Photo courtesy of A/P.
By Joe Depto (@PensDeptoTFP)
With the Pittsburgh Penguins playing host to the 2012 draft, it surely wasn’t a surprise that they went out of their way to steal the show for themselves.
In one evening, the team traded away one of the franchise’s biggest faces, a substantial member of the team’s blue line, and continued to add to their massive stack of highly touted defensive prospects.
In the aftermath, the team potentially paved the way for one of the most dynamic offseasons the Pittsburgh Penguins have ever experienced under general manager Ray Shero.
Jordan Staal traded to the Carolina Hurricanes
It turns out that Ray Shero isn’t a betting man, after all.
When reports of Jordan Staal declining a ten year deal worth 60 million dollars (and expressing a desire to test free agency in 2013) hit the internet on Thursday evening, the buzz began to build that Jordan Staal could be moved during the draft Friday night. Multiple reports had connected Carolina GM Jim Rutherford to Pittsburgh, offering up the eighth overall pick in the draft and more in a package deal for the Thunder Bay native.
Pittsburgh’s fan base and social media scene quickly became an expose’ of speculation. Pens fans had heard rumors and hearsay about Staal’s desire to obtain a bigger role for some time, dating back to the Penguins’ championship run in 2009. If Staal didn’t desire a move to wing, it was clear that Pittsburgh losing Staal would be a matter of when and not if, unless significant roster changes were made. With the declined aforementioned contract, along with the impending and challenging task of re-signing much of the team’s core on the horizon, it seemed that the smoke of a Staal deal had finally yielded fire.
After a long 24 hours of speculation, that flame was ignited as Jordan Staal was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for the eighth overall pick in the draft (Derrick Pouliot was Pittsburgh’s selection in this spot), gritty two way forward Brandon Sutter, and defensive prospect Brian Dumoulin.
It’s a deal that will be met with rancor from some, relief from others, and an felt impact from all connected to hockey in Pittsburgh.
After all, no one will deny Staal’s significant impact throughout his six seasons in Pittsburgh.
Ultimately, Ray Shero could have further worked on an extension with Jordan Staal, despite his agent’s essentially stating that Staal would test free agency on July 1st, 2013, regardless of Pittsburgh’s actions. Ray Shero could have also elected to keep Staal as part of the team’s roster (as a third line center or elsewhere at wing) in hopes that his skill set would give the Pens the biggest chance to contend this season while simultaneously not having a negative impact on the team’s locker room.
Relying on any or all of those facets to yield a positive result could have proven to be very costly for Pittsburgh – A long-term deal for Sidney Crosby has still not been reached. Both Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang will be preparing to enter the final years of their contracts this time next year (both Malkin and Letang are signed through 2014), and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury the year following that one (MAF is signed through 2015). To put it bluntly, Ray Shero will have his work cut out for him for the years to come. If you and I can figure that out, so can Jordan Staal. The ten year deal was rejected at this period of time anyway, likely for a multitude of reasons.
Maybe things regarding contract negotiations with Staal’s camp would have changed as the offseason progressed, but banking on such would have been a major gamble for the Penguins.
In the end, it simply wasn’t a risk Ray Shero was willing to take.
The Return for Jordan Staal
Moving forward, however, what does this move mean for Pittsburgh?
In Brandon Sutter, the Pens are getting a defined third line center that theoretically fills a major hole left in the wake of losing Jordan Staal. Sutter, who notched 32 points in 82 games last season, brings superb face-off ability (50.5% – one of the highest rates for any player that played all 82 games in the NHL last season in a face-off-centric role), strong PK skills, and two way smarts that will fit Dan Bylsma’s system well.
In other words, Sutter lacks Staal’s massive upside, but there will be no doubting his effective play in a checking line role. And at 23, he’s only getting warmed up.
Sutter also brings a clean bill of health to the table – the last game he missed due to health purposes was well over two seasons ago.
As controversial as it may seem to say in the land of black and gold, certain aspects of Maxime Talbot’s game were missed when Talbot was healthy and clicking in Pittsburgh’s lineup. If Sutter flourishes in Pittsburgh, many of the intangibles that Talbot brought to the table could possibly return to the Penguins lineup for the 2012-13 season and beyond. This is a crucial dimension of play that many (myself included) argued that had been missing in Pittsburgh’s early playoff exits in both the 2012 and 2011 postseasons. To put it succinctly, the Penguins needed to become tougher to play against. Sutter helps them accomplish this – not in a way that is better or worse than Jordan Staal did, just a different manner.
In Brian Dumoulin, the Pittsburgh Penguins receive the Hurricanes’ second round pick in the 2009 draft, a former Hobey Baker trophy nominee, and a key component of the Boston College Eagles’ 2011-12 NCAA national championship team. A 20 year old blue liner with a 6’4, 210 frame and a substantial slapshot, Dumoulin is fresh off of signing an entry level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes (he signed at a similar time as New York’s Chris Krieder, for those familiar with his BC teammate). In his three years at Boston College, Dumoulin notched a combined 83 points in 123 games.
Considered by many to be Carolina’s top defensive prospect besides Ryan Murphy, Dumoulin is anything but a thrown-in. He won’t see NHL time this season, but I would be very surprised if many fans of the Penguins minor league affiliates aren’t big fans of Dumoulin this time next year.
As for the selection of their newly acquired eight overall pick, I’ll hold off too many of my thoughts on Derrick Pouliot (as well as Pittsburgh’s other first round selection, Olli Maata) until the Pens draft is complete, but here’s what TSN scout, Craig Button, had to say about him recently :
“Derrick is a QB Type defenseman who relies on excellent vision and precision passing. He understands the game so well and sees what is unfolding and then is able to exploit it. He has great poise with the puck and doesn’t force things but ensures when you get the puck, that you can do something positive with it. His skating is very good and he has a burst of quickness that allows him to gain a little extra time or space to make a play and he utilizes uses it offensively or defensively. He will jump into the attack and because he knows his options, he can appear to be moving untouched which is due to the opponent having to respect his ability to quickly strike with his passing and thus backing off somewhat. He relies on strong positioning to put himself in the best position to make plays and while he’s not a physical player, he’s very effective using his body to gain advantages. He has a calm to his play but is competitive and will not succumb to the challenges that come his way. He is a strong puck possession player.”
Button’s strong words about his skating certainly has to give Penguins fans familiar with the demands of Dan Bylsma and the Pittsburgh coaching staff some encouragement about the pick.
Zbynek Michalek Moved Back to Phoenix for Prospects, Cap Relief
When reports surfaced that defensemen Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek were available for trade, not many people in Allegheny county flinched.
In fact, if you were to go solely by Twitter, many Penguins fans were probably relieved.
Both Martin and Michalek, who had combined for a nine million dollar annual cap hit, had never properly found their stride together.
For Michalek, it was a mix of injuries mixed in with a bevy of struggles when he was healthy.
Although his skill set, nor his effort and game preparation, never truly diminished, Michalek arguably never truly hit his stride in Dan Bylsma’s format the way he did with Dave Tippett’s defense-first system in Phoenix.
After Friday night, he was traded back to the Phoenix Coyotes, getting a second chance to thrive in the desert of the American southwest.
With twelve million still owed to Michalek over the next three years (combined with the Pittsburgh Penguins trying to make a big splash in the free agency market while still retaining their star power assets), the Penguins needed to save cash and improve the level of their defensive system’s play simultaneously.
With the alleviated cap space created by the trades of Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek, the Penguins now have the space to become serious players on July 1st.
In return for Michalek, Pittsburgh will receive defenseman Harrison Ruopp, goaltender Marc Cheverie, and a 2012 third-round draft pick (81st overall) from the Phoenix Coyotes.
How this impacts July 1st
If nothing else, the Pittsburgh Penguins have made a statement that they are discontent enough with their organization’s performance in the last three seasons to make a significant move when the calendar turns to July.
How drastic will that move (expect that word to be plural, actually) be? Don’t be surprised if the Pittsburgh Penguins take a page from their rival Philadelphia Flyers’ playbook circa 2011 and further overhaul both the look and feel of significant portions of the roster. Sure, there won’t be a goalie change (although that part of the roster was substantially altered with the acquisition of Tomas Vokoun), and the Pens aren’t dealing their captain (likely giving him a monster deal, actually), but all four forward lines could see at least one personnel change (the third line already has), and the blue line could be in for major remodeling.
Jordan Staal, the big name in this scenario, has already been moved. Michalek was quickly dealt after. These moves may be just the beginning of the team’s changes.
Despite Michalek being traded, Paul Martin remains in play for a trade if a team is willing to take on his large contract and feels he will recover well from the concussion he suffered down the stretch of last season.
At the draft Friday night, Ray Shero and the Penguins made valiant attempts to acquire Keith Yandle from the Phoenix Coyotes after failing to acquire the rights to top defensive free agent Ryan Suter from the Nashville Predators. Despite the Penguins failing to come away with either name, I would be surprised if it is the last we hear of Pittsburgh attempting to acquire either one of these players, or any other substantial defensive names that could be available for trade, or a free agency signing between now and July 1st.
Moving both Martin and Michalek in the same stretch of time would free up nine million dollars, annually, in cap space for this type of overhaul. It also frees up at least one roster spot for one of the team’s young defensemen (i.e. Simon Despres, Robert Bortuzzo, and Brian Strait) to land a full time spot with the team, a move that could pay off both in defensive system execution and in saving a substantial amount of money to make a splash in acquiring a name the Penguins feel would be an upgrade to their current unit.
In addition to the defensive moves, I fully expect the Penguins to be willing to include forward Tyler Kennedy in any deal if a team believes he can be an effective forward worth the price of admission.
Why all of the thrifty moves? Simple – the Penguins seem to be making an adamant effort to be the, not simply a, impact team on July 1st.
The Penguins are seeking a high profile wing (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) to develop chemistry and play with Sidney Crosby for a long period of time – the Pippen to Crosby’s Jordan-esque presence, to use a non-NHL analogy.
Make no mistake about it, the Penguins are targeting Zach Parise and will look to lock him up to a long-term deal this offseason.
Given Parise’s positive relationship and familiarity with Sidney Crosby (Those familiar with the Shattuck-St. Marys school will know what I’m speaking of), signing with Pittsburgh could give Parise a combination of smaller city atmosphere, high-tech training facilities, organizational stability, and constant Stanley contention that few teams will be able to offer on July 1st. Although I expect teams such as Detroit, Minnesota, Colorado, and possibly even Dallas to get involved with Parise and possibly over him a larger deal, financially, I’m not sure any of those teams will have a substantial edge above what Pittsburgh can offer Parise in the total package
In addition to Parise, I expect Pittsburgh to make an attempt to create space for a top pairing defenseman that is a more ideal fit than many of the options the Penguins have acquired with Dan Bylsma as bench boss.
As previously stated, Shero made his interest in Yandle known, and the possibility still remains that the two parties could re-open talks to acquire Yandle from the Coyotes. Nonetheless, if the Penguins aren’t able to swing a deal for Yandle, but are able to free up additional cap space than what they already have (or fail to deliver on signing Parise), there is a substantial chance that Shero will target Ryan Suter in free agency.
Making a move for both of these names could sound very far-fetched and the chances of both being acquired are not high, given the competition that other clubs will present (I expect Philadelphia, Detroit, and Colorado to be major players in the Ryan Suter discussion). If a cap figure such as Paul Martin’s is able to be dealt, however, making a strong push for both big free agency names is not impossible if both players are willing to take a slight discount to be a part of constant contention.
Lastly, Brooks Orpik is a name that may surprise people to potentially exist in trade discussions. Orpik is the longest tenured member in Pittsburgh, but showed serious signs of age last season and has had surgery in each off-season prior to the current one. Many teams around the league value his experience and physical ability when he is healthy. He is signed through 2014 at an annual cap hit of 3.75 million.
Even with moving Michalek, the Penguins still have a substantial number of defensemen on the current roster that will have to pass through waivers to reach the AHL. If Ray Shero does not believe that a player such as Ben Lovejoy or Deryk Engelland will not clear waivers, he will have to create space somehow, likely via trade for a pick or prospect.
Whether or not Pittsburgh will hit the home run in free agency that they are aiming for will be told with time, but I fully expect the black and gold to give it their best effort. Friday night put the wheels in motion for them to do just that.
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