Pittsburgh Penguins: Who Should Stay and Who Should Go?

There's been a lot of overreaction over the past week—trade Evgeni Malkin, Marc Andre Fleury, let all the free agents walk, etcetera.

As usual, the best course is probably somewhere in the middle. Sentiment has led to some iffy choices from last year to this one—like keeping Ruslan Fedetenko. Let's hope that the Pens don't repeat the same mistakes, but they shouldn't over-correct either.

To steer the middle course, the Pens and their fans need to recall what was good about this year's team, and what needs to be improved on.

Since Defense wins championships, let's start there.

I think the Pens should keep Jordan Leopold as insurance since Alex Gologoski is as awful a defenseman as he appears at times.

Kris Letang is better than Gogo shooting, and will ultimately be better in almost all respects. Thank your third jersey that Letang was signed long term at the close of the regular season.

Gonchar, at 35, must either go, or at most be signed for one more year. He no longer has the ability to be a No. 1 defenseman, and he at times has approached albatross status. The Penguins already have one of those in Gologoski.

On the power play, Leopold would fit well as an interim or even outright replacement for Gonchar, with the understanding that his shot can't be replaced. Letang has the best shot of the remaining roster. In defensive areas, Leopold will be an upgrade.

That leaves Brooks Orpik, who is too slow to cover the best in the league. Leopold and the inconsistent Letang are acting as the No. 2/No. 3 defensemen.

What does this mean?

The Pens need a No. 1 defenseman. The $5 million that Gonchar is making should be enough to sign one. That's true because the Pens have an overabundance of puck handlers. So, a minute-eating shutdown defenseman should do the trick. No powerplay acumen is needed.

In the lower ranks, Mark Eaton plays too small. However, as a number four or five, he's okay.

I think scratching Jay McKee for much of the Montreal series was a strategic error, as Gologoski should have sat due to his poor defensive play. With that said, McKee seemed lost out there at times during the regular season.

McKee made $800,000 against the cap, but over $2 million with buyout money he was collecting from St. Louis. All this together means that he probably won't be back.

That leaves a need in the bottom pairing alongside Gologoski. Preferably someone with defensive leanings who could teach Gologoski, the power play quarterback heir apparent, a thing or two.

As Gologoski appears to have significant lapses, he's either a number 7 that you hide as a forward, or in the lower logjam with McKee and Eaton.

Ben Lovejoy is supposed to have the right stuff to succeed. There's even some talk that Simon Despres, the first-round choice defenseman currently developing in junior, might be ready.

If the Pens want to keep Crosby, Malkin and Staal, then it's time to bring along some homegrown prospects.

In goal, Marc Andre Fleury will be fine if he can get some defensemen to play well in front of him.

At forward, the situation isn't nearly as dire as the bandwagon fans think it is.

The important thing to remember here is not to panic. Shedding too many reasonably priced and talented guys creates a bigger problem.

Bill Guerin absolutely must remain. His calming influence in high-pressure situations is good for more than a few tough exits against a ferocious forecheck, and he was simply the best winger the Pens had. Isn't the object to build from here?

Alexei Ponikarovsky does not suck despite the naysayers. At times he's been good. He has done some inconsistent work rounding into shape on the forecheck, but he should be a bargain winger thanks to all the hard work of denigrating his reputation done by the fans and writers. He's got a very good shot. Hopefully the organization didn't burn bridges with him.

Fedetenko simply must go. When you look at the various soft wingers they chose from at the end of last year, in 20-20 hindsight, they should have kept Miroslav Satan. He always had a better shot. You could argue that Petr Sykora would have been an upgrade on Fedetenko.

Malkin can and should stay. The fans like him, and they love his parents. That's not to say that he can't improve. He needs to be made to care about his defensive play again, and be sternly disciplined every time he leaves a blind pass trail up the high middle.

Making Malkin grow a mustache until he gets into the correct side on the plus/minus column might make his stays in the D-zone more workmanlike.

We should also remember that Eric Tangradi will likely be here next season. He won't immediately make fans forget about Ryan Malone, but he should do some good work next season towards becoming that kind of player eventually.

If he's not ready, it's time to drag the minors' coaches behind the barn and have a stern talk while patting the old blunderbuss.

The toughest part of sorting out the forwards is to choose from the glut of third and fourth line players that the Pens have on the roster. Too many wingers punching above their weight allows an opposing coach to focus on the center, who are making these guys look better than their natural talents.

Chris Kunitz is a high third liner. Pascal Dupuis is necessary for team speed and the penalty kill, but isn't a tremendously handsy guy. Tyler Kennedy and Max Talbot should stay. I love Mike Rupp. If he stays, he can do a good enough job as goon to eliminate Eric Goddard.

The team needs to choose between Craig Adams and Matt Cooke. I know they play different positions but they are duds in the regular season and provide much the same "grit." Adams has less, Cooke has more. Pick one.

Assuming that no guys from the minors come up to play on the third and fourth lines, there are eight bodies (counting Jordan Staal) for six positions.

Presuming that some demotions and winnowing occur in the lower ranks, that Tangradi comes up, and Guerin and Ponikarovsky stay, that leaves one or two spots open for top-six wingers. They aren't cheap, but they are out there.

Perhaps it's time to pick Staal or Malkin and just insist that one of them play wing full-time, in which case the top line needs are fewer, and Mark Letestu could perhaps make a go at third line center.

A good idea might be a power play coach, and a defensive one wouldn't be out of order. But those discussions are for another day.

Like I said, the Pens should attract one or two good wingers and a good defenseman. They shouldn't start over by dumping everyone. They have enough talent and cap room for a long run next postseason as long as they don't get sentimental.