Penguins Trade Deadline Armchair GMing Part Deux

When I wrote my last post on trade deadline GMing, I didn’t really plan on doing a follow-up post. First, the title was sort of a bait and switch. My real aim was to fix the underlying problem and that is at the top; euphemism runs downhill after all and we have euphemisms to spare. This team is stale and predictable and easy to coach against. There has been no appreciable change in our Penguins overall Game Plan (if you can call it that) for time in memoriam. Therefore, any attempt to right this ship, without a new Captain at the Helm and new Admiral to oversee operations, through trading any assets is just throwing good money after bad.

However, our very own Phil and to a lesser extent Rick B have asked what kind of wheeling and dealing I would do at the trade deadline. So, let’s explore what I would do if I had confidence in the Coach and GM.

Fixing the Centers

As a former Goalie, everyone here knows how superstitious I am. I never talk about a shutout until the final whistle. In baseball I don’t talk about no hitters. You simply don’t tempt fate, like our friend Rick B so often does. (How often do you curse the team Rick?)

Despite my loathing to do this, the blind eye to the elephant in the room forces me to acknowledge it. While targeting a 3^rd line Center, I would look for a Center that can slide up to play second line. To date, neither Sidney Crosby, nor Evgeni Malkin have missed any time. In fact, our top 6 has been extremely healthy this season. Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust also have yet to miss a game and Jason Zucker and Jake Guentzel have only missed 8 games combined. The playoffs are a war of attrition, even if our boys of winter make it through the grind of the stretch run intact, with little to no man-games lost, the chances of that happening through the playoffs is slim and none and slim left town.

(Now having been forced to write that it is whistle past the grave yard time)

Now that is a real problem, because Centers like that will not come cheap in terms of assets to exchange for them or in terms of Cap hit. Perhaps Drew O’Connor could step up and fill that role, if Mike Sullivan is finally forced to let a kid play a real role. And truthfully, I would risk that inevitability. I would rather not waste assets with the end of an era looming and no exit strategy in place. However, Phil, under your constraints of your request, Frederick Gaudreau would be the first target that comes to my mind.

Gaudreau already knows our system or lack there of and is capable of offensive creativity. Most importantly, he is only a $1.2 million Cap hit and he is UFA at the end of the year so Minnesota may be willing to get something for him rather than risk simply losing him.

If luck continues to smile on us, I don’t waste much in terms of assets to acquire him and he represents a good insurance policy and competent 3^rd line center.

However, I will still take my Coach in hand and impress upon him that he will still give O’Connor a legitimate chance to earn that 3^rd line Center position too, over these last couple of games and that I am watching him, he is under a microscope.

At fourth line, as I wrote above, I have taken the Coach in hand. I trade Teddy Blueger for whatever I can get for him in terms of prospects or picks, so he is out of Sullivan’s toolbox. I risk waiving Jeff Carter and send him to Wilkes Barre Scranton (WBS). I doubt there will be any takers with his contract. I bring up Filip Hållander and I all but tie up my Coach’s hands to form his fourth line with Ryan Poehling at Center flanked by Josh Archibald and Hållander. If that experiment fails, I can always bring Carter back up.

Fixing the Bottom 6 wingers.

Under your constraints Phil, this is not going to be an easy thing to do, since you won’t let me fire the Coach to get one in here who will bring about a culture change.

The other day Rick B and I were discussing our toothless bumble Penguins, defanged by our own version of Herbie the Dentist, Sullivan. Rick was fuming over the hit on Crosby by the Los Angeles Kings the other night and our favorite fightless, flightless fowl’s non-response. Rick, as is his wont, extolled the virtues of the Boston Bruins’ Nick Foligno and crew, who would never accept such an effrontery.

During the discussion I reminded him that in Boston, it is a culture. Going back as far as I can remember, the Bruins have always been a tough team and most importantly a TEAM. If an opponent attacks any single player on that squad, they would have call down the wrath of the whole team. Players like Terry O’Reilly and Wayne Cashman would never let that insult go unpunished.

In the meantime, just a couple of seasons past the O’Reilly Bruins’ heyday, one of Penguins first 50 Goal (G) scorers and stars Jean Pronovost demanded a trade because of the “Country Club” atmosphere in Pittsburgh.

A tale of two cities, opposite cities but two cities.

That laissez faire attitude that permeated those 70s team is alive and well right now under this Coach. For evidence, look at what happened with the players over the bye week (early Mardi Gras?)

I would rather not do this, but to ensure the Coach did what I wanted I would also force his hand by trading Danton Heinen and Kasperi Kapanen for whatever I could get. On another team, both of these players are capable of getting their games back, but so long as they are here, they will slip right back into the ‘Culture”.

Defensive Fix

There is no fix. That is the plain and simple truth. Even veterans like Jeff Petry, who has used the body in his day have become spectators in their own zone.

Phil, I agree with you, Chad Ruhwedel’s usefulness is long past. Like all of the other players listed above, if I were trying to make this team a true contender this season, I would trade him for whatever I could get or waive him. I do whatever it takes to take him out of Sullivan’s toolbox. So long as he is in the organization, like Dominik Simon, I know and fear that Sullivan will manufacture the flimsiest of reasons to use him. Mark Freidman is by far the better option. (Get over it, Sullivan!!)

If and/or when we get Jan Rutta back, then Freidman slips back into the background.

The left side of the defense is a train wreck. Maybe the team could get by with Pierre-Olivier Joseph, but Bryan Dumoulin and Marcus Pettersson have to go. One target I would consider is Columbus Blue Jacket Vladislav Gavrikov. He is cheap, $2.8 million Cap hit, big (6’-3”, 213lbs) and averages more than 1 hit and 1 blocked shot per game.

I would say I would target Jacub Chychrun too, but we do not have the assets to enter a bidding war. If I could shed salary the way I want, then I could easily afford his Cap hit of $4.6 million, but realistically we don’t have enough chips to even ante up. Besides, I would rather go after Maveric Lamoureux if I were to deal with the Arizona Coyotes, but he is just a kid and a rebuild player. (I will add Owen Pickering in a Rodney Dangerfield “take my first-round pick – please exchange)

I know you mentioned Ty Smith Phil, but I don’t use both Smith and Joseph. For me it is one or the other. I am sick to tears of by-standers in the defensive zone and that is what they are. A team may get away with 1 but not 2 non-physical Defensemen (none in the playoffs).

That would leave me with Xavier Oullet to fill my 3rd Left Handed Defense position. And Oullet has more points and a better +/- than Smith down in WBS. Unfortunately, the pipeline is nearly empty.

I do go hard after Valterri Pulli. He is big (6′-6″ 209lbs) has some offensive skill and skating, and is currently sitting out a 5 game suspension for a high hard hit. However, his game may not transition to a North American game.

Fixing the Goalies

The truth of the matter is, as bad as both of our Goalies are in rebound control, fixing the Defense and getting them to knock opponents on their backsides rather than watch rebound shots against would be the best way to improve Goaltending. And maybe the best was to fix the Defense in this scenario is to fine the defensive Coach $1,000 for every rebound until the end of the season and the head Coach $2,000 for every rebound and watch how fast they start working on keeping the crease clear of opponents.

But you want me to focus on just the players, Phil.

Deport Casey DeSmith and Dustin Tokarski anyway I can, would be my first move. Neither is a legitimate back-up. Signing Tokarski in the off-season was a serious mistake to kick the season off.

Not only has Tristan Jarry been underwhelming, in net, in his contract year, he has also been very fragile and that makes the Goalie situation more than likely unfixable. To be a serious player in the Cup race the Back-and-Gold would need a 1B Goalie and I don’t see one that we can get in a trade.

Filip Lindberg outplayed all 3 of the afore mentioned Goalies in the Preseason but he was sent down to WBS and forced to sit on the bench behind fossil Tokarski for most of the first half of the season wasting away. Adding insult to injury he was injured just as he would have gotten a chance to be the guy. After coming back from the injury he hasn’t played well.

Taylor Gauthier has been playing very well. He turned in a 34 Save on 36 shot performance in an Overtime win against the Hershey Bears last night. I guess at this point, I can only work with what I have. I leave Sullivan with his choice Lindberg or Gauthier, at least until the Liiga season is over, then maybe he can look at Joel Blomqvist as well.

Wrap it up

There you have it Phil, to give my starters an improved chance of making a Cup run, I had to deplete what little depth I had because you wouldn’t let me do the most important thing – Fire the Coach.

In a dream world, I find a way to get the Tampa Bay Lightning to trade me Nikita Kucherov but retain his salary, the Florida Panthers to trade me Matthew Tkachuk but retain his salary, the San Jose Sharks to trade me Erik Karlsson and retain his salary, the Buffalo Sabres to trade me Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin and still pay their salaries, and the Winnipeg Jets to trade me Connor Hellebuyk without impacting my Cap limit. But this is the real world and there is no Cup run without Divine intervention.