McCann he be the center
Jared McCann has a new contract
The Penguins have re-signed forward Jared McCann to a two-year contract.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) September 18, 2020
The deal runs through the 2021.22 campaign and carries an average annual value of $2.94 million.
Details: https://t.co/PlteNvm4iO pic.twitter.com/7kNICYhCFe
He remains with the Penguins for the time being. I don’t have a problem with the contract at all. I don’t think he is a bad player, but he does not fit the mold of what I would personally want behind Crosby and Malkin. He isn’t bad, not even close, but he needs more offensive punch for my tastes
Jared McCann is a solid middle six center with some strong defensive impacts. Not a bad piece to have as the 3C and not a bad price either. pic.twitter.com/QdDYL6FGx8
— dom luszczyszyn (@domluszczyszyn) September 18, 2020
Jared McCann (2x2.94m extension with Pittsburgh) is a shutdown forward. pic.twitter.com/CCYn3wZ741
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) September 18, 2020
At the very least the Penguins have some insurance with having a competent NHL third line center. To maximize the effectiveness of this line McCann is going to need better wingers. Dominik Simon and Patric Hornqvist aren’t going to cut it. I have no interest in Patric Hornqvist’s 5.3M cap hit at 5v5 or the power play. The Penguins power play doesn’t rely on Patric Hornqvist to be successful. They had a great power play way before he was ever a Penguin with the same main personnel. He is an overpriced luxury piece and his cap hit holds the team back. Jack Johnson and Brandon Tanev’s cap hits are also bad value. You are talking about not getting a whole lot out of ~11M in cap space. Rutherford has spoken about being active in free agency. Not sure how that happens with those three players eating away at the cap space they have.
Getting better wingers would go a long way in making the Jared McCann third line center thing work out just fine. If the team runs out the same forward group the Penguins will be top heavy offensively and we know it isn’t a recipe for Stanley Cup success. They will have two overly defensive lines. It is a lot for Crosby and Malkin to be responsible for and what happens if/when one of them is out for an extended period of time. It is why Eric Staal made so much sense. He can still play and produce offensively. The Penguins need better wingers with McCann. How they do it? Not sure what the path is unless major changes are made.
Thanks for reading!