When you play for the Panthers, things are different, a little more relaxed. It's not every NHL locale where you can wear shorts and flip flops to work. Or you can go golfing or to the beach on an off-day. Also, your wife can have a baby in late April with little chance of a life-altering moment like, say, the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Ah, the best-laid plans.
In the NHL, a player's life can be turned upside down in the space of a 30-second phone call. Ask Nick Bjugstad.
Ever since being acquired from Florida on Feb. 1, and getting that famous police escort from Pittsburgh International to PPG Paints Arena, things have been a little hectic for Bjugstad and his wife, Jackie.
"New time in my life as far as I'm in a new city, I'm having a kid ... wow, it's all kind of a whirlwind," a smiling Bjugstad was telling me Monday after practice at PPG Paints Arena. "But it's been fun."
Five weeks and 15 games into his Penguins career, things are finally starting to slow down a little bit — both on and off the ice for the 26-year-old. At least for a few weeks, anyway. The Bjugstads, who are expecting the couple's first child, a baby girl, in seven weeks, recently moved into an apartment north of the city. It goes without saying that going from South Beach to the North Hills is a bit of a culture shock, but when it comes to hockey and a chance to win, there's no place they'd rather be. Even the couple's dog, a Florida-born Shi tzu-Maltese, actually likes playing in the cold and snow.
"I was thinking he wasn't going to like it, thought he was going to be soft," Bjugstad was saying.
Even seven months pregnant, Jackie wasn't soft either. She was all in, too.
"She's been amazing through it all," Bjugstad said of his wife, who was also a student-athlete at the University of Minnesota. "She's been stress-free. Just going with the flow. She supports me wherever I am. She meets all the wives and they already have kids here and they give her advice, so everyone's been great."
Talk about a classic love story!
Congrats to a pair of #Gophers newlyweds — #PrideOnIce All-American alum Nick Bjugstad and @GopherWCCTF’s Jackie Forrest!
?: @NBjugstad72 pic.twitter.com/5kXYem3L6P
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) July 16, 2018
And, hey, they've got Jared McCann with them, too.
He was acquired from the Panthers along with Bjugstad in exchange for Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan and Pittsburgh's second and two fourth-round draft picks this summer. McCann says he and Bjugstad, two former first-rounders, have been "going through the process" of the trade together. They even have neighboring stalls in the Penguins' dressing room. The 22-year-old McCann says he's been trying to help out the young couple when he can. Well, sort of.
"I don't know what he's talking about," Bjugstad was joking. "I'm trying to get him to the day-to-day stuff. I've been driving his butt around."
Anyway it's the thought that counts, right?
Judging by Bjugstad's goal Friday night in Buffalo, he seems to have taken a liking to his new job:
That gorgeous short-sided snipe against the Sabres' Linus Ullmark was Bjugstad's third goal in 15 games with the Penguins, to go along with his three assists and an impressive 52.0 face-off win percentage.
After a stint at right wing, he seems to have embraced the third-line center role -- a position that the organization had been desperate to fill for the better part of the past two seasons -- as well as a spot on the second power-play unit. Though he's not a particularly physical 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, he uses his size and reach to shield pucks and possesses a heavy wrist shot. At 5v5, he has a 46.19 Corsi For percentage with as many goals for (seven) as against.
Bjugstad and McCann say it's going to take some time until they are completely up to speed in Pittsburgh, but at least they will have the benefit of a few extra weeks after being traded 25 days ahead of the deadline. They are also coming to a winning culture where the coaching staff has given them ample room to grow. That should serve both Bjugstad and McCann well over the final 17 games of the regular season, including tonight's game against their former team.
"It's been awesome," McCann was saying. "Everyone's been great. The coaches have been understanding. I've made some mistakes in the system and stuff like that. But it's good when you have teachers who come to you and show you what you did wrong.
"I've only been here for a month and I already feel a part of it."
McCann doesn't have an expectant wife but he has moved into a place of his own. His biggest off-ice challenge, despite what Bjugstad says, is navigating the winding roads of western Pennsylvania.
He's already on his third organization since the Canucks selected him 24th overall in 2014, but he's been a revelation since coming to the Penguins. It's a small sample size, to be sure, but he's averaging 0.60 points per game, far exceeding his previous best of 0.46 as a rookie with Vancouver in 2015-16. He has six goals in 15 games so far and has been a regular on the penalty kill. Two of his goals have come via an empty net -- the first two ENGs of his four-year career -- and two of them came in last week's big win over the Blue Jackets:
That performance in Columbus helped McCann earn a coveted spot Saturday night in Montreal on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, who shifted over to the right wing. Judging by the lines used in practice on Monday, Mike Sullivan might be sticking with that line for a while. Sullivan said he used McCann's speed to counter the Canadiens. It not only did that, it combined for nine points at even strength.
"It's a league of opportunity," McCann was telling me Monday. "If you're given an opportunity, you're going to play well. I'm just getting more chances each game and they're going in for me.
"It's been incredible playing with those two. Two great players. Two players that like to play with the puck, my kind of game. I'm still trying to feel them out. It's going to take a bit, but it's been awesome."
It's entirely too early to judge this year's trade deadline acquisitions but Sullivan says the Penguins are "a better team with them in our lineup." Bjugstad has two more years remaining on his existing contract, while McCann can't become a restricted free agent until after next season. But unlike their previous team, seasons in Pittsburgh are judged only by playoff success.
McCann has never played in a postseason game while Bjugstad has played in just five of them in his six-year career. All of those came in 2016 when the Panthers lost a heartbreaking first-round series to the Islanders. Knocked out of Game 5 with a concussion, Bjugstad then missed the deciding Game 6. It was the third game the Panthers lost in the series in overtime.
If all goes well, Bjugstad will be working a little more overtime this spring as a hockey player and as a new dad. Jackie's due date is April 24, which should fall some time in the second round of the playoffs.
So what if it comes down to a choice between playing in a playoff game or attending the birth of his daughter? You better believe the Bjugstads have already had that discussion. And?
"She claims she's going to hold the baby in if it's a game day," Nick said with a laugh. "I don't know how she will. I just hope she doesn't come on a game day. But whatever happens, happens. We'll be happy."
