Penguins A to Z: Nathan Legare proves his value
While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.
Player: Nathan Legare
Position: Right winger
Shoots: Right
Age: 19
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 206 pounds
2019-20 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) statistics: 61 games, 71 points (35 goals, 36 assists)
Contract: Three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $809,167. Because Legare spent the season in the junior ranks, his contract can slide, or begin, in 2020-21 at the earliest.
Acquired: Draft, third round (No. 74 overall), June 22, 2019
This season: Given how aggressive the Penguins have been in pursing the Stanley Cup over the past decade-plus, they haven’t had a lot to work with when it comes to the draft. Dating to Ray Shero’s regime and continuing through Jim Rutherford’s tenure, the Penguins have dealt away several high-end draft picks or prospects in exchange for players who can help the roster in the immediate sense.
So when they hang onto a fairly top-tier draft pick, it really needs to produce a legit NHL-caliber player.
They appear to have one of those in Legare.
To illustrate how highly Penguins amateur scouts thought of Legare, they convinced Rutherford to deal away three 2019 picks (fourth-, fifth- and seventh-rounders) to the Arizona Coyotes in order to draft the native of Montreal last summer.
Legare rewarded that faith by showing he could adjust to the NHL fairly quickly by scoring two goals in three preseason games this past fall.
(Video courtesy NHL)
While his strong showing in September prompted management to sign Legare to his entry-level contract, the Penguins still opted to return him to his junior team, Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the QMJHL. Serving as captain, Legare was the leading scorer for a team that finished eighth in the 10-team East division by the time the league canceled the remainder of its schedule in mid-March.
His 14 power-play goals were third-most in the league.
(Video courtesy Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Laboring with a struggling team, Legare’s offensive totals took a tumble from the 2018-19 campaign when he put up 87 points (45 goals, 42 assists) in 68 games.
The future: Legare has an outside chance of making the NHL roster next season. The Penguins could part ways with pending unrestricted free agent wingers such as Conor Sheary and Patrick Marleau, and a strong preseason (assuming there is one, given the ongoing hiatus) could garner Legare at least nine games in the regular season. Any more than that would activate the first year of his entry-level contract.
Most likely, Legare will be returned to his junior team, and his contract will slide another year.
Long-term, Legare is one of the top prospects in the organization. While his skating could use some sprucing up, he has the tools to be a productive top-six power forward who cleans up on the power play, protects pucks and initiates contact as a forechecker in the NHL.
While Rutherford was hesitant to entertain offers for Legare leading up to this season’s trade deadline, the Penguins’ current modus operandi always will make an asset such as Legare a candidate to be traded.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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