Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Defensive Pairings for 2015-16

I visited a topic yesterday that discussed how the Pittsburgh Penguins can get the most production out of veteran wingers Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz given how much the roster has changed over the past year. In addition to the very different forward lineup, they’ll also have some decisions to make on the back end with their young, somewhat inexperienced defensive corps.

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As it stands right now the Pittsburgh Penguins will go to war with a defensive lineup of Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Derrick Pouliot, Ian Cole, Brian Dumoulin, Ben Lovejoy, and Rob Scuderi. With Scuderi or Lovejoy expected to be the seventh defenseman, The Pens are looking at three to four starters that are new to a full-time NHL role considering that even Ian Cole saw very limited playing time before joining Pittsburgh.

Considering this crew and the unique skills that each of them offer, what are the best pairings for 2015-16?

First, let’s start with Kris Letang, as he’s obviously slotted in the number one spot among this cast. The toughest thing about being paired up with a dynamic skater like Letang is understanding what he’s going to do next. Working with a defenseman like him requires a high hockey IQ and chemistry. That’s why he meshed so well with Paul Martin.

Thankfully, the Pittsburgh Penguins essentially have Paul Martin 2.0 in youngster Olli Maatta. Maatta is polished beyond his years and has the hockey sense and patience of a 30-year old veteran. He’s positionally sound, makes very little mistakes, and understands when to join the rush or sit back. This is a top-pairing that most expected, so there’s really no surprise here, but I see those two working very well together.

Looking at the role that Ian Cole plays, I compare his game very closely to that of Matt Niskanen. Both are very similar in style and ability, so looking at Niskanen’s past along with what Cole did last season will give us a good indication of who fits well.

In 2013-14 Niskanen was paired mostly with Olli Maatta in his rookie season. Two-way defenders like like Cole or Niskanen work well with stay-at-home partners, and Maatta played that type of role. It’s interesting to see the boost in possession numbers for Maatta when playing with Niskanen compared to when they were separated, which was roughly a 5% increase in corsi-for. When looking at Ian Cole’s 2014-15 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he played primarily alongside Rob Scuderi. Again, a stay-at-home defenseman.

Considering their playing styles, I would start the season with Ian Cole and Brian Dumoulin paired up. Those two will compliment each other nicely and should make for a solid second pairing.

Derrick Pouliot will clearly have a job as a full-time NHL defenseman this season and his best bet for a partner is Ben Lovejoy. If you remember correctly, the two of them worked great together when Lovejoy first joined the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline, but things were derailed due to injuries.

Lovejoy stated in an interview that he enjoyed playing with Pouliot due to how skilled and offensively talented the youngster is. He also knows his limits, and stated that a player like Pouliot allows him to sit back and do what he does best. Corsi isn’t an end-all be-all stat, but Lovejoy jumped to a 56.2 with Derrick Pouliot, trumped only by his short amount of time alongside Ian Cole.

Essentially, the defensive pairings would look like this.

Maatta – Letang
Cole – Dumoulin
Pouliot – Lovejoy
Scuderi

Another thing to consider is that Derrick Pouliot looked a bit out of place last season in the defensive zone and still has a lot to prove there. I don’t consider him a liability by any means and his upside outweigh’s his mistakes by a large margin, but Brian Dumoulin showed me a lot in the playoffs last season in terms of sound defensive play. Plus, if all goes as it should, Pouliot will get plenty of minutes on the power play as well.

I expect a lot of shuffling through training camp similar to what we’ll see with the forward group of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’ll be fun to see how it all plays out, but based on recent performance and playing styles I see this as the best fit for each.

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