The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli posted a list of potential NHL trade targets for the 2022 offseason.
Several of them have ties to Pittsburgh, or the Penguins directly.
At least one of them the Penguins must investigate.
Must.
Marino on the move?
Let’s start with the one involving an actual Penguin currently on the roster. It’s defenseman John Marino.
“The Penguins received a few calls on Marino ahead of last season’s deadline but remained focused and committed to their playoff push,” Seravalli said. “The truth is Marino is not Pittsburgh’s preferred choice to move on their back end. That would be Marcus Pettersson. But no team seems willing to take on Pettersson’s three more years at just over $4 million, while there are teams interested in Marino, and the Penguins have a real need to move money if they’re going to run it back with (Kris) Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust next season.”
Whether or not Letang stays in Pittsburgh, there has been scuttlebutt about the Penguins trading either Marino or Pettersson from the defense corps. Even Brian Dumoulin’s name has been whispered.
I’m not opposed to moving at least one of those guys. What I am opposed to is the perceived reason for doing so.
Moving salary off the blue line shouldn’t be done in an effort to keep Malkin or Letang. It should be done to expedite the rebuilding process for the years after those players leave and in the remaining seasons of Sidney Crosby’s time in Pittsburgh.
I feel those years should begin next season.
Every national hockey writer seems to be looking at the Penguins’ depth chart from the perspective of, “How can the Penguins manipulate their roster to keep Malkin and Letang?”
I’m looking at it from the perspective of, “Hey, what can the Penguins do with their roster if they are willing to say goodbye to Malkin and Letang?”
If the Penguins want to deal one top-6 defenseman for a cheaper player who can currently fill that role — or a prospect and a pick so they finally commit to Pierre-Olivier Joseph — I’d get it. It’d be more cap space to sign free agents or maybe trade for some of the other players on Seravalli’s list.
However, by dealing Marino or Pettersson, we are talking about moving money off the roster, only to subtract from the core group of nightly skaters, all while attempting to “keep the core intact for one more run.”
Reallocating salaries and these resources while retaining Malkin and Letang seems counterintuitive to me.
Montreal men
Two players that Penguins fans have salivated over at times since the last Stanley Cup win in 2017 are current Montreal Canadiens power forward Josh Anderson and defenseman Jeff Petry.
I’ve been right there with you.
Neither player has taken the steps forward that we may have expected in recent seasons. In fact, it’s easy to argue they have regressed.
Anderson — a 28-year-old, 6-foot-3, 226-pound winger — put up 27 goals with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018-19. His goal total dipped to 17 and 19 goals in his last two seasons in Montreal. But how is that potential production (at a $5.5 million cap hit) versus what the team got from Kasperi Kapanen and Jason Zucker?
Petry, a 34-year-old defenseman, makes $6.25 million and is under contract for three more years. Letang is going to make more than that, with potentially a longer contract term at age 35.
As Seravalli writes, Petry would be “a solid backup plan in Pittsburgh if the Penguins aren’t able to re-sign Kris Letang.”
I would have been much more intrigued by that two years ago. I’m not sure how solid of a backup plan Petry’s 27 points in 2021 are to Letang’s 68. But if Penguins general manager Ron Hextall genuinely wants to keep Letang and just can’t pull it off, don’t be surprised if Petry’s name comes up as a “Letang Lite” option.
The Pittsburgh kids
Seravalli has Anaheim Duck goalie John Gibson (Whitehall) on his board at No. 7 and Vancouver…
Read More: Tim Benz: Some NHL trade ideas, including 1 the Penguins ‘must’ examine