Pittsburgh Penguins: Looking Ahead to 2016 Trade Targets

. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Grabner – Toronto Maple Leafs

Brendan Shanahan‘s widely named “Shanaplan” is in full swing for the Leafs. The idea is fairly simple and should prove to be extremely effective.

Shanahan is working to develop internally and stockpiling draft picks with young talent as he goes. He isn’t interested in exposing his youth to the NHL before they’re ready so he’s also filling a formidable NHL squad with guys like Grabner. The end goal looks to be swinging those players for draft picks and prospects when the trade deadline rolls around.

Grabner is a player that possesses absurd speed and can produce points at a high rate when at the top of his game. The issue is his lack of consistency in the production department. An underrated skill of Grabner’s is his penalty killing, as he led the Islanders in short-handed minutes during the 2013-14 season and boasted the lowest corsi-against per sixty-minutes on the team.

It’ll be interesting to see if anyone is willing to gamble a late round pick or prospect for his services later in the season. His production this year will obviously play a large role.

Next: Eric Staal