Hoping to reposition the Penguins for another run at the Cup in 2018-19, general manager Jim Rutherford instead had another in-and-out season at the helm.
Some of his moves were good. Some fair. Some…no bueno.
Unlike the previous offseason when he appeared to be in a lull, JR started aggressively and with a clear-cut plan. Eleven days after the Pens were eliminated by Washington, he signed promising Finnish defenseman Juuso Riikola, who blended good wheels with sand and a booming shot.
On June 27, he cleared $5.25 million in cap space…and shed a mistake in the process…by shuffling Matt Hunwick and Conor Sheary off to Buffalo and into the waiting arms of former assistant GM Jason Botterill for a conditional fourth-round pick.
Poised to make a splash on the free-agent market, JR raised eyebrows by signing former No. 3 overall pick and Sidney Crosby pal Jack Johnson to a five-year deal with an AAV of $3.25 million. Once a fairly accomplished offensive defenseman, that side of Johnson’s game had long since dried up. Worse, his terrible advanced stats made him a target of the media from the moment he signed.
Although not for a lack of effort on Johnson’s part…he would lead the team in hits and blocked shots…it was the start of a rocky two-season stay in the ‘Burgh.
JR also brought back venerable Matt Cullen for a second tour of duty. However, the 42-year-old was nearing the end of the line. Derek Grant, a 12-goal scorer for Anaheim the season before, signed on July 19. The big center never gained any traction and was traded back to the Ducks midseason.
With the black and gold floundering and in the midst of an ugly 1-6 slide, Rutherford tried to shake up the mix by dealing slumping Carl Hagelin to Los Angeles on November 14 for equally frosty Tanner Pearson. The ex-King had his moments, just not enough of them. He, too, was dealt before the season was out.
Indeed, Rutherford spent a good portion of the season making moves and then correcting them. He even tried…unsuccessfully…to reacquire Hagelin at the trade deadline.
Sort of a hockey version of the Texas Two-Step. Trade a Jamie Oleksiak. Acquire an Erik Gudbranson.
Still, Rutherford did have his moments. On December 3, he shipped talented but difficult winger Daniel Sprong to the Ducks for obscure Swedish defenseman Marcus Pettersson. The rangy rookie blossomed with the Pens, earning Calder Trophy votes.
On February 1, JR jettisoned a considerable chunk of dead wood in Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan, foisting them on Florida for centers Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann. The newcomers showed well, combining for 20 goals down the stretch while providing a badly needed shot of adrenaline.
Alas, even this trade…arguably Rutherford’s best…had a downside. He also parted with a second-round pick and two fourth-round picks to sweeten the pot, another instance when he overpaid to correct a mistake.
The Pens’ GM did finish the season on an upswing, acquiring Gudbranson from Vancouver for Pearson. For a 19-game stretch the heavyweight defenseman exceeded all expectations, (52 hits, plus-7, 54.7 Corsi).
However, when you add it all together…a mixed bag. I give JR a C+.
TRADES
|
Date |
Team |
Acquired |
Traded |
Rating |
|
Jun. 27, 2018 |
Buffalo |
4th round (conditional) pick 2019 |
Matt Hunwick (ld), Conor Sheary (rw) |
A: Cleared a considerable chunk of cap space. |
|
Nov. 14, 2018 |
Los Angeles |
Tanner Pearson (lw) |
Carl Hagelin (lw) |
C+: Pearson had his moments, just not enough. |
|
Dec. 3, 2018 |
Anaheim |
Marcus Pettersson (ld) |
Daniel Sprong (rw) |
A: Sprong talented, but a steal for JR. |
|
Jan. 27, 2019 |
Anaheim |
Joseph Blandisi (c) |
Derek Grant (c) |
C: Swap of fourth-liners. |
|
Jan. 28, 2019 |
Dallas |
4th round pick in 2019 |
Jamie Oleksiak (ld) |
D: Poor return for the “Big Rig,” who fell out of favor. |
|
Feb. 1, 2019 |
Florida |
Nick Bjugstad (c), Jared McCann (c) |
Derick Brassard (c), Riley Sheahan (c), 2nd round pick 2019, 4th round pick 2019 (PIT), 4th round pick 2019 (MIN) |
B+: Bjugstad and McCann a huge upgrade, but losing picks mitigated deal to an extent. |
|
Feb. 25, 2019 |
Vancouver |
Erik Gudbranson (rd) |
Tanner Pearson (lw) |
A: Gudbranson shone in brief stint with Pens. |
|
Feb. 25, 2019 |
Florida |
Chris Wideman (rd) |
Jean-Sebastien Dea (c) |
C: Swap of spare parts. |
FREE AGENT/WAIVERS
|
Date |
Old Team |
Free Agent |
Contract |
Rating |
|
May 18, 2018 |
KalPa Kuopio (SM-liiga) |
Juuso Riikola (ld) |
1 year, $925 thousand |
B-: Riikola showed promise, but didn’t earn Mike Sullivan’s trust. |
|
Jun. 28, 2018 |
Pittsburgh |
Jean-Sebastien Dea (c) |
1 year, $650 thousand |
C: Speedy depth forward. |
|
Jul. 1, 2018 |
Minnesota |
Matt Cullen (c) |
1 year, $650 thousand |
C+: “Team Dad” in the twilight. |
|
Jul. 1, 2018 |
Columbus |
Jack Johnson (ld) |
5 years, $3.25 million (AAV) |
D+: JJ gave his all, but fading skills and onerous contract a millstone. |
|
Jul. 1, 2018 |
Pittsburgh |
Zach Trotman (rd) |
1 year, $650 thousand |
B: Effectively filled in for Letang. |
|
Jul. 19, 2018 |
Anaheim |
Derek Grant (c) |
1 year, $650 thousand |
C+: Under-the-radar signing didn’t get much ice time. |
|
Sep. 28, 2018 |
Pittsburgh |
Jean-Sebastien Dea (c) |
Claimed on waivers by New Jersey |
NA |
|
Nov. 29, 2018 |
New Jersey |
Jean-Sebastien Dea (c) |
Claimed on waivers |
C: Reclaimed and soon traded. |
OVERALL GRADE: C+
Not sure who saw this already, but Kingarski is reporting that JR has approached Vegas on the subject of trading Pacioretty. I get it, it never hurts to ask about anything, just to see but I can’t help wonder if/how he has thought about the $$$$ maneuvering it would take to pull of that trade.
Hey Rick,
No don’t get me wrong, I agree the Hunwick/Sheary trade is an A; great we got rid of Hunwick and Sheary. However, until the Bjugstad trade this off season, I thought this was the most disrespectful trade that I had ever seen. I say disrespectful because of the conditions of the trade – the Penguins would receive the lower draft pick unless Sheary either scored I believe 20 Gs (and here is the disrespectful part) or Buffalo could unload Hunwick on someone else – then we would get the higher draft pick.
I am not so sure I give the Hagelin/Pearson trade a C+. I don’t know what I give it – yet – but it would be lower than this grade. After the honeymoon phase, Pearson became a nonfactor and the loss of Hagelin really hurt the team’s morale. Hagelin was very well liked among some of the top performers of the team. And more importantly, the team lost its puck hound, the one player whose speed defined Sullivan’s all out attack that won back-to-back Cups. Maybe if the team had tried Adam Johnson in the vacated Hagelin attack plan, particularly as simplified as it was when Hagelin first came here, “just go get the puck with your speed” the Hagelin loss may not look as bad. And remember, JR reportedly had sellers remorse and allegedly tried to reacquire the speedy Swede at the trade deadline but was blocked by the league because he had retain some of Hags’s salary and you aren’t allowed to get a player back on which you retained salary.
Getting anything for Sprong may have been a bonus, and looking at Pettersson from the perspective of 2018-2019, I understand the want to give this trade an A, but the regression of Pettersson last season makes me want to give this trade a lower grade.
Speaking of Sprong, I read an article from maybe a month or 2 back, maybe a little longer, the Caps are making the same kind of noise that JR made prior to the beginning of the 2018-2019 season, that Sprong will be given a legitimate shot at a top 6 role. However, for the Caps, it was frame in a financial light, hoping to get a top 6 for a cheap price.
I never liked the Grant/Blandisi trade. I thought Grant’s lack of efficacy was coach related – not putting him in positions to succeed.
The only saving grace from the Oleksiak back to Dallas trade – wasn’t the pick acquired in the trade, one of the picks used to trade up to get Legare?
The Brassard – Sheehan/Bjugstad – McCann trade? Yes, a B+ when viewed thru a 2019 lens, but unless McCann gets back to playing like he did when he first came here, this is a C trade for me, a trade of spare parts.
Pearson for Gudbranson, yes, 100% an A.
As for the signings, amen by far JJ was the worst signing, worse than Hunwick. I don’t think he was the worst defenseman, in terms of his play, the team has had these past 2 seasons, but his contract was the worst until JR got Matheson in here.
And Riikola and Trotman were the best signings.
Rick
Just a quick observation. I do believe that with the Pen’s win now at all
cost approach some of JR’s pickups appear worse than what they really
are.
For instance, Brassard, Pearson and Grant played well with their new
teams. Also, McCann has a chance to become a solid 3rd line player
while Bjugstad just couldn’t stay healthy.
Not a Brassard fan but I think both Pearson and Grant could of helped
us if the Pen’s showed a little patience. If a player doesnt make the
adjustment with his new team in 20 or 30 games there looking to trade
him away. Not every player is the same when it comes to adapting to
a new organization.
Hope your well – Looking forward to your feedback.
Go Pen’s
Hey Mike,
An interesting observation. One shared by a Penguins’ beat writer last year. He felt like the Pens didn’t give their new acquisitions a chance to show why they traded for them in the first place. Almost as if we were looking for a reason to disqualify them. He used Pearson as his example.
It’s awful hard not to point the finger at Sullivan. My sense is, if you’re not his kind of player, you’re out the door.
That wasn’t always the case. Sully seemed to do a better job of integrating guys with different skill sets during his first couple of years, but it seems he’s gotten away from that. As you suggest, maybe because there’s more pressure to keep winning Cups, and he doesn’t feel he can give players as much rope. I don’t know.
As you noted, a lot of the guys we trade away do well. Pearson, who was a good player before we got him, has 30 goals in 88 games in Vancouver. Not too shabby. Grant got 15 last season…pretty good for a depth forward. Oleksiak and even Gudbranson were solid for their new teams.
I’ll be interested to see who puts up better numbers this year…Bjugstad or Jankowski. If he stays healthy, my money is on “Bugs.”
Rick
PS–I’m well…I hope you are too!
Hey Rick,
If I were a betting man, I would bet that neither Bjugstad nor Jankowski are in the NHL come March. Bjugstad will more than likely be on IR and Jankowski will go the route of Jimmy Hayes.
I am not big on him like Caleb, but I would bet that Rodrigues would be a better 3 line pivot than Jankowski and Angello, Lafferty, O’Connor, Zohorna, Bjorkqvist, Gruden, Miletic, and even Puustanen are all more deserving of a roster spot than Jankowski. (I would say Poulin and Legare as well and maybe even Ansons but they are still Jr eligible and would benefit more from the expanded playing time there). That is how little I feel about the Jankowski signing.
I still say the team would have been infinitely better off making a play for and signing Haula and Fast upfront and Benning on the back end rather than the Pylons they did sign.
Hey Mike,
Interesting, I tend to overlook that part of the win now mode, the lack of patience in players coming in here. I certainly agree that Grant was never really put in a position of success.
In Pearson’s case, I am not so sure what happened there. He did start out like gang-busters but then disappeared. I tend to think his decline may have been more from him never being accepted by the team. He was replacing a popular player.
Brassard – I never liked that trade. we gave up far too much in Cole and Reaves for a player who really didn’t fit the role we wanted him to fit. I did have hopes for McCann and Bjugstad but Bjugstad is turning into a Beau Bennett clone. I would like to think McCann can salvage this somewhat if they deploy him as a Wing but if they keep trying to force him in as a C.