THE MISSING PIECE
You proposed the trade deadline deal and I get to borrow Ron Hextall’s hat for a few minutes (feathers and all).
The NHL trade deadline is just 10 days away. Will the Penguins be players? “We’re probably not going to be able to do much,” Pittsburgh president of hockey operations Brian Burke recently told the Post-Gazette. “We’re capped out. I can’t imagine we’re going to do something big or noisy.”
All right, then what can we reasonably expect the front office to pull off?
This past week, I asked folks on Twitter to send over trade offers that they thought the Penguins should consider. Most of the proposals were pretty modest. So it seems like most fans have realistic expectations for the March 21 deadline.
I will now pull on my general manager hat, which is quite luxurious with a bunch of feathers and bling, and evaluate those offers. By doing so, I hope to give insight into what the Penguins may be thinking and looking for in the coming days.
• PROPOSAL #1: Welcome back, Phil? Kasperi Kapanen and a thirdround pick to the Coyotes for Phil Kessel.
Even if you could set aside the fact that Kessel had just four even-strength goals as of Friday, do you really think coach Mike Sullivan would sign off on this considering how Kessel’s tenure ended here? It’s not happening.
• PROPOSAL #2: Calling the Canadiens: Kapanen and a second-round pick to the Canadiens for Artturi Lehkonen.
This is more like it. While Lehkonen has never filled the Stanley Cup with hot dogs or trolled his own national team on Twitter, he’s a useful middle-six winger.
Lehkonen had 13 goals entering Thursday but is more of a defensive forward. Plus, he is a lefty. So he’s redundant with others on the roster, sort of a Zach Aston-Reese with better finishing ability. I don’t think that moves the needle enough.
• PROPOSAL #3: Loosening the
logjam: Marcus Pettersson goes to the Jets straight up for forward Andrew Copp.
Swapping Pettersson for Copp clears a path for Pierre-Olivier Joseph to be a regular. Plus, moving Pettersson would give the Penguins more financial wiggle room this summer. But does this trade make them better now? I’m not so sure.
And are the Jets doing this anyway? Unless they love Pettersson, who moves to the rough-and-tumble Pacific Division, they aren’t taking on his contract. He has had a nice bounce-back season, but I still don’t think that’s a coveted asset.
• PROPOSAL #4: Please, take this junk: Dom Simon, Juuso Riikola and a fifth-rounder for Anaheim’s Max Comtois.
First off, apologies to Simon and Riikola. “Junk” was not meant to describe their games. Point is Pittsburgh’s spare parts will be of no use to Anaheim.
Anyway, Comtois is big, young and willing to drop the gloves. And he’s under team control beyond this season, which is something that will appeal to Hextall.
But if I’m dialing up the Ducks, I’m also inquiring about Rickard Rakell, the two-time 30-goal scorer. He would make the Penguins better but won’t come cheap. Another Ducks player worth monitoring: big, right-shot defenseman Josh Manson.
• PROPOSAL #5: The Marino whispers: Trader Jim sends Brock Boeser to the ’ Burgh for Kapanen and John Marino.
Canucks fans were abuzz after I noted that former Penguins exec Derek Clancey, now with Vancouver, was scouting Tuesday’s home game. Apparently, someone there had suggested the Penguins could trade Marino for Brock Boeser.
Sure, they could use another righthanded sniper like Boeser. And we know that Jim Rutherford, the new GM in Vancouver, is the one who acquired Marino here and signed him long-term. But trading Marino leaves the Penguins dangerously thin on the right side, especially with Kris Letang nearing free agency.
Doing a deal with Rutherford would make a lot of sense. But this ain’t it.
• PROPOSAL #6: Pushing their chips in: Penguins trade a player and a first-round or prospect for a Canucks castoff.
The second that the rebuilding Canucks hired Rutherford, I pictured him calling up Penguins general manager Ron Hextall to see what it would take to get his guys. GMJR signed Pettersson and Marino. Traded for Kapanen and Jason Zucker. Added Joseph, Sam Poulin and Nathan Legare to Pittsburgh’s prospect pool.
And he has something the Penguins need: wingers who know what a goal is.
Boeser, J.T. Miller and Conor Garland each would bring something different to the table. Boeser is a pure goal-scorer. Miller, the local product, is feisty and versatile and leads the Canucks in points. Garland is an undersized grinder.
The cost would vary by player, but my thought is it would take Kapanen’s contract, a first-round pick and maybe a Joseph or Poulin to get it done. Another player or a third team would likely need to be involved to make the money work.
If you think your team has a real shot to win it, this is one all-in move to make.