The Pittsburgh Penguins are set with their top two lines heading into 2013-14 season barring no injuries. The Penguins do have some questions as to who will fill the void on the third line. The Penguins were in negotiations to bring in Daniel Clearly. Cleary would have been a perfect fit on the third line for the Penguins as he is a hard nosed player that logs tough minutes on the penalty kill and still average 40 points in a season. However, early Tuesday morning, the Philadelphia Flyers swooped in and signed Cleary to a three-year deal.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, Ray Shero had to subtract more from his roster than he wanted to. In those subtractions were fan favorites in Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke. We also saw rental players in Jarome Iginla, Douglas Murray and Brendan Morrow not brought back. Kennedy is gritty, feisty and a true energy player that will also be missed for his scoring touch.
Matt Cooke is Matt Cooke. Quite possibly one of the best agitators to play for the Penguins, also became a sound two way player who will be sorely missed this season. All of these players brought serious grit and toughness to the ice on every shift. The Penguins, however will need to look elsewhere to fill these voids.
Brandon Sutter will be centering the third line and Jussi Jokinen will take either wing as he is a versatile forward. That being said, who takes the other wing on the third line? Craig Adams is 36 and is destined for the fourth line for the Pens and is happy to be there. Tanner Glass has the size, the grit, the toughness and should be given every opportunity to play on a third line for the Penguins. A prime example of this would be to look at what the Flyers did with Scott Hartnell. The Flyers turned a glorified grinder, a goon into a top line scorer.
Glass has established himself with his speed and work ethic which makes him effective on the forecheck and responsible defensively. Glass is a physical and an aggressive player and as we know isn’t afraid to drop the gloves. Glass is my pick to fill the void on the third line and bolster the Pens’ grit and toughness.
