Come for the game recap and stay for the trade speculation.
The Penguins have some legit injury issues to navigate at the moment, but the combination of taking four free standings points from Bufallllllllllllllllo and the Flyers barfing on themselves is pretty nice.
Buffalo is a certified dumpster fire. They have now lost 16 games in a row and are challenging the legendary 2003-04 Penguins team for most consecutive losses in row with 18. My advice would be for members of the 03-04 Penguins to at least buy some champagne to be ready. The Sabres do have a struggling Carter Hart and the Flyers on their agenda before they would hit the 18 games, but they don’t beat anybody except the New Jersey Devils
The Sabres don’t have the Devils again until April 6th and by that time they could be the new record holders. Additionally they haven’t won a regulation game in March since… well it has been a while.
After the game Taylor Hall was asked if he would consider trade offers brought to him and he of course said yes. More on this another time.
As far as the Penguins and Sabres if Pittsburgh keeps running Casey DeSmith out there the Sabres may never score again
In the playoff picture the Flyers have two games in hand on the Penguins and the Penguins have a ten point cushion in the standings. According to Micah Blake McCurdy’s playoff probabilities the Penguins are at 92% to make the playoffs while the Flyers are at 16%.
There were two milestones hit last night for Penguin players.
The Penguins released the Zohorna and it led to a great moment. Radim Zohorna scored on his first ever shot on goal joining Penguins legends Mario Lemieux, Jake Guentzel, and Luca Caputi to accomplish the feat.
It really feels like it doesn’t matter who the Penguins put in the lineup. They will all be better than Mark Jankowski. They will all look better than him and they will all have better results than him. Speaking of which, the results for Jankowski last night… yikes. Mike Sullivan put together a Frankenstein line of the Penguins worst forwards and they did not disappoint
This is against the 2020-21 Buffallllllllllllllllo Sabres! It is weirdly impressive to be that bad.
The other milestone was Sidney Crosby hitting 1,300 points. Crosby did what he always does against the Sabres which is rack up points. He had three assists and his third assist was for 1,300.
It is remarkable to look at all the names on that list and think about when they played versus when Sidney Crosby did. To get there that fast in the era he played in is truly a ludicrous achievement, but he’s Sidney Crosby so we kind of gloss over these things because it is old hat.
Jared McCann had a two goal game and he deserved it. He was ripping the puck last night. Ironically, he missed his hat trick on what you would think was his easiest look on net. He missed the goal on an empty net from center ice. McCann has had a solid season when he’s been in the lineup and he has flexibility to move up and down lineup in both center and wing. This is a valuable commodity considering the Penguins seemingly limited ability to add at the trade deadline. A player like McCann gives them more options. For example depending on additions you could do the something like this (if everyone healthy):
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
McCann-Malkin-Kapanen
Zucker-(trade)-Rodrigues
ZAR-Blueger Tanev
I’m not in love with Rodrigues on the third line, but it is at least functional and you still have the known commodity of ZAR-Blueger-Tanev not being solely relied on as the only functional bottom six line.
You could also do something simple like flipping Guentzel and Zucker due to the fact Zucker and Malkin aren’t a thing at all and shouldn’t be moving forward
Zucker-Crosby-Rust
Guentzel-Malkin-Kapanen
McCann-Blueger-Tanev
ZAR-Gaudreau-Rodrigues
This one doesn’t even involve trades and could be functional because Gaudreau isn’t a flaming trash heap and it doesn’t involve Jankowski, Lafferty, or Sceviour.
Speaking of trades I want to speak about both Taylor Hall and Eric Staal. I think both players could help the Penguins. Both players are buy low because the Sabres are a wreck. The rumors out there are that Taylor Hall won’t even net a first round pick. Paul Hamilton of WGR550 in Buffalo said the following:
Many around the NHL feel the Sabres would be hard pressed to even get a third round pick for him at this point. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s right.”
I don’t necessarily agree with it being that bad, but whatever Buffalo thought they could flip him for at the beginning of the year isn’t the reality now. Here’s the thing. Taylor Hall hasn’t been awful this year. Yes, you heard that correctly. His shooting percentage is in the tank, but he’s been fine as an individual in a horrible situation. He has been one of the most unlucky players in the league. Put him on a contender and you will have a highly functional and competent forward to drastically improve your depth. Look at the disparity of when he is on the ice versus when he is off the ice. These kind of splits predate the Sabres and go all the way back to his Oiler days
Now on to Eric Staal. He is 35 and the aging curve is a legitimate thing clouding the situation. However, I believe it is likelier the Sabres have ruined him than the aging curve. He has been consistently good for a long time. He was a solid player for Minnesota. Now in Buffalo his numbers have taken a dive. Back to the obvious, who’s numbers wouldn’t? Even Jack Eichel hasn’t been spared
Don’t minimize just how awful the situation is in Buffalo and what it has done to players with long track records of success. Nobody is immune to being dragged down in Buffalo this year. Anybody who leaves will be better for it, including Hall and Staal.
This is a toxic situation. Buying low on Staal is a good bet in my opinion. He also is a likely candidate to qualify for Brian Burke's perception of a big and physical player.
As for what to give? I don’t think Buffalo is necessarily looking to stock up on draft picks because they’ve had so many. Draft picks aren’t going to mean much in a conversation with Jack Eichel about the Sabres trying to be good right now before he loses it and asks to leave. Playable NHL talent is probably what they are going for. Marcus Pettersson is a playable NHL player. I think a straight up Pettersson for Staal swap works for both teams. I think Pettersson can be a starting point in a Taylor Hall discussion given the rumored depressed value for him. I’m open to rolling the dice with Pierre-Olivier Joseph replacing Pettersson and moving Pettersson’s 4M cap hit is only going to help the Penguins cap situation moving forward. His mid-tier cap hit doesn’t make sense to keep. His mid-tier cap hit needs to be moved to make room for any addition in the short term as well.
People may not be in love with Hall or Staal, but I think that discounts the situation the Penguins are in. Beggars can’t be choosers. If you have the opportunity to buy low even if there is some risk it is about the best the Penguins can do to attempt adding potential impact players for a Cup run.
Penguins get the Islanders next on Saturday.
Thanks for reading!
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