Fire up the speculation because we have a player that is potentially tied to the Pittsburgh Penguins. By now you have already heard the Penguins are tied to Max Domi of the Arizona Coyotes. What does that actually mean? I’m going to try and break that down.
First the speculation from Elliotte Friedman, courtesy of Chris Nichols:
“Yes, I think there is,” indicated Friedman. “One of the things I heard just around the Cup Final is that I think the Penguins have interest in him.
“There was a point last year where I thought he was going to get traded. His name was out there. I believe there are teams with interest. I think Montreal, for example, had some interest in Max Domi. But Pittsburgh is going to make some changes and I think that Domi is one of the guys they’re really interested in.
“The thing that really intrigues me about it is Mario Lemieux and Tie Domi are tight. I’m sure that’s not the only reason they’re doing it. I’m sure they see a lot of promise in Domi. But I’m hearing the Penguins have some real interest in him.”
“We think the Penguins are in it as long as Crosby and Malkin are in their primes, right,” noted Friedman of Pittsburgh’s chances to contend for a Cup annually. “And they’re still there. So I think they’re looking to make changes. I think they’re really interested in things.
“Nothing that they do this year – aside from trading Crosby or Malkin or Matt Murray – would surprise me.”
Max Domi is a former first round pick and is the son of one of Mario Lemieux’s friends. That alone puts him on the Penguins radar. Domi is a player that raised some eyebrows in his rookie season with 18 goals. It was expected that he was going to continue to build off of that year. In the last two seasons he has only put up 18 totals goals, matching his rookie total. His shooting percentage has dropped each passing year
There is also his team situation which hasn’t been great. Playing for the Arizona Coyotes has certainly had a negative impact on the young forward. How could it not? Any trade for Domi would be banking on potential and not what he’s actually accomplished so far. Then you have to ask yourself what is the cost of acquisition versus what the Penguins already have? How much potential will Domi have to live up to in order to actually improve the Penguins.
Here is how Domi stacks up against the two Penguins that are talked about most in potential trades.
Sheary has a higher quality of teammate and because of that has faced higher competition. While it was frustrating to watch Sheary flub his way through a lot of touches this year he wasn’t the black hole that the general public thought. In my assessment you are getting 3M worth from Sheary and in some years probably more. His 15 5v5 goals isn’t something to sneeze at. His 5v5 goal production was third best on the team behind only Evgeni Malkin (20) and Phil Kessel (18). The cap is going to be around 80M which makes his cap hit even less of an issue. Sheary has also maintained a steady career shooting percentage which is a nice sign of consistency and leads you to believe the goal scoring isn’t a fluke. He could stand to be better on the assist front, but Domi could stand to improve in the goal department. Both Sheary and Domi had a down 2017-18 and will be looking to be better in 2018-19.
I could see the Coyotes willing to take Sheary’s 3M cap hit in exchange for Max Domi. They’ve already dumped Anthony DuClair on the Blackhawks so the going price for Domi might not be as high as you would think.
The other forward talked about in Penguins speculation is Carl Hagelin
I would roll the dice on Hagelin for another year even with his 4M price tag. Goal scoring isn’t his thing, but he’s always been a real positive with possession and he is the Penguins best penalty killer. Being able to play 5v5 and 5v4 is a good thing. This isn’t a penalty killing specialist situation which is less than ideal. I would expect goal scoring to mildly improve because Hagelin's been below his career average the last two years. He isn't a great shooter of the puck, but he's probably not a 6% shooter either. His career average is 8.2%. I do think the cap hit is a bit high, but the term left on the deal is only the upcoming season which is palatable.
Having interest in Max Domi makes sense for the Penguins. He’s an RFA with no arbitration rights and won’t break the bank to give a contract extension to. The question is how much of an upgrade would he actually be because this trade would be based purely on potential and not previous accomplishments. You have to weigh the team effects versus the personal skill and line that up with if it is a potential improvement over what you currently have. It’s not a slam dunk, but I can certainly see the arguments for giving it a go.
Jim Rutherford by all accounts is going to be active and this is the type of player I could see involved. Conor Sheary for Max Domi is the center of a trade package that I could realistically see. Is it an upgrade? It’s a coin flip.
Thanks for reading!
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