Just when you thought the Penguins might stand pat at the trade deadline, they made a deal. Perhaps the first of a few?
According to reports, GM Ron Hextall has acquired defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from Winnipeg for a conditional seventh-round pick. A former 17th overall selection of Montreal back in 2011, Beaulieu is 29, goes 6’2” 201 and is a left-handed shot. During the course of his 10-year NHL career, he’s played in 419 games for the Canadiens, Sabres and Jets and tallied 12 goals and 94 points to go with a plus-9…and 301 penalty minutes. More on that in a bit.
He’s presently on LTIR and isn’t due to come off for two more games and another week.
Given our organizational depth on the left side of defense, a curious move. But the Strathroy, Ontario, native is versatile and can also play left wing or the off side and adds an element in woefully short supply on our Pens. He can fight, and pretty well. Not in the Ryan Reaves/Tom Wilson category by any stretch, but well enough to keep the opposition honest.
If he plays. We’re all aware of coach Mike Sullivan’s aversion to players with a physical bent. But at least we have that element in our organizational tool kit.
We’ve also been linked to Detroit defenseman Nick Leddy. I confess, this one excites me. A key member of a Cup winner in Chicago and then a mainstay with the Islanders, the 30-year-old Leddy can skate like the wind and is an accomplished offensive d-man, with three 10-plus goal seasons and three 40-plus point seasons on his resume. An excellent passer, he’s especially effective on the power play and would be a boon to our transition game as well.
Although not a banger, the 6’0” 206-pounder will hit and block shots, so he’s not a one-dimensional fly boy.
What makes a prospective deal especially intriguing? The Red Wings have tons of cap space and can easily take on salary, perhaps in the form of a Marcus Pettersson (or even Brian Dumoulin as suggested by Pittsburgh Hockey Now) while retaining a chunk of Leddy’s $5.5 million cap hit. Fifty percent seems to be the going rate.
Both Beaulieu ($1.25 million cap hit) and Leddy are slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer.
Friedman Signs
Despite being recently shuffled to the press box, Hextall signed feisty defenseman and fan favorite Mark Friedman to a two-year deal starting next season at an AAV of $775,000.
In another internal move, the Pens have assigned forward Radim Zohorna to the Baby Pens, despite his strong play of late.
Around the League
In deals reported yesterday:
Check back for more updates.
2:50 Update
With the 3 p.m. zero hour fast approaching, this trade deadline may ultimately be remembered for the deals that got away…or were never on the hook to begin with.
Rumored black-and-gold targets Leddy and Montreal forward Artturi Lehkonen each went elsewhere. The Avalanche acquired the latter for defenseman Justin Barron and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Leddy went from Detroit to St. Louis along with heavyweight swingman Luke Witkowski for defenseman Jake Walman, forward Oskar Sundqvist and a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Frankly, I would love to have gotten both Leddy and Witkowski.
In other major deals, Chicago dealt Marc-Andre Fleury to Minnesota for a conditional first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Philly sent veteran defenseman Justin Braun to the Rangers for a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Washington reacquired forward Marcus Johansson from Seattle for ex-Pen prospect Daniel Sprong, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
3:00 Update
It’s rumored but yet to be substantiated the Pens acquired forward Rickard Rakell from Anaheim just before the deadline. The return is thought to be a second-round pick, a prospect and likely a player from our active roster.
In keeping with last night’s low-event Metro clash with the Devils at the Prudential Center,…
In Mel Brooks’ comedy, The Producers, Max Bialystock (brilliantly played by Zero Mostel) and his…
On Tuesday night, I thought our Penguins played perhaps their best game of the season,…
Anyone who’s read PenguinPoop for any length of time knows black-and-gold coach Mike Sullivan doesn’t…
The Penguins added a new/old face to their roster today, acquiring defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph from…
I’ll be honest. I wasn’t too enthused about the Penguins’ chances for victory ahead of…