I usually don’t read a whole lot of other Penguins’ blogs. However, this morning curiosity got the better of me; I wanted to see if Kyle Dubas was going to put Rickard Rackell on Injured Reserve (IR). Maybe I shouldn’t have looked. What I came across was a post telling us readers that our Penguins were trolling the trade market for a Left-handed Defenseman (LHD). I had to laugh.
It seems that the author of said article as well as (if the article is to be believed) Dubas and our favorite flightless fowls brain trust are concerned over the state of the team’s LHD. Caleb Jones’s injury is severe enough to have him placed on IR causing the consternation among the would-be experts that set up this uncomfortableness. Apparently, the powers that be (according to the article) are reluctant to bring up Ryan Graves and Alexander Alexeyev, whom they waived and demoted to the Baby Penguins in Wilkes Barre – Scranton. Furthermore, Penguins’ management also is displaying a reluctance to promote former first round draft pick Owen Pickering.
Rather than looking within the organization, the article stated that Dubas is believed to be inquiring about the availability of 33-year old Erik Gustafsson from Detroit’s farm team in Grand Rapids. Detroit waived the veteran on October 5th. Moreover, the Red Wings’ record is not as good as our Penguins’ record and they have given up more Goals (Gs). Therefore, the whole idea begs the question, do you really want a spare part from a team not playing as well as you, Dubas?
The author of the post then trotted out several more inadequate options, (former Penguins’ property) Calen Addison, Emil Andrae (Philadelphia Flyers) and Isaac Phillips (Winnipeg Jets).
What makes matters worse is that Dubas suspended LHD Emil Pieniniemi for failing to report to the Wheeling Nailers. Our Penguins have a serious, serious hole in the organization that was painfully obvious last season, yet management did absolutely nothing in the off-season. The team is loaded with Right-Handed Defensemen (RHD) but has almost no LHD.
Exacerbating the lack of quantity of LHD is the dearth of quality as well. Yet, when perhaps the second or third best Defenseman in last seasons draft, who was also an LHD was still on the boards, he was passed over. Kashawn Aitcheson, that LHD of whom I speak, currently has 7 Gs, 6 As, and is +7, in 13 GP. Barring a miracle, the current situation of no quality LHD will go on for several years and all the “experts” will eventually muse that hindsight is 20/20. Hmm… Hindsight is only an excuse for those whose hubris blinds them to foresight.
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Hey Other Rick,
Like you, I really liked Aitcheson, was hoping we'd pick him, and was bitterly disappointed when we didn't.
I guess I'm mollified by the fact that I really like the two players we drafted with the pick we traded, Bill Zonnon and Will Horcoff. And I really like what I've seen in Kindel.
However, I do understand what you're saying. And we could most certainly use a player of Aitcheson's ilk. He sounds like he has a chance to be a special, Tom Wilson type of player. Talented and tough.
Rick