Ex-Penguins Update: One-Sixth Pole

I’ll begin my first Ex-Penguins Update of the season with a quiz. To borrow a catch phrase from the old Lone Ranger serial, who is that masked man pictured above?

To find the answer, keep reading.

Unlike seasons past, there isn’t much cookin’ among former Pens these days as we pass the 1/6th pole. Oh, Jake Guentzel is scoring at close to his customary point-per-game clip for the Lightning, as is Mikael Granlund for the upstart Ducks.

Peppery types Michael Bunting (Preds), Evan Rodrigues (Panthers) and Jason Zucker (Sabres) are roughly on pace for 50-point seasons. But no one’s really burning up the track, due to the fact that most of the ex-Pens are support players rather than standouts. Indicative of where the team’s been the past few seasons.

Shifting the focus to defense, Mike Matheson of the Habs is still providing offense from the backline. John Marino’s off to a typically solid start for the Mammoth. I don’t know if there’s been a worse trade in recent years than Ron Hextall’s ill-conceived Marino-for-Ty Smith swap.

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