NHL Free Agency: Pittsburgh Penguins interested in Chris Tanev

According to Josh Yohe and Rob Rossi of The Athletic, the Pittsburgh Penguins are very interested in signing defenseman ChrisTanev in NHL free agency.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to shakeup their roster after a second consecutive humiliatingly early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last year, they got swept by the Islanders. This year, the Penguins lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the play-in round. According to Josh Yohe and Rob Rossi of The Athletic, the Penguins plan to be aggressive in NHL free agency and defenseman Chris Tanev could be their top target.

Adding a right-handed defenseman is reportedly high on the Penguins’ offseason to-do list. Though their current options include Kris Letang and John Marino, they’d like to add an additional defenseman to their right side because the former’s future in Pittsburgh is far from certain.

Tanev is likely seeking a raise from his previous $4.5 million AAV, but the Penguins seem to believe they can get him for under $5 million.

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It’s worth pointing out Chris is the brother of Brandon Tanev, who plays for the Penguins. The Penguins seem confident this could help them get Chris to sign at their price.

Tanev isn’t known for his offense, but he has a reputation of being a steady defenseman in the defensive zone. Injuries have hampered him in previous years, but this year, he looked like his old self. His 20 points this season tied for his career high and he did it in merely 68 games. During the postseason, Tanev added a goal and six assists for seven points in 17 games.

This reputation might be a tad bit overblown. On paper, his plus-minus is usually pretty good. But plus-minus doesn’t even do what people think it does. Goal differential is a much better stat because it actually tells us what we want it to tell us.

Tanev has had a negative 5v5 goal differential in four of his NHL seasons. Each of those seasons have come in the past six seasons. His numbers at even strength are a little bit better, but even then, he has barely broken even in on-ice goal differential in each of the past four seasons.

Tanev is good at suppressing shot attempts and scoring chances, but the Canucks were very bad at creating offense with him on the ice. He’d probably be a good fit with Brian Dumoulin in a shutdown role, which could ease the pressure on Kris Letang. Of course, that would also make either Letang or Marino a third-pairing defenseman, which is far from ideal.

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If I were the Penguins, I’d pursue a cheaper option. Dylan DeMelo would make all the sense in the world. Very good third-pairing defenseman who has proven he can handle a top-four role if needed. Given Tanev’s unfortunate history of injuries and his age (he turns 31 in December), the Penguins should turn their attention elsewhere.

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