Just an idea: Sutter on Right Wing?

[jmelm]

I've been thinking about this the last few weeks, and I recognize that this may not happen/be worth trying this season. But this would be an idea I would like to try. Rationale:

-Sutter is a big body who, as a winger, would likely be a fair bit better than Kobasew or D'Aggostini. He could still take draws and be a responsible two-way player, but this would give us more size on the walls and could boost his offensive production

- It would allow Dustin Jeffrey to centre that 3rd line. DJ has looked surprisingly good on the wing, at times, but still often gets scratched and it's not his natural position. He is a better playmaker than Brandon Sutter, so if he was flanking 2 offensive players (Sutter + Bennett or Sutter + Jokinen), we could end up having a 3rd line that could product much more offense. We know Jeffrey is an excellent defensive forward, so I don't think we'd be losing anything on the defensive side by having him centre the 3rd line vs. Sutter. If nothing else, it would give DJ a chance to prove his ability and trade value rather than sitting in the pressbox most nights.

Now, this probably won't happen, and if it did, perhaps not until next season when, perhaps, a guy like Jokinen may not be here anymore. But Jeffrey is too good of a player to be a 13th/14th forward and will eventually ask for a trade if he's going to be a healthy scratch on this team. I think he could be a really good 2nd/3rd line C on a lot of other teams, and many teams are weak at that position, but it's not going to help his trade value if he's not playing most nights.

So I'm not saying this would happen or that it would even be a success, but hey: we tried playing Jordan Staal on the wing, why not try playing Sutter on the wing for a handful of games to see, as well? It seems like an experiment worth trying. And when I see Sutter going out there being flanked by Glass + Adams as our 3rd line, I just thing: sure, they may do some good grinding in the offensive zone, but they are really not a threat to score at all. I think while Neal and Bennett are out, it's a perfect opportunity to give it a shot for a couple of games.

Thoughts?

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[Ogrezilla]

Brandon Sutter is one of the smallest bodies on the team. His work along the walls is one of the biggest weaknesses in his game.

Also, Dustin Jeffrey is not good enough to force Brandon Sutter to play out of position. He just isn't. And I say this as a Jeffrey fan.

 

[mpp9]

I would have been fine with DJ as our 3C when Staal was moved. But Shero felt differently apparently.

Sutter is settling in very well now IMO. Last night was a boring game, but I thought he was great. And he obviously was great against Boston.

 

[Frederick Stanley]

Sutter is finally playing up to his expectations the last few games, so now is probably the worst time to experiment. I don't want Jeffrey centering the 3rd line. I'm not sure about Jeffrey being an excellent defensive forward. He's played very limited minutes over the last seasons.

 

[Jacob]

I'm fine with moving Sutter to the wing as long as it's not in the top-6 and if it's to put an equal or better centerman in his place on the 3rd line (not Jeffrey). Like, for example, if we were to get Steve Ott.

 

[billybudd]

No disrespect, but I don't think this is a very good idea. Putting him on the wing means he needs to do more battling on the boards, and that's not exactly his strength. Sutter's tall, but he's not particularly strong. Tiny Torey Krug one-handed him out of his preferred lane at least twice against Boston.

 

[DrDangles]

No disrespect, but I don't think this is a very good idea. Putting him on the wing means he needs to do more battling on the boards, and that's not exactly his strength. Sutter's tall, but he's not particularly strong. Tiny Torey Krug one-handed him out of his preferred lane at least twice against Boston.

This.

And Sutter is one of our better guys in the dot, why put him on wing right as he's coming out of his early season slump?

 

[eXile59]

At this point I would rather have Vitale at the 3c spot over DJ. I think Sutter is going to stick there.

For better or worse he is our 3rd line center for the near future.

 

[Captain Hook]

He kind of reminds me of a winger offensively with the way he streaks down the wing and snipes on his goals. It seems like almost all his goals happen that way.

I'm just not sure he can handle the wall play on the wing and his defense is by far the most consistent part of his game and we maximize that part of his game by having him in the middle. He's also getting better at face-offs (last I checked anyway). That's another reason to keep him where he is.

 

[BumFortyOne]

I'm fine with moving Sutter to the wing as long as it's not in the top-6 and if it's to put an equal or better centerman in his place on the 3rd line (not Jeffrey). Like, for example, if we were to get Steve Ott.

Ott's not a natural center. He's a wing that happens to be fantastic on draws. Would love to pick him up though.

 

[NMK11]

Brandon Sutter is one of the smallest bodies on the team. His work along the walls is one of the biggest weaknesses in his game.

Also, Dustin Jeffrey is not good enough to force Brandon Sutter to play out of position. He just isn't. And I say this as a Jeffrey fan.

2nd all of this. I'm also a Jeffrey fan, but he's an average 3rd liner, while Sutter is a good-very good one if he's playing to his potential.

And as a fanboy, I have to throw out I'd love to have a fourth line of DJ-Vitale-Engelland/Gladams once everyone gets back and if Megna sticks around on the 3rd line.

 

[Ogrezilla]

2nd all of this. I'm also a Jeffrey fan, but he's an average 3rd liner, while Sutter is a good-very good one if he's playing to his potential.

And as a fanboy, I have to throw out I'd love to have a fourth line of DJ-Vitale-Engelland/Gladams once everyone gets back and if Megna sticks around on the 3rd line.

ya Jeffrey - Vitale - Engo has looked better than anything Glass or Adams have ever done here.

 

[Common Sense]

With the way he streaks down the right side and snipes, he would be a great winger if he weren't built like Beaker from the Muppets.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Way to disguise this thread being about Sutter when in fact you wanted to once again proclaim your love for Jeffrey

 

[Jules Winnfield]

If you are going to move Sutter to wing, why not move Jokinen to 3C and deal Sutter for a winger? Vancouver wants a 3C. It'd be nice to have a young nasty power forward like Kassian on the Pens.

No offense to Jeffrey but he's regressed. His game hasn't evolved at all the past few seasons.

 

[Ugene Magic]

When Bennett and Neal get back is there even a need for a wing?

Line #1 - Kunitz/Dupuis
Line #2 - Jokinen/Neal
Line #3 - Bennett/Kobasew,Megna
Line #4 - Glass/Adams,Engelland

I'm really liking having Engelland on the 4th where he can't hurt you, and he's looking like he's grasping it more and more each game. Right now they're into their depth, some they didn't know they really had.

Pens are good until the deadline unless there's more significant injuries, and even then...

 

[Tender Rip]

This is a shocking idea, IMO.
Sutter is a natural center. All the things he is really good at has to do with the middle of the ice, his positioning and backtracking in our zone, his coverage in the neutral zone, increasingly his faceoff ability, and going up ice with speed in transition. Everything he is not so good at relates to the board work, physicality, shiftiness etc. that we would be asking him to supply at wing.

Shocking, I tell ya. Shocking! Next you want to convert Malkin to winger again so he can receive the puck on the wall rather than bringing it up through the neutral zone with speed .

 

[BumFortyOne]

Yeah, I'm not sure I get this idea either. Sutter is perfect for his role, and if Jeffrey is going to play on the third line then he's going to be the one playing wing. I do like Jeffrey though and I don't understand why he was riding the pine before Kobasew went down. And he really should be playing on the third line over Glass and Adams. When Bennett gets back I wouldn't mind seeing

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Jokinen-Malkin-Megna/Bennett
Jeffrey-Sutter-Bennett/Megna
Glass-Vitale-Adams

Engelland has looked surprisingly decent at forward, but unless he somehow supplants Glass or Adams on the fourth line he should sit.

 

[jmelm]

Way to disguise this thread being about Sutter when in fact you wanted to once again proclaim your love for Jeffrey

Hahaha. That's hilarious. Yes, I do think Jeffrey deserves the chance to see if he's got some upside, which is why I would like to see him on the 3rd line. I also would not want to see ANY of our "3rd line" centres being flanked by Adams & Glass, because that makes it more like a 4th line than a 3rd. D'Aggostini and Kobasew are stop-gaps and I know things will be different when Bennett and Neal return, which is why I just thought it would be interesting to see this for a few games while they're out and see what happens.

If you are going to move Sutter to wing, why not move Jokinen to 3C and deal Sutter for a winger? Vancouver wants a 3C. It'd be nice to have a young nasty power forward like Kassian on the Pens.

No offense to Jeffrey but he's regressed. His game hasn't evolved at all the past few seasons.

1) Sutter's offensive game has not evolved either, and I say this as someone who has the highest of hopes for Sutter (although I am very glad if he doesn't light it up this year if that means we can lock him in on a long-term deal for good money). We know that Sutter has more offensive potential, but he's inconsistent and not looking like he might be that perennial 20+ goal scorer based on what he did a few seasons ago. Yes, it still might happen, but he's plateaued somewhat. He also deserves to play with better offensive players, which is another reason I'm throwing this idea around.

2) Jeffrey may not have evolved, but in fairness to him, he hasn't had the chance to, either. He's been in and out of the pressbox (and not always due to his play, but because we want to have "tougher" guys in the lineup instead), and is also being asked to play outside of his natural position. Jeffrey, like Sutter, also should get more of an extended chance to play with guys who have some offensive ability. Which is why I wouldn't mind seeing these 2 play together, regardless of who the "centre" is. In the earlier season, however, Jeffrey was scratched in favour of Kobasew and did not have this chance. Jeffrey tends to look good when he's in the line-up for some consecutive games, as evidenced by his play on the Engellend goal the other night, and I hope he gets the chance to stay in the line-up so he can at least stay in top game shape & timing.

And regarding the comment about trading Sutter: I don't think anyone would be averse to this if we got a legit top-flight forward in return (even if it was in a package), but Kassian isn't in this category, and least not yet. Sutter isn't going to get traded this season, because the Pens would have to see how a guy like Sudqvist is progressing and just how good (or not) he projects to be, and they would have to give Jeffrey ice-time now to see if he could fill that role for the next couple of years at least, and yet he's in and out of the line-up. That tells me the Pens don't entertain the idea of trading Sutter until the offseason at the earliest, and that's only if they have issues with re-signing him or get an offer that's just way too good to turn down. I'm not sure either will happen.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

He's been solid as a C, I'm not sure if I want to see him get moved. We don't need the confusion that was the Staalkin crap.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Hahaha. That's hilarious. Yes, I do think Jeffrey deserves the chance to see if he's got some upside, which is why I would like to see him on the 3rd line. I also would not want to see ANY of our "3rd line" centres being flanked by Adams & Glass, because that makes it more like a 4th line than a 3rd. D'Aggostini and Kobasew are stop-gaps and I know things will be different when Bennett and Neal return, which is why I just thought it would be interesting to see this for a few games while they're out and see what

I agree with you...was just messing around

 

[orby]

I would much rather see Bennett and Megna on Sutter's wings on the third line. Bennett's playmaking ability and Megna's speed and tenacity could really help Sutter start producing more - I think that's more promising than sliding Jeffrey in as 3C.

 

[PensBandwagonerNo272*]

No.

Not because it might not work, but because there is no room in the top-6, and if he's in the bottom 6 he might as well be our 3rd line center.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Brandon Sutter is one of the smallest bodies on the team. His work along the walls is one of the biggest weaknesses in his game.

Also, Dustin Jeffrey is not good enough to force Brandon Sutter to play out of position. He just isn't. And I say this as a Jeffrey fan.

The funny thing is, like Staal, Brandon is a farm boy as well, like most of the Sutters. I don't know if the Staal's drank milk right from the cow's teat, but Brandon is a beanpole. He reminds me of Colby Armstrong when he couldn't put on weight and MK told him to go eat McDonalds.

 

[Ogrezilla]

The funny thing is, like Staal, Brandon is a farm boy as well, like most of the Sutters. I don't know if the Staal's drank milk right from the cow's teat, but Brandon is a beanpole. He reminds me of Colby Armstrong when he couldn't put on weight and MK told him to go eat McDonalds.

I just thought the idea of moving him to wing because we could use the size on the wing was funny. He's literally the smallest player on the team