Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Archives for February 2020
Trade Deadline Primer: Pittsburgh Penguins
With the trade deadline now just a few days away, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up is a look at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It’s hard to not be amazed by what the Penguins have done this season, given how many key players have missed time with injury. Only Brandon Tanev, Teddy Blueger, Dominik Simon and Marcus Pettersson have played in all 58 games for Pittsburgh, but the team has caught and passed Washington for the division lead. They already made a big move by acquiring Jason Zucker, but don’t rule out Jim Rutherford over the next few days.
Record
37-15-6, first in the Metropolitan Division
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$3.499MM in a full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 47/50 contracts per CapFriendly
Upcoming Draft Picks
2020: PIT 3rd, PIT 4th, PIT 5th, PIT 6th
2021: PIT 1st*, PIT 2nd, PIT 3rd, PIT 5th, PIT 7th, ANA 7th
*If the Penguins miss the playoffs in 2019-20, they can send their 2021 first-round pick to the Minnesota Wild instead of this year’s.
Trade Chips
After spending a couple of the chambered rounds in the Zucker deal, it may be hard for Rutherford to find enough to really make a big splash on the trade market. The Penguins won’t have a first-round pick (again) this year, and they traded their 2020 second way back in 2017 for expansion draft considerations. Some may say who needs draft picks when you can find players like Marcus Pettersson and John Marino for (close to) free, but there aren’t a ton of futures left for the team to dangle.
The question then becomes who from the roster would the Penguins be willing to move. Before the season Nick Bjugstad and Bryan Rust were two names frequently bandied about in speculation, but now that the former has missed three months and the latter is the team’s leading goal scorer it might be hard to make a deal around one of them. Bjugstad is expected to be back soon, but with just a few days left it would be hard for anyone to take that risk.
Still, the team has some other forwards that could maybe be involved if a deal presented itself. Simon, Blueger and Dominik Kahun are all important parts of the team, but with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin anchoring two lines you could find replacements. Sam Lafferty is another, though how much value he would really bring isn’t clear.
On defense, Marino’s injury really makes it difficult to trade someone like Juuso Riikola, if they even considered it in the past. The Penguins defense group is likely set, unless Rutherford adds another veteran name before what is expected to be a long playoff run.
That leaves goaltending, where many have pointed to Casey DeSmith sitting in the minor leagues as one of the Penguins’ biggest trade chips. Not so fast says Rutherford, who recently explained he doesn’t plan on moving one of his goaltenders at the deadline.
Five Players To Watch For: F Sam Lafferty, F Dominik Simon, D Juuso Riikola, F Dominik Kahun, F Nick Bjugstad
Team Needs
1) Bottom-Six Flexibility: Rutherford is never shy about speaking his mind, and he did just that to Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required). He plans on adding a bottom-six player that can move around a bit, as long as the prices come down over the weekend. Who that player is exactly remains to be seen, but you can bet there will be a new face flying around the ice next week.
2) Depth Defense: The only way this happens is if the Penguins get bad news on Brian Dumoulin or Marino, but you can never have enough options on the back end. Rutherford knows first hand how many defensemen you need for a Stanley Cup playoff run after being forced to use Trevor Daley and Ron Hainsey as top options in 2017.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Florida Panthers Acquire Danick Martel
The Florida Panthers have completed a minor league trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning, acquiring Danick Martel in exchange for Anthony Greco. Both players will report to their respective new AHL organizations.
Martel, 25, has put together a solid season for the Syracuse Crunch, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise at this point. The undrafted forward was a star in junior and has scored in every season of professional hockey so far. Originally part of the Philadelphia Flyers organization, Martel scored at least 20 goals in each of his three years with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a mark he looks poised to crack again this season.
That doesn’t mean he’ll help Florida’s NHL hopes however, as Martel has just 13 games of experience at the highest level and has yet to score a single goal. He’ll also become a group VI unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.
Greco meanwhile isn’t a much different case. The 26-year old was also an undrafted free agent signing, this time out of Ohio State University. The undersized winger has had excellent seasons in the AHL including a 30-goal, 59-point campaign in 2018-10, but has appeared in just a single NHL contest. He is also scheduled to become a group VI unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Minor Transactions: 02/20/20
While teams try to prepare their rosters for the coming trade deadline, there will be plenty of movement up and down between the NHL and AHL. Eight important games are on the schedule for tonight, and as the last minute tweaks happen we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- The Dallas Stars have sent Joel Kiviranta back to the minor leagues, after playing in four games earlier this month. Kiviranta has 11 total appearances on the season and a single goal, but really hasn’t been used as a full-time option in Dallas yet. The 23-year old was signed out of Finland last spring and still has another year left on his deal.
- Gabe Vilardi is expected to make his NHL debut tonight for the Los Angeles Kings, finally recalled after a long recovery period. The 20-year old Vilardi was drafted 11th overall in 2017 but played just four games during the 2018-19 season as he dealt with chronic back issues. His work has paid off however, scoring 25 points in 32 games this season with the Ontario Reign and making it to the NHL.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have sent Jimmy Schuldt and Zach Whitecloud back to the minors after using them to complete a salary cap transaction yesterday. The team gained as much cap relief as possible when they moved Alex Tuch to long-term injured reserve.
- A pair of players have been reassigned by the Vancouver Canucks as well, as the team announced that forward Tyler Graovac and defenseman Guillaume Brisebois have been returned to the AHL’s Utica Comets. Graovac has missed considerable time due to injury this season, but in his limited action has suited up for the Cancucks more than the Comets, whereas Brisebois has been a fixture on the Utica blue line with no NHL appearances yet this season.
- It’s been a bit of a whirlwind in the Florida Panthers’ bottom-six of late, with Jayce Hawryluk and Denis Malgin departing and Danick Martel and Mason Marchment arriving. As a result, the team has brought back a familiar face fore the time being, announcing the recall of Dryden Hunt. Hunt has skated in 20 games with the Cats this season and another 35 with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds.
Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens Complete Minor Trade
The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent Joseph Blandisi and Jake Lucchini to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Riley Barber and Phil Varone. All four players in the deal are currently playing in the AHL and will report to their new respective organizations in Laval and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Interestingly, Barber and Varone were both scratched over the weekend for the Rocket and while nothing will likely be confirmed, AHL reporter Mark Divver tweets that it was “related to some kind of off-ice unrest.” What exactly that means isn’t clear, but they both will now get a fresh start with another organization for the end of the season.
All four of these players are scheduled for free agency of one kind or another at the end of the season, with Blandisi and Lucchini both becoming restricted free agents, Barber headed for group VI unrestricted free agency and Varone scheduled to become a regular (group III) unrestricted free agent.
This deal will likely have very little impact at the NHL level, though Blandisi did play 21 games with Pittsburgh earlier this season and has shown himself to be competent at that level. Barber meanwhile spent nine games with Montreal this season, though still doesn’t have an NHL point in 12 career appearances.
Cody Goloubef Placed On Waivers
Along with Louis Domingue, who is being held out by the New Jersey Devils, Cody Goloubef has been placed on waivers today. The Ottawa Senators defenseman has played fewer than ten minutes in three of his last four games.
Goloubef, 30, has played in 23 games this season with the Senators, averaging just over 15 minutes a night and recording two points. The former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman is just depth at this point and given his expiring contract could potentially even be trade bait in the coming days.
Placing a player on waivers sometimes can increase their value at the deadline, as an acquiring team could immediately stash them in the minor leagues. Whether that is the plan with Goloubef isn’t clear, especially given that the Senators may want to just hand over some minutes to their young defense.
Shayne Gostisbehere Sent To AHL On Conditioning Stint
The Philadelphia Flyers have sent Shayne Gostisbehere to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for a conditioning stint, giving him a chance to get some action while he continues to work his way back from arthroscopic knee surgery. Gostisbehere did play for the Flyers once earlier this month, but has missed the last five as he tries to get back to full strength.
Of course, Gostisbehere’s name has also continually surfaced in trade rumors, at least in part because of the struggles he has had this season. Whether those are due to injury or just a change in system under new head coach Alain Vigneault, the former Calder Trophy finalist hasn’t looked like himself all season.
With just 12 points in 41 games, Gostisbehere is an enigma that the Flyers will need to solve before any playoff run. Whether the end of the maze is a trade out of Philadelphia or a rejuvenated performance, the team can’t afford to have his $4.5MM sitting out or underperforming for long.
New York Rangers Acquire Jean-Francois Berube
In a late-night move, the New York Rangers added even more goaltending depth to their organization, acquiring Jean-Francois Berube from the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers will receive future considerations. Berube will stay in the minor leagues, giving the Hartford Wolf Pack another option with Igor Shesterkin staying in the NHL.
As expected, those future considerations are actually an AHL trade between the two organizations. The Hartford Wolf Pack have sent Tom McCollum and Lewis Zerter-Gossage to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Players on AHL deals cannot be including in an NHL trade, meaning the teams needed to use the “future” tag.
For the Flyers, this will open up some playing time for prospect Kirill Ustimenko while still giving their lower minors an established professional goaltender in McCollum. As we mentioned recently in their deadline primer, Ustimenko has some impressive upside and is regarded well as a goaltending prospect. In 31 games for the Reading Royals of the ECHL he has a .919 save percentage.
Jets Trying To Trade Dustin Byfuglien
Early this month, it appeared as if the Jets and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien were on their way to a mutual contract termination as a resolution to his current grievance for the team suspending him without pay for leaving training camp early on and ultimately undergoing ankle surgery back in late October. However, that has yet to materialize and now we know why as TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that Winnipeg is currently attempting to trade him.
It’s yet another odd development in what has been a very strange situation. At one point, it was believed that Byfuglien was contemplating retirement and at the beginning of February, it was reported that it’s unlikely that he will play this season. He has yet to resume skating which means the last time he skated was at or slightly before the beginning of training camp. On the surface, it is difficult to see why a team would want to take a chance on him.
It’s worth noting that a team that’s interested in him for this season can’t wait until he’s bought out after the trade deadline to bring him in for the stretch run and postseason. For a player to be eligible to play in the playoffs, he has to be on the Reserve List by the time the deadline passes so if someone wants to take a shot at him this season, they will have to trade for him by Monday.
There would certainly be some risk associated with making such a trade. While it’s true that if Byfuglien didn’t report, he’d remain suspended without pay and the acquiring team could pursue a contract termination this summer. However, as the 34-year-old has another year left on his deal at $7.6MM, any team interested in him would need to have the pro-rated cap space to take him on this year (if he eventually reported) as well as be able to afford him next season. Considering how long it has been since he last played, that would be a bit of a gamble.
Having said that, it’s one that could certainly pan out as Byfuglien was a high-impact player as recently as last year. His physicality could come in handy in the postseason and he has been a strong offensive performer in the past as well. There would certainly be some upside to the move if a team is willing to take the chance by adding him which Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is now assessing. If nothing happens by Monday, then the Jets will likely proceed with the contract termination soon after.
Golden Knights Interested In Erik Gustafsson
Earlier on Wednesday, the Golden Knights made a big addition to their back end with the acquisition of Alec Martinez. If they have their way, they may not be done there as Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Vegas has shown interest in Blackhawks blueliner Erik Gustafsson.
The 27-year-old picked up 60 points last season to finish sixth in the NHL in scoring by a defenseman. However, he hasn’t been anywhere near as productive this year; although he leads all Chicago blueliners in points, he only has 26 points in 58 games. He recently admitted that his contract situation – he’s a pending unrestricted free agent – has weighed on him this year.
Vegas had to do considerable salary cap maneuvering simply to fit Martinez in which involved moving Alex Tuch to LTIR and recalling three players so their cap space is limited. However, with Gustafsson carrying a $1.2MM cap hit (just $500K above the league minimum), it’s one that they should be able to afford.
However, many other teams can also afford someone at that price tag and while his numbers are down, Gustafsson is still one of the more intriguing blueliners out there that could be moved by Monday’s trade deadline. Contenders could use him in a sheltered role with power play time which is probably his ideal role anyway so Chicago should have considerable interest outside of Vegas.
The Golden Knights have shown a distinct preference to avoid rental players but with nearly $69MM in cap commitments to just a dozen players for next season, it’s unlikely that they would be able to afford to give Gustafsson an extension. That means for this occasion at least, they’ll have to go against that strategy.