Empoleon8771
Registered User
And by the way, the same thing is going to happen to Bunting next year because it's just not realistic that he's going to have the off-the-puck impact he has had in a short sample this year over a full sample size next year. Bunting will almost definitely finish with around 50 points next year but be notably less impactful than he was to end this season, just because it's really difficult for players to have that kind of impact over a full season.
That's the issue I have with just saying "replace Smith and Rakell with guys who offer more off the puck". While I fully agree in theory, it's at best a coin flip for whether you'll actually get that "off the puck" impact from any player you'd acquire. Carolina thought they were getting that with Bunting, but he ended up a dud there. The Penguins thought they were getting that with Acciari, but he has been a dud here so far.
To the level where you're sacrificing 15+ points in production with that impact? I would absolutely question how easily this team can do that. Rakell doesn't offer much beyond his scoring, but he's not hurting the team away from the puck either. A player needs to have a significant and consistent impact away from the puck to make up for that level of production difference, and it's incredibly difficult to find players who actually do that.
I think the Penguins have only had 3 wingers in the last decade that had a consistent and notable off-the-puck impact while with the Penguins: Kunitz, Hornqvist and Tanev. And with Tanev, they only had him for 2 years.
That's the issue I have with just saying "replace Smith and Rakell with guys who offer more off the puck". While I fully agree in theory, it's at best a coin flip for whether you'll actually get that "off the puck" impact from any player you'd acquire. Carolina thought they were getting that with Bunting, but he ended up a dud there. The Penguins thought they were getting that with Acciari, but he has been a dud here so far.
Well, regardless of how you feel or not about Zucker, I don't think it's terribly out of the question to find someone who can be useful away from the puck and produce at a 30 point pace. Hell, that's basically what Lars Eller is doing, and he's doing that while being asked to defend.
Smith and Rakell just don't do anything when they aren't scoring and too often they aren't scoring. We either need more scoring or need to replace them with guys who provide some use when they aren't scoring goals.
To the level where you're sacrificing 15+ points in production with that impact? I would absolutely question how easily this team can do that. Rakell doesn't offer much beyond his scoring, but he's not hurting the team away from the puck either. A player needs to have a significant and consistent impact away from the puck to make up for that level of production difference, and it's incredibly difficult to find players who actually do that.
I think the Penguins have only had 3 wingers in the last decade that had a consistent and notable off-the-puck impact while with the Penguins: Kunitz, Hornqvist and Tanev. And with Tanev, they only had him for 2 years.