*Before I start I just want to say that the grades given are based off the players ability in the role they had on the team. So if a grinder does his job perfectly he will get an A. Just like if a superstar does his job well he will get an A too.
Feel free to comment on any issues/thoughts you might have on what I wrote. I would love to hear from anybody.
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Marc-Andre Fleury (G):
GPI: 67 GS: 64 GAA: 2.36 (42-17-4) Sv%: .913
GPI: 6 GS: 6 GAA: 4.63 (2-4) Sv%: .834
It’s a shame Fleury’s excellent regular season is going to be tainted by his poor performance in the playoffs this year. People forget how well Fleury actually played this year, and how important he was to this team’s success. Fleury totaled a career high in wins, and his 3rd best GAA and 3rd best Sv% of his career. At the beginning of the season the Penguins played 7 games without both Crosby and Malkin; the Penguins lacked offense but Fleury kept us in every game, giving us a chance to win night in and night out. It didn’t stop there; Fleury was good in every game he played in up until mid-March, having debatably the most consistent season of his career. His play started to decline during a stint on Long Island when we faced the Islanders in back to back games. In the first game he let up 5 goals and was pulled from the game, and in the next game let in 5 goals again, an occurrence very uncommon for Fleury. To me, this was the turning point for Fleury. It wasn’t just Fleury; the Penguins had become less focused on defense and more focused on offense as they had been outscoring teams recently by large margins. The Penguins and Fleury were no longer disciplined in their own end, causing bad goals to go in on Fleury. Then we get to the playoffs where the defense was even worse against a speedy team in the Flyers. Here’s where Fleury began to play poorly, it seemed like every shot had a chance of going in. Where had Fleury gone? More importantly, where was the defense to help Fleury? I don’t think anyone really knows what happened to the Fleury and the defense, but sadly the Penguins have an elongated offseason to figure that out.
Grade (B): Fleury really did have an excellent regular season, and was talked about for consideration for the Vezina Trophy at times too. Fleury played great 5 out of the 6 month season, it’s just by playing poorly for that month the Stanley Cup favorite was eliminated all too early for most people’s liking.
Evgeni Malkin (C):
GP: 75 Goals: 50 Assists: 59 (+18)
GP: 6 Goals: 3 Assists: 5 (-1)
Evgeni Malkin carried this team all season long. Malkin worked so hard all offseason with Coach Mike Kadar and it was nice to see his hard work pay off this year. Malkin has been described as “lazy” at times throughout his career; he was anything but that this season. Malkin came in still having some slight issues with his knee, and missed some games early in the season, as soon as Malkin was healthy he couldn’t be stopped. Malkin averaged 1.45 points/game this season and if he would have played in every single game he would have hit 120 points. Malkin was an offensive machine this season as he set career highs in goals, game winning goals (9), and shots (339). Malkin really showed that he was the best player in the world this year, winning the Art Ross Trophy, and it’s a safe to assume he will win the Hart Trophy as MVP this season. Malkin had some unreal highlight reel goals this season showing off his skill. Some nights it seemed like Malkin had the puck on a string and was just toying with the defenders, yes he was that dominant. Malkin also only had 70 PIM this season, as a player known for taking stupid penalties, he really mad an effort to stay composed this season. Malkin was decent in the playoffs, Sean Couturier did a good job of keeping the league’s best player in check for most of the series.
Grade (A+): Malkin had the best year of his career this season. He dominated the league and proved to people that he truly was a superstar in the NHL this season. Remember Malkin did most of this without the help of Sidney Crosby this season, and it’s scary to even think about how good they will be when they are both healthy for an entire season.
James Neal (LW):
GP: 80 Goals: 40 Assists: 41 (+6)
GP: 5 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 (-3)
Where to even begin with James Neal and his performance this year? I think it’s fair to say nobody expected a breakout season like this for him; after he scored just 1 goal in 21 games with the Penguins last season expectations were low and there were plenty of people thought James Neal would be a bust. Yet again, Ray Shero impressed everyone as he got a 40 goal scorer and solid defenseman (Matt Niskanen) for Alex Gologoski. James Neal shot the puck tons this season – registering 329 shots on goal – and with this he finally found his scoring touch. Pucks just started going in the net for him, simple as that. Neal set career highs in goals, assists, and points. At many points in the season he actually was leading the league in goals, and if it was not for a late season slump he could have possibly hit the 50 goal mark. Playing alongside Malkin for the whole season certainly helped Neal, but Malkin also benefited from a winger like Neal too. Neal turned his physicality up when he needed to, especially come playoff time. Although he may have gone too far after elbowing Claude Giroux and running over Sean Couturier, earning himself a 1 game suspension. Neal had a breakout season, a few more seasons like this and he could become a superstar in this league.
Grade (A+): James Neal did everything right this season, he exceeded expectations and the Penguins are happy to have been able to sign him for the next 6 years. Neal is that star winger the Pens had been looking for all this time, and it’s great to know he’s here to stay.
Chris Kunitz
GP: 82 Goals: 26 Assists: 35 (+16)
GP: 6 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 (-2)
Chris Kunitz had another good season as a Penguin. He set career highs in goals and points and tied his career high in assists. Just like a lot of Penguins this season, he set career marks offensively. Kunitz almost seemed to go unnoticed throughout most of this season, playing on the “Shooting Line” with Neal and Malkin, it seemed like their unbelievable seasons took away from the attention Kunitz would have normally gotten for such a good season he had himself. Kunitz loved to go to the crease and put in rebounds and makes a living from doing that; he also has some scoring touch to go along with that. Kunitz was healthy for the entire season for the first time in a couple years and this helped him put up these good numbers as well. Kunitz took the body, especially during playoffs and was great on the forecheck. Kunitz is trustworthy defensively and even got a little PK time when the Pens were decimated with injuries. Kunitz had a good playoff performance as well.
Grade (A): Kuntiz set some important career highs and continued to do all the little things that has made him so valuable to this team over the last few seasons.
Sidney Crosby (C):
GP: 22 Goals: 8 Assists: 29 (+15)
GP: 6 Goals: 3 Assists: 5 (-3)
I could probably go own for pages analyzing Crosby’s play this season, but I won’t for your sake. Crosby returned from his concussion November 21, 2011 and that was certainly a game to remember. Crosby had 2 goals and 2 assists and seemed to dominate this game. It ended up that Crosby played too hard in this game and was already out of the lineup by December 5, 2011, not what any of the Penguins fans were hoping for. It turned out the doctors had failed to notice that he had a neck injury that had never quite healed so he sat out for a while and made his 2nd return on March 15, 2012 and played a much quieter game with only 1 assist, but it was better that way because we wanted this to be the last time Crosby had to make a return from injury. For the rest of the season Crosby produced as well as he ever had averaging 1.68 points/game, although most of his points came in the assist column, it seemed Crosby never found his scoring touch that he had last season. He missed a lot of games and his scoring touch will come back soon. In the playoffs Crosby seemed pretty quiet all series, his number may not show that, but it is fair to say that the Flyers did a good job of shutting him down.
Grade (B+): Crosby had a great offensive season, but never really found his scoring touch. He was for the most part a non-factor in the playoff series.
Kris Letang (D):
GP: 51 Goals: 10 Assists: 32 (+21)
GP: 6 Goals: 1 Assists: 4 (-1)
Letang missed a good bit of this season with concussions that he suffered from Max Pacioretty and Eric Nystrom on two separate incidents. Letang has also been battling a hip injury over the course of the last couple seasons (surgery is not out of the question for his hip) so it is fair to say that Letang was pretty banged up for a majority of this season. Even though he was injury plagued, he still had a strong season offensively and defensively. Letang tied his career high in goals and achieved his second highest point total, don’t forget he missed nearly half the season. Letang was also a team high (+21). Letang continued to be a force defensively, playing in penalty kill situations, and generally playing more minutes than any other Penguins player. Don’t forget Letang is only 25 years old and has a lot more time to grow and develop, most defenseman don’t hit their prime until they are 27-28 years old. Letang plays a huge part on the Penguins powerplay, not only offensively but he is the safety net for the Penguins and uses his speed to back check and prevent many shorthanded opportunities. Letang struggled a bit defensively in the playoffs, like I said before, no one man on the Penguin’s defense struggled in was a team failure.
Grade (A-): Letang had a solid overall season in every phase of the game. Injuries prohibited him from possibly having the best overall season he has ever had. It is crazy to say that Letang could get better than he is right now, he is debatably the Penguins best defenseman, Brooks Orpik is the only player who would rival him.
Steve Sullivan (LW):
GP: 79 Goals: 17 Assists: 31 (-3)
GP: 6 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 (-4)
I absolutely loved this free agent signing from the start: a veteran forward with some skill, scoring touch, and leadership. It is fair to say that Sullivan is the smallest man out there every game at only 5’8” 165lbs, but he plays much bigger than that. Sullivan quarterbacks the powerplay and helped so much with its success. The Penguins had a poor powerplay last season, and this year they were able to have it consistently in the Top 6 in the NHL. I think it is a fair statement to say Sullivan was a big part in that, he could distribute extremely well, had a solid shot that sometimes we wished he would use more often. Sullivan was good defensively, no real complaints, obviously lacks physicality due to his size, but he finds way to get around that disadvantage. Sullivan did well in the playoffs, scored some important goals.
Grade (A): A veteran player stepping in on this team and having a major impact is so a great thing to see. He really came in and helped the Penguins, showed great durability for a 37 year old.
Jordan Staal (C):
GP: 62 Goals: 25 Assists: 25 (+11)
GP: 6 Goals: 6 Assists: 3 (+2)
This year the story of Jordan Staal was his new found offensive skill and scoring touch. Staal set a career high in points this season. Staal totaled his second highest goal total too. It seemed like Staal became a faster player and his shot: he suddenly seemed like he could just snipe on goalies pretty regularly. Just think if Staal had played all 82 games, you’re looking at 66 points if he keeps up at the pace he was during the season. Just think if Staal had two offensive minded wingers, something he lacks now, is 70+ points a year out of the question? I certainly don’t think so and his play in the playoffs only helps to reinforce that. Staal led the Penguins in goals and points, scoring a hat trick in Game 4. Now let’s not forget that Staal was also taking on the Flyers most talented line, led by star Claude Giroux. Although Giroux was not shut down in the series, in fact was the best overall player, it speaks wonders to Staal’s 2-way game. He not only does in offensively, he is a great defensive center, like he has been his entire career.
Grade (A): Staal had the best season of his career, offensively and played well defensively like always. It will be huge if the Penguins can somehow sign Staal this summer, but there will be a lot of teams after him in the free agent market. It would be great to see Staal a Penguins next season, but then again nobody would be surprised if he isn’t.
Pascal Dupuis (RW):
GP: 82 Goals: 25 Assists: 34 (+18)
GP: 6 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 (0)
Pascal Dupuis undoubtedly had the best season of his career. He set career highs in goals, assists, and points, ended the year with a 17 game point streak (the best in the entire NHL this season), and played strong defensive hockey. Dupuis had 8 GWG this season only 1 behind Malkin for the team lead – don’t forget Malkin had twice as many goals as Dupuis too. Dupuis back checks as good as any other Penguins, is great on the forecheck and began to take the body consistently this season. All of this led him to have a career year offensively, and it is great to see all of Dupers hard work paying off. Dupuis continued to kill penalties like he always does, and not to mention played in all 82 games this season. Dupuis had a solid playoffs, producing in the early games, but failed to get anything going in the latter games.
Grade (A+): It is hard to find anything wrong with the season Pascal Dupuis put together in 2011-2012. He played better offensively than any season before, and continued to play great defense game after game. I also like Dupers hustle, he works hard every shift.
Matt Cooke (LW):
GP: 82 Goals: 19 Assists: 19 (+5)
GP: 6 Goals: 0 Assists: 4 (+4)
Matt Cooke went from 129 penalty minutes and suspended for over 10 games in 2010-2011 to only having 44 penalty minutes and playing in every single game this season. For him it was a huge accomplishment, completely changing the way he plays the game, and needless to say he had his best statistical season of his career. Cooke set career highs in goals and points and was the Penguin’s nomination for the Masterson Trophy. Cooke continued to play physical and was a staple on the Penguin’s penalty kill as always. Cooke offers great leadership qualities, and how he was able to change his game will inspire others players who play like Cooke did and his story will be used as an example to them.
Grade (A): Cooke had the best overall season of his career, and how he changed his game is an unbelievable story. Cooke continued to maintain his defensive prowess and his physical play and pretty much cut out all stupid and unnecessary penalties.
Matt Niskanen (D):
GP: 75 Goals: 4 Assists: 17 (+9)
GP: 4 Goals: 1 Assists: 2 (+2):
Matt Niskanen had a solid season for the Penguin’s this season, coming out of training camp there was a lot of speculation that Matt Niskanen may be a healthy scratch regularly during the season, but he proved that wrong by playing in almost every game. He missed some games due to both a lower body injury and upper body injury. Niskanen worked on the second unit of the powerplay and was able to create some offense from the point. If Niskanen continues to improve his game defensively and lives up to his potential (drafted 28th overall in 2005) he could earn himself a large contract and a lot more ice time.
Grade (A-): Niskanen did well this year; he could always tighten up defensively and be more physical. Hopefully the Penguins will be able to sign him this coming offseason.
Paul Martin (D):
GP: 73 Goals: 2 Assists: 25 (+9)
GP: 3 Goals: 1 Assists: 0 (-1)
I think it is fair to say that most people expected more defensively out of Paul Martin this season. Martin played with Zybnek Michalek so much last year and they were able to turn into our shut-down defensive pairing. This season they actually had to be split up because they were a liability on the ice. It seemed like Martin turned the puck over a lot in our own zone, and was overall weaker defensively than we thought he would be. His salary is for around $5 million, and we cannot continue to pay him that much money if he plays like he did this season. Martin had a solid season offensively, and played a good bit on the 2nd powerplay unit. Martin suffered a concussion in the playoffs and missed 3 games because of that.
Grade (C): Martin was a disappointment defensively this season, and his large contract is not worth what he brings to the team. I would not be surprised if he is traded away this offseason.
Brooks Orpik (D):
GP: 73 Goals: 2 Assists: 16 (+19)
GP: 6 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-2)
Brooks Orpik had a great regular season to me, proving yet again that he is the Penguins top shut down defenseman. Orpik continued to take the body game after game like he has every season of his career. Orpik missed some time this season with an upper body injury and a few games here and there, but primarily remained healthy. Orpik put up some pretty typical numbers on the score sheet, although with only 44 shots on goal, you don’t have much of a chance of scoring anyway. Orpik was always placed in the top defensive pairing and either worked with Letang or Michalek this year. Orpik’s playoffs were a different story to me, Orpik played fine, but not to the caliber you would want your top defensive defenseman to play at. On a variety of goals I noticed Orpik did not get into shooting lanes, or failed to move his feet. The entire Penguin’s defense was suspect during the only playoff series they played in; Orpik is just as accountable as anyone. Orpik consistently showed strong leadership qualities during the entire season, whether it was talking to the media, or addressing problems the team needed to fix.
Grade (B+): Orpik played a very strong regular season, but had a poor post season. Orpik is a veteran on this team and portrays leadership qualities with everything he does.
Tyler Kennedy (RW):
GP: 60 Goals: 11 Assists: 22 (+10)
GP: 6 Goals: 3 Assists: 3 (+1)
Tyler Kennedy battled some off and on injuries this season, but still had a good year. He produced some decent numbers this season with 33 points. Although he had a much better offensive season last year, that was mostly because he played the last half of the season without Crosby and Malkin in the lineup, allowing for him to have much more powerplay times and just shifts in general. Kennedy struggled at some points in the season to find his scoring touch, and made a name for himself as he constantly shooting the puck over the net. Kennedy was a ferocious backchecker and played well this season on the Cooke-Staal-Kennedy “best 3rd line in hockey.” Kennedy stepped up in the playoffs and found some scoring touch, including a GWG in Game 5 to force a Game 6.
Grade (B): Kennedy struggled to find his scoring touch, but still played well on the 3rd line. His playoff performance showed off what Kennedy can do offensively with his strong shot and speed.
Joe Vitale (Center):
GP: 68 Goals: 4 Assists: 10 (-5)
GP: 4 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-2)
Joe Vitale did not have much NHL experience before this season, but he certainly gained a lot this year. Vitale is a guy who isn’t in the NHL because of his skills, that’s for sure, he’s what they call a “grinder” and he does his job well. Vitale added a spark to the Penguins this year with his hard work ethic in games, whether it be on the forecheck or backcheck. Joe Vitale made a name for himself with his defensive play, and also faceoffs, leading the team in percentage at 55.5%. Joe Vitale saw some penalty kill time on occasion. One part of Vitale’s game I liked a lot was to see him get hit hard, sometimes cheap shoted too, but get right back up and keep playing hard, seemingly ignoring the pain. He did what any hockey coach would want their player to do, take the number of the player who just hit you, and hit him harder on your next shift. Joe Vitale could drop the gloves if needed too. Dan Bylsma scratched him on occasion because some nights their lineup needed some more skill, and also was injured for a few games. In the playoffs Vitale played in 4 of the 6 games against the Flyers, and did little in each of the games he played in, averaging a mere 4 minutes of ice time each game. Vitale only registered 1 shot and was a (-2).
Grade (B): As a role player he did his job very well. He would have gotten a higher grade, but he failed to produce much in the points department, not that he is supposed to but 4 goals in 68 games is a little low and I think he can do better than that. Joe Vitale was a non-factor in the playoffs.
Eric Tangradi (Left Wing):
GP: 24 Goals: 0 Assists: 2 (-4)
GP: 2 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (+2)
Eric Tangradi came over in a trade from the Anaheim Ducks on February 26, 2009. Since then he has spent much of his time playing with WBS in the AHL. Eric Tangradi was a regular call up when players were injured, and sometimes stayed on the Penguins 23 man roster as a healthy scratch this season. It’s pretty clear everyone was disappointed in Tangradi’s production this year with only 2 assists. Ray Shero’s hopes were that he could develop into a top-6 power forward who could play along Malkin or Crosby, that idea has utterly failed so far, but remember Tangradi is still young. Tangradi did make some strides defensively after he realized that if he wasn’t producing then he better be able to play good defense. Tangradi also threw his body around, and tried to make an impact physically. In the playoffs Tangradi only played in 2 of the 6 games, but in the games he did play the Pens were 2-0. Tangradi played a solid game defensively and did a fine job getting 1 assist during his limited ice time. This again makes us hopeful that Tangradi can come up big for the Penguins next season.
Grade (C): Tangradi didn’t even score a goal this season, that’s absolutely awful. He made some strides defensively and played physically which are the positives. If he can find a scoring touch, he won’t be playing in WBS anymore. Tangradi played a solid couple games in the playoffs, Bylsma elected to have him play again in Game 5, even though the Penguins got James Neal and Craig Adams back from suspensions, and were dressing seven defenseman. This shows Bylsma’s confidence in Tangradi’s play as of late.
Simon Despres (Defense):
GP: 18 Goals 1: Assists: 3 (+5)
GP: 3 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (+2)
Simon Despres played for the Penguins for the first time this season, making his NHL debut. I saw a lot of good characteristics in Despres’ game, and like all young rookie’s some need for improvement. Despres’ did well moving the puck and even got to see some powerplay time this season with the many injuries on our blue line. Despres’ worked well in the Penguins system joining rushes, and pinching in the offense zone to keep pucks in and this is a major plus moving forward. In the next few years I look for him to move into an offensive-defense man to complement Letang. Despres’ had his fair share of turnovers this season too, and defensively could have played stronger, but for a rookie I think he did just fine. Despres will be a good fit for the Penguins in the future, and it seems like his potential is through the roof. In the playoffs Despres was used in the Bylsma’s technique of dressing seven defenseman in 3 games against the Flyers. Despres generally played under 10 minutes, but did well during his sparse playing time. Despres also played regularly on the second power play unit, showing the confidence his coaches had in him.
Grade (A-): Despres will hopefully be that player who logs 25 minutes of ice time a game and is one of the Penguin’s top defenseman in a few years. For his first NHL season he did fine and showed us that he is near ready to consistently play at this level. Despres had a good outing when called up for the Penguins in the playoffs.
Richard Park (RW/C):
GP: 54 Goals: 7 Assists: 7 (-1)
GP: 2 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (-1)
Richard Park returned to playing in the NHL after playing in Switzerland during the 2010-2011 season. Park was a regular on the fourth line of the Penguins this season and often rotated with Joe Vitale as a healthy scratch. Park prided himself on playing good defensive hockey throughout the season. Park showed that he had a good wrist shot, and could find the back of the net on occasion. Park also played point on the Penguins power play for a brief period of time, Park is one of those players that is coachable and is in the NHL based off his hard work. I was disappointed that Park did not bring much physicality to the game this season. Park is a good veteran forward to have on your fourth line who can be counted on as a reliable forward. During his two games in the playoffs, Park was really not noticeable, partly because he generally played around 4 minutes each game and he did not create much offensively, but never ceased to hustle.
Grade (B): Park had a so-so season points wise and failed to hit much, let alone at all. What Park did do, however, was fill a spot on the fourth line well, had a great work ethic, and played good defensive hockey.
Arron Asham (RW):
GP: 64 Goals: 5 Assists: 11 (-5)
GP: 3 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-3)
It’s fair enough to say that Asham’s season will be highlighted by two plays: the vicious cross check to Brayden Schenn in the playoffs resulting in a 4 game suspension and Asham’s fight against Jay Beagle where he knocked him out after two strong punches. These two events really highlight what Asham brought to the team, he stuck up for our stars and he proved night in and night out that he was there to hit physically and grind it out on the Penguins fourth line. Asham did a good job producing from his role on the fourth line, producing 16 points, and Asham was rarely a liability defensively, and that it why he was rarely a healthy scratch. Asham did miss some games due to a concussion. It is a shame that Asham, a well-respected play who has fought to stay in the lineup every night, literally, is going to have his reputation tainted by his incident in the playoffs.
Grade (B): Asham played pretty well all season, put some decent points up for a fourth liner, and fought and hit consistenly all season. Asham, however, was suspended for a stupid and unnecessary cross check to the chest of Schenn in the playoffs.
Brian Strait (D);
GP: 9 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (-2)
GP: 3 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (+3):
Brian Strait was called up during the season during the early months when our defense was completely depleted and it seemed like another defenseman would get injured every other night. In his time playing in the NHL this season, one aspect of his game stood out to me right away: his physical play. Brian Strait could hit, and not just finish checks but step up on players at the blue line, similar to how Brooks Orpik hits. Strait’s puck moving ability and skating is under rated, he was able to do a good job in both aspects this season. Strait is not noted for his scoring, and showed it this season, not really helping the offense of the Penguins at all offensively. The Penguin’s shear depth at the defense position will keep him out of the lineup for next season. Strait comes in as the Penguins 9th defenseman as of now. Strait did fine in the playoffs working in Byslma’s seven defenseman rotation playing around 10 minutes each game.
Grade (B+): For a WBS call up this season Brian Strait did a fine job as a fill in for the Penguins on the blue line. It will be hard for Strait to earn a roster spot this season out of training camp, but look for Strait to be a regular call up when the Penguins need a defenseman from WBS. Strait’s lack of offensive talent will make Simon Despres the more favorable call up, however.
Dustin Jeffery (LW/C):
GP: 26 Goals: 4 Assists: 2 (-4)
Dustin Jeffery came back after tearing his MCL/ACL last season. Early in the season he had a few complications with his knee not being fully healed; leading him to miss a lot of games where he would have played due to the Penguins abundance of injuries. Later in the season he was generally a healthy scratch since the Penguins had pretty much all their players back. It seemed like Jeffery could not produce any points this season and did little for the Penguins offensively, and when you aren’t producing you better be able to play quality defensive hockey you aren’t going to crack our deep roster. This was really proven to me in the playoffs when 3 Penguins players were suspended, Byslma chose to dress seven defenseman, forcing Jeffery to be a healthy scratch yet again. It seemed like Jeffery fell out of favor with the coaches towards the end of the season.
Grade (C-): Jeffery did little to contribute offensively and was unable to play good enough defense to keep himself in the lineup, leading to many healthy scratches for him. Jeffery’s lack of production may be because of his knee injury he had last season, which lingered into this season as well. Maybe a healthy Dustin Jeffery will do better next season.
Ben Lovejoy (D):
GP: 34 Goals: 1 Assists: 4 (+3)
GP: 2 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-2):
Ben Lovejoy was generally the Penguins 7th defenseman throughout the season. Lovejoy did play a lot toward the beginning of the season when the Penguins defenseman were crippled by injuries. Lovejoy showed that he can move the puck better, and made great strides in the offseason, improving his skating ability. Lovejoy didn’t produce offensively like he did in the 2011 season, where he had 17 points in 47 games, but did improve his defensive play a little bit. Lovejoy only scored 1 goal this season, but he was definitely shooting the puck a lot, he had 48 shots, but they just could not find their way into the net. His shooting percentage was an atrocious 2.1%. Lovejoy is also one of the defenseman hurt by the depth of the Penguin’s defense, and could probably play regularly on most NHL teams. Lovejoy had knee surgery late in the season, but made a quick recovery so he could return for the playoffs. In the playoffs, Lovejoy played poorly, allowing WBS call ups Brian Strait and Simon Despres to move ahead of him in the depth chart. His knee injury was never fully healed, which could have led to him being scratched later on in the series against the Flyers.
Grade (B-): Lovejoy certainly showed some improvements this season, and showed that he is NHL ready, but played little due to injury and the depth of the Penguin’s defense. Lovejoy could certainly improve defensively, and needs to produce more offense from the blue line.
Zbynek Michalek (D):
GP: 62 Goals: 2 Assists 11 (0)
GP: 6 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (+2)
Michalek had again a solid year as the Penguin’s defensive defenseman this season. Michalek was originally paired with Paul Martin towards the beginning of the season, but since that pairing was not as good as it was last year, Michalek ended up playing most of the season with Orpik acting as the Penguin’s shutdown pair. Michalek ate up a lot of minutes on the PK this season. To me it seemed Michalek did not play quite as good as he did in the 2010-2011 season, but nonetheless was a staple to the Pens defense all season. Michalek did miss a string of games early in the season with an upper body injury. Michalek was on par with his point production this season with his 13 points. Michalek fired 77 shots on goal this season which is decent; Michalek could really improve his points production if he got his shooting percentage up from 2.6%. In the playoffs, the Penguin’s defense as a whole played badly, Michalek did okay, it seemed like Michalek took a lot of abuse in the playoffs, getting wrecked many times. Michalek did not practice with the Penguins on off days in the playoffs so he most likely had a minor injury.
Grade (B): Michalek had a good season with the Pens, and proved that he can play really good defensive hockey. His offensive production was pretty normal for him, and he played okay in the playoffs. I think it is fair to say Michalek is worth his $4 million salary.
Deryk Engelland (D):
GP: 73 Goals: 4 Assists: 13 (+10)
GP: 6 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (+1)
Deryk Engelland played his second full season with the Penguins this year. Engelland made the 23 man roster right out of training camp, but a first there was speculation as to whether Ben Lovejoy would be the teams 6th defenseman, or if Engelland would fill that place. It became clear that the Penguins planned on having Engelland as a regular in the Pens top 6 defenseman. Engelland brings something to the Penguins defense that Lovejoy doesn’t, he can hit very well and fight with the toughest players in the NHL. Engelland fought a lot less this year compared to last year; this was because Engelland would be hurting the team if he had to sit in the penalty box for 5 minutes every game. Engelland’s skating was probably the most improved aspect of his game, it was noticeable when he would lug the puck up the ice and then dump it in, he also showed some escapibility, getting away from the oppositions forecheckers with ease. Engelland worked hard in the offseason to become more of a puck moving defenseman, and it is fair to say he accomplished that, always leaving the zone with his head up and ready to make a pass. Engelland had a pretty normal year offensively, and he is not in the lineup to score goals so nobody expects much production. Engelland was suspended 3 games this season for hitting a player in the head.
Grade (A-): Engelland did his job well for a defenseman on a team’s 3rd pairing. He fought, hit and worked hard to stay in the lineup every night. He also improved his skating, puck handling, passing and shot. Engelland should be a staple at the Penguins blue line for the next couple of years.
Craig Adams (R/C):
GP: 82 Goals: 5 Assists: 13 (-6)
GP: 5 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-1)
Craig Adams is the Penguins lineup because of his strong defensive skill and he is a staple on the Penguins excellent penalty kill, the 18 points he had this season are just an added bonus. Adams put up some good numbers this season, the most he has gotten as a Penguin. Adams once went over 100 games without scoring a goal so to have 5 in a season is considered good for him. Craig Adams was a regular on the penalty kill and all season did a good job, whether it was getting sticks in the lane, blocking shots, or even creating some shorthanded scoring opportunities. Adam proved to be a consistent physical player on the fourth line, and it is an accomplishment that he played in every single game this season considering how much abuse his body takes over the course of a season. In the playoffs the Penguin’s penalty kill was awful, but it was all the players who are to blame for that. Adams also got suspended for 1 game in the playoffs for receiving an instigating penalty in the last 5 minutes of a game.
Grade (A-): Adams put up great numbers this season for his role on this team, and consistently did a good job defensively. I took 1/3 of a letter grade off for the Penguins defensive faults in the playoffs considering he plays a major part in that role.
Brent Johnson (G):
GPI: 16 GS: 14 GAA: 3.11 (6-7-2) Sv%: .883
GPI: 1 GS: 0 GAA: 6.00 (0-0) Sv%: .667
It is fair to say Brent Johnson really struggled this season. In the few games he played in he always looked nervous and just let in way too many soft goals. Johnson had his worst Sv% of his career this season and his GAA wasn’t so great either. Johnson was hampered by an undisclosed injury for a couple months later in the season, giving Brad Theissen a chance to get some valuable NHL experience. Johnson will battle back though, something he has done his whole career. I expect him to be ready for next season and be playing a lot better.
Grade (D): Johnson had a poor season. He looked shaky in net and had little confidence at all this season. He is still a solid back up for the Penguins though.
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