I said Connor McDavid would at least do some cool things if the Penguins lost and he did. The loss was about as bad as it could be. It was uninspired and led to what was reportedly the first time fans have ever chanted for a front office member to be fired at a home game. It was a miserable 7-2 loss on a night where the Sabres beat the Lightning in overtime and the Red Wings beat the Rangers. A really bad night overall.
The latest rumors aren’t any better. There seems to be a rift between Mike Sullivan and Ron Hextall. That in and of itself is fine because Ron Hextall is a terrible GM and Mike Sullivan has a long track record of being a good coach. The details matter, though
Two things can be true at once. Ron Hextall stinks and Mike Sullivan isn’t a qualified GM. This entire season it seems like Jakob Chychrun has been treated as one of the top trade targets with a price tag to match. I have never once thought the asking price for the Chychrun meshes with the actual player. Chychrun is playing on a really bad Coyotes team and doing well so that is not nothing. What the Coyotes are asking, also not nothing
Coach Mike Sullivan wants Hextall to trade for Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun, but Hextall has balked at a potential deal because the Coyotes have asked the Penguins to include 2025 and 2026 first-round draft choices as part of any package, according to two team sources briefed on Hextall’s thinking.
I’m all for trading first round picks right now, but I’m talking about 2023 and 2024. I’m certainly not going down the line into 2025 and 2026 for a defenseman who compares favorably to... Marcus Pettersson
It really goes to show how out of touch Hextall’s player assessment abilities are considering he tried really hard to move Pettersson and not Dumoulin in the offseason.
I’m out on Jakob Chychrun being a need for the Penguins. If they are dead set on getting another top four defenseman to replace Brian Dumoulin I’m fine with that. I’ve asked for that. There is better and more cost-effective (draft capital) way to accomplish the goal. Just go get Jake McCabe
It would cost way less in draft picks and his cap hit is very reasonable. In fact, it would just outright replace Dumoulin’s. The term on his deal is perfect for where the Penguins are right now. This is the move to shore up the left side defense. Jakob Chychrun would be a wild miscalculation on what this team actually needs and how much draft capital it can afford to spend, even if Chychrun’s cap hit is lower than what it should be.
If the Penguins are going to throw first round picks at a player and go all in with picks have it be a player like Timo Meier. Impact forwards will be what push this team forward not defensemen like Chychrun. Taking swings at players like Jakub Vrana would also be part of a smart plan. Guys you can get pretty cheap with legit upside. Obtaining McCabe and Vrana is very reasonable. Meier would be the long shot, but I’d rather use the “Chychrun” assets at Meier all day every day.
Unfortunately, none of this is realistic and speculating feels like screaming into a void. The Penguins are stuck with Ron Hextall and if he does make moves they are likely going to stink. The Fenway Sports Group has shown some serious negligence in their first year with the team. They’ve sat idly all year while their GM pinned the team into a corner. Now they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Does anybody feel comfortable with Ron Hextall buying or selling at this point? He shouldn’t have a say in anything moving forward to be honest. This is an impossible situation to be in. The Penguins don’t have a lot of runway left and here they are wasting time with inept management. It really sucks.
I suppose they could turn the keys over to Brian Burke. This isn’t exactly an ideal situation, but he does understand the value of adding impact players. He has a history of it. He also doesn’t believe in asking players with NTC/NMC’s to waive them so that is a self-inflicted parameter other teams don’t hold themselves to.
The Penguins supposedly have a 58% chance of making the playoffs as of this morning. Does it feel that way? Does it matter? The incompetence has ruined this season. Someone get Lebron on the phone.
Thanks for reading!
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