The Penguins Are a Different Team Today. Are They Better?
Wow. It’s sure been a whirlwind couple of days for our Penguins, hasn’t it?
I’ll say this for Kyle Dubas. He definitely seems to have a plan and he sure ain’t afraid to roll the dice and make a move. Quite refreshing, and in stark contrast to former GM Ron Hextall. To put it in hockey parlance, Hextall tended to play on his heels. Dubas plays on his toes.
We’ve added six new players over the past few days who are likely to nab roster spots, forwards Reilly Smith, Noel Acciari, Lars Eller and Matt Nieto, high-profile defenseman Ryan Graves and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. Re-upping incumbent UFA netminder Tristan Jarry makes seven.
A third of the team.
In addition, Dubas added several depth pieces in forwards Radim Zohorna (welcome back ‘Big Z’!), Marc Johnstone, Joona Koppanen, defenseman Ryan Shea and goalie Magnus Hellberg. Although a journeyman, the latter made an impression on me last December 28 in a game against the Red Wings.