It is no secret on this blog that I thought Patric Hornqvist’s value to the team was pumped up by playing with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. I thought he was a limited player (good within that limit) and made too much money and had too much term for his age. I thought the Penguins had a lot of opportunity to trade him when his perceived value exceeded his actual production. I was always OK with trading him away. So why don’t I like the team trading him away? It isn’t complicated. Trades are evaluated by what you give and what you get back. The Penguins are getting back an unneeded player who is signed forever and costs 4.5M. So par for the course.
There is no logic to this. The point of moving Hornqvist would be to free up money to make the roster better (free agency?). Instead, Jim Rutherford has decided to go all-in on a bad Dale Tallon contract in Mike Matheson. It makes no sense. Hornqvist’s value at 5.3M to the Penguins fills a more necessary role than Matheson’s 4.5M will now and into the future. The Penguins don’t need another vanilla defenseman who makes way more than they are worth! It’s really disappointing to see this is how things are going to go for the final competitive years for Crosby and Malkin.
Futures are being spent without any regard to “fix… previous transactions. Mid-tier contracts are being handed out like candy to players who will never come close to matching their contract values. Mike Matheson is a bottom pairing defenseman. You don’t need one of those at 4.5M. I don’t care if he is good on the power play. He isn’t *that* good on the power play. Also the Penguins predominately run a 4 forward power play which Letang is a staple so…
So much money being spent on what could be described as meh or worse with Mike Matheson, Brandon Tanev, Jack Johnson, Marcus Pettersson (yes I’m including him), and potentially Kasperi Kapanen.
Here’s a quick look at the trade
Mike Matheson, reportedly heading to Pittsburgh, is a bottom pairing defenceman with well below-average impacts at both ends of the ice but hey apparently he's got a nice shot! #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/Ym456umujE
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) September 23, 2020
Here’s another look at it
Hornqvist is old and worn down, but still likely provides some value in a middle six with his goal-scoring and play-driving ability.
— dom luszczyszyn (@domluszczyszyn) September 23, 2020
Matheson is younger, but hasn't shown enough to be considered a top four guy and is being paid too much for too long for what he provides. pic.twitter.com/ZoF7Q9FADa
And another
Mike Matheson (also to Pittsburgh) is a third-pair defender who kills penalties (not particularly well) and shoots the puck (quite well). He is better known for his very player-friendly contract. pic.twitter.com/jL3kSzNiQH
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) September 24, 2020
Mike Matheson will join just a few other defenders on the roster who play on the left side. The list includes: Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson, Jack Johnson, Juuso Riikola, and Pierre Olivier Joseph. Somebody is going to be traded to make room for Rutherford’s latest misstep.
I guess there is another player involved, Colton Sceviour. Whatever, he had six goals and 16 points in 69 games last year. He’s not going to contribute in filling Hornqvist’s spot in the lineup.
I didn’t see the need to move Hornqvist for another left defenseman. It didn’t save money and it sets up Rutherford to make another trade. He isn’t exactly on a good run at the moment.
Trades like this one are the type of moves that have been made for three years now. The results speak for themselves. The team is 1-9 in their last ten playoff games.
Thanks for reading!