Erik Gudbranson’s tenure with the Penguins ended in a fashion many would expect of a man with his stature.

He planted several of his right metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints into somebody’s temporal bone.

In layman’s terms, he punched Lightning forward Patrick Maroon on side of his head.

During a 3-2 road loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, Maroon whacked goaltender Tristan Jarry after a puck was frozen and was taken to task by the rugged Penguins defenseman for the malfeasance.

Less than 48 hours later, Gudbranson was headed to the Anaheim Ducks in a trade. General manager Jim Rutherford labeled Gudbranson as a “cap casualty” and said the franchise was not completely comfortable moving him.

That’s feeling is understandable considering Gudbranson’s departure leaves a 6-foot-5, 217-pound void in the lineup. Without him, the Penguins don’t have an accomplished fighter at their disposal, either at the NHL or AHL levels.

But do they need one?

Ever since Rutherford took over as general manager in the 2014 offseason, the Penguins have been hot and cold with regard to having an enforcer available.

One of Rutherford’s first moves was to sign rambunctious forward Steve Downie, a skilled but volatile player who lasted only one season after putting up a respectable 14 goals but an abhorrent 238 penalty minutes.

Less than a year after cutting ties with Downie, the team signed lumbering forward Tom Sestito in February 2016 and kept him around on a handful of two-way contracts. He existed primarily on the AHL roster during his time with the Penguins and was usually only utilized in a “break glass in case of emergency” situation.

Then at the draft in June 2017, after watching several vital members of the 2016 and ‘17 Stanley Cup squads get battered and injured by the opposition repeatedly, Rutherford swung a major trade acquiring forward Ryan Reaves, the unofficial heavyweight champion of the NHL, in a deal which sent forward Oskar Sundqvist, then a prospect, as well as a first-round pick to the St. Louis Blues.

The trade never paid off as Reaves failed to fully enamour coach Mike Sullivan and was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights in February 2018.

This past February, with several of the team’s incumbent defensemen injured, Rutherford added Gudbranson in a deal with the Vancouver Canucks.

While lauding his physical gifts, Rutherford stressed the need to add a healthy body on the blue line above all else. While lauding his physical nature, Rutherford stressed the need to add a healthy body on the blue line.

Eight months later, the Penguins no longer have someone — at least a bigger someone — to push back against the Tom Wilsons or Brandon Dubinskys of the NHL.

They profess confidence in their ability to do that post-Gudbranson.

“(Gudbranson’s) job was obviously a litle bit more on that side because of his size,” said forward Zach Aston-Reese. “But I think there’s (remaining) guys that are capable. Everytime, guys have stepped up for each other this year. Like Teddy (Blueger). (Adam Johnson) got hit from behind against Anaheim. Teddy jumped in there and fought. There’s guys that are capable.”

Blueger, all six feet and 185 pounds of him, has one of the team’s two fighting majors this season. He attacked (and lost to) 6-foot-3, 215-pound Ducks defenseman Korbinian Holzer on Oct. 10 after Holzer slammed Johnson into the end boards.

Captain Sidney Crosby has the other major as a result of wrestling Columbus Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois to the ice after a high hit against forward Jake Guentzel on Oct. 5.

“If one of our guys gets cheap-shotted by a hit or something like that, one of us is going to step up, regardless of who it is,” forward Jared McCann said. “If you win or lose a fight, it’s not really a big deal. You’re just there for your teammate. It’s about making a statement that you’re there for your teammates and I feel like you get a lot more respect from guys for doing that.”

Not long ago, nearly every team had at least guy whose sole job was to fight in response to offending hits.

“It was more than one,” objected defenseman Jack Johnson, who broke into the NHL in 2006-07. “It’s just changed. The salary cap, I think, has had an impact on that. Just the style, the way the game is played now, is so much more skilled and faster. It’s just evolved into that.”

The Penguins certainly employed pure enforcers within the past decade with the likes of Eric Godard and Steve MacIntyre. But those types of players are virtually extinct from the NHL today.

“You don’t need a player that’s going to just be dressed, play two minutes a game and just have a fight like it used to be,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “(Gudbranson) was bringing way more than that. You felt his presence out there with his physical play. He could also play and move. He’s a good player.”

If someone is a fighter, he has to have a lot more than that on his resume.

“(Gudbranson) could do the job of an enforcer. But he also brought the physical game, he is a guy that can make plays with the puck, he has a good shot. He brought more than just the enforcer kind of role. We’re going to miss him, that’s for sure. Because he brought maybe a … if a game goes out of hand, he’s back there.”

As they prepare for Tuesday’s game against the rival Flyers, an foe which aggravates them like few others, do the Penguins have somebody anywhere in their lineup who can fill that role, even if just in an incremental fashion?

“I don’t think we’re looking for anyone to go out and fight,” Jack Johnson said. “Fights just happen. They’re less and less in this league. I don’t think anyone feels they need to fight just because he’s gone. It’s a physical game, guys play physical. Guys that aren’t bone-crushing hitters, they’re usually physical in other ways.”

“It’s as simple as just finishing a check,” Aston-Reese said. “You don’t have to knock a guy on his (butt). But just being physical. That’s something you can’t shy away from now that (Gudbranson is) gone, especially.”

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