It has been evident ever since the Penguins opened their season with a victory over former head coach Mike Sullivan and the New York Rangers, that Harrison Brunicke needs a different defense partner. He has been playing with Caleb Jones on the bottom pairing for the Penguins to start the year and that is a recipe for disaster.
Jones is just dragging Brunicke down and picks and chooses when he wants to play defense and likes to let guys fly by him. Brunicke played better in the preseason with a defense partner that is not even on the NHL team at the current moment. The guy he suits better playing with, is with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.
Owen Pickering needs to be called up and be Brunicke's defense partner
Pickering and Brunicke played together a lot in the preseason for the Penguins and actually looked like a stable defense pairing. Pickering did not make the NHL team out of camp since it seems like they think he needs just a bit more seasoning down in the AHL.
But Brunicke cannot be playing with someone as unstable as Jones for the whole entire season. He needs that defense partner that can really help him out and play stride for stride with him. The Penguins have that kind of guy in Pickering in the AHL at the moment.
Any chance that the Penguins get to make a roster move, have it be waiving Jones so Pickering can be brought up, the Penguins should jump on it. Or if the Penguins decide to deal from their surplus of defensemen, Pickering can be brought up through that method as well.
Penguins fans and the coaching staff do not want to watch Brunicke be brought down by a partner that does not suit him and his ability, all season long. Pickering likely should have made the team out of training camp and been stapled to Brunicke all along, but the coaching staff did not see it that way.
Brunicke's advanced stats will continue to not look good as long as Jones is his defense partner. But the Penguins need to do the right thing and get Pickering up ASAP.