The Penguins will be going for three wins in a row when they take on the Buffalo Sabres on Friday evening. If successful it will only be the second instance this season where they have accomplished that. That’s in a few days though. For now, the focus remains on the Ian Cole trade front and also the Matt Murray injury.
Let’s start with Ian Cole. There shouldn’t be any shortage of interest for him. He checks off a lot of boxes that NHL GM’s like. Some that make sense and some that don’t. Here’s some of what we know so far
He's not going to be happy sitting, I can tell you that. TOR, VGK and COL have expressed interest. I can't say if they're primary suitors, good suitors or bad suitors because I don't know their offers. But I know they've shown interest.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) November 28, 2017
George McPhee and Joe Sakic are two names that should make Penguins fans happy. Sakic is coming off a better than expected showing in the Matt Duchene trade, but he’s still on that list of teams you want to call. Toronto’s appeal would be Tyler Bozak. It is yet to be determined if they will move on from him.
Then there’s Edmonton
You can bet Oilers are 1 of "several deep" teams interested in Penguins D Ian Cole, who's UFA, healthy scratch last 3 games. They like him but can't afford him next year
— Jim Matheson (@NHLbyMatty) November 28, 2017
Penguins guaging market for Cole, who's won two Cup rings. Market is heavy. Everybody needs good D.
— Jim Matheson (@NHLbyMatty) November 28, 2017
Edmonton is the crown jewel of the bunch. To lose a trade with Edmonton while Peter Chiarelli is at the helm would be overcoming odds the likes of which we haven’t seen since Miracle on Ice.
Ian Cole and Carl Hagelin for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is not out of the realm of possibility. I mean, that is four Stanley Cups versus none. Slam dunk for Pete. You laugh, but the guy traded away Taylor Hall for an Ian Cole type and gave away Tyler Seguin for beans. The Griffin Reinhart trade was a complete bust. Not only for what the Islanders turned it into, but the Oilers lost Reinhart for nothing in the expansion draft. Nail Yakupov will never live up to his #1 overall billing, but he is on pace for 26 goals this season in Colorado.
Wherever Ian Cole ends up it should land the Penguins a forward of equal or greater significance and that is something they could really use based on how the team is structured.
Matt Murray is broken. He has a lower body injury and will be week to week aka “Malkin is day to day…. For now the Penguins are going to move forward with Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith as their goaltending duo. The reality of the Penguins goaltending situation is that it can only get better. They are already 31st in the league. They need to get more out of the position. Jarry might give them that. There is no need to make a move for the Eddie Lacks or Andrew Hammonds of the world. Just because they’ve played in more NHL games doesn’t mean they’ll play better than Jarry. Pittsburgh should be on the lookout for a backup goalie even when Murray is healthy, but they don’t have to make any panic moves right now. Both goaltenders have shown some really good stretches at the AHL level.
Thanks for reading!