Chad Ruhwedel deserved another shot at being an everyday starter for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

The current state of the Pittsburgh Penguins' defense corps is messy. They have eight NHL-caliber defensemen on the roster, and that's after Brian Dumoulin and Dmitry Kulikov fall off the books this offseason. 

Former Penguins general manager Ron Hextall created a problem unnecessarily last summer instead of trusting what he saw from Chad Ruhwedel and the rest of the blue line in the 2021-22 season. 

Ruhwedel has been with the Penguins for seven seasons, signing four different contracts, the most expensive deal being his current one at $800k per season. He spent his first five seasons in Pittsburgh as a de facto "seat filler" for the defense corps, operating as the team's seventh, and sometimes eighth, defenseman.

Yet, every time Ruhwedel has entered the lineup, whether two days or two weeks apart, he has always been a steady force on the Penguins' bottom pair. The California native was finally allowed to be an everyday starter during the 2021-22 season.

In 78 games, Ruhwedel averaged 15:20 of ice time and finished the year with outstanding underlying statistics. The Penguins' defense performed well as a whole, finishing that season 10th in goals against, 9th in expected goals against, and 6th in expected goals against per 60 minutes, according to moneypuck.com.

Instead of addressing the team's forward depth or questionable goaltending stability, the Penguins chose to overhaul the defense corps, bringing in Jeff Petry, Jan Rutta, and Ty Smith from other teams and elevating P.O. Joseph from the minors, relegating Ruhwedel back to reliever duties.

These seismic shifts failed to improve the team's defense and instead caused the team to fall in all categories. The Penguins finished last season 19th in goals against, 18th in expected goals against, and 21st in expected goals allowed per 60 minutes.

Despite moving back to a lesser role, Ruhwedel played 47 games during the 2022-23 season, and his advanced statistics continued to be amongst the best on the Penguins. Ruhwedel played 43 of his 47 games alongside Joseph, who experienced his fair share of growing pains in his first 82-game season at the NHL level. 

While Ruhwedel has his deficiencies, net front defending, and a well-defined ceiling as a third-pairing defenseman, he remains an incredibly underappreciated asset for the Penguins heading into his 12th NHL season. 

Time will tell what Penguins President of Hockey Ops Kyle Dubas does with the defense corps heading into next season. But Ruhwedel should be considered part of the solution and deserves another opportunity at an everyday role on the Penguins' defense.

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