Today is Valentine ’s Day. It started as a day where people would exchange their heartfelt feelings to one another via notes/letters and has since been hijacked by Hallmark in their efforts to turn a bigger profit for themselves. This will of course not stop me from using it for a hockey related blog theme. Today I ask, what player(s) from another NHL team do you love and wish were on your favorite NHL team? Give me your favorite forward, defenseman, and goaltender. Do not consider salary cap hits or what it would cost to acquire that player in a trade. Just pick the player(s) you would most want to have on your team. No strings attached. At forward that player for me is Corey Perry. The guy can skate, score goals, play defense, punch you in the mouth, and frustrate the opposition like no other. Corey Perry is the modern day Cam Neely. Sidney Crosby is a player who loves to cycle the puck and play in the dirty areas, what better guy to have cycling the puck with Crosby and Kunitz?
Perry has been one of the best goal scorers in the NHL in recent years teaming up with ultra talented Ryan Getzlaf. Getzlaf is one of the most gifted passers in the NHL, he is however not one of the fastest skaters in the NHL. Crosby would provide Getzlaf’s sandpaper and passing skills but with a super turbo charged engine. I would peg Corey Perry as a 50 goal scorer on Crosby’s wing. A 40 goal season would be a disappointment.
An added bonus would be the fact that Perry has some familiarity already with Chris Kunitz from their time in Anaheim together. On defense I would have to go with Drew Doughty. I believe that Drew Doughty is the ceiling that every Penguins fan wants Kris Letang to hit. With Doughty it isn’t about waiting around for that promise to finally meet reality, he has already put all the pieces together. Doughty has been one of Canada’s go to defenseman in the past two Olympic Games and he has also locked down the top pairing for the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings in 2011-2012. Doughty is a great skater, has all the physical tools to be effective defensively and lethal offensively. Here is the latest example:
An added bonus? His defense partner from the LA Kings, with whom he played with during the Cup run is none other than Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi. Those two were a perfect pairing and it showed with the Kings success.
Drew Doughty would be a perfect Penguin and I am sure he wouldn't mind playing on a team with more scoring prowess than the LA Kings
My goaltender would be Ryan Miller. I think the world of him as a player and even more of him as a professional. Miller's talent and prime have been wasted playing for the lowly Sabres. Outside of a two season sample size the Sabres have not been worthy of Miller's services.
Miller is a USA hero and the Penguins franchise has not had many superstars that have hailed from the United States. It would be nice to root for an American superstar on the Penguins.
Ryan Miller is reliable and is rarely bad for long stretches. He is exactly the kind of goalie the Penguins need. The Pittsburgh Penguins (amongst others) are exactly the kind of team Ryan Miller deserves.
Those are my picks, what are yours?
Thanks for reading!