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Pittsburgh Penguins: There Are Still A Few Holes Left to Fill

By Matthew Rodrigopulle

NASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 11: The Pittsburgh Penguins storm the ice in celebration of defeating the Nashville Predators 2-0 in Game Six of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Bridgestone Arena on June 11, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 11: The Pittsburgh Penguins storm the ice in celebration of defeating the Nashville Predators 2-0 in Game Six of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Bridgestone Arena on June 11, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /
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It’s day four of free agency frenzy, and the Pittsburgh Penguins still have some holes to fill.

This offseason saw the Pittsburgh Penguins having many free agent’s on their hand. And while some stayed and re-signed with us, others decided to walk away.

Replacing these players will be a task we have to commit to. If we want to remain competitive we have to be as good, if not better than we were last season.

Defence

Ron Hainsey signed a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, keeping him in our conference. The 36-year-old was expendable though and his stay here was pretty unsure from the start. He does leave a top four hole though. This hole could be replaced by our signing of Matt Hunwick from Toronto, but this does not seem like an upgrade. We should keep searching.

Trevor Daley is the major hole on defence. After leaving to sign with Detroit, he leaves a huge hole in our top four. We were able to re-sign Justin Schultz, and the return of Kris Letang may soften Daley’s loss, but if we want to remain competitive we will have to get a player who can hold down the blue-line like him.

Offence

At 37, Chris Kunitz’s time here in Pittsburgh was bound to run out. Now that he went and signed in Tampa Bay, it’s time to start looking for another scoring winger. After all these years of being Crosby’s cherished linemate, he took a backseat to Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary this season. His production decreased but he still came in clutch when we needed him. He shouldn’t be too hard to replace. A winger like Drew Stafford or maybe even Jaromir Jagr can replace him.

Nick Bonino is a huge hole to replace. He was our cheap, affordable third line centre, but the money he was asking was just too much. He is now getting that pay from the Nashville Predators. If the rumours are true, the Penguins are looking to acquire Matt Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche. He would solve this hole and actually be an incredible upgrade for our third line centre position.

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