Laboring under the mistaken assumption that Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford stood pat at the trade deadline, I started to compose a piece for PenguinPoop based on Kenny Rogers C&W classic, The Gambler.
The one where he sings, “Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.”
I was convinced JR had held ’em. Which, I confess, left me a tad disappointed. But not crestfallen.
Then my boss rolled in and said he heard JR had squeaked in a couple of deals…just before the deadline.
Hurriedly, I visited Trade Tracker on NHL.com.
Almost wish I hadn’t.
It was quickly apparent the Pens had gotten…all together now…smaller and more benign. Okay, a bit more skilled, too.
Truth be told, I’d been hoping against hope JR would see the need to add a little size and snarl to help us stack up better against heavier division rivals such as Columbus and Washington. Knowing pretty much full well he wouldn’t.
In fact, we shed some size in rangy forward Eric Fehr, and what little combativeness we had in Steve Oleksy. Both were dealt to Toronto, along with a fourth-round pick in 2017.
The return? Frank Corrado, statistically speaking, a nondescript 23-year-old defenseman of modest (Penguin-esque) size who split time between the Maple Leafs and the AHL Marlies the past two seasons.
Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh in my initial assessment. But Corrado looks a depth guy, nothing more.
To be fair, JR also acquired Mark Streit, a highly skilled, mobile, puck-moving defenseman. Streit came from Philadelphia by way of Tampa Bay for a fourth-round pick in the 2018 Entry Draft. Certainly a reasonable price for one of the better power-play quarterbacks in the league, albeit one who’s a bit long in the tooth at age 39.
Kind of a Matt Cullen on the d-side.
Still, I can’t help but envy the Rangers, who acquired erstwhile Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith, an aggressive 28-year-old “all-arounder” who can play both sides with equal ability. New York got him for a third-round pick in 2017 and a second-round pick in 2018. A price I would gladly have paid to add a little bite.
Water under the bridge, at this stage.
I should note…I felt much the same way after JR’s dual deals at the 2015 deadline when he swapped Robert Bortuzzo and Simon Despres for Ian Cole and Ben Lovejoy.
Those trades grew on me over time.
Hope these will, too.
Ice Chips
The Penguins recalled defenseman Derrick Pouliot from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In 32 games with the Baby Pens, the former first-round pick tallied five goals and 14 points. Pouliot was a plus-6.
RIDDLE: How can you tell which Penguin’s about to be traded?
ANSWER: Who’s the last Penguin to win a fight.
If that wasn’t so true, it wouldn’t hurt so much when I laugh 😉
Hey Other Rick,
When I first learned of the trade, I confess I knew nothing about Corrado.
As I looked up his profile on “The Hockey News,” I joked with a nearby gym member that he couldn’t be any more than 6’0″ tall for us to acquire him.
Naturally, I was right. Six-foot, a buck-ninety. Sheesh … 🙁
Rick
Rick
These moves are tough to sugar coat – I don’t see anyway in
God’s name that the Penguin’s team as it’s structure will be
able to hold up to the physical pounding thats coming from
the Caps and Blue Jackets in the playoffs. Its no secret to
beat us you have to pound us at every opportunity.
I can’t even begin to describe my frustration with Rutherfraud.
He allowed his ego to stand in the way of the Pen’s having a
shot to repeat.
We can only pray that the tough physical teams with size exit
early from the playoffs.
Hey Rick,
As the deadline approached I lookws over the rosters of the teams allegedly in sell mode looking for who I would make offers for. I must confess I was getting ready to picture Shattenkirk in Pgh and according to Jim it almost happened, if you saw one of his last posts on the last article. I also had thought if the Pens couldn’t get Shattenkirk, maybe they would go for Duchene. Duchene could have really bolster that sagging 3rd line.
But the real point of this was when I realized that a blockbuster deal wasn’t going to happen, I still allowed myself to think of players I would still love to get. From Colorado, I would still have loved to find a way to pluck Zadorov off of their roster, even though he is hurt, I would have also thought about trying to Wiercioch. Wiercioch doesn’t have snarl but he may have worked out with a combo of some size 6’2 and some mobility. But let me throw this name out at you from Van, Nikita Tryamkin. He is 6’7 265lbs and only 22. He really doesn’t fight that much (1fight in 63 games) but he has 146 Hits and 89 Blks. With that size even if he isn’t that quick, his size just might keep the slot clear. It certainly would be hard to get around someone that big.
I would think that he would be a better deal than Corrado!
I’m not surprised he did something, plugging temporary holes. I don’t think he made the team better, except maybe in the immediate. They’ll have some depth on D come the playoffs, in case of injuries, but that’s all it is, depth. No game changers here.
On point – great to have depth – give me depth that
can play. these guys suck / no better than the crew
we brought up from Wilkes Barre.
I hear you, Mike. What’s even more confusing to me than these deals is team management’s indifference to size and physicality. Washington and Columbus can keep up with them and will punish them.
Sadly, Mike and 55 on Point, I couldn’t agree more.
Especially against Columbus. When Josh Anderson, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell and Boone Jenner come crashing in, the likes of Streit and Derrick Pouliot (ugh) will fold up like a cheap suit … 🙁
Rick
Like everyone else, I’m trying to process JR’s deadline moves on the fly. So a lot of my comments reflect my initial reactions.
Given that Streit has yet to play a game for us and Pouliot’s still a kid, my previous comments are probably a bit harsh and misdirected.
Bottom line? I was really hoping Rutherford would go against type and reinforce us physically at the deadline. Which he kind of did by acquiring Hainsey, a bigger guy than our standard fare defenseman. He just didn’t go as far as I would’ve liked.
I’ve been wrong before (a gazillion times). Hopefully I’m wrong this time.
Rick
PS–I would consider calling up Tom Sestito from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the upcoming road trip. Even if he doesn’t play, I think his presence might help the team.