PENS MAKE TRADE DEALS
Penguins add Marleau, bring back Sheary
One is a 40year-old NHL veteran who has accomplished just about everything the hockey world has to offer aside from winning an elusive Stanley Cup. The other is a former Penguin who knows what it’s like to hoist the Cup … twice.
They’re both coming to
Pittsburgh now, after Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, true to his aggressive reputation, orchestrated a pair of trades on the NHL’s deadline day.
In the morning, Rutherford acquired 22-year NHL veteran forward Patrick Marleau from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a conditional 2021 third-round pick. The pick will become a second-rounder should the Penguins win the Stanley Cup.
Then, less than an hour before the 3 p.m. deadline, Rutherford set the stage for a reunion, acquiring former Penguins winger Conor Sheary, along with depth forward Evan Rodrigues in exchange for 24-year-old, versatile forward Dominik Kahun.
Marleau and Sheary are rentals who will become unrestricted free agents at season’s end; Rodrigues is a restricted free agent this offseason.
The moves — coupled with the major Feb. 10 trade that brought Jason Zucker to the Penguins — will provide versatility, depth and flexibility in their forward group. Not only do several of the additions fit the Penguins’ distinct playing style, but they also should also help Mike Sullivan get back to his identity as a coach who rolls four lines.
“The top three lines were probably playing a little bit more than they should,” Rutherford said. “[We’re] trying to get their minutes down so that we can come and come hard, shift after shift, with four lines. That’s what we should be able to do after we made those changes.”
Though he was born in Canada, Marleau grew up a Penguins fan. In a sense, his NHL career began in Pittsburgh when he was selected second overall at the 1997 draft at the old Civic Arena. Marleau, a left-shooting winger who can also slot in as a center, went on to play 20 of his 22 seasons in San Jose.
In an accomplished career, he has won a pair of Olympic gold medals with Sidney Crosby and climbed the ladder on several of the NHL’s all-time lists. He currently sits at fifth all time with 1,715 games played, including an ironman streak of 846 consecutive games.
This season, Marleau has posted 10 goals and 20 points for a struggling Sharks team that is out of the playoff conversation at 26-32-4.
Despite his age and the wear on his tires, the Penguins still think Marleau has the wheels to be a productive player in their system. They’re expecting him to provide leadership and hope to see his graying beard grow through a long postseason run.
“His desire to get that ultimate prize is going to be big for him,” Rutherford said. “His time is running out. He should be a good fit for us.”
Meanwhile, Sheary, 27, played three seasons with the Penguins, scoring a career-high 23 goals in 2016-17. After winning back-to-back championships, he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in June 2018.
Rutherford reiterated Monday that the Penguins would have liked to keep
Sheary. But they were forced to make a move in the midst of a salary-cap crunch. With the left-handed Sheary back in the fold, he brings experience playing next to Crosby and the speed to complement Sullivan’s system.
“He was pretty pumped when I talked to him,” Rutherford said. “The coaches felt very strong when his name came up that it would be seamless for him coming back in here.”
Finally, Rodrigues, a 5foot-11, 184 pound righthanded forward played 11 of the 12 forward positions for Buffalo last season. But with new coach Ralph Krueger in charge, Rodrigues played in just 38 games this year and eventually requested a trade. He figures to be a player competing for one of the last lineup spots on game nights, but that remains to be seen.
“He was in and out of the lineup with Buffalo,” Rutherford said. “I don’t know exactly what happened there. But there were a number of times that he played with [star forward Jack] Eichel.”
While the Penguins added four forwards this February, they lost one young, talented forward. After tallying just two points in his first 11 games with the Penguins, Kahun found his footing to become a versatile piece and a top-six option. He had skated alongside Evgeni Malkin before having a concussion about a month ago.
Now, with Kahun gone and those four new forwards on the payroll, the Penguins will have some decisions to make. Rutherford said Jason Zucker is “probably the best fit” on Crosby’s left wing until Jake Guentzel returns, which might not be until next season. It’s worth noting that Sheary and Marleau have also both spent time on the ice with Crosby in different settings.
“Certainly, the guys we got can move around,” Rutherford said. “They can move up and down the lineup.
They can move to their opposite wing or to center. Having that kind of flexibility for the coach makes it easier.”
One area the Penguins chose not to address was their defense, which has been thinned due to injuries to Brian Dumoulin and John Marino. Rutherford said that he has been pleased with both players’ progress and believes they’ll be back sooner than later. With that development, he didn’t feel the price was right for a defenseman who might ultimately end up spending most of his time in the press box once everyone is healthy.
So now, after yet another busy February, Rutherford’s work is done — at least for this trade cycle. He’s added several intriguing piece to a team that is in a tightly contested race for the Metropolitan Division and, as always, hopes to bring another Stanley Cup home.
“We feel good about our team,” Rutherford said. “We have felt good all year. We feel better today. We feel we have a stronger team. Hopefully, we get healthy here in the next week or two and we have a whole team to see what we’ve really got.”