates with the puck against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

1. Beau Bennett

Beau Bennett has been a rollercoaster of emotions for the Penguins.

The young winger has at times seemed to be the future of the organization, while at others has seemed simply too fragile to be relied upon at the NHL level.

Bennett has come upon some horrid luck during his tenure in Pittsburgh thus far, dealing with lengthy injuries quite often, and thus never playing more than 50 games in any of his first three NHL seasons.

His production has never been astounding either (his career high is 14 points) though this is to be expected, considering his extensive injury history.

Beyond the numbers, however, is a player that clearly has potential.

Drafted 20th overall in 2010, some have already labeled Bennett a draft bust. But at only 23 years old, the opportunity to put it all together and break out is certainly still there. He has the skill to do it it, and while his durability and effort level have at times been questioned, his skill level has always been respected.

Given a clean bill of health and a stable spot in the team’s lineup, Bennett could truly thrive and become a solid top-six NHL forward, and thus, they’ll almost certainly look to bring him back – which, as in the case of Cole, shouldn’t be too much of an issue as Bennett is an RFA.

Rutherford could go in another direction, however. He may simply choose to move on from Beau.

The team has definitely learned to live without him, as they’ve often had to, and with Pens so hard-pressed against the salary cap this season that they spent a matter of games playing with only five defenseman, Rutherford may not be willing to dish out nearly $1 million (Bennett made $900,000 last season, so his qualifying offer must be at least 105% of that – i.e. $945,00) for a player that may rarely actually be in the lineup.

Giving up on a player with Bennett’s raw skill would be a foolish decision, especially with other members of the top-six climbing in age (Chris Kunitz), but the team’s salary cap situation may force their hand.

It remains to be seen whether the Pens choose to move on from Bennett or gamble on him once again, but they’ll have to decide sooner rather than later as they begin to re-tool an offense that has now nosedived come playoff time for the past three seasons.

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