One sore spot for the Carolina Hurricanes in recent years has been the play of their fourth line. Past holders of the center role with that unit such as Jay McClement and Manny Malhotra have brought purported face-off and penalty killing ability to the team, but their results at even strength have led to the ‘Canes regularly finding themselves on the losing end of fourth line battles.
Enter Marcus Kruger, whose excellence in that role in Chicago played a part in two of the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup championships, in 2013 and 2015.