In an effort to fill in the non game days with relevant posts, I am going to attempt to profile the Penguins players, particularly the ones that are not as well known as others. My first project is Pascal Dupuis. The 6'1, 205 lb right winger was born on 4/7/79 in Quebec. He is married to Carole-Lyn, and has children Maeva, Kody, and newborn Lola. He was never drafted, but on 8/18/2000 the Minnesota Wild signed him. He was later traded to the Thrashers. He was acquired by the Pens on 2/27/08 as part of the deal that brought Hossa to Pittsburgh in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito, and a 2008 1st round pick. This trade to me was the final piece of the puzzle for the Pens. Despite the whiners complaining about what was given up, the acquisition of Hossa put the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals that season, and despite the fact that Hossa left, that experience to me allowed the Pens to gain the playoff experience that helped them win it all a year later. Largely overlooked as a throw in part on that deal, Duper is a large part of the Penguins success. First, he has been used as a valuable penalty killer during his time here, and is known by all as a character guy in the locker room. More important to me, is the fact that at times Dupuis despite a limited pedigree, and playing above his skill level on a top line, is one of the main offensive contributors on this team as a winger. Dupuis gets jobbed a lot as his speed and tenacity create numerous scoring opportunities, but the guy is truly not a sniper by trade. He is pressed onto the top line on the Pens due to the cap space taken up by the Four Horsemen and a few top defensemen.
Last season Pascal had 18 goals, 20 assists, and was a +5 on the season. Elite sniper numbers? No! Underrated production and value for his cap hit? Absolutely!!! Especially if you consider this. Elite snipers, usually 30 goals or so are on a stable line, getting about 20-22 minutes of ice time, and significant power play time. Further, a 30 goal scorer may get 8-15 of his goals on the power play, as many top scorers fatten up on the PP. All 18 of Dupers goals came at even strength last season, with 0 appreciable power play time and on roughly 15-16 minutes of ice time per game. This season Dupuis is currently tied for second in goal scoring on this team with Evgeni Malkin and Mark Letestu. The team is of course led in goal scoring by Sidney Crosby. His absence was noticed Wednesday night as he missed the Stars game due to the birth of his daughter Lola. Is Duper a true top six forward on most teams? No. The fact is that the Penguins have too much money tied up in other spots to go hunting that elite winger, but for my money, the return they get on the 1.4M they have into Dupuis is a high one. His versatility, desire, and yes, all things considered offensive production make him a relative bargain in the free agency era. As I look at the Hossa trade, we got Hossa for a year who helped give us our first taste of a deep playoff run, and a very solid long term component in Dupuis for a propect Esposito who has not made the NHL yet, Armstrong, whom I liked, but we have plenty like him, Christensen who has played for three teams in a fringe role since, and a draft pick. I will take that deal any day. Since that deal was made the Pens have been to the Finals and lost, won the Stanley friggin Cup, and lost in Game 7 of the second round! All in all, Dupuis has played in 601 NHL games scoring 117 goals, and 129 assists. In summary, the word I think of when I think of Pascal, is VALUE. For the very manageable cap hit of 1.4M annually Dupuis is one of the top penalty killers, plays on every line as necessary, is a strong leader in the locker room, and on this team one of the more productive wingers, to me that is VALUE!
Some notable Dupuis moments as a Penguin include his first and only career hat trick on 12/11/2008 v the New York Islanders, a game winning goal with 10 seconds left on 10/14/08 against the hated Flyers, and the game winning and series clinching goal on 4/24/10 against the Senators in the first round of the playoffs!
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