Early Look at the Penguins Potential 23-Man Roster (It Ain’t Pretty)
So now that the dust has settled on the free-agent season, or at least the early going, what’s the Penguins’ 23-man roster likely to look like?
It’s pretty brutal, actually. No wonder Sportsnet Canada has us listed 29th out of 32 teams in their power rankings. A little more forgiving, JFresh predicts an 87-point, sixth in the Metro (non-playoff) season, with 10 teams stationed below us.
My personal opinion? I think he’s being generous.
Of particular concern is our age down the middle. Sidney Crosby (37), Evgeni Malkin (38), Kevin Hayes (32) and Lars Eller (35). Special though Sid and Geno are/were, not a set of young legs among them.
The third line with reclamation projects Anthony Beauvillier and Hayes hurts the eyes as well.
And the “d?” Undersized and lacking in physicality. Especially if Jack St. Ivany, listed as my third right-side defenseman, gets bumped aside by Sebastian Aho and doesn’t make the cut.
As it’s shaping up now, with the exceptions of Valtteri Puustinen and possibly St.