‘Now’ takes on several meanings
When Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford pulled the trigger this week and forked over a 2020 firstround pick, blue-line prospect Calen Addison and winger Alex Galchenyuk in exchange for Minnesota’s speedy left winger, Jason Zucker, the move was described by many as “win-now.”
Rutherford himself used that term.
“By the time that pick and Addison are ready to play in the league, our window of opportunity may be closed,” Rutherford told the Post-Gazette. “This is an opportunity to get a player to help us win now.”
But to really understand this trade, take a step back for a second and ask an important question: What exactly does “now” mean?
By the strictest definition, now means “at this present moment.” And yes, Zucker should help with that. This season, the Penguins have overcome significant injuries to their brightest stars to climb within a few points of Washington in the Metropolitan Division. This move gives them their best chance to make the most of this season.
At the same time, this isn’t an all-or-nothing move that hinges only upon this postseason. “Now” extends well beyond just the next couple months.
Zucker is under contract through the 2022-23 season with a deal that carries an average annual value of $5.5 million. And he’s not the only one. The players signed through at least 2021-22 include Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Patric Hornqvist, Bryan Rust, Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson and Jack Johnson.
“The fact that we have [Zucker] under contract for multiple years is important,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think that weighed into part of Jim [Rutherford]’s decision . ... I certainly think it makes us a better team today. But it also is going to make us a better team moving forward.”
Even with so many players under contract, the Penguins will have some big decisions to make. Most notably, they’ll eventually have to pick a goalie, and Zucker’s salary-cap hit might influence that decision. They’ll also have to make some decisions on players like Jared McCann, Dominik Kahun and Dominik Simon, who are all restricted free agents at season’s end.
But by adding Zucker, the Penguins have done their best to keep the championship window open — this year and beyond.
“When you look at the core group of players that are in this room, they’ve accomplished an awful lot,” Sullivan said. “What I’ve come to respect and admire about these guys is their desire to accomplish more.
“We believe that our core is in the prime of their careers. They’re elite players in their own right. I think Jim [Rutherford] has ultimately tried to surround these guys with the right players to try to put a team together that can contend.”
Goalie depth could pay off
While the Tristan Jarry vs. Matt Murray debate has driven the needle on sports talk radio, Sullivan has consistently maintained that the Penguins will need both goalies. Sounds like a nice, political answer, right? Maybe not.
The Friday night game against the Montreal Canadiens kicked off a stretch of nine games in 16 days. The grind of the season continues into March, when the Penguins play 16 games in 31 days.
They have taken a number of steps to manage players’ workloads, most notably by canceling the vast majority of game -day skates. Now, with two goalies playing well, the Penguins can afford to save some gas in their goalies’ tanks by splitting up the starts.
“Both guys have played really well for us,” Sullivan said. “We think it’s a strength of our team. We think it’s a competitive advantage when you get in these pockets of the schedule where the games are condensed. It’s nice to have two guys that are high-quality goaltenders like we have.
“On the same side of the coin, I think they’re both keeping each other at their best because there’s a healthy competition that pushes them to be at their best. It’s a great situation for our team.”
Early addition
Adjusting to a new system and new team in the middle of the season is never easy. But if there’s one advantage for Zucker, it’s that he’s joining the Penguins now and not right at the Feb. 24 deadline.
“The earlier you get them, you have more of an opportunity for them to get accustomed to their new surroundings, to familiarize themselves with how we’re trying to play, the details of our team game, the relationships they have with their teammates and their coaching staff,” Sullivan said. “Obviously, the more time that you have, it helps to facilitate in all of those ways.”
Hornqvist to the fourth line
The Penguins have shown a couple different looks on their top line since Zucker was acquired. Zucker began the Friday game on the first line next to Crosby and Simon. This is the same group that skated together in the third period Tuesday.
That bumped Patric Hornqvist to the fourth line, where he skated next to center Andrew Agozzino and left wing Sam Lafferty.