Christmas has finally approached, and the Penguins are not exactly where they want to be as they sit in 7th place in the Metropolitan Division standings. But just because the Penguins could be in a better spot points wise and standings wise, does not mean that there was not any good to come out of the season leading up to the Christmas break.
There have been a few Penguins players or coaches that actually deserve some gifts under their tree this season. These players could be from the forward group or the defense group or even the goaltenders or the coaches. Some of them have done everything they can for the team leading up to the holiday break and deserve the expensive gifts.
It should not be hard to pinpoint who these individuals are. With that being said, let's jump into who deserves the most under their tree this Christmas.
1. Who else but the Captain?
The Penguin who deserves the most under his Christmas tree this year is none other than Sidney Crosby. This should not come as a shock to anybody around the NHL from players to fans.
Crosby has done everything that he possibly can for this franchise year in and year out despite missing the playoffs the last three seasons. This year he has tallied 20 goals and 18 assists in 36 games and passed Mario Lemieux for most points in Penguins franchise history.
Crosby is truly one-of-one and a special player. He is always going to be that guy and the player that the Penguins lean on the most even though he is getting to that age where he is generally supposed to slow down production wise and speed wise.
Penguins fans have appreciated Crosby for so long now and still do. He deserves whatever he wants under his Christmas tree. He has been that good.
2. Bryan Rust
This one might shock some Penguins fans because he has seemed to be on the struggle bus as of late. But Bryan Rust is another player that deserves some good gifts under his Christmas tree.
Rust is the kind of player that fights tooth and nail every single game and every single night. He is always trying whatever he can to help his team and get on the scoreboard.
This is evidenced by the fact that he has 13 goals and 17 assists in 34 games so far for the Penguins. He has seemed to figure a few things out lately as he had a beautiful breakaway goal in the recent loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But no matter what is thrown at Rust on a daily basis, he will always find a way to conquer it. That is just the type of player that Rust has always been. He deserves expensive gifts under his tree this year.
3. Penguins assistant coach Todd Nelson
Nelson has brought experience to the Penguins over from the AHL when he used to be the head coach of the Hershey Bears where he won several championships. But now being on the Penguins coaching staff, his main role is the powerplay units.
The Penguins powerplay currently ranks at 3rd in the league at 29.3% which is a great number. When former assistant coach David Quinn was running it last year, it was not near that good.
But Nelson seems to have figured out some problems and unlocked some things for the Penguins powerplay units that has worked so far. He has done an excellent job with them and the puck movement is usually outstanding to watch.
Nelson deserves some love this Christmas. Getting the most out of these powerplay units with a ton of vets mixed with the likes of Ben Kindel is outstanding.