Penguins Update: Getting My Brain Around the Blockbusters

My esteemed colleague, Other Rick, has written on numerous occasions that our Penguins needed to blow up their defense and start over. Well my friend, you got your wish.

In a pair of rapid-fire trades that I confess caught me totally by surprise (picture the proverbial ostrich with his head stuck in the ground), GM Ron Hextall gave our blue line corps a significant makeover yesterday. In his first of two stunning deals, he sent John Marino, 25, to New Jersey for Ty Smith, a 22-year-old puck-moving defenseman, and a third-round pick in 2023. Hours later he shipped 28-year-old rearguard Mike Matheson and a fourth-round pick in 2023 to Montreal for veteran defenseman Jeff Petry, 34, and forward Ryan Poehling, 23.

I’ll be honest. I’m still in a state of semi-shock, which is why it’s taken me so long to gather my thoughts and (hopefully) pull something reasonably coherent together.

Without further ado, here’s my take:

Who We Got

Jeff Petry: NHL stats (803 games, 87 goals, 235 assists, 322 points, minus-121, 325 PIM)

Son of former major-league pitcher Dan Petry, Jeff’s a big (6’3” 209), minutes-munching defenseman with an offensive bent, including a heavy shot. He’s physical (a career-high 190 hits in 2018-19) and does the dirty work, blocking shots and the like. But his forte is moving the puck and controlling the tempo of a game in the manner of former Pens great Larry Murphy.

A true all-arounder, Petry excels in all situations…even strength, quarterbacking the power play and on the PK.

The downside? Petry’s giveaway numbers are high and he’s been a consistent minus player throughout his career despite good production (four straight seasons of double-figure goals and 40-plus points before a drop-off last season).

He’s got three years left on deal with an AAV of $6.25 million.

Ty Smith: NHL stats (113 games, 7 goals, 36 assists, 43 points, minus-35, 44 PIM)

Smith, a mobile, undersized puck-moving defenseman of the Cale Makar mold, put up great numbers in junior with Spokane. Like Marino, he burst onto the scene as a first-year pro and made the All-Rookie Team before falling back in his second season.

Unfortunately, my enduring image of Smith isn’t positive. During a game against the Devils on February 13, the lightweight defender was overpowered by Brian Boyle at the side of the net, which led directly to a net-front goal by the Boyler. (Funny how that stuck in my head.)

While it wasn’t for a lack of try on Smith’s part, that’s what 5”11” 180 will do for you in close-quarter scrums.

His contract is a plus…Smith makes an affordable $863,333 and he can be sent to the Baby Pens without being exposed to waivers. He’ll be an RFA after the coming season.

Ryan Poehling: NHL stats (85 games, 13 goals, 9 assists, 22 points, minus-22, 10 PIM)

The former first-round pick (25^th overall) made the most auspicious of debuts when scored a hat trick in his first NHL game. You might say his career has gone downhill from there.

At 6’2” and 197 pounds, the 23-year-old Poehling boasts decent size (especially for a Penguin forward), skates well and is an aggressive forechecker, a trait that should endear him to coach Mike Sullivan. He’s a natural center who can also play wing. Poehling will use his size and hit if the situation calls for it.

In terms of dropping the gloves in true power-forward fashion?

Fuggedaboutit. With a total of 10 penalty minutes in 85 NHL games, Rocky Balboa he ain’t. More like Lady Byng.

Who We Gave Up

Mike Matheson: NHL stats (417 games, 49 goals, 89 assists, 138 points, minus-9, 218 PIM)

I HATE parting with Matheson, in my humble opinion a rising star. I loved the elements of Mike’s game, the world-class speed, the shot, the ability to make scoring plays out of nothing simply by turning on the jets. A one-man transition game and the closet thing we’ve had to Paul Coffey since the good Doctor graced the Civic Arena ice all those years ago.

Matheson also displayed a bit of an edge and a willingness to come to a teammate’s aid even though fighting’s not his forte. Although he’ll never be confused with Dave Burrows, he tightened up his puck management and defensive play considerably during his stint in the Steel City.

About the only negative? A bit of a Han Solo, he’s not a great puck distributor, which limited his effectiveness on the power play.

If there’s a silver lining, the Pens shed the last four years of Matheson’s contract (AAV of $4.875). Plus, he has backloaded signing bonuses starting in ‘23-24 that bring his salary up to $6.5 million.

John Marino: NHL stats (189 games, 10 goals, 54 assists, 64 points, plus-23, 51 PIM)

I still think Marino has the makings of a really good defenseman. He may have unwittingly set the bar (and our expectations) too high with his preternatural rookie season. John’s better when he lets the game come to him…kind of like a counterpuncher in boxing.

I suspect Mike Sullivan/Todd Reirden encouraged him to push the envelope on his offensive game, which I think took him out of his comfort zone. If the Devils let Marino be Marino I think they’ll have a very good, mobile, all-around defenseman on their hands.

As with Matheson, we benefit from a dollars and cents standpoint by dumping the final five years of his contract, which carries an AAV of $4.4 million.

My Take

I’d like the Montreal trade a lot better if we’d somehow flipped Jason Zucker for 226-pound power-forward Josh Anderson, rumored to be in play. Don’t know if that was remotely on the table or just a figment of my fevered imagination.

We considerably strengthened the right side of our defense while adding some much-needed size with the addition of Petry (I’ll include free-agent pick-up Jan Rutta as well). And we cut salary and opened up a slot on the left side of defense for Pierre-Olivier Joseph and/or Smith. But I truly hated to give up Matheson, a dynamic player who may prove to be the best of the bunch before all is said and done.

Still, I give Hextall the highest of marks for stepping out of his comfort zone and rolling the dice on such high-profile trades. Our mix was a bit stale and he certainly has shaken things up.

On ice, we gave up a good defenseman (Marino) and a very good defenseman (Matheson) for a better albeit aging defenseman (Petry) and two prospects. A lot hinges on the development of Poehling and Smith.

If the latter turns out to be a poor man’s Makar? Ka-ching…jackpot city. However, there’s something unsettling about so young a player already being viewed as a reclamation project. Smith could just as easily morph into the next Will Butcher, another undersized puck-moving defenseman signed with much fanfare by the Devils. Once a hot commodity who made the All-Rookie team, Butcher’s steadily regressed since.

Has an eerily familiar ring, doesn’t it?

For now, that image of Boyle overpowering Smith keeps playing in my head.

Financially, we gained considerable cap flexibility by clearing two long-term contracts off the books while gleaning some short-term savings (about $1.4 million of cap space) as well. Well done in that regard.

My overall opinion? I’m sorely tempted to borrow a line from the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail following his sword duel with King Arthur and “Call it a draw.” (It should be noted he’d had his limbs hacked off.) But I think we’re probably a (slightly) better team following the trades than before, mostly due to the financial gains and the acquisition of Petry. Usually the team that gets the best player wins the deal, and I think overall Petry gets a nod over Matheson in that regard.

A narrow win for Hextall.