Can anyone improve?
In the dead of summer, let’s go through some optimistic type of scenarios for the Penguins where they could see improvements. Today we’ll start with one of the most limited players tied to Pittsburgh these days in a free agent signing that’s only caused pain and disappointment so far.
Yahoo’s season splits for Graves are so sad to see how far he fell in 2024-25.
An occasional healthy scratch, Graves’ offense disappeared to non-existent. He’s never been an offensive defenseman (zero career power play points) but in his best of seasons in 2019-20 with Colorado and 2022-23 with New Jersey, Graves was up to nearly two shots on goal per game. This past year with Pittsburgh it was 0.64. His assist totals have dropped for four years running from 22 in 2021-22 to just three last season. His blocked shots — also near 2 per game in a good year (and even in his first season in Pittsburgh) was down to barely over one.
And the biggest key, the ice time was down to 15 minutes per game. It’s stating the obvious to point out what kind of picture this paints: Graves was not trusted by the coaching staff and played virtually as little as possible.
While no one is expecting a defensive performance like Gustav Forsling or Charlie MacAvoy from the black and gold’s No. 27 next season, what if Graves can get back to at least being decent?
It would be most welcome – the Pens left side defense is not even NHL quality at this point, and it wasn’t last season either after trading Marcus Pettersson away in January. Graves joins Ryan Shea, Parker Wotherspoon, Alex Alexeyev and Owen Pickering in a very lacking list of left shot defenders. Given how many bodies the Pens have as right-handers currently by picking up Connor Clifton and Matt Dumba in trades and possibly watching Harrison Brunicke force his way into the lineup, it’s a wonder if some right-handed player will be forced into playing on the left side, given the lack of quality LHD on the roster these days.
There will be a new coaching staff and system in play — Graves mentioned how former coach Mike Sullivan’s system was drastically different from what he was used to and obviously challenging for him to execute. That could go a long way.
Confidence is another. Graves has gone from a really good season in 2022-23 playing on the Devils’ shut down defensive pair to barely being NHL quality in two years. The issue isn’t age or injury limitations, it is arguably as much mental as it has been physical. Last off-season wasn’t the refresh that many hoped, but could it be now?
The bar is low – if Graves can come in and play 19 minutes per night in a passable way (similar to what he did in NJ and COL) that would be a big win. That might be easier said than done since Graves has not performed well in the classic “steady defensive defender supporting an offensive minded defenseman” archetype that players like Pettersson and Brian Dumoulin thrived in. Note again that Graves’s best success came in a year he was paired with the defensively stout Marino and not a high-risk, skilled offensively talented partner. The fit might be all wrong from the start and a classic case of a bad free agent match.
Maybe this is all for naught and Graves’s decline has gone into an irreversible spiral to the point where he can no longer be effective at the NHL level. The past two seasons suggest that could be possible too where the game has passed him by and his quality seasons may be the outlier and not the norm for what he can consistently bring to the table. But the Pens now have a new coach, system and plenty of opportunity for Graves to salvage his career.