Penguins: Trades and Rumors of Trades

On Wednesday, November 14, the Penguins traded Carl Hagelin, leaving only Phil Kessel from the once storied HBK line. The Penguins got Tanner Pearson in exchange. Will this trade turn the Penguins back into contenders rather than pretenders? Even when the Penguins big guns Justin Schultz and now Sidney Crosby get back in the line up, our “Boys of Winter” are still at least couple of bricks shy of a load. So, the answer is, no, this trading Hagelin for Pearson will not put the Penguins back on the map for a serious playoff run.

However, this story has been chewed up and in the rear view mirror now. Like the Penguins and the HBK line, it is time to move on.

The Rumor mill is now churning on an Olli Maatta to Anaheim trade for either Josh Manson or Brandon Montour.

Looking at the players involved Montour is cheaper and the Penguins would probably have to retain some salary to make this deal happen, like they did with the Hagelin trade. Unlike the Hagelin trade, Maatta is signed through the 2021-2022 so retaining any portion of his salary could hurt for some time. Furthermore, looking at their numbers, perhaps Mike Sullivan would rather have the smaller version of a RD, Montour (72″), I would rather have the larger player, Manson (75″). Montour may represent a better offensive player, individually than either Maatta or Manson (1.03 P60), Manson, to me, represents the better trade and possibly even an upgrade over Maatta. Manson is larger (75″, 216lbs), Hits more (2.3Ht/G) has a better 5 on 5 CF% (52.53), and a lower GA/60 (1.9).

Is Maatta all that bad? Probably not. When I consider how much of a millstone Kris Letang has become to this team, defensively, and mix in the lack of any real defensive schemes, I have a hard time blaming too many of the defensemen, individually. The overall defense on the other hand – it stinks!

Giving up one of the surplus Left Handed Defensemen LD for a Right Handed Defenseman RD could not help but improve the team. Just like trading Hagelin, trading Maatta for either Manson or Montour will not bump this team into true contender status, but the team will be stronger.

Derick Bressard and Daniel Sprong are still allegedly on the trading block as well. Trading either one or both of these players would more than likely not significantly improve the Penguins chances of winning the Cup this year.

Bressard has not only been a bit of a bust here in Pittsburgh but he has also been a frequent visitor to the Injured Reserve (IR) list, both of which reduce his value on the trade market. A smart trade could save some Cap space this year to allow more up and down movement from Wilkes Barre – Scranton, but more importantly and regardless of trading him, Bressard’s cap hit comes off of the books at the end of the season since he will be an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) allowing the Penguins to go after a better fit UFA in the off-season (I will get back to that momentarily – so keep this thought in the back of your mind). The only downside to trading Bressard is acknowledging how bad trading for him in the first place was. Giving up Ian Cole, Ryan Reaves, and Filip Gustavsson, for a player who never fit for 2 players because Sullivan couldn’t get along with and a goalie who could have been the best goalie in the system, is pretty much a condemnation of the coach.

Trading Daniel Sprong, may help this team and help the kid himself. It is a travesty that Sullivan has brought the team to this point, but let’s face it, despite the value Sprong brings to the team offensively and the fact that even this year, in the depths of this tragic situation. Sprong isn’t significantly worse than anyone else on this team defensively but is vastly superior to most others. More importantly, when he played where he belongs, in a top 6 position last year, he was a CORSI superstar. Trading Sprong, like trading Brassard is more evidence that Sullivan is the one that needs closer scrutiny.

When Mike Sullivan was passed over for the Jack Adams trophy after both Cup wins, I was indignant. I thought how could these idiots pass him over. Now after watching him wallow in confusion, this past year and roughly quarter, I am not so sure. I am now thinking that the pundits were smarter than me. Sullivan may be the biggest reason this team is disintegrating. He is running players out of town and has no answers for the strategic and tactical questions that are arising. All he seems prepared to do is shuffle the same failed players back and forth and will not look to trying anything new. All of his success is now looking more like a confluence of the right players at the right time. It is now looking more like Jim Rutherford deserves even more credit for assembling the right group of players.

The big trade, the real trade that I doubt will happen is trade Kris Letang. He is still a strong offensive force but is a defensive liability. He is a $7.25 cap hit. The Penguins need not really look for much in return. riding themselves of his $7.25 Cap hit would be more than enough to compensate his loss.

What?! Why do I say this? It starts with me realizing that the Penguins really aren’t that strong of a Cup contender this year, no matter what they try. Yes, anything can and often happens, if a team can get their foot in the door. However, years of success has weakened this team.

However, the Penguins need not despair to long. The fates may be smiling on them. They could conceivably retool for a strong run at another back-to-back run if they are smart. Artemi Panarin is going to be a UFA at the end of the season. If the Penguins could clear Cap space (ie dump Letang’s salary) then they could make a run at signing the Russian Winger. Since Panarin hasn’t had a deep playoff run since 2014 -2015 in the KHL and with the prospect of playing with both Crosby or Malkin, I would think that the Penguins could potentially sign Panarin a little cheaper than most teams. He is making $6mil right now. Playing with two elite Centers so even if injuries occur, you still have a true number 1 to fall back on, Panarin could come to Pittsburgh at only at a little more than Letang has been stealing from the team.

To that end, not only would I look to deal Letang to free up Cap space, I would definitely make a half-hearted attempt to trade for Panarin now, to plant a seed in Panarin’s mind for the off-season. I wouldn’t really want to trade anyone within my own division, so I wouldn’t make a legitimate trade offer. I would only make enough of an offer to plant that seed.

But for now, tonight our Penguins take on Ottawa.