The Penguins have acquired veteran defenseman Ron Hainsey from Metro Division rival Carolina. The trade was announced this morning by black-and-gold general manager Jim Rutherford.
“He’s a real character guy,” said Rutherford, describing his newest acquisition. “He’ll fit into our room. We were looking to add an experienced defenseman. He has lots of experience. He’s a good penalty killer. That’s an area where we’d like to improve a little bit. He can skate, move the puck and should be able to fit into our system.”
In return, the Hurricanes received a second-round draft pick and Baby Pens forward Danny Kristo. The latter was acquired from St. Louis on November 19 for Reid McNeill.
The deal comes in the wake of a rash of injuries to the Pens’ defensive corps. Earlier in the day the team revealed that Trevor Daley would be sidelined for six weeks following knee surgery. Justin Schultz (concussion) and Olli Maatta (broken hand) are currently out as well.
At first blush? The trade reminds me of the 2009 acquisition of Philippe Boucher. Big guy, veteran who perhaps had seen better days, but could still contribute. When injuries shook the defensive corps in the postseason, Boucher filled in admirably (a goal and three assists) for nine games.
In addition to plugging a short-term gap, Hainsey could provide the same type of insurance as Boucher once did come the postseason. Given that he’s never appeared in a single NHL playoff game during his 14-year NHL career, I’d imagine he’s chomping at the bit to play for a Cup contender.
In terms of what the Connecticut native brings to the table, Ron’s a big guy (6’3” 210) with decent mobility. He’s a left-handed shot. A horse, too, capable of logging large chunks of ice time (a career average of 21:08 minutes). An innings eater, in baseball parlance.
Once a productive offensive defenseman (49 goals, 250 points), at age 35 his puck lugging days most likely are behind him. Still, he’s regarded as a capable penalty killer and stay-at-home presence.
The lone rubs, at least according to The Hockey News? Given his size, he’s not overly physical, although with a dozen career fights he’ll drop the gloves should the need arise. Consistency might be an issue as well.
Still, he’s been good enough to play in 891 NHL games and skate for five different organizations (six teams), counting the Pens.
According to capfriendly.com, Hainsey’s in the final season of a three-year contract with an annual cap hit of $2.83 million. The Hurricanes have agreed to absorb half his salary.
All things considered, a job well done by Rutherford and his staff.
One Amen.Just a simple Amen. Was that to much to ask for? Apparently so.
DALEY. LETANG. SCHULTZ. MAATTA.DUMO only half recovered playing with a face shield.
I hate to admit it guys but Derrick P. may be our 3rd d man and quarter backing the PP. Crazy?
Pen’s will have to do something else as well.
After last year’s miracle Rick, I thought the good Lord was a Pen’s fan. Now ???
It will certainly by an exciting time in the next 3 to 4 weeks.
Jim
Hello to All,
This is exactly the kind of deal I hoped they wouldn’t make while knowing they don’t have many choices, and need some immediate help.
Hainsey is ok. He’s going to take some punishment playing for the Pens. I’m not up to date on his injury record, but with an average of 21+ minutes a game, he seems pretty durable. We’ll see. I hope he doesn’t get hurt, too.
They could use another interim D-man, too, if they can’t find a bonafide, which gets more remote every passing day. I read about a couple others who could possibly be pried loose like Kyle Qunicy in NJ ($1.3m), Wiercioch in Colorado ($800k), and Greg Pateryn in Montreal ($800k). Any of those tickle anyone’s fancy? A body is a body at this point if for no other reason than to not over tax the regulars going into the post season.
This reminds me of a quote from a movie, but I can’t recall which movie: “Seems your in a tough spot here, Jimbo.”
Hi 55
Great to hear from you.
2 months ago we talked about the need to beef up the d corps. Now it is a walking disaster. Ron H. is a number 6 d man whose best years are behind him. But he is certainly an upgrade to the WBS boys.
I think a New Jersey deal is possible because Shero knows the kids.Sheary.Oskar S. Derrick P.( He drafted them ).
I am just afraid we are going to get fleeced by Shero.
He knows we are desperate.
One thing I wanted to ask you 55. If the depleted d corps has trouble moving the puck,our forwards are going to take a pounding because they will be forced to play in the d zone to much.
What happens to the forwards ? They will start dropping as well.
Plus our lack of face wins it makes the situation even worse.
Thanks.
Jim
Hi Jim,
Always good to hear from you. I would guess the current situation does, indeed, leave the forwards a bit more vulnerable. Lately, they have been spending too much time in their own zone. While the D is partly responsible, I don’t think it’s all on them. The passing has been rather dismal and they’re making too many bad decisions with the puck. The team in general seems to have lost some focus. That’s the wear and tear showing. Hopefully they get their legs back and a few new bodies to help relight the pilot and they can again zero in on what got them here.
Just saw that Letang’s day-to-day with an upper body injury.
Could our luck get any worse? Sheesh … 🙁
Rick
Your surprised – i love Letang but he’s always injured.
Hey Mike,
I love Tanger, too. Heck of a player with a ton of heart.
But the injuries are becoming an issue. Comes from a not-so-big guy playing a big-man’s game.
This is why I wish the Pens had a bigger body (or two) back there to shield him from some of the wear and tear.
Perhaps Hainsey can help out in that regard, although he’s not an ultra-physical player by any means.
Rick
Rick
Agree – Letang plays bigger than his size – not afraid to mix
it up – Competitive dude. His body is continuing to break
down. I think the Penguins strategy to go with fast puck moving
defenseman was great but I also think teams are starting to use
there speed with bigger bodies to play the dump and chase game
and force our “D” to absorb tons of contact. I think JR might want
to look at a better balance of size / speed on the back end.
Wow Letang down again? This is starting to border on the absurd. The injury list on D is starting to get longer than the list of healthy D. I am pretty sure most people for saw this back in Sept given the small size on the blue line. Maybe JR should reconsider his all in it for this year, strategy and see what happens; win or lose with the guys that he brought to the dance back in Sept. There just seems way to many holes on D to fill in so short of a time frame. He should have been a little more active and willing to part with bigger pieces back when he could get something.
Hey Coach
We have talked about Letang for month’s.
If you play him 28+ hard minutes every game,
he is 29 going on 30 years old. He can not take the pounding every night. 5 years ago sure. But not now.
You are absolutely right. Nobody wanted to make the big changes last summer.
I can not help wondering, if Ron Burke had allowed the sale of the team to go thru last year as Mario wanted and Mario returned to his native Quebec to retire like he planned to, would MAF still be with the team? I do not think so.
Another point is we still need another big d man to help take the load from Justin and Kris.
Your thoughts?
Cheers
Hey Jim,
I am seriously worried. Unless JRs worn out refrain of “Penguins intend to hold on to Marc-Andre Fleury Goaltender could be essential piece in Stanley Cup run, Pittsburgh GM says” (taken from an Article on NHL.com website) is nothing more than smoke and mirrors like when he kept insisting MJ was the guy at the beginning of the year last year, I see an early exit from the play-offs this year.
The greatest depth the Pens have, the greatest asset they have for trade bait is their back-up Goalie because although he is not as good as their starter he still can be a top ten goalie, especially on the right team.
Keeping both Murray and Fleury would not be a problem if the team was solid everywhere down the line. Unfortunately the Pens aren’t solid everywhere. Even when healthy, their D has been giving up 32.4 SOG all season add that to their 16.2 Blk per game that is already nearly 50 shot attempts per game. I don’t have the numbers on missed shots per game on hand but the shot attempt numbers have to be in the 60 range. Logic dictates that the Pens D is failing. Logic also dictates that if the Pens are really in it for the win this year, MAF needs traded for a top flight D man not a retread who has never been good enough to even play a play-off game, let alone make a Finals appearance.
The only way I can see a deep Cup run happening this year is Murray having an epic post season. I say Murray and not MAF having the epic post season because even when he was younger MAF melted down under less pressure than Penguin goalies are going to face this post-season unless they upgrade their D.
If the Pens do not get a top flight player, at least a number 3 man on D by the time the Deadline passes I will start thinking about next season.
Sorry for the gloom and doom comment, but that is what I am thinking.
Hey Rick,
I am not surprised by the move and believe that most moves could prove at least marginal benefit to the Pens D. However, I do think that we paid too much for him. Given that Hainsey has played 14 seasons and has yet to make a play-off appearance, both a prospect and a 2nd round pick seems mighty steep. I have no doubt he will help at least a little, but the Shero fleeced us. Even if he squanders the pick, the price tag was well inflated. There has to be a reason why Hainsey hasn’t made the play-offs when nearly half the league makes the play-offs every year. The odds that Hainsey hasn’t contributed to his own futility seem rather long.
However, this was the kind of deal I anticipated; a deal that to quote the bard was “much ado about nothing”.
Defiantly paid to much – I hope he has something bigger up his sleeve
because our “D” are dropping like flies. With a chance to make a few
moves it would be sad if JR allows this to detour our cup quest.
Hey Other Rick,
I hear ya’ on the price tag. Although given that–at least at this stage of the game–it’s a seller’s market and JR’s somewhat over a barrel with all our injuries, I’m not sure how much leverage he has.
While you certainly don’t want to mortgage the future just because you’re in a pinch, let’s face it … we need (capable) bodies on D.
On the plus side, once (if) we get everyone back and healthy, Hainsey will make a nice depth guy a la Boucher. And he’s a pending UFA, so we’re not committed beyond this season.
Rick
Now hearing that Letang is day to day, maybe I should have quoted the platitude “a little too little, a little too late.” If Schultz isn’t ready to return Sat this could get really ugly. And given their inability to clear their own zone and have to block 20 or so shots a game, the injury list could get even longer.