Trading away prospects and picks is the cost a team pays if they want to win back-to-back Stanley Cups.
To rebuild the farm, the Penguins have dipped into the college free agent pool in recent years with varying levels of success. Two-time Cup-winner Conor Sheary, current Penguin Zach Aston-Reese, and some of the more prominent prospects currently in Wilkes-Barre -- Ethan Prow, Adam Johnson, Thomas Di Pauli -- were signed out of college.
The Penguins dipped into the pool of college free agents for the first time this season when they signed forward Jake Lucchini out of Michigan Tech last week.
Lucchini, who will turn 24 in May, attended the Penguins' prospect develop camp on a tryout invitation last summer. He returned to school for his senior season, where the Penguins kept an eye on his progress. Michigan Tech's season -- and Lucchini's college career -- ended with a series sweep by Bowling Green on March 9. He finished his senior year with 11 goals and 15 assists in 38 games.
The Penguins announced the signing of Lucchini two days later.
"During camp (the Penguins) kind of indicated that they were interested, just kind of see how my year went," Lucchini told me this week. "I had a lot of contact with them throughout the year. Towards the end of the year I talked with Billy Guerin, he kind of explained to me that they were going to offer me a contract. I was really excited. It's a real good opportunity."
Lucchini's contract is a one-year (as mandated by the CBA due to his age) contract with a base salary of $700,000 at the NHL level, plus a signing bonus of $92,500, and the possibility of up to $132,500 in performance bonuses. That's a cap hit of $792,500 in the NHL.
His contract doesn't take effect until next season, but he reported to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season on an amateur tryout contract. That allows him to play the remainder of the season in the AHL without his NHL contract kicking in. After a whirlwind couple of days, Lucchini made his debut on March 13 in Lehigh Valley. He recorded one shot and a plus-1 rating in the win, centering the third line of Joseph Cramarossa and Jimmy Hayes.
"It was really cool, a really cool experience," Lucchini said of his debut. "I flew in on Tuesday night pretty late and just went to bed. Wednesday morning was pretty crazy -- I actually missed pregame skate because I had to go do my physical and I had to do some paperwork and stuff like that. It's pretty crazy. Going into the game I was pretty nervous because I hadn't skated since last Saturday when I got knocked out. It was a lot of fun."
Lucchini is a 5-feet-11, 185-pound two-way forward, someone who is responsible defensively and aims to chip in offensively too. It didn't take him too long to show off some of his offensive abilities, scoring his first pro goal in just his second game since joining Wilkes-Barre:
It was the Penguins' lone regulation goal in a 2-1 overtime win over Providence. Wilkes-Barre is currently in a race for a playoff spot, and Providence is the team above them in the standings. Lucchini was thrown into the lineup in some of the most crucial games of the season so far. But that's how he likes it.
"It kind of makes the game a little bit more fun, I guess you could say," he said. "There's more at stake. You're not coming to a team where they're just going to throw you in and hope for the best and if you don't play well it doesn't really matter. They want to win, and it's a playoff spot. So the games are that much more exciting, and they mean that much more. I think it's awesome, I love that type of hockey."
Lucchini called his new teammates "really welcoming," and said that the team's veterans have been great to talk to through this transition. He's played with Hayes and Cramarossa -- two guys with NHL experience -- in all three games so far, and has been able to learn from them as he begins his professional career.
When Lucchini plays in his first full professional season next year, he'll likely see a familiar face in defenseman Dane Birks, his teammate of three years at Michigan Tech. Birks, the Penguins' 2013 sixth-round pick is currently in his first professional season down in Wheeling, but should graduate to the AHL by next season. Lucchini is pretty excited to be reunited with his friend.
"His dad's actually from my hometown, so he comes to Trail (in British Columbia) every once and awhile and we get together," said Lucchini. "Being with him for three years was a lot of fun. He's an unreal guy, a good player. To share this with him and be in the spot with him is really cool."
Before next season, though, Lucchini has some business to take care of first. Because he left school early to join Wilkes-Barre, he hasn't completely finished his degree in Sports and Fitness Management yet. He has just a few more classes to wrap up, and he'll do it soon, mom.
"I called my mom on Sunday and told her that I'd be going to Wilkes-Barre, and one of the first things she did say was, 'You have to make sure that you finish your degree,'" he laughed. "I will finish it, I only have three classes left. Not too big of a workload. I need it for myself, but she also told me I must get it."
THE INJURIES
• Forward Thomas Di Pauli hasn’t played since Dec. 16 with a lower-body injury.
• Forward Ben Sexton hasn’t played since March 2 with an upper-body injury.
• Forward Pat McGrath hasn’t played since March 9 with an upper-body injury.
• Defenseman Chris Wideman hasn’t played since March 6.
• Forward Ryan Scarfo returned to the lineup on March 16 after being out since March 6.
THE GAMES
• March 13: at Lehigh Valley, 4-1 win
Jimmy Hayes scored his 12th goal of the season 1:53 into the game. The Penguins held the 1-0 lead through the remainder of the first period and entire second period.
Ryan Haggerty extended the lead with his 16th of the year just 19 seconds into the third period. Hayes added another at 8:47 of the third, and Byron Froese scored the Phantoms' first goal of the game 11 minutes in. Hayes completed the hat trick with an empty net goal in the final minute to seal the win.
Tristan Jarry earned the win with 38 saves on 39 shots.
The Penguins went 0-for-3 on the power play, and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
• March 16: vs. Providence, 2-1 overtime win
Lucchini opened the scoring with his first professional goal 16:25 into the middle frame. The Bruins' Ryan Fitzgerald tied the game in the third period to force overtime.
Adam Johnson scored on a breakaway, his 18th goal of the year, to earn the win in overtime.
With the Bruins occupying the final playoff spot, a regulation win was obviously ideal here. But the Penguins closed the gap by one point with the win.
Jarry had another strong performance with 36 saves on 37 shots. The Bruins piled on 21 shots in the final period alone, and Jarry kept the game tied.
The Penguins went 0-for-1 on the power play, and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
• March 17: vs. Toronto, 4-2 loss
The Marlies' Chris Mueller (no, not that one ... or the other one) scored the lone goal of the first period on a power play.
The Marlies extended their lead to start the second period after Adam Brooks added another power play goal. Hayes responded just over two minutes later with his 15th goal of the season. The guy has been on fire since learning he was having a baby boy.
The Marlies scored twice in the final minute of the middle frame to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Penguins attempted to rally in the third period and outshot the Marlies 12-6, but Jarrett Burton scored the only goal of the period. The comeback would fall short.
Jarry took the loss with 33 saves on 37 shots.
The Penguins power play completed a scoreless week with a 0-for-2 performance. The penalty kill went 2-for-4.
THE LEADERS
• Goals: Teddy Blueger, 21 in 45 games.
• Assists: Prow, 28 in 61 games
• Points: Prow, 45 in 61 games
THE COMBINATIONS
Sam Miletic – Jarrett Burton – Ryan Haggerty
Adam Johnson – Sam Lafferty – Anthony Angello
Joseph Cramarossa – Jake Lucchini – Jimmy Hayes
Linus Olund – Cam Brown – Trevor Yates
Kevin Czuczman – Ethan Prow
Mat Abt – Tim Erixon
Chris Summers – Macoy Erkamps
THE STANDINGS
• After this week, the Penguins record is 30-24-6-3. They rose to fifth place in the eight-team Atlantic Division. The top four teams in the division make the playoffs. The Penguins are currently five points out of a playoff spot.
• The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 30.
• The power play dropped to 17.1 percent, 20th in the 31-team league. The penalty kill remains at 80.1 percent overall, 23rd in the league.
THE SCHEDULE
• It's a busy week ahead. The Penguins will visit the Hershey Bears (35-22-3-4) on Tuesday, then have a home-and-home with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (31-27-3-3) on Friday and Saturday. They'll host the Springfield Thunderbirds (27-26-7-5) on Sunday. The Bears sit third in the division, while the Phantoms and Thunderbirds sit sixth and seventh. This is a huge week for the playoff push. All teams are in the hunt to clinch a spot.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
If you aren't blinded by these awful Lehigh Valley Phantoms Correctional Institution uniforms, take a look at these two goals from Hayes:
Haggerty has a great shot:
Three-on-three was made for Johnson and his speed:
WILKES-BARRE FUN THING
Sunday was the 17th anniversary of the St. Patrick's Day Massacre game. Read about it (and watch the highlights) here:
It is likely the most (in)famous game in #WBSPens history, and it occurred 17 years ago today. Take a look back at the St. Patrick's Day Massacre. https://t.co/8J4Pzv7PBy pic.twitter.com/YmXirfCwY3
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) March 17, 2019
Over the summer I put together a fun list ranking the top 10 fighters in Wilkes-Barre history. Three of them played in that game. Straight chaos.
