It's one thing to try and find a 3C that puts you over the top in an effort to contend for a Cup. It's another entirely to find a guy that fits well with this team and its current winger depth. That opens up a lot more options, imo.
We don't need a stud 3C, as evidenced by two Cup wins in a row with Bonino as ours.
I just want JR and Sullivan to find the
right guy as opposed to
a guy. I'm not happy that it's pretty much opening night and we have two nobodies as our 3C and 4C, but as long as we find the right guy before the Trade Deadline, I'll be patient. It's not gonna be pretty, but it is what it is.
And I think, regardless of who we land, they will see an uptick in performance as well as production. They'll have the benefit of playing behind two lines that the opposition will gameplan for before even thinking about the Pens' third line, and the new guy will have some seriously good wingers to play with, whether it be Hagelin, Hornqvist, Rust, Kessel, Sheary, etc.
All we need from our 3C is solid faceoffs, the ability to skate well, and to get our wingers the puck and stay out of their way. I'm not overly concerned with someone's past production, since the situation here will likely be infinitely better for them.
Maybe it's taking so long because JR and/or Sullivan don't find any readily available options to be good fits. Maybe they're waiting for a certain guy that they think will be available. Maybe they're waiting to see how guys play for the first couple weeks of the season before pulling the trigger on a deal. I'm as impatient as anyone, and I'm as unhappy that we're still in this situation as anyone, but I'll try to remain optimistic and defer judgment to JR and Sully on the situation. Who knows? Maybe this McKegg kid turns out to be exactly what we need and he excels. Highly unlikely, but it's possible.