Penguins have a a goaltending issue
PITTSBURGH — If the Pittsburgh Penguins were going to have a goaltending issue, it figured to center around Marc-Andre Fleury.
Fleury was the one who faltered in the playoffs again, necessitating a change to backup Tomas Vokoun.
Vokoun played well and helped the Penguins get to the conference final, where their loss was tied to a lack of offense, not any goaltending issues.
But Vokoun, who was rock-solid in his first season with the team, needed surgery to dissolve a blood clot in his leg last week.
Information beyond that has been sparse. The Penguins did confirm that Vokoun will not be ready to play when the season opens this week.
There has been no prognosis on when he might be able to get back on the ice.
Then Friday brought an alarming report from a Czech-language media outlet that said doctors told Vokoun his blood clot was nearly fatal. From there, it said that Vokoun was contemplating retirement.
Vokoun’s agent quickly dismissed that report, saying that something had been lost in the translation. Instead, the agent said that Vokoun feels good, is in good spirits and is looking forward to restarting his workouts.
If he can return and play at the level he did last season, it will be a huge plus for the Penguins. Vokoun was exactly the kind of backup they needed, a steady professional who is mature enough to avoid rocking the boat by lobbying for more playing time.
He bailed the team out in the playoffs. With Fleury fighting his postseason demons, Vokoun stepped in and solidified the position. Without his effort, the Penguins may not have gotten out of their first-round match-up with the feisty New York Islanders.
If Vokoun can’t play, the Penguins will be forced to get a qualified backup. That would involve giving up assets and clearing salary cap space, so there would be an impact on the depth chart in several areas.
There isn’t anyone currently in the organization capable of backing up Fleury on a consistent basis. The ideal split would have Fleury playing about 70 percent of the games.
If Vokoun comes out of this with a clean bill of health, it will be a huge relief for the Penguins.
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One of the benefits of realignment for this season will be the games between the Penguins and Detroit Red Wings.
The talent level of both teams makes this a solid match-up, as does their history of playing twice in the Stanley Cup Final.
Unfortunately, there’s only one home game — April 9, which will certainly be one of the hottest tickets of the season at Consol Energy Center.
The Penguins play twice in Detroit, on Dec. 14 and March 20.
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Jussi Jokinen had some preseason success playing on Evgeni Malkin’s line with James Neal, and that’s great.
The Penguins always need secondary scoring.
But Beau Bennett should still be the choice for the “other” wing on that line.
Jokinen is 30 and in the final year of his contract. The Penguins are his fourth NHL team.
Bennett is 21, and a former No. 1 draft pick. He’s the future. Sidney Crosby’s wingers (Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis) are 34.
Line combinations are not chiseled in granite. They not only change from game-to-game and period-to-period, they can change on each shift.
So nothing is permanent. But in the interest of developing Bennett’s considerable potential and providing the organization with a long-term answer for the top two lines, give Bennett a full look with Malkin and Neal.
John Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com.