Mark Madden: With trade deadline done, time for Penguins to fit pieces into place

The only depressing thing about this edition of refreshing hockey notes is the NHL trade deadline has come and gone, and Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford didn’t trade all our bad players for all their good players. Twitter’s got to be upset.

• But Rutherford did get winger Patrick Marleau from San Jose. Marleau is 40, and 53 games away from playing the most games in NHL history. Marleau still skates fast, but can he keep skating fast through June? His best role in Pittsburgh would be as a third-line left wing who occasionally plays top six as injuries or situation dictate. That’s what Bryan Trottier did (but at center) for the Penguins’ Stanley Cup winners in 1991 and ’92. Marleau provides depth, not impact. It’s 2020, not 2010.

• I’m suspicious of so-called “great” players who are lamented because they played a couple of decades but never won a championship. Perhaps that’s not coincidence. Maybe there’s a reason.

• Winger Dominik Kahun went to Buffalo for forwards Conor Sheary (remember him?) and Evan Rodrigues. Kahun has skill, a high hockey IQ and had chemistry with Evgeni Malkin. Kahun is the best player of the three involved with this trade. It made the forward group deeper, not better. Will Sheary skate with Sidney Crosby? Hope not.

• The Penguins got Jason Zucker to play on Crosby’s wing, and so he should. Period. If that combination takes some time to mesh, that’s OK. It was the same with Marian Hossa and Crosby in 2008, but the Penguins made the Stanley Cup Final.

• If coach Mike Sullivan wants to play Dominik Simon on Crosby’s line because of gain best revealed by fancy stats, so be it. But Simon won’t produce in the traditional way. Simon has skated with Crosby much of this season. He has seven goals and 15 assists. His career high for goals is eight. If Sullivan and Crosby see benefit beyond the scoresheet, so be it. But Simon won’t ever score much. The sample size confirms.

• Brandon Tanev has one goal in 16 games. Sullivan seems married to keeping Tanev with Teddy Blueger and (when he’s healthy) Zach Aston-Reese. It’s time for a divorce. Blueger and Aston-Reese are fourth-liners. Tanev is capable of more. Assemble a better third line. Choose from Tanev, Marleau, Jared McCann and Patric Hornqvist.

• McCann has no goals in 15 games. Is that because he’s too frequently asked to switch lines and positions? It’s worth finding out. Give McCann stability. (See above.)

• Bryan Rust had been torrid. Now he has one goal in 10 games. Rust is still playing very well. He is always in maximum overdrive. But maybe he’s just not a 30-goal scorer.

• The Penguins’ 5-3 defeat at Washington on Sunday wasn’t disturbing. The Penguins played well and held Alex Ovechkin to one shot on goal. What was disturbing was when the Penguins allowed nine unanswered goals over the course of the preceding three games against Toronto (two meetings) and Buffalo. That was the season’s low point.

• Tristan Jarry still hasn’t played against Washington, so we still don’t know if his puckhandling would counter the Capitals’ heavy forecheck. Has Sullivan predetermined that Matt Murray will start in the playoffs? Hope not. It’s still not clear who the better goalie is. Jarry ranks third in the NHL in goals-against average, fourth in save percentage. It would be odd to put that guy on the bench for the postseason.

• Malkin scored a terrific goal at Washington, undressing this season’s Norris Trophy favorite John Carlson en route. It was great to see Malkin show grit and leadership by fighting. It was even better when he came away with his hands unscathed. Punch a helmet, and Malkin’s season could be over. Same for the Penguins.

• The Penguins need better from Justin Schultz. He’s got zero points in his last 20 games. Schultz is usually Kris Letang Lite. Since returning from injury Jan. 31, Schultz is more like Chad Ruhwedel Lite.

• The Penguins have won 48.5% of their faceoffs, ranking 26th in the NHL. They won just 38% in last Thursday’s 4-0 loss at Toronto. Three Maple Leafs goals came off draws. Blueger won just 17% of his faceoffs. Was he even using a stick?

• Too bad the Penguins didn’t have the resources to get center Vince Trocheck, a Pittsburgh native. (Carolina did.) Can’t imagine why Florida moved him. On a team awash with inconsistency, Trocheck showed up every game and produced.

• The Zamboni goalie is a great story. But I’m already sick of it. He was on The Today Show. Ovechkin scored career goal No. 700 and was not. But here’s hoping the story gets better, specifically via Carolina topping Toronto for a wild-card playoff spot by just a point or two. Let’s see if Toronto still embraces the Zamboni goalie then.

• One story that never gets old is the “Miracle on Ice.” A great job has been done commemorating the 40th anniversary. Of particular interest was ABC and ESPN’s “SportsCenter Special: Miracle on Ice at 40.” It featured Jeremy Schaap watching highlights of the United States victory over the Soviets with U.S. players Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione and Mark Johnson. The banter was priceless. The “Miracle on Ice” remains the greatest sporting event ever. Whatever’s second is distantly so.