Tim Benz: Rutger McGroarty worth a look as Penguins consider candidates to play with Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust
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Now that we know Sidney Crosby’s contract is ironed out with the Penguins, the next thing to speculate about is who his linemates will be.
Bryan Rust is the most obvious choice to be on Crosby’s right wing. Rust played with Crosby for a total of 762 minutes of five-on-five ice time last year, the most of any returning Penguins forward.
Jake Guentzel was on the ice with Crosby for 749 minutes five-on-five (via NaturalStatTrick.com). But Guentzel is in Tampa Bay now. He signed there this offseason following the Penguins’ trade in March which sent him to Carolina.
Evgeni Malkin seemed to have a late uptick in production once Michael Bunting came to the team from Carolina as part of the exchange for Guentzel. Of any forward who was on the ice with Malkin for more than 45 minutes of ice time last year, his Corsi (55.83) and shots-for percentage (55.92) were at their best with Bunting.
On Thursday, Bunting and Malkin were in different groups so Ville Koivunen — another prospect acquired in that Carolina trade — skated with Malkin and Rickard Rakell.
Since coach Mike Sullivan prioritizes keeping two forwards together that tend to mesh well while dotting in a third to complete the line, it’s likely you’ll see those two sets remain.
So who is going to play on the left side with Crosby, and what qualities does he want to see from that teammate?
“You just try to be predictable for each other,” Crosby said Wednesday. “We all have certain strengths and you have to play to those strengths. But we have to work as a unit out there and read off of each other. Moving our feet. Getting on pucks. Forcing turnovers, forcing mistakes.”
Rakell spent significantly more time on ice with Malkin than he did with Crosby. Like Rust, he is a right shot. So, he’s more likely to stay with Malkin.
New acquisition Anthony Beauvillier got time with Crosby and Rust on Day 1 of training camp Wednesday. Beauvillier played in Vancouver, Chicago and Nashville last year, totaling just 17 points.
Drew O’Connor is again a possibility after a career-high 16 goals and 33 points. He spent 346 minutes of even strength time with Crosby, slightly less than Malkin, and about 40 minutes more than Lars Eller.
Perhaps the most interesting option, and the one I’m rooting for, is Rutger McGroarty. He is the former first-round pick from the U.S. National Development Team that general manager Kyle Dubas acquired in the Brayden Yager trade last month.
The former Michigan Wolverine is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound left shot who plays with some tenacity and can score.
“He’s a kid that works extremely hard. He’s a kid that can put the puck in the net,” Rust said. “In the skates before camp, you could see his touch in and around the net. I’m intrigued to see how he adapts to the speed of the game and if he is able to find those spots. Because, if he does, he is going to be able to score goals.”
On that point, the one knock on McGroarty’s game from some scouts is that he may not have the kind of raw skating that it would take to be on a line with Crosby and Rust. However, the 20-year-old insists he has enough speed to keep up.
“I felt really good on Day 1,” McGroarty said after Wednesday’s practice. “I felt good in the conditioning. I was keeping up. I was doing well. I felt like the speed wasn’t an issue for me.”
Rust downplayed that part of the conversation as well and said, “There are a lot of guys in this league that, quote, ‘Aren’t very fast.’ But they can do a lot of special things.”
He cited Vegas’ Mark Stone as an example.
Either way, McGroarty isn’t getting ahead of himself when it comes to envisioning a partnership with Rust and Crosby.
“I don’t know what to say about that,” McGroarty said. “I’m not too worried about that. I’m just worried about making the team right now. Today was a great start. I feel like I had a great day.”
Whatever I speculate about here will no doubt change between now and the early part of the season. And Sullivan will no doubt change his mind on combinations multiple times during the season.
For now, though, I sure would love to see McGroarty get an extended shot to be on the team, and play with Rust and Crosby. The potential for that three-way combination is extremely high-end.