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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Daniel Carcillo to a professional try out.
Carcillo is best known for physical play on the ice. His physical play has also landed him in trouble. Carcillo has been suspended in the past, in fact he was suspended three times in 2011-2012. He was suspended two games for hit on Joni Pitkanen, two games at beginning of the season for abuse of an official from the previous year's playoffs, and seven games for lighting up Tom Gilbert.
Carcillo was also suspended this previous postseason for physical abuse of an official. He was originally given a ten game suspension but after an appeal it was reduced to six games.
Carcillo could potentially join Steve Downie on the Penguins roster which is sure to raise a few eyebrows around the league.
There are certainly some red flags about signing a player like Carcillo (and Downie) but it wouldn't be fair if I didn't talk about his effectiveness as a player.
Carcillo throughout his career has been sheltered against tougher competition. He has also benefited from an offensive zone starting percentage at or above 50% for most of his career.
The Chicago Blackhawks really gave him some generous offensive zone starting time and it led to him posting some great possession numbers. The interesting thing about this chart is that Carcillo saw his lowest offensive zone starting percentage last year in New York but his possession was able to stay in that pretty remarkable 57% range.
If Carcillo makes the team can he sustain that kind of possession with zone starts that low for a second year in a row? If Marcel Goc is his center on the fourth line I think it could be feasible.
Other teams in the past have found success while having Carcillo on their roster. Carcillo has played for three Cup Finalists (PHI 2010, CHI 2013, NYR/LA2014) including being on the winning team in 2013 with the Blackhawks.
On a team that still has Craig Adams on the roster, I can't get too upset when they bring in players who are better than him. Carcillo is better as a hockey player and better at that fighting thing if you are into that stuff.
Personally, I would go in a different direction, but I'm not going to be outraged about a tryout. I don't think the Penguins really need what Carcillo brings. Some people believe the Penguins needed to add more grit and toughness, I am not one of those people.
Pittsburgh's failures as a team last year can be traced directly to their bottom six forward grouping being amongst the worst in the league. Fixing possession issues in that area will go a lot further towards another championship than trying to chase these intangibles which are overrated.
Never Forget. pic.twitter.com/WQueIBBk9l
— The Max Power Way (@Rick_City) September 4, 2014
Losing Brooks Orpik also helps. The more defensemen who can handle the puck the better.
One fallacy from last year's playoff is that Crosby wasn't able to produce because he was being hounded by the opposition. Crosby led the league in playoff possession and couldn't finish because of a bum wrist. Adding grit and toughness doesn't improve Crosby's finishing ability with an injured wrist. Contrary to the belief of some, Crosby dominated Dubinsky, bad wrist and all. Sid doesn't need tough guys, he just needs proper playable depth behind him.
The Penguins did end up improving their bottom six. Having Marcel Goc as a fourth line center is a luxury, one that the Penguins did not have last season, I don't think giving Goc a player like Carcillo to play with is maximizing that luxury. A guy like Jayson Megna makes more sense to me. I would also prefer Ryan Malone being brought in on a tryout basis to battle for a 4th line position over Daniel Carcillo.
Everybody wanted some hockey news, this certainly fits the bill.
What does everybody think about the Dan Carcillo camp invite?
Thanks for reading!
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