It’s only one game but I’m liking Penner

Penner, to say the least, hasn’t been the most popular player in Edmonton over the last two seasons. His numbers haven’t been bad – second on the team in goals and fourth in points – but far too often his play has been. Penner is too big to be invisible and I’ll be the first to say that on a lot of nights in the last two years, I couldn’t remember seeing him out there.

Penner’s detractors here in Edmonton have had two major complaints about the guy.

First he isn’t physical enough. Penner has a big body and the fans in Edmonton expect him to use it. They want to see him putting guys through the glass and dropping the gloves with anyone who looks at him sideways. I’ve always thought that this complaint was a little unfair. The fact is that Penner just isn’t that type of player; he’s not Lucic for example. But he could certainly use his body more than he does. Get your ass in front of the goalie, be a screen, be tough to move. You can use your body in ways other than turning them into grease spots on the boards.

The other complaint was his fitness level. Whether Penner was or wasn’t in shape I don’t really know because I’ve never met the guy. What I do know is that MacTavish didn’t think he was in shape and the fans in Edmonton were all over this one. The always original “Why don’t you have another doughnut?” comments were heard pretty regularly up in the nosebleeds last year; ironically most of the time from fat guys on their fifth beer who could barely fit into their seats themselves.

My gut feeling with the Penner haters was that most of it boiled down to the simple fact the we brought him in here to be the top line left winger, paid him big money, and gave up three draft picks for a player who hasn’t yet shown he was worth it. This of course ignores the fact that he was only 25 with one NHL season under his belt when he got here and it’s not his fault the Oilers paid him what they did or that they gave up the picks they did to get him.

But whatever the reason, the anti-Penner voices will be a lot quieter this season is he consistently plays games this season like he did on Saturday night. Penner was, without a doubt, the best Oiler on Saturday. He scored a goal and added an assist. He used his body to throw hits, to protect the puck, and to screen the goalie. Add it all up and he played a complete game.

Unfortunately this isn’t type of game isn’t new. For a 15-20 games stretch last season he was the best forward on the team after being a healthy scratch for two games in November. But then the motivation faded and teams biggest invisible man returned to the line up.

I’m thinking – alright hoping – that this is a new Dustin Penner, that the performance backslide we’ve become accustomed to won’t happen again. And there are good reasons to think this. He’s got a new coach so all the MacT related baggage is gone, he looked to be in game ready form throughout the preseason, and he has changed his dietary habits choosing to reduce his candy and beer intake. All of that points in the right direction for me.

There is also the fact that he seems to be having fun playing the game. It has got to be easier to play when you’re having fun. Check out this interview from the CBC broadcast on Saturday night.

Oake interviews Penner on CBC

Doesn’t it seem like the guy is having fun to you? For some reason a few people on the HF Boards feel that Penner slighted Oake in some way with that answer but to me it seems pretty obvious he was joking, Oake too. If you don’t think so you might want to book an appointment with your doctor to have a stick removed from part of you body.

Maybe it’s the optimism of the first week of October taking over but I’m really starting to think that Oilers might finally be getting the Penner they paid for.