Oh, somewhere in this favored land (Seattle) the sun is shining bright; the band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, and somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; but there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out.
On Sunday, I voiced my displeasure over the fact that the Penguins chose to leave buzz-saw forward Brandon Tanev exposed in the expansion draft.
However, I confess my mood lightened over the past couple of days as I read a series of articles on other sites. Articles that suggested it made more sense for Seattle to take defensive wiz Zach Aston-Reese. If not ZAR, then Marcus Pettersson and his flashy 72 percent WAR. Why, there was even a convincing pitch touting pricey Jason Zucker as captain material for the fledgling team.
As I eagerly read the posts and drank in the Kool-Aid, I almost had the sense they were part of a carefully conceived plot by the local media to steer Kraken GM Ron Francis away from Tanev.
Unfortunately, the shell game didn’t work. The Kraken grabbed Tanev. Stripping a truly unique bundle of speed, aggression and energy from the black and gold in the process. His nickname…”Turbo”…says it all.
“He’s a maniac out there in so many good ways,” Zucker told Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review. “He brings a lot of energy to our team. He’s a fighter in every sense of the word.”
Give Francis credit. He knows a special player when he sees one. Which is more than I can say for our brass.
What is it about the Penguins that they feel an almost pathological need to divest themselves of any vestige of physicality? Ryan Reaves, Jamie Oleksiak (also selected by the Kraken), Erik Gudbranson, Patric Hornqvist and now Tanev. Makes those “long pants” statements by Brian Burke seem kind of hollow, don’t it?
Perhaps GM Ron Hextall fully intends to follow through on his stated desire to add size and aggression. He’s rumored to be pursuing Toronto’s Zach Hyman, a 6’1” 211-pound slab of productive power forward set to become a UFA. And there are players in our system, most notably Anthony Angello, Sam Lafferty and Nathan Legare, who combine size with sand to varying degrees. While not especially tough, Samuel Poulin and Radim Zohorna both shop in the Big and Tall Store.
Too, maybe Tanev’s hell-for-leather style will catch up with him. After playing all but one of the Pens’ 69 games in 2019-20, he missed 24 contests this past season.
But for now, losing Tanev sucks. Big time.
Speaking of #$@%ing…
Back to Hextall. I know I’m letting my disappointment do the talking. It’s early and it really isn’t fair to judge Hexy’s work until he’s completed his offseason makeover. But, to my eye, he hasn’t exactly dazzled out of the starting blocks this summer, eh?
Yes, Hextall signed Teddy Blueger to a two-year extension with an AAV of $2.2 million, thus avoiding arbitration. A spot that possibly could’ve been filled on the cheap by UFA-to-be Frederick Gaudreau.
Then he promptly dished Jared McCann to Toronto for middling prospect Filip Hallander, even though McCann (also now a Kraken) enjoyed a terrific all-around season and had a year to go on a very reasonable deal.
Bottom line? Somehow, Hextall pulled a two-fer in reverse, losing two pretty good hockey players in the expansion draft instead of one.
I’d say he’s got his work cut out for him just to plug the sudden holes in our lineup, never mind actually improving the team.
A sliver of hope through the Mudville gloom? Hextall now has about $7.5 million in cap space to work with. We’ll see how he does.
Yeah, I am still mad about losing Tanev.. but I understand that with Genos surgery, Ron had to protect his centers.. we would be in trouble with Teddy Blueger as a possible 2nd line center.
I am hoping Ron can move Zucker and or Petterson over the weekend for a couple of picks.. clear out some cash!!
How about this..
Pittsburgh sends Petterson to Oilers for Zach Kassian?… I like it.. Done.
Hey Pens4ever,
I’ve also loved Kassian. And a year ago, I would’ve been right there with you. He was coming off consecutive 15-goal seasons and it goes without saying he’s tough as nails.
But this past season the bottom fell out on his production…two goals in 27 games. According to the metrics, he stopped generating chances near the net. And worst of all, he had concussion issues. A potential death sentence for a heavyweight. A 30-year-old heavyweight at that.
Combined with a contract with an AAV of $3.2 million that still has three years left? Regrettably, I’d probably steer clear of Kassian.
Rick
Great article Rick,
So I’m going to say that I agree that it sucks to lose Tanev, but I strongly believe that there is a bigger picture going on we can’t see, now I could be wrong and that could be wishful thinking. But for some reason, after the Carter trade, I believe Hextall is up to something, and that is for the better. Again maybe I’m wrong and he’s going to muck it all up like an absolute knucklehead.
Hopefully…
Hey Rick
My worst nightmare became a reality and Tanev is no longer
a Penguin. I read a bunch of social media stuff and everyone
is acting like this helps us because we have more cap space
to work with. What people don’t understand is having cap
space doesn’t always translate into the player you want or
can obtain.
I learned firsthand that clearing cap space is only beneficial
if you can add the players you want to add to your roster.
With Crosby, Malkin, and Carter aging I don’t see the attraction
or FA to want to play for the Penguins.
I won’t name the team I worked for but we had about 30 million
available to spend going into Free Agency and weren’t able to
land any of the top 5 players that we courted.
Also, the value of a player is calculated by his importance to the
team. We now have “Zero” toughness. I don’t care how you chop
it up you don’t protect Blueger over Tanev when your roster is
structured like the Pen’s. It may even be different if Blueger was a
player that could eventually step in as a #2 or #3 center but I don’t
see that in Teddy.
This slip-up will be a tough one to recover from. “Bad day in the Burg”
Hey Mike,
Not going to argue with you that the team has 0 in the way of grit, with Tanev’s loss. And I agree 100%, clearing Cap space is a pathetic excuse for what transpired, especially when you only cleared $3.5 Million. Had they cleared Letang’s $7.25 million and as you point out, even if you have the money, it doesn’t mean you can land the FA you want.
For what it is worth, I also would have left Blueger exposed but I would have also left him unsigned to make him a less attractive target. I know that Seattle did grab some FA and I don’t know how many, but with them limited in the number of FAs they were allowed to draft, that could have been a way to control who you lost a lot better. At least it would have given Francis one more factor to weigh when making his decisions.
Hey Mike,
You’re preaching to the choir, my friend. I’m so disappointed about losing Tanev. Correction…make that pissed off and frustrated to the max.
You described Tanev perfectly a while back when you said he’s a “whatever it takes” player. You get the feeling he’d skate through the end boards…or anything or anyone else you put in front of him…to help the team. Actually, he did on many occasions.
I just love the way Tanev plays…the speed, the energy, the heart. As you and I have discussed, just a special, special player. And, especially on a team like the Pens, where there’s a dearth of physicality and swagger, you pay a little more for that type of player…and gladly.
I’m so frustrated with the way this team operates. Time and time again over the course of our history, we’ve muscled up…usually with great success…only to defang and slide into mediocrity. Say what you will about Ray Shero, but the first thing he did when he was hired was to make us a little meaner and more difficult to play against.
Jarkko Ruutu, Gary Roberts, Georges Laraque.
Lord, that seems like a lifetime ago… I just don’t understand why we don’t seem to get that physical players are necessary and make you harder to play against.
Also agree about plugging the gaps through free agents and/or trades. Just because we interested in a player (I mentioned Hyman) doesn’t mean we’re going to land him. There are probably 30 other teams out there that are interested him, too.
I think we’re a little spoiled in that regard because Jim Rutherford, whatever his flaws, always seemed to get his man. Usually by overpaying, but hey, he got ‘em.
The Carter deal aside, Hextall’s record in trades isn’t all that inspiring. He’s a developmental guy, first and foremost. To that end, there’s interesting article over on “Pittsburgh Hockey Now” that summarizes some of Hextall’s comments concerning the draft and the McCann trade.
Bottom line…don’t look for us to make a big splash either on the trade market or through free agency. He hinted that we’re going to be filling some slots from within the organization, which is kind of what I sensed all along.
In my mind, we’ve taken the first small steps in what could ultimately be a long, painful, Flyer-esque rebuilding process.
Rick
PS–Another potential downer. Hextall spoke of other young players but didn’t mention Radim Zohorna who, to my eye, is the best of the bunch and the one guy who can step in and fill a spot. Zohorna’s an RFA with arbitration rights. Dear God, I hope they don’t let him walk…
Sorry Rick,
I don’t dislike Gaudreau and with the Cap space they now have, they may be able to make a pitch for him, but he ain’t in the same class as Blueger. Gaudreau is older but his body of work is less only now starting to take on a pleasing shape. No I don’t risk losing Blueger, anticipating Gaudreau as his replacement.
Also, changing the subject and breaking my reply up a little to keep subjects separated, I heard an interesting rumor from a fairly connected source discussing your comments on McCann;
According to my source the McCann trade was not so much an attempt to get something in return for McCann rather than losing him to the Kraken but a message to Sullivan. According to the source, McCann was a Sully boy and trading him was the higher ups way of saying “Change up or your gone!”
I am not sure if I believe this or not but as a person less enthusiastic than others over the thought of Sullivan as the Penguins Coach, I can’t deny my hope that there is substance to this yarn.
Hey Other Rick,
It’s really hard to imagine the Pens would trade a fast, versatile, reasonably priced two-way player who scored at a 60-point clip this past season just for effect. I think if our brain trust wanted to make a point with Sullivan, they’d just come out and say it. Especially Burke.
Perhaps it’s more likely that they projected they wouldn’t be able to re-sign McCann after this season and decided to try and get something.
Whatever the reason, it blew a pretty big hole in our lineup. If Hextall can’t fill it through trade or free agency, I’m privately hoping Zohorna might step into that spot.
I think before all is said and done, we’re going rely on internal candidates to plug some of the gaps. I just hope they’re up to the task.
Rick
Consider this Rick,
If the Pens brain trust was going to trade McCann, who as you described as “fast, versatile, reasonably priced two-way player who scored at a 60-point clip this past season” would they not have asked for more than Filip Hållander and a 7th round pick? If McCann was that good, would they/could they not have gotten more for him? Unless they were trying to make a statement!
I can argue both sides, so I am neither accepting or rejecting this rumor.
The Other Rick
Not a chance that moving McCann was to send a message
to Sullivan. Front offices don’t and I repeat don’t operate
like that. If they had to go to those extremes to get Sullivan’s
attention he would have been fired.
To me, it was cut and dry. They felt like McCann would be
taken by the Kraken so they made a move to get would they
could for him. That’s a transaction I can live with because
personally, I believe McCann had hit his ceiling. The Tanev
move however is inexcusable.
As I wrote above, I am not saying one way or the other, I just think that it is an interesting rumor and could go a long way to explaining how the Pens only got Hållander and a 7th round pick in return for McCann. At $2.94 million, it can’t be for Cap reasons; that is a very reasonable Cap Hit.
And, if the team really believes their lip service of being all in for at least one more Cup run, you don’t give up McCann’s point production or versatility.
If Hextall/Burke are resigned to rebuild, I would think they would hold out for far more in Picks/Prospects, if he gets traded all – he is young and it would make more sense to dump Zucker (which they still may do).
If the team keeps him, then Seattle would have had to choose between him and Tanev; they may have grabbed McCann instead leaving the grit guy Hextall/Burke claim to want.
No matter how you slice it, the McCann trade makes little to no sense. Therefore, I am open to believe anything, including this particular rumor. The source has batted at least 50-50.
Rick
How can Hextall talk about the value of being more physical and
how hard it will be to land a player with that element to his game
and then let Tanev unprotected. Every team in the league is
foaming at the mouth to have a guy like this on their team.
There was no way in hell Ron Francis was passing on Tanev.
Winning teams have these types of players on their roster.
This one really hurt. I’m so tired of people using contracts to
justify a move “it’s ridiculous”. Sometimes you have to pay
a little more for a player based on your team’s needs.
I hear ya, Mike.
I might’ve expected that kind of mixed message from previous regimes…especially with Mike Sullivan subtly (or not-so-subtly) undermining Rutherford’s attempts to add muscle. But I sure didn’t expect this from Hextall and Burke.
I’m very upset as well. Actually, pissed off, frustrated and fed up.
Rick
Hey Rick,
To steal a line from famous philandering politician, “I feel your pain”. In fact, I doubt you are the only one here on Penguin Poop who is more than disappointed at the loss of Tanev right now. Like you, I was hoping that Seattle would help to divest the Pen of more salary Zucker, Pettersson (and/or less upside), or ZAR. And as I mentioned yesterday afternoon down the gym, I would have tried to get away with calling Sid a Defenseman, after all the times he had to clean up his zone, and exposed Matheson, using the extra forward slot created by trying to call Crosby a defenseman to protect Tanev.
No, I know, I couldn’t get away with that. I was just trying to think outside of the box.
And as Mike alluded to the other day, losing Tanev this way isn’t exactly the best optics when Hextall’s and Burke’s number 1 mission statement when they took control of the leash of this dog eternally chasing its tail was to make it tougher. Losing Tanev is certainly counterintuitive to that stated goal.
However, no matter how badly I don’t like it, if the Pens brain trust was really interested in protecting their Center depth – I do get it. With Malkin set to potentially miss time this season recovering from knee surgery, losing either Carter or Blueger could have been fatal.