Pittsburgh Penguins: Assessing Eric Fehr’s Fit in Pittsburgh’s Top-Nine
By Mike Necciai
There’s a lot of debate among Pittsburgh Penguins fans and media about the role of Eric Fehr. Will he flank Nick Bonino on the third line? Will he occupy either the third or fourth line center position while Bonino handles the other?
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The great thing about a player like Fehr is that he’s capable of playing multiple positions. He played right-wing for the Washington Capitals until transitioning to center over the last two seasons, and he recognized success at both positions.
When Fehr returns to the lineup after recovering from elbow surgery, the Pens will have a problem that all teams would love to deal with. The problem is that they’ll have too many centers, and either Fehr, Bonino, or Matt Cullen will need to play wing. Below, we’ll take a look at where Fehr may fit best based on his performance in recent years.
Last season, with Fehr playing primarily at center, he played the majority of time with Joel Ward and Brooks Laich according to stats.hockeyanalysis.com. Surprisingly, that trio produced poorly in the possession department and combined for a measly 48.6% corsi-for. In other words, their opponent was seeing almost 52% of the shots while this line was together.
Fehr’s 2013-14 season was very similar within his underlying numbers, and the constant in this scenario is Joel Ward playing alongside him, but instead of Laich, Jason Chimera played the most minutes on that line. The common trend among those line mates? None of them are known for their speed or offense. Yes, they can produce points, but they were more suited for a hard-nosed approach rather than trying to keep the opponent on their heels with speed and skill. Let’s consider the following when trying to slot him in within Pittsburgh’s top-nine.
In 2012-13, Fehr’s last season that found him primarily playing the wing position, he was centered by Mathieu Perreault more than anyone else with 193:55 TOI together. He played 41 games in the lockout-shortened season and produced 17 points (9g, 8a). He boasted a 53.9% corsi-for while alongside Perreault and a whopping 4.02 goals-for per sixty minutes. Perreault’s speed and offensive ability made a huge difference for Eric Fehr, just as I believe Nick Bonino’s will with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
For better or for worse, I fully believe that Chris Kunitz will find himself in the top-six again next season with David Perron also in that mix. Therefore, I see a line of Bonino centering Fehr and Sergei Plotnikov for the Pens’ third line. And, I have to be honest, that sounds scary for any opponent. At least in theory, as we’ll have to see how Plotnikov pans out in the NHL.
Of course, this is based solely off past performances and player types. We’ll know a lot more about this team, especially guys like Plotnikov before Fehr returns to the lineup, which is projected to be mid-November to December. But, at first glance and from a numbers perspective, my assumption is that Fehr will fit quite nicely at right-wing with Bonino playing center. Like I said before, having to make decisions like this is a very good problem to have for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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