from Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
A troublesome question remains:
Who is going to skate with Evgeni Malkin after the Neal trade and the Jokinen defection?
We’re talking about a star without linemates.
Rutherford had said finding a winger for Malkin was a priority heading into free agency, but he failed to deliver one. It had been widely speculated that the Penguins would take a run at former Toronto forward Nikolai Kulemin — a friend of Malkin’s and a fellow Russian — but Rutherford said no deal with Kulemin is going to happen because of cap concerns. That’s probably just as well; Kulemin has been an underachiever in the NHL and had just nine goals in 70 games last season.
It’s possible Hornqvist, the key player in the Neal trade, could end up on Malkin’s line instead of skating with Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz. Rutherford also mentioned Pascal Dupuis, Beau Bennett and Spaling as potential top-six forwards. Dupuis will be coming back from a major knee injury. Bennett missed most of last season with a wrist injury. Spaling is better suited for the third line.
“I’m not sure we have to get a top-six forward at this time,” Rutherford said. “I’m not going to get anxious about it at this point.”
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