The Penguins made multiple trades yesterday so let’s try to sort through them and make sense of what happened.
Neither trade involved big names or big salary. They can both be defined as minor. The way I would describe them is like when your favorite TV show has an episode where there is not a lot of action, but has moving parts to set the table for future action. The first trade involved the team trading away Josh Archibald to the Arizona Coyotes along with a sixth round pick and goaltender Sean Maguire. The return may have puzzled some people at first, but it went hand in hand with the second deal. Pittsburgh received a 2019 fourth round pick and Michael Leighton. Yes, that Michael Leighton. This was the part that confused some people. If my math is right Leighton has played in only seven NHL games since 2010. He wasn’t brought in for the big club. He was brought in because the team is keeping Jarry up and wanted somebody different to back up Casey DeSmith. Michael Leighton also has a history with Jim Rutherford. He played for the Hurricanes for three seasons. I also wouldn’t be surprised given Leighton’s age (36) if he eventually retires from playing and becomes some sort of coach in the organization if that is something he wants to pursue. That’s usually how these coaching careers get started from former players.
As for Josh Archibald I do believe he is better than some of the current options the Penguins are playing nightly (Reaves, Kuhnhackl), but his loss is inconsequential. In fact, you could say moving him was the right thing to do considering he is on a one way contract and the team never really seemed interested in giving him extended minutes at the NHL level. The cap space cleared and the fourth round pick acquired for Archibald played a role in Rutherford’s next trade.
The Penguins general manager went out and acquired another depth defenseman from the Dallas Stars, Jamie Oleksiak. The cost to acquire was a conditional fourth round pick. While there were two separate trades you could summarize the day’s action by saying the Penguins traded Josh Archibald for Jamie Oleksiak. So what are the Penguins getting with Oleksiak? They are getting a depth guy who is a former first round pick. He will be a project in some sense. Given that he’s a former first round pick and was traded for a fourth round pick you can surmise that he has not lived up to expectations with his draft spot. He’s a big guy who can move a little bit. The criticisms that I have read about him include reading the play and moving the puck. His strengths are that he can hammer the puck and be physical. When you look at some of the recent Penguins defensive draft picks and this trade there is a trend being birthed with size and lack of offense. Something to keep an eye on. Here’s a visual of Oleksiak’s most recent sample
My assessment is that the Penguins should be hoping for a poor man’s Trevor Daley. Not in style, but in effectiveness. Don’t expect anything possession wise because he’s been a negative relative possession player his entire career. He will need to produce offense to have an impact and for him that means using that shot. I’m hesitant to think that will happen because he only has 22 points in 140 career games and that has been on a Dallas team who was running and gunning for a few years under Lindy Ruff.
I understand the logic of trading for a depth defenseman because this allows Rutherford to go out and make other trades ie: Ian Cole and not have to find that replacement after the fact. However, I’m not sure this specific player is going to fit that bill. Maybe Oleksiak comes in surprises, but I don’t think this is a Justin Schultz situation where the player had/has obvious talent, but was stuck in a bad situation.
Time will tell as it does with all acquisitions. I just don’t think this one is going to pay dividends. At least the cost to acquire was negligible.
Thanks for reading!