Kings Show Why Penguins Should Move Staal to Wing
June 5, 2012 Leave a comment
The Los Angeles Kings are a game away from winning the Stanley Cup. They’ve been winning in dominating fashion, most notably because of their intense forecheck along the boards, where they plaster opponents and recover the puck.
One main reason that forecheck works so well?
Left Wing
Dustin Penner 6-4, 249 lbs. —> 3G 8A
Dwight King 6-3, 234 lbs. ——> 5G 1 A
Right Wing
Dustin Brown 6-0, 209 lbs. —> 7G 10A
These guys have shown what big, physical wingers can do and they’ve done it in the postseason.
Remind you of any CENTERS on the Penguins roster?
Jordan Staal 6-4, 220 lbs.
It’s just a thought experiment, but think about the work that Staal does on the forecheck. He’s a big, physical player anyway, so why not move him to the wing alongside Sidney Crosby? He’ll score even more, get more ice time and he’ll be pleased that he’s no longer a third-line guy. That would give him more incentive to stay with the Penguins, making him easier to sign. And think about how loaded the top-two lines would look:
Neal-Malkin-Kunitz
Staal-Crosby-Dupuis
That’d be fun to watch.
Getting bigger on the wing is something the Penguins should be looking to do anyway.
Look at the Penguins current wingers.
| LEFT WINGS | |||||||
| NO. | NAME | AGE | HT | WT | SHOT | BIRTH PLACE | BIRTHDATE |
| 24 | Matt Cooke | 33 | 5-11 | 205 | L | Belleville, Ontario | 9/7/78 |
| 14 | Chris Kunitz | 32 | 6-0 | 193 | L | Regina, Saskatchewan | 9/26/79 |
| 26 | Steve Sullivan | 37 | 5-8 | 161 | R | Timmins, Ontario | 7/6/74 |
| 25 | Eric Tangradi | 23 | 6-4 | 221 | L | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 2/10/89 |
| RIGHT WINGS | |||||||
| NO. | NAME | AGE | HT | WT | SHOT | BIRTH PLACE | BIRTHDATE |
| 27 | Craig Adams | 35 | 6-0 | 197 | R | Seria, Brunei | 4/26/77 |
| 45 | Arron Asham | 34 | 5-11 | 205 | R | Portage La Prairie, Manitoba | 4/13/78 |
| 9 | Pascal Dupuis | 33 | 6-1 | 205 | L | Laval, Quebec | 4/7/79 |
| 18 | James Neal | 24 | 6-2 | 208 | L | Oshawa, Ontario | 9/3/87 |
| 12 | Richard Park | 36 | 5-11 | 190 | R | Seoul, South Korea | 5/27/76 |
There isn’t exactly a wealth of size there.
And I know, Dan Bylsma‘s system is based more on speed and mobility. But it couldn’t hurt to have a few bigger guys that can turn the puck over and offer a physical presence on the ice. We already know that Staal skates pretty well for a big man. He fits the mold of the system and he also fits the mold of what the Kings are doing right now.
I’m certainly not the first one to suggest this. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Dejan Kovecevic suggested this move earlier this year.
I’m just saying now that there’s tangible evidence of how the move could work out.
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