We have some Pittsburgh and Vancouver speculation to chew on
Don: You've got some #Canucks tidbits..
— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) March 9, 2022
Dhali: *stares blankly*
The guys talked about the #Canucks checking out the Penguins and a player to watch. https://t.co/h4e2SL3agJ pic.twitter.com/ddRLqzn4ZQ
So the names John Marino, Evan Rodrigues, and Brock Boeser were mentioned in this segment. It’s speculation, not gospel, but if you’re reading this you’re on Hockeybuzz and isn’t that the whole point?
So let’s talk a little about John Marino. There’s nuance to be had, and I’ll apply some, but at the end of the day I’m open to moving Marino. Timing matters, though. I think Rutherford has had a habit of rushing to give his mid-tier defenders long term contracts in the ~4M range. Rookie John Marino hasn’t been seen for two years and he’s being paid as though that’s the player he is. Marino is 24 and he is certainly not a bad player. You have to ask yourself is it easier to find the next John Marino or the next top six scoring winger for this team? Case in point, John Marino was had for a 7th round pick. It is my belief you can find defense first players at a better price point than offensive ones. I still maintain the defensive metrics don’t capture things as well as offensive metrics do. I prefer to stay away from players who are an offensive blackhole. This isn’t a John Marino specific take. Although, it applies here.
So the nuance is the Penguins aren’t exactly in a position to move on from Marino at the moment. They don’t have enough in-house help waiting in WB/S to remove Marino. They need to have another plan in motion to replace him. Chad Ruhwedel and Mark Friedman have done a really nice job this season. They’ve done so in lesser roles. I’m not enamored with promoting them to a second pairing role if Marino were to leave. I think it would be asking too much of them. Now if the Penguins could figure out a way to move Marino (and Rodrigues in this scenario) to Vancouver for a scoring winger while making another deal to replace Marino, sure. It is a lot of moving parts for the Penguins who don’t have a lot of moving parts at their disposal. If you wanted to entertain moving Marino in-season somebody like Mark Pysyk in Buffalo is a low cost acquisition I would definitely entertain and go for as one example
I don’t think there’s really a drop off in performance and Pysyk isn’t going to cost 4M. He feels like a classic mid-round pick kind of acquisition. Replacing Marino could hypothetically be accomplished.
As for Evan Rodrigues, if he is the cost of doing business to acquire a legitimate top six winger, so be it. I think he was marvelous for two months this year. I think he’s better than the results he’s been getting recently, but he’s also a pending UFA and probably holds more value in a trade to Vancouver than anywhere else if you are to believe the speculation Rutherford wants him. It’s the cost of doing business on a team with very few parts they can afford to give away and also match up with what other teams would want.
Rutherford has a track record of being fixated on things and going back to what he is familiar with (Marino, Rodrigues, Kapanen?). The Penguins should lean into this. As for what the end game should be for the Penguins I don’t think it should be Brock Boeser. He’s definitely an upgrade on what the Penguins have on the right side at the moment because who wouldn’t be given how Kapanen is playing? Boeser has middle of the road underlying numbers and is in the 73rd percentile in finishing. His goals per 60 and primary assists per 60 are in the 50th percentile. While an upgrade, I would argue the fact he is a pending RFA looking for a raise combined with the cost to acquire isn’t all that appealing. Now if you want to talk about Conor Garland, well now you have my attention
John Marino and Evan Rodrigues aren’t going to cut it alone. I would definitely put the 2022 first in play for Garland along with Marino and Rodrigues. There’s always the Kasperi Kapanen carrot as well when dealing with Rutherford. The reason I prefer Garland, other than the underlying data, is the fact he is locked in through his twenties at a 5M cap hit. This is feasible and less messy than dealing with a pending RFA.
As a side note I would prefer JT Miller ahead of Boeser as well.
I think there’s something to be had with Pittsburgh and Vancouver. I also think it has the highest potential ceiling for what the Penguins would be looking to do and what they have to give up. We’ll see where this goes, if anywhere.
Thanks for reading!