The Winger Situation

On an off-day for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they prepare to face the Montreal Canadiens on the road tomorrow night, I'm feeling the need to spout off a bit on the current status of a few of the guys the Penguins pay to produce while playing alongside a few of the greatest hockey players on the planet.

I will admit ... there really shouldn't be much to complain about in the grand scheme of Penguin nation at this point of the season. Pittsburgh has one of the best overall records in the game and looks as if it will continue to be an annual Stanley Cup contender well into the near future.

I'm generally not a complainer, either.

However, that doesn't mean there aren't issues worth talking about. Isn't that floor one of the things this soapbox provides me anyway?

It's clear that the Penguins have chosen to develop the core of their team down the middle of the roster. With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury anchoring the middle of the ice, Pittsburgh is probably as well positioned at those spots than any team in the game. They have committed significantly on the financial end to ensure that, too.

In the salary-cap era, however, those financial committments don't leave as much to go around at the other positions, and one area where the Penguins have had a deficit in talent the last few years is on the wing.

Worse, unless some of their prospects at wing develop into reliable contributors -- something that's possible with players like Luca Caputi and Eric Tangradi -- that may not change much in the future, because of the contracts Pittsburgh has with Crosby, Geno, Gronk and #29. As such, it's critical that the Penguins get at least average production from their wingers, and rely on the fact that playing with two-world class linemates in the middle should only help.

Well, right now, the Penguins are not getting even average production from two of their more notable wingers, Ruslan Fedotenko and Chris Kunitz.

Fedotneko, in particular, is struggling mightily right now. Feds has 1 goal in his last 18 contests, and only 10 points on the season.

The Russian Tank has never been a big scorer in his career during the regular season, averaging just under 20 goals and about 40/45 points per year.

But this year, he's on a pace for notably less than that -- about 10 goals and 25 points, despite getting a majority of his playing time this season on Malkin's left side.

Kunitz also has continued to fail to meet expectations offensively -- an unfortunate trend that started in last year's post-season when he scored only 1 goal in 24 playoff games despite playing just about every one with the Penguins' #1 center.

Kunitz has been hurt the last month or so, but he still was struggling to score consistently prior to that. He has only 3 goals in about 20 games.

Projected over a full season, that adds up to about 12 tallies.

Before Kunitz was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks, he was a regular 25 goal/55 point man. Bringing him to Pittsburgh to play with Sidney Crosby should have only resulted in him increasing those numbers.

Or so I thought.

There are other parts of Kuntiz's game that are valuable, and both he and Fedotenko are better post-season performers than they are during the regular season. That is important, after all.

But neither #14 or #26 gets paid for their post-season performance, and therein lies the rub.

Carrying Fedotenko this season isn't much of a risk for Pittsburgh. He even agreed to take a pay cut to stay on a one-year deal at 1.8 million, so the Penguins don't have a lot tied up in him.

Kunitz, however, is a different story, and that's why, even though he's produced more than Feds this season, his play frustrates me even more.

Kuntiz gets 3.5 million dollars, and is on a deal that has, I think, 3 seasons remaining on it. I've said it in this forum before and I'll say it again -- Pittsburgh doesn't pay Kunitz 3.5 million dollars to just create space for Crosby.

Mike Rupp can probably do that -- he skates well enough to -- and score 3 times as often as Kunitz.

For what Kunitz is being paid, he has to deliver more. Fedotenko also has to up his production if the Penguins are going to continue to be one of the better teams in the league.

While I'm not a guy who gives up on players at the drop of a hat, I think Pens' GM Ray Shero has to consider moving one or both of these guys if they don't improve. Soon.

Again, the salary cap era dictates this as much as anything.

Time will tell whether Shero has something up his sleeve regarding these two guys. I've already heard rumors that he's exploring the trade market for Fedotenko, hoping to get a draft pick in return. And I'm sure he'll be eying a winger or two at the trade deadline again this year.

That's probably something Penguins' fans should get used to.

For now, Pittsburgh has to count on Kunitz and Fedotenko to realize that their teammates need more from them, and raise their games accordingly.

If they don't, they might find themselves on a far-less championship-worthy club sooner rather than later.