The Pittsburgh Penguins were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 5-2. The game play was reasonable close throughout and the main difference in the game was the play of Petr Mrazek. He outplayed Matt Murray and that was the difference in the game. Sometimes that is the way it goes. This was the Penguins first loss in regulation since the all star break. They were the last team to suffer a regulation loss in that time period. So while losing to the Red Wings is sub-optimal the sky isn't quite falling.
That doesn't mean the team couldn't use some help on the back end. Olli Maatta will be out for six weeks and as of right now the length of time Schultz will miss due a concussion is unknown.
Yesterday I highlighted three players that I thought the Penguins should stay away from. Today I'm going to look at some UFA trade targets that are more appealing, but not perfect. I am going to continue to use HERO charts to give a quick visual history about that player and then provide some contextual information about that player.
Here are some targets that could make sense for the Pittsburgh Penguins (or other teams)
Kevin Shattenkirk
Yep, he's the big fish. He's the best available player and he's going to have best player available pricing. The only way this happens is if Marc-Andre Fleury is one of the main pieces that St. Louis takes back. For a while the Penguins had some recency bias working in their favor. The Blues goaltending was outrageously bad and it was to the point where they were leaving Jake Allen behind on road trips. Since the coaching change it has improved and while evaluating players based on a what have you done lately approach isn't good a lot of GM's do it. St. Louis is 7-2 under Mike Yeo and things probably don't feel as desperate in those parts anymore.
As you can see he is very strong while playing at even-strength. He also does a nice job of running a power play. As a result of being very good at hockey the cost to acquire will be highest with this option. I don't view this as a probable option for Pittsburgh, but if we're talking about pending UFA defensemen it is kinda hard to ignore his presence altogether.
Here are some other options that aren't as high end, but could help the Penguins out.
Brendan Smith
The Red Wings did defeat the Penguins yesterday, but their outlook is still grim. Their playoff streak is in danger of being snapped this year. Even if the Red Wings were to sneak into the playoffs they would not be able to sustain a legitimate run. They should be looking to be sellers and that definitely includes a UFA candidate like Brendan Smith.
Brendan Smith has consistently played around 18 minutes per night during his Detroit career. He's a former first round pick that hasn't quite hit his ceiling, but that doesn't mean he is a liability.
Very strong on the possession front and not so much offensively. I would view targeting Brendan Smith akin to creating a Brian Dumoulin clone. Guys who showed they could produce offense in lower levels, but for whatever reason have struggled at the NHL level in that department. Both players do well on the possession front so it makes up for the lack of offense. Having another Brian Dumoulin isn't a horrible idea.
Brendan Smith has been a positive relative possession player on Detroit the last three seasons combined (+4.60%) He could step into Pittsburgh Pittsburgh's lineup and do a nice job in a depth role. His 2.75M salary should be able to fit in with Maatta on LTIR.
Cody Franson
He's not a fast skater. In fact, he is very slow. On the surface that may be enough to scare some people away considering that Pittsburgh is built on speed, but as slow as he may be he continues to put up respectable possession numbers on terrible hockey teams.
I advocated for the Penguins to sign him before the 2015-16 season which was prior to the Penguins brass going all in on speed. Franson in a bottom pairing role would give the Penguins a player who has yet to put up a negative relative possession year on bad teams and provide him better support in a sheltered role. I think there would be enough positive variables to cancel out the skating issue. Franson also produces offense at 5v5 at the same rate as Trevor Daley.
He has been a positive impact on pretty much everybody he has played with in Buffalo this year. Here are his with or without you stats for each player he has shared the ice with for 200 minutes or more this year at 5v5.
The silver column is lower for every single player. Sabre players consistently do worse on the possession front when they are not playing with Cody Franson.
If there is a Sabres defenseman to target it isn't Dmitry Kulikov. It's Cody Franson.
John Michael Liles
I'm not really too sure the Bruins will be looking to move him, but I put him on here because he is a UFA and I could see him being a good fit with the Penguins. John Michael Liles has been a player who has quietly gone about his business over the years without much fanfare. He is a solid NHL player and doesn't make a ton of money. His cap hit is 2.0M and Pittsburgh could make that work.
On the surface that looks good. Digging deeper and it still looks good.
Here is how Liles has looked on the relative possession front the past number of seasons.
So why is he a good target if his two most recent years are also his two worst from the sample? Context is key. This was when he was traded from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Boston Bruins. This year the Bruins are the #1 possession team in the NHL. It is easier to accept a negative relative possession number when it is small and the team is a juggernaut on the possession front.
Like I said, I don't think the Bruins will necessarily be shopping him, but it's tough to rule things out with Don Sweeny and Cam Neely calling the shots in Boston.
Today I focused on UFA options for the Penguins to consider. Each player has their own set of pros and cons to consider when entertaining the thought of acquisition.
There are some other defensive options available who still have term left on their contract. I'll look into some of those options another day.
Thanks for reading!
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