LOS ANGELES -- Patrick Marleau seems, at first blush, to be precisely the kind of player the Penguins covet.
He's versatile enough to play a couple of positions. Has excellent intangibles. Skates well. Is a proven goal-scorer.
Everything that he's done during his NHL career suggests that sending a conditional third-round draft choice in 2021 to San Jose for him Monday was a prudent move by Jim Rutherford. Even though the condition on that trade upgrades the pick to a second-rounder if the Penguins win the Stanley Cup this spring.
The only issue, really, centers on how long Marleau has been doing all of those things. He's 40 years old, and has 1,715 regular-season games on his resume. Being so, uh, experienced means that Marleau is not the player he was when he scored 44 goals in 2009-10. Or when he put up 86 points in 2005-06.
But it shouldn't take long to find out if he still can be the player the Penguins need him to be.
The core of this team is intact, and has been for quite a while, so Rutherford's objective as the deadline approached was to enhance the supporting cast for a run at the Cup in 2020. That is why he not only brought in Marleau, but was willing to send Dominik Kahun to Buffalo for forwards Conor Sheary and Evan Rodrigues.
Neither of those two produced to expectations with the Sabres, but the Penguins are hoping Sheary can generate offense at something approaching the level he reached during his first stint with them, and that Rodrigues can live up to the hype that surrounded him when he left Boston University as a free agent in 2015.
The idea is to give Mike Sullivan and his staff the pieces needed to construct four lines that can be deployed on a regular basis during the stretch drive and playoffs after being increasingly reliant on just three as the season has moved along.
Precisely where the three newcomers will fit in remains to be seen -- and surely will be subject to change -- but Sullivan has more options to mix-and-match personnel up front than he did when the day began, even though the possibilities were reduced when Sam Lafferty and Anthony Angello were assigned to the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre.
"In order for us to play our game -- and it started to show here over the last couple of weeks -- we were always in a position where the top three lines were playing a little bit more than they should," Rutherford told reporters in Cranberry, Pa. "Trying to get their minutes down, so we could come and come hard, shift after shift, with four lines, that's what we should be able to do now."
Rutherford said he also explored possible deals to add depth on defense, but "the prices of them didn't make sense." Although the Penguins could use some help on the blue line in the short term, especially with the Marcus Pettersson-Justin Schultz pairing not performing to expectations, things there should stabilize when Brian Dumoulin and John Marino return from injuries, which Rutherford said "will be sooner, rather than later."
Simply qualifying for the playoffs in the Metropolitan Division, let alone surviving two rounds there, will be a feat in 2019-20, especially when every potential Metro playoff team made at least one major move leading up to the deadline to bolster its roster for what's ahead.
Nonetheless, Rutherford seems confident about how the Penguins are positioned.
"We feel good about our team," he said. "We have felt good about it all year. We feel better about it today."
Here is a look at the good, the bad and the uncertain about the Penguins' roster in the wake of the deadline:
KEY STRENGTHS
Formidable down the middle -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin remain a 1-2 punch at center without equal in the NHL, and Teddy Blueger has developed into a nice two-way contributor. Factor in Jared McCann, who plays his best hockey when he's in the middle, and Nick Bjugstad, who seems to be progressing in his recovery from core-muscle surgery, and the Penguins should be set at center.
Playoff experience -- There's nothing quite like the grind of the NHL playoffs, and there also is nothing that can replace having gone through it. Most of the guys who fill key roles for the Penguins have -- and own gaudy rings to show for it -- and that experience could be a difference-maker when facing a team that lacks it.
Responsible two-way play -- The Penguins are averaging precisely one-half goal-scored (3.25) more than allowed (2.75) to this point of the season, despite some lax defensive work in recent weeks. That's testimony to not only their offensive talent (only eight teams are averaging more goals per game) but to the effort they put into preventing goals for most of the season. They can -- and must -- replicate that during the postseason.
Good goaltending -- While it still isn't clear who will be the go-to goalie for the playoffs, the choice will be either a guy who has earned a pair of Cup rings (Matt Murray) or one who was chosen for the All-Star Game during his first full season in the league and is among the NHL leaders in goals-against average and save percentage (Tristan Jarry). Those aren't bad options.
KEY WEAKNESSES
Faceoffs -- The Penguins have won just 48.5 percent of their faceoffs, tying Columbus for the sixth-worst success rate in the NHL and worse than every other team currently in a playoff position except Washington (48.3 percent). Playing the puck-possession game the Penguins prefer is a lot tougher when the other team starts out with the puck more often than not.
Goal-scoring from wings -- Jake Guentzel was on his way to getting at least 40 goals when he injured his shoulder, and Bryan Rust could easily reach 30. But with Guentzel out, Rust is the only consistent goal-scoring threat on the wings of the top two lines, and it's hardly guaranteed that any of the acquisitions will address that issue.
Size/physicality -- The Penguins aren't shy about hitting -- they've been credited with 1,735, just 10 fewer than Ottawa's league-leading total -- but they were a bit undersized as the deadline approached, and didn't get more physically imposing with Monday's deals. (Although Marleau checks in at 6 foot 2, 215 pounds, he has just 48 hits in 58 games.) Playoff opponents won't be able to intimidate them, but might be able to wear them down with vigorous checking.
KEY VARIABLES
Power play -- The Penguins' power play should be a strike force with few, if any, equals in the NHL, but its conversion rate of 21.1 percent is tied with Minnesota for 12th in the league rankings. Playoff games tend to be tight, of course, and an effective power play can go a long way toward determining the outcome of a best-of-seven series.
Slumps --Occasional contributions from up and down the lineup are imperative during the playoffs, and while pretty much every player goes through dry spells, the Penguins have to be concerned about how little offense they've gotten from the likes of Brandon Tanev (one goal in 16 games), McCann (no goals in 15 games) and Schultz (no points in 20 games) in recent weeks. Schultz, in particular, is counted on to be involved in the offense, especially on the power play.
Commitment -- The Penguins' willingness to play a disciplined, structured game was critical to helping them reach the top of the division last week. They've strayed from that a bit of late, though, and might be tempted to do so again if/when their lineup is reasonably intact. That would be a costly error.
Injuries -- No team is more aware than the Penguins of the impact key injuries can have -- they already face the possibility of not having Guentzel until next season -- and that's particularly true during the playoffs. If a team hangs around the postseason long enough, it's inevitable that guys will get hurt. What matters is which players are injured, and how long they will be unavailable.
