Penguins to Ride out Trade Deadline?

Possessing a cracked crystal ball, I’m notoriously bad at making predictions and speculating about potential trades. Which is why I don’t do a whole lot of it.

About the only time I was right? On several occasions I postured for the Penguins to acquire “Playoff” Sam Bennett, languishing in Calgary at the time. Given a new lease on life with the Panthers, the 25-year-old power forward is thriving to the tune of 24 goals in South Florida.

Anyway.

I’ve read all about the recent trade rumors swirling around our ‘Guins, including Vancouver winger Brock Boeser. Despite all our connections to the Canucks vis-a-vis former GM Jim Rutherford, I can’t imagine for two seconds that we’d acquire the ultra-pricey winger (cap hit of $5.875 million).

We’ve also been linked to Buffalo defenseman Robert Hagg. The rugged, stay-at-home Swede is physical, steady and affordable ($1.6 million cap hit) and he played under GM Ron Hextall in Philly. However, he’s a left shot d-man, one of our few areas of surplus, and a pending UFA.

I’m of the mind that it’s going to be a relatively quiet deadline. Hextall and President of Hockey Ops Brian Burke have intimated as much. The fact that we’re smack up against the cap…actually a little over according to CapFriendly…certainly limits our trade options.

Too, there’s the not-so-small matter of contracts for high-profile free agents Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust looming off in the distance like a heavy-laden storm cloud. Funds will need to be freed up if we’re to present them with any type of serious offers. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

My guess? We’ll count Jason Zucker’s not-so-imminent return as our middle-six scoring winger add. And possibly make a hockey trade involving Kasperi Kapanen.

At this stage, it’s hard to gauge how much the slump-riddled winger would be worth on the open market. I can’t imagine any team that’s scouted us recently parting with a significant talent for Kappy. To put it bluntly, he looks lost and even defeated on the ice…a shell of the player he could be given his speed, skills and attributes. Even worse, he doesn’t appear to be putting forth a maximum effort at times. A huge red flag.

If I’m seeing this, surely scouts from the other teams are, too.

Recently Hooks Orpik of Pensburgh proposed what I thought was an intriguing deal. Kapanen to Anaheim for left wing Maxime Comtois.

With only two goals and eight points in 33 games Comtois, too, has struggled mightily this season. This coming on the heels of a breakout 2020-21 season, when he led the Ducks in scoring with 16 goals and 33 points.

There are similarities between the snake-bitten wingers. A former second-round pick, Comtois, 23, is two years younger than Kappy. Their cap hits are in the same ballpark…Comtois earns $2.037 million, Kapanen $3.2 million. The Ducks’ forward has a year left on his current contract, while Kapanen’s an RFA after this season.

There are pronounced differences, too. When he’s feeling it, Kapanen’s one of the fastest skaters in the league. By comparison, Comtois is a plow horse. The Pens’ winger tends to score almost exclusively on the rush. Comtois uses his 6’2”, 210-pound frame to drive to the net. Nearly all of his goals last season came from below the faceoff dots. A healthy chunk came from the right circle, indicating he might be comfortable playing the off wing, which he would likely need to do if he came to the ‘Burgh.

Max does possess offensive pedigree. Going back to the Quebec League, he scored nearly a goal a game over his last two seasons in junior.

Given his heavy feet, you wonder how well he’d mesh with the Pens, especially in light of coach Mike Sullivan’s preference for speed. But if the Pens are looking to move Kapanen and free up a little cap space, Comtois might be an option.

Another possibility? Comtois’ teammate Rickard Rakell. The 28-year-old Swedish winger has put up big numbers in the past, notching 30-plus goals in back-to-back seasons, and he’s enjoying a solid campaign with 16 goals. Rakell plays right wing, so it would be an apples-to-apples trade. For lack of a better way to put it, he just feels like a Penguin. Kind of like one-time Duck Carl Hagelin did when we acquired him back in 2017.

Rakell’s pricier than Comtois…he pulls down $3.8 million. My guess is, we’d have to kick in a sweetener, perhaps in the form of a draft pick or a prospect like Nathan Legare to seal the deal.

The drawbacks? Rakell’s slated to become a UFA following the season and is likely to at least match if not exceed his current salary. Too, there’s liable to be a bidding war for his services. One the Pens aren’t likely to win.

More on Kappy

Having been moved off Geno’s line for the umpteenth time, you wonder what kind of a future Kapanen has here…if any.

I’m not unsympathetic to his cause. In my younger days I played slo-pitch softball. I started out one particular season red hot, then fell into a prolonged slump…not unlike the one Kappy’s experiencing. It may sound silly, but after a while it consumed me. I tried everything to break out of it. Altered my stance about a gazillion times. I’d like to say I eventually started to hit again, but I’d be lying.

I think Kappy’s in the same place in his head. He has all the tools and potential to be a dynamic player. But it’s just not working right now. All the while the clock on his black-and-gold career appears to be ticking down.

Puustinen Joins the Team

The Pens have called up Valtteri Puustinen from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. A seventh-round pick in the 2019 Entry Draft, the 22-year-old right wing leads the Baby Pens with 17 goals and 34 points in 53 games.

Pens Sign Andonovski

The black-and-gold have signed another collegiate free agent. Corey Andonovski, a 22-year-old forward who played his college hockey at Princeton, agreed to a two-year, entry-level contract. The 6’1” 195-pounder led the Tigers in scoring this season with 10 goals and 22 points in 31 games. He finished second on the team in penalty minutes (34).

Judging by a brief highlight clip he plays with a little fire, an element we could sorely use.