Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Declan Carlile has been a big topic of discussion this season, and especially lately given how he seems to be at the center of a lot of things that go wrong.
Especially in high-leverage situations, in big moments, late in games.
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It happened against Utah when Logan Cooley tied the game.
It happened against Vegas when Tomas Hertl won the game.
It has happened so often that Carlile has been on the ice for more goals against during 5-on-5 play this season (19) than any other player on the Penguins roster. The next closest player is Erik Karlsson, who has only been on the ice for 15 goals against despite playing 15 more minutes than Carlile. Nobody else on the team has been on the ice for more than 13 goals against during 5-on-5 play.
Whether that is all Carlile's fault is certainly up for debate. What is not up for debate is that is a lot of goals.
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Given the issues, and the timing of them in a lot of cases, it was naturally a point of discussion with head coach Dan Muse on Wednesday. And Muse had no interest in throwing his defenseman under the bus and put together a very passionate defense of him.
His full defense
, from the Trib's Seth Rorabaugh:
"Declan Carlile is typically the first guy out on that penalty kill every time," Muse said. "If you go back earlier in (Tuesday's) game, that same exact play happened and Declan Carlile, he ends up stopping the play. It rolls in there, (goaltender Arturs Silovs) holds onto it. Almost the exact same thing.
"We're going to talk about this because at the end, it ended up being a goal against. But I think you're also missing some of those other things. You (media) weren't complaining about his play on the penalty kill until last night. He was getting the job done, he was out there. If you go through the goals against, there might have been one where we had it marked down in terms of being on him. Either that or last night was the first one. Those things are there.
"If you want to put blame on him, I think it's a misstep by you (media) and everybody else because there's also some other things that he's doing really well. And he's a guy who played (46) NHL games prior to this year. He's come in here. Is he taking on bigger responsibilities? He is. Is that part of it? Is that something that sometimes players need in order to grow and get better? It is. There's going to be times too where, if you want guys to continue to grow, they're going to be in some situations where — and there's been plenty of them — it's become the penalty kill with him this year where he's come up with a big block or a big clear or a big moment there. Last night wasn't one of them. So, we learn from it. We get better.
"But you go through the game tape, he was in that same exact moment (earlier) and he had some good plays in the game as well. He's a guy who's younger in this league. There's still plenty of room for growth but I also see there's really good qualities and good things that he has done as well and he'll continue to grow."
I actually like a lot of that answer, and there are a lot of things in there he is completely right about.
(Or, at the very least, things I agree with.)
Specifically the nature of us (media and fans) focussing on the plays that don't work and ignoring the ones that do. He's right to point out that Carlile successfully defended a nearly identical play earlier in the game that went largely unnoticed. It went unnoticed because the puck didn't end up in the back of the net. We even tend to overlook the mistakes that happen that don't result in a goal. It usually just results in a quick "well he really got away with that one," comment and then everybody forgets about it like it never happened.
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We notice the ones that DO end up in the back of the net, because we notice goals, because goals win and lose games, and then we spend all of our time analyzing what went wrong on that particular play. That same detail isn't being put into the 15 plays earlier in the game that don't have that result.
I also don't expect a coach to publicly throw his player under the bus just because everybody wants a pound of flash to satisfy their anger after a tough loss. Maybe he is being more critical behind closed doors. He probably is. He almost certainly is. But when it comes to facing the public and putting things on the record, most coaches aren't going to be John Tortorella or Rick Bowness or Mike Babcock and absolutely skewer a guy for being responsible for a goal (or several goals).
Muse also touched on something that is going to drive me nuts this season, even though I wasn't necessarily expecting Carlile to be one of the subjects of it.
It's the part where he talks about Carlile entering this season with less than 45 games played in the NHL, taking on a bigger role, and dealing with mistakes and struggles that come with that.
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That is something that I don't think a lot of Penguins fans are prepared for, especially as the team has an eye on the future and starts working in younger players.
Even though Carlile is 26 years old, he's still relatively unproven as an NHL player, and especially as a defenseman being tasked with playing big minutes for the first time ever. Inexperienced players, whether they are at a young age or simply haven't played much in a certain role at a certain level, are going to make mistakes. If you want the Penguins to get younger, play younger players, and put younger players into bigger roles, you can't just immediately toss them aside the second something doesn't work.
Sergei Murashov is going to have some crappy games this season. It doesn't mean he stinks and won't be good.
Ville Koivunen is going to make mistakes. He hasn't even played a full season's worth of NHL games. It doesn't mean he won't or can't be a good NHL player.
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Ben Kindel is going to make some mistakes. His age still ends with "teen" and
If you're expecting these guys to just show up and immediately play clean hockey from the start, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. You can't have it both ways. If you want to see the development, you have to experience the growing pains. It's been a long time since we've had to do this here.
Even though Carlile isn't really coming from the same place as them as a prospect, he's still a guy with limited NHL ice time playing a role and minutes he's never played before. There are going to be mistakes.
The question you have to ask, especially with a player like Carlile, is whether or not there is an upside here that is worth playing through those growing pains. Maybe there is. Carlile was basically replacing Parker Wotherspoon this season, not only in terms of role, but also fitting the same profile of a mid-20s player with limited NHL experience that was waiting for a bigger role. As good as Wotherspoon turned out to be last season by the end of it, he did have some mishaps early in the year. There were some rocky moments before he really started to solidify himself in that role. He was also two years older than Carlile with about 50 more games of NHL experience. Does that mean Carlile is destined to put it all together the same way and figure it out? Absolutely not. But Muse isn't wrong about the process.
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Having said that….
That doesn't mean the criticism of Carlile and his usage is off-base at this point. Results are what they are, and you can't hide from it. It also doesn't mean you can't make adjustments based on situations. If you see a guy that keeps getting beat in high-leverage roles or high-leverage situations (and there is a trend here with Carlile in those moments), you can pull them back from for a bit. It doesn't mean you never revisit it. It doesn't mean they never get a chance at it. It just means you try something different if Plan A is not working.
A young player can sit for a game or two and get a different perspective. It doesn't have to be a punishment. It can be a reset and a fresh set of eyes. It can simply be giving somebody else a different role and a different opportunity.
Carlile has not played as well as hoped. Maybe he never will. You are right to be critical of that. You are right ot want to see different players on the ice in a big moment in the closing minutes. Maybe you should see a different player in that spot the next time it arises. Dan Muse is also right to have a bigger picture viewpoint of it and defend his player the way he did.
