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The Penguins will be looking to upgrade their forward depth this upcoming offseason and they will be looking to do so with players that can bring speed, skill, and the willingness to battle. The problem is that the players who usually fit all three attributes usually come at a price. The key is to do your homework and find the right kind of player coming off the right kind of situation.
Believe it or not the Toronto Maple Leafs accomplished this feat last year with at least one of their UFA signings. That player was Mason Raymond.
Last year in July I brought up Mason Raymond as a potential bottom 6 player for the Penguins Raymond was a 52.2% Fenclose player with the Vancouver Canucks and his offensive output matched that of the departing Matt Cooke.
Raymond signed with the Leafs for 1.0M, less than what it cost for the Penguins to have Tanner Glass or Taylor Pyatt. Raymond scored 19 goals and had 45 points for the Leafs. His 19 goals were the most he has had since he scored 25 in 2009-10. He wasn’t the beneficiary of an outrageous shooting percentage either, last year his shooting percentage was 10.7%, his career average is 9.7%. This means his offensive output is most likely sustainable as long as he plays in the right situation with the right players.
A player like Raymond at the price he signed for would have gone a long way in helping out the Penguins cause last year. Overlooking a guy like Raymond is a prime example of why the Penguins struggled with their bottom 6 forward grouping in 2013-14.
Raymond did not play in a complete shutdown role but he certainly was not sheltered either.
Raymond had a Fenclose percentage last season of 43.7%. On the surface this is incredibly brutal, that is treading in Craig Adams, Tanner Glass, Taylor Pyatt territory. But you need to look at the bigger picture, the Maple Leafs were a historically bad possession team (their team rate was 41.5%!). Raymond’s 43.7% was actually 3rd best on the team. You can only do so much when you’re on a team that had the kind of possession struggles that the Maple Leafs had last season.
Raymond has speed, can kill penalties, and can clearly mix in some offensive contributions.
Raymond won’t be making 1.0M on a one year deal again this year but it would be in the Penguins interests to at least inquire about Raymond if he hits the open market on July 1.
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Rob Rossi had a very interesting footnote
in yesterday’s article , one that I think is great news.
Note: The Penguins expect to introduce an alternate jersey to be worn for select games next season. One confirmable detail about the third jersey is the return of Pittsburgh Gold to the team's uniforms for the first time since 2001-02 season. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said he has ordered yellow leg pads and gloves to be worn when the Penguins' don the alternate jerseys.
I thought the Penguins jerseys they used at Soldier Field last year were extremely nice and I think that they should at least contemplate making those the permanent white jersey.
I am very excited to see what they do with the old school gold jersey.
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The Penguins will officially interview Wilkes Barre Scranton Head Coach John Hynes for the Penguins coaching vacancy. While it is true that the Penguins played similar systems in WB/S as they did in Pittsburgh that decision certainly came from higher up than Hynes. That should not be held against him as a candidate. Botterill has obviously worked closely with Hynes in his role overseeing the Baby Penguins and will be able to differentiate between what was mandated by organizational decisions and what Hynes can bring to the table on his own. It would have been foolish to not even give Hynes an interview.
Dan Bylsma made his TV debut last night for the NHL Network but the more important news on the Bylsma front is that the Panthers have interest in the Penguins former bench boss and Bylsma apparently has interest as well. The two sides will meet for an interview in NYC at some point this week.
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Bill Guerin was on local Pittsburgh radio this morning and made some noteworthy comments.
Mike Darnay did his best
@Hope_Smoke impression on twitter and did us all the favor of transcribing some of the more pertinent parts of the interview:
For me, I’m gonna be back with the big team, spending a lot of time around Jim and the players make sure I’m getting a heartbeat on the team and report back to Jim with any details and concerns
We don’t need much change. we need to get some blue collar back in our game and dressing roomwe need to put a skilled team out there that’s willing to roll up its sleeves and get dirty from time to time
We can get better at the forward spots and can get better on D. we need to get deeper and insert some youth in our lineup we need to give some kids from WBS a shot. They might get sent down after 10 games, but maybe they’ll give us 8 good ones.
All good things to hear. I very much like that he prefaced the blue collar remark by maintaining the standard of skill. Skill plus grit is a best case scenario, grit minus skill is a worst case scenario.
This is also very good news for players like Brian Dumoulin, Simon Despres, Scott Harrington, Brian Gibbons and Jayson Megna amongst others. It makes total sense. Find out what you have, you can always send them back down. If they do show they can hang at the NHL level, you now have legitimate options that are dirt cheap. Something that the Penguins have not had in a while.
Thanks for reading!
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