Happy Canada Day to those of you who observe. It is the start of NHL free agency today. It is still expected the Penguins will be relatively quiet on that front, but it doesn’t mean they won’t be doing anything.
Yesterday, they took a lot of fans by surprise by trading away Parker Wotherspoon for Kaeden Korczak.
Today, right before the official start of free agency they traded for a Robertson, but not that one, it was for his brother.
They also signed another right-handed depth defenseman in Trevor van Riemsdyk. There are now a growing number of defensemen on the right side and only so many roster spots.
Could this be related to Nick Robertson’s brother? I’m not ruling it out.
I don’t think the Nick Robertson trade was on accident. There has been a lot of noise about Dubas wanting to take a heavy swing in the trade market. One of the biggest swings would be at Dallas Stars RFA, Jason Robertson. This is believed to be Dubas’ preferred target.
Dubas has long wanted to acquire Robertson. He felt similarly about star defenseman Erik Karlsson and landed him in Pittsburgh a few summers ago after trying to do the same in Toronto.
Robertson was not willing to play in Seattle, but the Penguins believe the winger would be willing to play in Pittsburgh.
Team sources said Dallas is more interested in Pittsburgh’s young assets than its veterans. Dubas admitted last weekend that he tried tirelessly to move up in the draft. By several accounts, he also tried to make quite a splash by landing Robertson. It didn’t happen, but Dubas is not giving up. This could all be for nothing, of course, if Dallas can sign the restricted free agent to a long-term deal.
What would this trade look like
It is clear that the Penguins have made a point to stock up on defenders on the right hand side. The two players with the most trade value at that position are a superstar veteran and a somewhat promising prospect. Erik Karlsson and Harrison Brunicke are two players that would carry the highest value on the trade market from the now stockpiled right side.
The Dallas Stars were recently rebuffed by Zach Werenski after they and the Columbus Blue Jackets had agreed to a trade. The deal was good to go, if not for Werenski’s veto power, which he exercised. In this particular trade the Stars were willing to deal Thomas Harley away. It is clear they are looking for an offensive upgrade on their back end. Would Erik Karlsson be the type of player the Stars would want? I say, most definitely. Erik Karlsson is a perfect player for a team going for it. He was excellent last year.
If the Penguins ate half of Karlsson’s salary this year it would open up some potential trade possibilities involving Jason Robertson. Providing cap relief and a star player is a very attractive thing to a team trying to push their chips to the center of the table like Dallas.
That said, Josh Yohe’s reporting has Dallas more interested in the Penguins younger assets.
If Harrison Brunicke, and not Erik Karlsson, is part of a Jason Robertson deal the Penguins are going to have to really step up their offer in other areas. Future first round picks for sure, someone like Bryan Rust (with salary retention) to mitigate some of the goals they would lose with Robertson. Ben Kindel could very well be in play, as well. If I were Dubas I would try my best to push Dallas towards Bill Zonon and William Horcoff.
At the end of the day, if you want to step up and land a big fish you are going to have to buck up and part with assets you would rather not lose. You have to give to get. Robertson will be 27 when the next NHL season starts and he is a goal scoring machine. In the past five NHL seasons he has put up 41, 46, 29, 35, and 45 goals. He is one of the premier scoring wingers in the league even if Team USA did not think so.
He is worthy of using premier assets. Now, whether or not that makes sense for the Penguins timeline is another conversation to be had.
There’s some definite smoke to this story at this point. Things could get interesting.
What are the Penguins getting with Nick Robertson and Trevor van Riemsdyk
Both Trevor van Riemsdyk and Nick Robertson are players I have written about in the past as possible Penguins acquisitions. Here is what I had to say about van Riemsdyk around the trade deadline this year:
Trevor van Riemsdyk is a seasoned professional who has seen it all after 723 NHL games played. He is well suited for a bottom pairing role these days, even if the Capitals have used him on the second pairing. He has a 50.36 xGF% with Washington giving him a little less than ideal deployment
Here is what I wrote about Nick Robertson
Robertson is a skilled player who plays with speed and Toronto might be looking for players who can fit better under structure and carry a high level of play away from the puck with Berube in charge. Given his lack of playoff minutes and fit with the team moving forward it makes him a likely candidate to be moved.
He will turn 24 during training camp and fits the bill of the Penguins trying to shed age on their roster. He’s a legit NHL player and can potentially provide quality depth minutes.
This is the part of the rebuild where Dubas can throw darts and try to see what sticks. The cost to acquire shouldn’t be something prohibitive. The trick with a player like Robertson will be to play him with players who can drive play and he can finish. If he’s with guys who can’t drive play I would be concerned with the frequency he’ll have to cash in on his finishing ability which has been in the 14% range in his first two full NHL seasons.
In Pittsburgh, younger players should be given a longer leash to play through their mistakes, whereas in Toronto they don’t have the ability to have that kind of patience. A change of scenery is likely in order. Pittsburgh would make for a logical destination.
I’m not surprised that Kyle Dubas found his way to either player. They are both cost effective and fit the profile of the kinds of players he has shown interest in in the past.
Now the big question is, were they specifically brought in for the very specific purpose of a Jason Robertson trade?
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