Ranking the Penguins Needs by Position
The Pittsburgh Penguins are more than just one piece away, but which position is most important for them to address?
The trade deadline is just over two weeks away, and the Pittsburgh Penguins still have plenty of holes to fill on their roster. General manager Ron Hextall will unlikely be able to fix all of the Penguins problems, so which positions should he prioritize?
4. Top Left Defenseman
Last summer, the Penguins focused on bolstering the right side of the defense corps. As a result, they lost Mike Matheson, leaving the left side without a clear-cut top-pairing defenseman.
PO Joseph and Marcus Pettersson have been great surprises this season, but neither currently possesses the talent level to be considered an undoubted top-pairing defenseman.
While other areas of the lineup need attention more, adding a top-pair defenseman to play with Kris Letang would solidify the blue line as an unquestioned strength for the Penguins.
3. Backup Goaltender
Many believe this should be the top priority on the Penguins agenda. However, the best-case scenario in net doesn't involve losing assets for an insurance policy. If Tristan Jarry can return and remain healthy, the odds are goaltending is not an issue for the remainder of the season.
Unfortunately, history suggests that the Penguins would be wise to gather insurance in this area. Tristan Jarry has suffered four injuries in the past calendar year, and Casey DeSmith has been unavailable for 12 of the Penguins 13 playoff games the past two seasons.
If Jarry continues to struggle with his health, there is no guarantee that DeSmith will perform well enough to keep the Penguins in a playoff spot.
2. Middle Six Right Wing
Let's face it the Penguins need an entirely new third line. Part of that is bringing someone in that could move up and down the lineup and challenge some of the team's current top-six wingers.
With a better crop of young talent on the left side (Drew O'Connor, Valtteri Puustinen, Alex Nylander), the Penguins should look to add another option on the right side.
1. Third Line Center
Jeff Carter is the only player in the Penguins organization that can currently fill this role. Do we see the problem here? Teddy Blueger and Ryan Poehling are not playing well enough to challenge Carter, leaving the 38-year-old faceoff specialist as the Penguins only option.
The best-case scenario for the Penguins is to deploy Carter on the right wing of their fourth line. But to do so, they must go out and acquire a replacement for him in the middle. Max Domi and Ryan O'Reilly are two names the Penguins should be targeting in the next 17 days.
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