The trade deadline is mere days away and the lead up has had both Ron Hextall and Brian Burke talking about making a move to help this year’s team. The common theme seems to be they want a big physical forward. Big and physical forwards can be very useful if they are also good at hockey. The problem is the big and physical forwards who can actually play usually fetch a premium on the open market. Big and physical sans skill is not useful and should be avoided.
All that said, I looked through cap friendly and tried to focus on some unrestricted free agents the Penguins could go after. I understand rentals are not ideal, but if Hextall doesn’t want to pay a premium (not trading prospects named Joseph, Poulin, Legare or good draft picks) then you get what you get and it usually isn’t somebody with term. Also, acquiring players with term can muddy the expansion draft situation on the horizon.
I don’t think the Penguins necessarily need a center, but I don’t think it would hurt either considering Jared McCann is capable of playing on the wing. Personally, I think Teddy Blueger could do it as well. I think finding another capable right winger is a good idea and if they can also play center then it is a bonus. Here are some of the players who would be rentals I came across and I’ll give some thoughts about each
The not likely group
I love Ryan Getzlaf. He’s been one of my favorite non-Penguin players of the cap era. He’s on the down swing of his career and I think he would definitely help the Penguins. He has obvious ties to Brian Burke, but he hasn’t given any indication he would be willing to move as a rental. Also the cost to acquire will probably be in the uncomfortable zone for the Penguins and what they want to move out.
I talked about Scott Laughton in detail
here. He would be a really good fit. Problem will be other teams will agree and of course the entire Pittsburgh/Philadelphia thing.
The Blue Jackets aren’t in a great position to make the playoffs as they are in 7th place with a -31 goal differential. The players seem like they’ve had enough of John Tortorella. Foligno is a pending UFA and a big and physical player. Once upon a time he was an incredibly effective big and physical player. Now he is just kinda meh and I think the cost to acquire would not match the actual value you would get. I would pass on Foligno.
I think Taylor Hall is primed for a big bounce back if he joins a contender. He is still driving offense, but like all Sabres cannot score a goal to save his life. I think the cost to acquire is out of the Penguins comfortable range and given he is a left wing only I’m not sure it actually fills a need unless you commit to Jared McCann as a center, which you could. If the Sabres give him away I think it would be worth it, but there will be plenty of teams interested, at least they should be.
You have the Brian Burke connection. The cost to acquire would make sense. I actually think the Penguins would highly consider acquiring him. Why is he in this section? It was reported today that he is likely out for the season with an upper body injury. So that’s that.
The Penguins could probably make it work asset wise division
I really like this idea. Granlund can play right wing or center and he’s still an effective player. I like his strengths are offensive and not defensive. The issue here is the Predators have made a run in the standings, but if they were being smart about things they would still be sellers. Their win now window is kaput. They should start the rebuild. Considering Kyle Palmieri was one of the more premier assets on the market and he was packaged with Travis Zajac for a first and a fourth (with 50% retained on both) I think the price for someone like Granlund would be reasonable if the Predators decide to sell.
The Kings are reportedly still working on an extension for Iafallo. He’s not at the top of my list, but he is a C/LW guy and the Penguins seem to like that flexibility. His finishing ability is a lot better than his ability to actually drive offense. He is very good defensively. I’d rather look for someone more offensive.
Uh, yeah, no thanks. Just because you play on the Red Wings doesn’t mean the majority of your categories have to be deep red. This is an incredibly limited and ineffective player. If you want him for faceoffs just use the guy you already have.
Never go full Glendening.
Canada quarantine division
So these players would be subjected to a seven day quarantine if acquired.
If you want Mike Hoffman but don’t want to pay Mike Hoffman prices Dzingel is your guy. He is the off brand version of Hoffman. Dzingel has a history of being an above average finisher. He can play all three forward positions. I would rather the Penguins find someone who can drive play a little more.
He probably fits the big and physical description, but he’s been really sheltered as you can see by his QoC and QoT numbers. No need to spend assets on Ryan unless you’re returning Mark Jankowski back to the Flames.
Josh Leivo has kind of just been around for his NHL career, but he has a decent body of work. He can play either wing. He is responsible defensively, but he also has an offensive pulse. I kinda like the idea of Leivo as a depth acquisition. You know the cost of acquisition wouldn’t be huge. Maybe they’ll take Colton Sceviour or another spare part the Penguins don’t want.
So there aren’t a ton of “perfect” options here for the Penguins. It is a weird year with Covid and the expansion draft. Teams aren’t likely to want to take on term with trade acquisitions because it would mean another player they have to potentially expose in the expansion draft. This is why I focused mostly on unrestricted free agents. The Penguins aren’t looking to be big spenders or use valuable futures so it doesn’t give them a lot of room for flexibility. It will be interesting to see what the Penguins ultimately land on because we have a new regime, minimal assets to move, and a suppressed market.
We’ll see what happens.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»