Penguins' Positional Battles: Left Side

Training camp is fast-approaching for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that means positional battles are, too. 

And, no, these won't be the positional battles of training camps past for the Penguins. This time around, the organization has prospects who are legitimately on the verge of full-time NHL minutes, and they also have a collection of players who, even if they were on an NHL roster last season, are not guaranteed a spot this season. 

One position that is, seemingly, wide open for the Penguins is the left side on defense. The Penguins traded top-pairing left defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to the Vegas Golden Knights for a right defenseman in Kaedan Korczak, and they signed free agents Declan Carlile and Trevor van Riemsdyk (a righty who plays both sides). 

As far as returning cast members, it's just Sam Girard and Ilya Solovyov, and prospects Owen Pickering and Jake Livanavage will also be in the picture.

So, how is this positional battle on the left side shaping up? Who are the guarantees, the maybes, and the longshots?

When the Penguins sent newly acquired defensive-minded left blueliner Brett Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche for the younger Girard and a second, they knew they were taking a bit of a risk. Girard was injured down the stretch run, but he did play better as he got more acclimated, with those minutes largely occuring alongside Kris Letang. 

Even if there was inconsistency, Girard is a puck-moving, fleet-footed defenseman in transition, and there is a higher ceiling for the 28-year-old Stanley Cup champion to reach. 

It will be interesting to see who he pairs with this season and what pairing he ends up on, as there are no guarantees as far as the top-four. But Girard will be on this roster, and he will in the lineup.

There is no chance that the veteran 35-year-old defenseman - who signed a two-year, $4 million deal right at the onset of free agency - will not be on the opening night roster. However, even if he's right-handed, he spent the majority of his games with the Washington Capitals on the left side last season, and that's almost certainly where he'll find himself with Pittsburgh. 

The Penguins have a boatload of right-handed blueliners and a whole lot of unknown on the left, so it only makes sense for their situation to have TVR on the left. Where on the left, though, is the question. 

A look on the top pairing next to Karlsson probably makes the most sense, at least to start camp. van Riemsdyk is solid defensively, and he could be a stay-at-home yet somewhat mobile complement to Karlsson's chaos like Wotherspoon was last season. 

Yes, the Dubas signed the 26-year-old to a two-year, $3 million contract in free agency, which is pretty similar to the two-year, $2 million contract that Wotherspoon signed last summer.

But that doesn't mean he is guaranteed a spot on this roster.

Simply put, the Penguins have a lot of guys competing for few spots. Carlile spent time in both the NHL and AHL last season, and in 42 NHL games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, had a goal, two assists, a plus-5, and 40 penalty minutes. He isn't afraid to mix it up, he is a physical player, and his shutdown yet non-stationary style is similar to that of Wotherspoon's.

The Penguins need two guys to replace Wotherspoon and Shea on the left. Carlile is cut from the same cloth as Wotherspoon, but that doesn't mean he is the same player or that he'll just be handed a roster spot with an underwhelming camp.

The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Belarusian blueliner was re-signed to a one-year, $850,000 deal this summer despite seeing limited playing time with the Penguins last season. The Penguins did like what he brought in the games that he played, but the biggest issue with Solovyov is his footspeed.

Solovyov isn't someone who has to play every night, and that's actually something that might work in his favor as far as making the team as a seventh defenseman since the Penguins will want their younger guys playing every night. 

But, as is the case with everyone else in this tier, he will have to earn his spot, and he isn't the only one who will be in a similar situation.

It's easy to forget that Jones, 29, is in the second year of a two-year deal because he barely suited up last season. He played in just seven games at the beginning of the season before a long-term injury then a subsequent 20-game suspension for PEDs kept him out of the lineup, and he sustained another injury after his suspension that held him out for the remainder of the year. 

Jones is in a similar spot to Solovyov because he's not necessarily someone who needs to play every day. But given his inability to be available last season and the limited potential he showed in his seven-game sample, he will need to have a standout camp to make the roster. 

He'll be in the mix, and he will need to find a way to prove he still has value to this team.

For some, it might seem like Pickering should be chalked under the "longshot" category. 

But, because of the second half he had with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) last season - and the front office's belief in him as a player - don't count him out this time around.

Several members of the Penguins' front office expressed praise for the 6-foot-5, 206-pound blueliner's growth last season, as he found consistency down the stretch. The organization wanted him to develop into a reliable, shutdown option on the left side - with a dose of offensive upside - and he managed to be that guy with sustained consistency down the stretch for the AHL club last season. 

Quite frankly, there is a spot in the top-six for the taking. Pickering, 22, has as good a chance as Jones, Carlile, or Solovyov to make this roster. If he makes himself stands out and has a better camp than the others, the Penguins will not block him from securing a roster spot and a lineup spot. This is his chance to snatch it.

Don't forget about the 22-year-old collegiate blueliner who the Penguins signed to a two-year, entry-level contract late last season and were willing to burn an entire year of the ELC just to get him to sign in Pittsburgh.

Livanavage is a mobile, offense-first defenseman, and he put up five goals and 25 points in 39 games for the University of North Dakota last season. He can man the blue line on the power play, he's good in transition, and his mobility helps get him out of trouble.

However, there are some things for him to clean up on the defensive side, and he could stand to add an element of net-front physicality to his game. Still, he's an intriguing prospect for the Penguins, and even if he still has areas to refine and doesn't break camp, he'll almost certainly be one of the first names they call on if there are left-side injuries.

Unfortunately for Graves, it appears he is likely destined to play out the remaining three years of his six-year deal buried in the AHL.

That's not to say that Graves has zero chance out of camp. At one point, he was a good NHL defenseman with the New Jersey Devils, and he has worked hard to try to regain that two-way form again. 

But, at this point - and as evidenced by the Penguins' willingness to put him on waivers last season - he may have run out of legitimate opportunities to stick with the big club. Never say never, as we literally just pointed out that a top-six spot is entirely up for grabs.

There is a lot working against Graves, though, and it will be an uphill climb for the 31-year-old to make the NHL roster out of a crowded positional pool at training camp. 

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!