Yesterday I discussed the potential of moving David Perron for defensive help, specifically to the Winnipeg Jets in a deal that would include Dustin Byfuglien. A deal centered around those two players would qualify as a big trade and one that isn't always easy to pull off.
Today I have a very cheap one year option the Penguins should at least ponder considering that their defense corp. is not where it needs to be.
This player was recently released from a PTO contract with the Chicago Blackhawks and his name is Lubomir Visnovsky. He is 39 years old and is coming off a very solid season with the New York Islanders. This season included a Score-Adjusted Fenwick of 56.5% which is great no matter which angle you want dissect it from (QoC, QoT etc...)
Lubomir Visnovsky is what the Penguins were hoping to get out of Sergei Gonchar, but will not.
Visnovsky is an underrated player even at his advanced age. Here are his underlying numbers throughout his career:
For under a million dollars this seems like a very worthy risk to take. This is a player who is still a quality possession player and while his offense is in decline it has still been that of a top four defenseman.
He's available, he's cheap, he's still effective, and he's better than some of the current options Pittsburgh has.
If it doesn't work out you can easily walk away.
Beggars can't be choosers.
Thanks for reading!