When I announced my semi-retirement from blogging a while back, I mentioned I’d probably still write when something got me fired up.
Well, those smoldering coals have been stoked to a bonfire pitch over rumors that Penguins POHO/GM Kyle Dubas is pushing hard to acquire Stars RFA winger Jason Robertson.
I’ll come right to the point. Unless Dubas is able to swing an absolute sweetheart of a deal (highly unlikely), Robertson is certain to cost a king’s ransom in established players, prospects and draft picks. To say nothing of salary.
PP colleague Caleb DiNatale, who loves the soon-to-be 27-year-old sniper but is dead-set against such a deal, suggests that promising kids like Egor Chinakhov and/or Ben Kindel could very well be included in the return package.
Personally, I think such a trade at this stage would be a massive overreach on Dubas’ part. One that would undo so much of the good work he’s done to date.
Yes, it might prop the Pens up in the very short-run and make them a skosh more competitive. But eventually, especially when franchise icon Sidney Crosby fades and retires, the Pens are going to slip. It’s a hard, cold reality. As unavoidable as death and taxes. To say nothing of the rest of our aging core following suit, some of whom (Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust) might be going to the Stars in return.
There’d literally be no one of stature to get Robertson the puck. As promising as he is, Kindel projects to be a second-line center at best. If he stays.
Robertson would literally be an island unto himself, and a mega-costly one at that.
Speaking of finances, yesterday the California native rebuffed an eight-year, sign-and-trade deal with the Kraken that would’ve netted him a cool $15 million per season.
If there’s a silver lining, Robertson may regard (perhaps disregard) the ‘Burgh with the same disdain as he did Seattle. That is, a less-than-favorable destination, one to be avoided.
Yes, I know we have gobs of cap space, especially if established players are going back to the Stars in return. And I understand the allure and temptation for Dubas to try and land such a big fish. In this case, arguably the best left wing in hockey and an uber-accomplished scorer who’s topped 40 goals three times in the past five seasons (and 30 in another).
That doesn’t make trading for Robertson a good idea.
Frankly, it feels like an ill-conceived attempt to short-cut and circumvent the inevitable rebuilding process. One that will only serve to divest us of hard-earned assets and young talent and actually extend our time in the trough. Especially since one of the strengths of this season’s team and the organization in general was depth and balance.
For these reasons and more, I say pass on Robertson.
Rick,
We talked about this just a couple of minutes ago, but I will say it again here on these boards – if this rumor is true, this stinks to high Heaven of the Tavares debacle in Toronto. The Captain of our Penguins appears to not have learned from previous mistakes.
100% agreed, to any sane individual, for all of the reasons you have stated and more, hard pass on Robertson. He is an all star player to be sure, but this deal makes absolutely no sense in the world. If Dubas has no ability to think critically, then I pray that Robertson nixes any deal to come and languish in Pittsburgh when all the players that could help him get a legacy are gone from retiring to being sent to Dallas in return for this catastrophe proposition to come to fruition.