Russian defenceman to wear #51
With the deadline slowly approaching, the Pittsburgh Penguins wasted no time in trading for a big name. They sent LA's 1st round pick in 2012 and Bryan ''getting old'' McCabe to the Minnesota Wild for an improvement on defense, Fedor Tyutin. Tyutin had been traded to Minnesota from Columbus around the same time last year for Jeff Halpern and a 2nd round pick. GM Bernier felt that the closer the deadline would have come, the more chances Tyutin would have been gone knowing that Minnesota is a seller again this year, so he did what he does best and jumped on the trigger. Tyutin is very well-rounded defensively and he can create nice breakouts and nice plays in the o-zone. He is not necessarily known for his shot, but he will still get some PP minutes. Coach Hartley had him practice with Simon Despres before Pittsburgh's home game against an improving Toronto Maple Leafs team. Tyutin has lots of experience and will be perfect to mentor young Despres. After practice, Bernier told the media that he could be the missing piece of the puzzle to a Stanley Cup winning team. Always brutally honest, he said that McCabe's play was starting to be inconsistent which is not normal for a veteran of his age.
The team has really been playing well this season. The JVR-Hodgson-Iginla line has been steady with their 1pt each a game. Van Riemsdyk proved that he was a solid acquisition. Iginla had lots of fun giving his boy Drake some props at the All-Star game and taking pictures with the famous canadian hip-hop artist. We will see if the All-Star game will give him a boost to go up the leaderboard in points. He now stands 11th with 51pts in 49games. You can always expect captain Iggy to carry the team. Other than the 1st line, goaltending has been average but good enough, Paul Ranger is 2nd in the league in hits, Patrik Berglund is 3rd in the league in Faceoff percentage, Brooks Orpik (also recently acquired/brought back to Pittsburgh) is 4th in the league in Takeaway/Giveaway ratio, Kopitar-Michalek were turned into a shutdown line which has turned to work quite well and Colby Armstrong still remains sidelined for another few weeks with an abdomen injury.
As for the farm team in beautiful Wilkes-Barre, Peter Holland and Chris Stewart were sent down to get more ice-time as the pro team currently has no room. Although, Holland will definitely be a Penguin for years to come. J.T. Miller is also a promising young player. He is expected to crack the roster next year, while other 2011 1st rounder Joel Armia takes his place in Wilkes-Barre to learn the ropes with coach Reirden.
Hold tight for the last stretch of the season and Go Pens!
Burke Adams,
ESPN
