The Penguins have signed Blake Lizotte to a three-year extension with a modest AAV of $2.25 million. A small price to pay for arguably one of the top fourth-line centers in the NHL.
Color me extremely happy.
Indeed, the spirited 28-year-old pivot has been a huge and underrated contributor to the Pens’ success, as the team’s 20-9-6 record with Blake in the lineup attests.
Come to think of it, maybe he’s not so underrated. While Lizotte’s not enormously productive, at least by box-car standards (five goals and 10 points in 35 games), he shines in other areas due to his all-out hustle, diligence and defensive capabilities.
Lizotte’s solid on face-offs (51.4 percent) and outstanding on the penalty kill, leading all black-and-gold forwards with 2:32 of short-handed ice time per game. The Pens have an 85.6% kill rate with Lizzo in the lineup, considerably worse when he’s not.
His underlying 5v5 numbers, including Corsi (55.17), Shots for Percentage (54.35), Goals for Percentage (54.55) and Expected Goals for Percentage (55.42)? Downright remarkable given the paucity of offensive zone starts for him and his linemates.
Perhaps the greatest testimonial to his value?
The Pens’ 1-5-3 record during his recent stint on IR.
A shout out to PenguinPoop colleague Caleb DiNatale, who said when we originally signed Lizotte that we’d gotten a special player. Caleb’s proven far more right than wrong in his player assessments.
While we’re at it, I wouldn’t mind seeing Kyle Dubas ink fellow fourth-liner Connor Dewar to a similar extension, perhaps for one or two years. Dewar possesses many of the same qualities as Lizotte, including speed, feistiness and an occasional scoring touch (eight goals, 16 points in 44 games).
As our recent past indicates, it isn’t all that easy to assemble an effective fourth line, let alone one that consistently shifts the flow of the game.
Karlsson to IR
In the really-bad-news department, defenseman Erik Karlsson has been placed on IR. The time table is week-to-week.
Yikes.
This is truly the last thing the Pens needed right now. With 33 points (4+29) in 44 games, the quicksilver Swede was on pace for 60-points-plus while rediscovering his Norris Trophy form. He’s a veritable one-man transition game.
Worse yet, the Pens have recalled Ryan Graves from the Baby Pens to fill his spot. Graves washed out in an earlier 17-game stint and brings little to the party in the way of mobility or puck-moving acumen.
I won’t go as far as saying EK65’s injury will be a death blow to our playoff aspirations, but pretty darn near.
In corresponding moves, forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was returned to the Baby Pens while Tristan Broz received a promotion. The former second-round pick leads Wilkes in goals (11) and points (24).
Perhaps Tristan will get the nod in place of much-maligned veteran Kevin Hayes.
Keeping Up with Jones
The Pens have sent defenseman Caleb Jones, fresh off IR, to the Baby Pens on a conditioning assignment. The kid brother of Panthers d-man Seth Jones played in seven games for us in October before sustaining a lower-body injury.
Personally, I was impressed with his mobility and penchant for making subtle, little plays to advance the puck while keeping it out of harm’s way.