The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching. Tomorrow at 3PM the opportunity to improve your team for the playoffs will be closed. For the Penguins, what does that mean?
The Penguins are still building for the future despite having a quality season. They are not the sellers they were predicted to be. They are also not going to be short term buyers, either. If they buy it is going to be the kind of trade with an eye to the future that would also help the now. These are going to be your early to mid-twenties players who need a change of scenery. Basically, running back a trade like the one that brought Egor Chinakhov to Pittsburgh
Well, I think we feel good about where we’re at in goal, in the present and future.
So, in terms of acquisitions, I think where we look is both up front and on defense. I think the ideal acquisition for us will be a player that’s in their 20s, closer to their mid-20s, that has some team control. Either they’re signed, or they are a pending restricted free agent, where they’re not a rental.
So, the Chinakhov deal would sort of be the template that I would use.
I think this is the proper approach to any additions. Paying for rentals just puts the Penguins back on the old path of using futures as a short term band aid. They are not in a position as a franchise to spend assets for the present. It isn’t a good bet. They aren’t a true contender, even if they are a decent hockey team.
Do the Penguins need to add?
The thing about the trade deadline is that it is the last chance for teams to add. Teams who are sellers use this time crunch as leverage in deals in an attempt to score more assets for their veteran players. Desperate teams, who have needs to fill, have to pay those prices.
The Penguins aren’t in this situation. Kyle Dubas outlines why
I think everyone looks at the deadline as that’s a time that you have to act, and I think it is a great opportunity to add talent to your roster and to your team. What I would say to that is that this year, we have already added a lot of talent to the team. So, we’ve made a lot of moves throughout the year to add Stu Skinner to the team, Sam Girard to the group, Egor Chinakhov to the group, and Ilya Solovyev to the group.
So, we’ve already done that through the year. I think at the deadline, it’s seen as a time where I think that (people think) you have to act. And I think we’ve already acted. But it doesn’t mean that we ever stop trying to improve the team, especially in positions that can help the group now and in the future.
Even when the Penguins were in full buyer mode during their Cup contention years I spoke about being proactive throughout the year versus waiting until the deadline. Jim Rutherford, for all his faults, would indeed strike deals at any point during the season if there was an asset he felt would help the team. He would buy during the deadline, but he would also buy in the earlier parts of the season as well. David Perron was a January trade, Carl Hagelin was acquired in January, Trevor Daley was in December, Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad were early February.
Point being, as Dubas said, you can make deals at other points in the year so you are not forced into bad leverage at the deadline. The Penguins may be done with trades and that would be fine. Unless something that fits the parameters Dubas is looking for he doesn’t have to do anything. They are not in a position where they have to panic buy. They don’t need to overpay for the sake of overpaying. Not doing anything may be the prudent move, albeit not as exciting as seeing your team swing a trade.
