Matt Nieto Brings Hard Work to Penguins' Bottom Six

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a newly formed group of bottom-six forwards thanks to the work of Kyle Dubas this offseason. The first signing of the bunch was winger Matt Nieto. The 30-year-old is a veteran of over 650 games in the NHL, splitting his career between the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. He's a respected player with an incredible reputation, but he also brings skills and intangibles that will be a major addition to the third or fourth line. Let's dive deeper to get a better understanding of Nieto's game and how he'll help the Pens this season. 

Hard Work If You Can Get It

There are three terms that come up in every single piece on Nieto: "defense-first," "responsible," and "hard worker." These terms are almost meaningless in today's NHL, with every third and fourth liner described in that way, but Nieto truly embodies those attributes on the ice. While he just posted a 12-goal season, he has only four 10+ goal seasons over 12 years in the NHL. Simply put, he wasn't signed to bring in 15-20 goals from the fourth line.

He was, however, signed to bring in a defensive skillset that instantly elevates the depth of the Penguins' forwards. Nieto possesses a defensive awareness that is unparalleled around the league. Positionally sound and with his stick in a passing lane, he's constantly a threat to end the other team's offensive attack. He'll always cover for a teammate who strays out of position, and he insulates his goaltender every time he's on the ice. 

An above average skater, Nieto uses it to his advantage as a forechecker. He's a tenacious puck pursuer, and will most likely be the first person on the puck in the Pens' forechecking system. He also has a knack for forcing turnovers, and plays strong along the wall, so he can not only create turnovers, but also find ways to create offense after. 

Head coach Mike Sullivan loves to deploy a specific defensive line in difficult situations, and Nieto's arrival gives him another lock down option to use in tight games and matchups. When the Pens are defending a lead or killing a penalty late in the third period, you want Nieto on the ice. It's easy to envision how much more effective a trio of Sidney Crosby, Nieto, and Lars Eller will be in shutting down opponents in the final minutes, compared to that of Crosby, Jeff Carter, an any other forward used. 

Penalty Killing Reinforcements

Nieto is also an elite penalty killer, which is undoubtedly a huge reason for the Penguins signing him. During this past season, of which he split between the Sharks and Avalanche, both teams ranked in the top 15 of penalty killing percentage. The season before, Nieto was on the ice for the least amount of 4-on-5 goals amongst all NHL forwards, according to Natural Stat Trick. His reputation for being one of the game's best penalty killers is backed up consistently by the eye test and underlying numbers.

The trademarks of his game are ramped up when Nieto is killing penalties. He loves to play aggressively and swarm the puck holder. He has eyes in the back of his head sometimes, and is able to intercept and disrupt passes with relative ease. He also defaults to making the simple plays when down a man, and you'll never see him try to hold on to the puck or make a risky play during the penalty kill. Instead, you can count on Nieto to go after the puck and clear it down ice. He will endear himself to Coach Sullivan instantly and will set the tone for what hopes to be a revamped penalty killing scheme in Pittsburgh. 

Pace Setter

The Penguins desperately need more energy from their bottom six. Nieto brings hope that whatever line he plays on might become a high octane one. The edge he plays with is infectious, combine that with speed and a penchant for throwing a body check, and you have a player that can instantly set the tone or ignite the fire in his teammates. Nieto is a veteran who knows exactly what he brings to his team, and establishing the pace of play and intensity level will be no problem him on a nightly basis. 

Dubas has been very consistent and clear in the beginning part of his roster reconstruction, and Nieto represents everything Dubas and Sullivan want on their roster. Hard work is Nieto's calling card, and it's a piece the bottom six has lacked for some time now. His arrival should help to end that issue, and hopefully will energize the new look depth of the Pittsburgh Penguins.