The numbers caution that veteran center Jay McClement, signed to a professional tryout contract by the Penguins on Friday night, may be on the downside of his career.
McClement, 34, doesn't feel that way.
It's not even close, actually.
"I feel like I still have a lot left in the tank," McClement told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a phone interview on Saturday afternoon.
After rehabbing a knee sprain that he said limited him during the latter parts of the 2016-17 season, McClement said he's experienced a bunch of physical gains with his strength and conditioning work.
"I've been feeling really good this summer physically," McClement said. "I got my body back. With the injury, it took a while to get my body back in balance. I've been feeling really good. For me, it's finding that niche with some of the things that I've done over my career. Hopefully that can meld into a good team."
Signing McClement to a PTO, of course, is no sure thing. Penguins training camp will open Sept. 15, and McClement could look horrible and get cut.
Don't bet on it, however.
General manager Jim Rutheford signed McClement to the PTO because of how well McClement handles faceoffs and kills penalties. He's also a likable, veteran presence on a team that could stand to replace a few of those types.
"He's had good success killing penalties and winning faceoffs," Rutherford said. "With what we're looking for in the way of depth at that position, he's going to be given a good chance to make the team."
McClement has played 906 games and has a career faceoff winning percentage of 51.9. His short-handed ice time has been anywhere from 1:51-3:50 during stops in St. Louis, Colorado, Toronto and Carolina.
"Faceoffs are a big part of my game and excelling at that and being strong killing penalties," McClement said. "Those are my strengths, so I have to make sure I'm sharp in those things and making sure I contribute in all those little ways."
Goals and points probably aren't going to come at a Matt Cullen-like clip. In 65 games with Carolina a season ago, McClement produced five goals and eight points. He has 15 goals over his last 224 regular-season games, which is roughly about what Cullen averaged per season (14.5) in his two years with the Penguins.
Rutherford, however, isn't overly worried about a 2016-17 campaign that saw McClement log a career-low 11:23 of ice time, win just 48.2 percent of his faceoffs and produce a Corsi For Percentage (CF percent) of 45.36 during five-on-five play.
"You can't just go on one year as to what a player does," Rutherford said. "You look at his whole career. You look at where he is in his career. You hope that he has a good camp and shows what he's done over his career."
Even if McClement looks spectacular and earns a contract, he projects as a fourth-line option, Rutherford said. The GM remains involved in trade talks for a third-line center, which could conceivably push Carter Rowney to the wing.
"We'll continue to work on it," Rutherford said. "There's a few options there. We'll see what happens here in the next little while. But, again, it's what I said all along. If there's somebody that we feel fits what we're looking for, we'll do it. If not, we're going to wait until that time comes."
McClement kept tabs on Cullen's departure and said talk between Rutherford and his agent seemed to heat up after it happened.
Similar to Rutherford, McClement isn't going into this with any sort of expectations. Just go out, try to play well and earn a job.
"That's a big loss," McClement said of Cullen leaving. "He played a big role since he's been there. It's obviously a hole they need to look at. He's been around a long time. He's won three Stanley Cups. I think they would have liked to have him back. I think that's the way it went. Once that happened, that's when we started talking a little bit and saw that opening as a potential opportunity. No givens. Just coming into camp and hopefully earn that spot."
Last year for McClement wasn't great, and he's not making excuses.
"I didn't feel great about my year," McClement said, pointing out that his ice time was low because the Hurricanes didn't win a ton and he didn't get a chance to play late in games and protect a lead.
That said, the veteran pivot knows there's not a huge margin for error if he intends on earning a job with the two-time Stanley Cup champions and that his physical ability to keep up will be paramount.
"After coming back from an injury, it showed what I needed to do," McClement said. "And it really forced us to concentrate on that for the first month to six weeks to get everything back in order. I think that's helped me. Once I did that, I worked very hard at that. Sometimes it's frustrating because you're just doing so many repetitive things to try and get your body in balance. But it really does make a difference. Then when you start really pushing, your gains start coming and they come a lot easier and faster. I feel like I'm in a good spot physically. Hopefully that shows on the ice."
