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The NHL trade deadline is one week away. The Penguins could certainly use a little bit of help considering the amount of injuries they have. What do the Penguins have to offer and is Ray Shero willing to part with those assets?
Shero spoke to the media yesterday for the first time since returning from Sochi.
With the injuries to Paul Martin and Kris Letang will the Penguins be looking to solidify their defense corp. in this trade market?
“At this point adding an NHL defenseman for any team is going to be difficult. Going back two, three months with the injuries we’ve had has given these younger players opportunities and experience to possibly help us down the stretch here and in the playoffs.…
Its tough to take a GM at his word this time of year but I find it hard to fault his logic. The prices for defensemen are always high at the deadline (Doug Murray for two 2nd rounders last year). The Penguins have called up Simon Despres and he is more than capable of filling the minutes that are available right now. The only problem for Shero is that Despres was one of his more enticing trade chips and now he will not have that as an option.
With Paul Martin and Kris Letang out of the lineup that leaves Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik, Olli Maatta, Matt Niskanen, Robert Bortuzzo, and Deryk Engelland on the NHL depth chart. I only see two players from that list that could be considered puck moving defensemen. That isn’t good enough. Even if Shero was able to deal Despres for legitimate forward help that would please the fanbase, it still leaves the Penguins exposed. What if Letang is out for the year? What if Paul Martin has a set back? You can’t win in the NHL playoffs without your defensemen having puck skills.
Salary cap space is also a concern for the Penguins as it has been all year. Long term injured reserve will be playing a big role in that with Kris Letang, Tomas Vokoun, Beau Bennett, and Pascal Dupuis currently on it. Ray Shero addresses how he will try and navigate the Penguins salary cap at the deadline:
“(Letang) hasn’t made a decision one way or the other whether he’s coming back or not. That possibly does exist. With all the information I need to have on our injured players by next Wednesday, part of that is with Kris. I need to make an educated guess on if I think he can come back with the information we have at that point. I want to make that space available for Kris Letang so he can come back and play games prior to the playoffs.…It’s a little bit of a guessing game for us, but we certainly have to have the most information we can have by March 5. We have a lot of moving parts. We’re going to do the best we can.…
Will Ray Shero be looking for that top 6 right winger to play with Crosby?
"Replacing Pascal Dupuis, I’m not sure that’s ever going to be possible. In terms of this trade market there are only four teams that are out of the playoffs at this particular point. The assets to trade for players will be steep. It comes down to cap space and what you have available to add. Trying to replace Pascal Dupuis with a top-line winger would be far-fetched.…
Dreger "prices right now aren't cheap. For example, the asking price on Steve Ott is a 1st round pick & a top prospect"
— Hope_Smoke (@Hope_Smoke) February 26, 2014Head Coach Dan Bylsma also spoke to the media yesterday:
“You have to put (the Olympics) behind you. The task at hand is coming back here and playing for the Penguins. That’s the best way to put it behind you.… We have a lot of games checked in here. We have given consideration to the Olympians, They’ve traveled and played hockey games. We’ve given that consideration. Goaltender, the number of games that we play and the number of games that Marc-Andre (Fleury) has played at this point and time.…“The third thing out of Evgeni’s mouth was the Stanley Cup, coming back here and being focused on that. There’s disappointment and congratulations. Now we have 24 games to get back and be focused on this team being the best it can be, getting to the Stanley Cup and winning.…
Olli Maatta shared some of his Olympic thoughts:
“It feels kind of surreal for me. I really never thought during the summer that I’d be even playing in the Olympics or playing in the NHL.…“I felt good. Really good, but at the same time, I feel like the whole team played really well. That was a really big thing, that it was really easy for me to jump in there with the older guys, the leadership we had.…
“It was the best experience I’ve probably had in my life, being a part of the Olympics, and I think that’s something I’ll take out of it.…
“(Now) I’m just excited to play the next game. (Fatigue is) more (in) your head. It’s more mental. All I am is excited to play the next game. I’m really proud that I’m here and I’m going to enjoy every moment.…
The kid has come a long way since being a long shot training camp invite hasn’t he?
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Marc Andre Fleury is showing off his fun personality again, this time it is with his helmet for the Stadium Series game against the Blackhawks on Saturday.
Marc-Andre Fleury will be rockin' a @steelers inspired mask in the 3/1 #StadiumSeries! (Design by Stéphane Bergeron). pic.twitter.com/8v8oVGmhR8
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 25, 2014Good stuff from the Flower.
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