Pittsburgh Penguins Trade Rob Scuderi To Blackhawks For Trevor Daley
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced tonight that they have traded defenseman Rob Scuderi to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Trevor Daley.
Pittsburgh Penguins fans have clamored for Mike Johnston and now Mike Sullivan to sit the aging Rob Scuderi in the press box and put someone else in the lineup.
Tonight, General Manager Jim Rutherford took the option out of Sullivan’s hands as he traded Scuderi to the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Penguins will receive defenseman Trevor Daley in the trade. Daley spent the majority of his career with the Dallas Stars before joining Chicago in the Patrick Sharp deal. The Pittsburgh Penguins will also retain one third of Rob Scuderi’s salary in the negotiation.
The trade was announced during the middle of the Penguins game against the Capitals.
Rob Scuderi played in twenty five games for the Penguins this season, producing four assists and a plus-four rating.
Trevor Daley has played in twenty nine games for the Blackhawks this season. He also had six assists and finished with a plus-one rating.
Last season with the Stars, Daley scored 16 goals and had 22 assists for a career high 38 points. He also shot an unsustainably high 14.2% last season so Penguins fans should not look for a repeat of that performance.
His career shooting percentage is a mere 6.2% even with the inflated number from 2014-15.
The trade – on the surface at least – appears to be two teams swapping defenders who weren’t quite what they wanted or needed for someone else’s castoff in hopes they could find something better. It’s not exactly re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but it’s similar to be sure.
Rob Scuderi’s plodding, defensive nature wasn’t a fit for what the Pittsburgh Penguins needed going forward. He is also reaching the age where he just cannot keep up with the youth of the team, nor perform his defensive duties capably. He was ultimately the brunt of much fan ire. I’d imagine he is happy to be heading to the Blackhawks.
Trevor Daley is certainly more offensive. If he can still move the puck decently and chip in a few points from the blueline he will be an upgrade for the Penguins, even if it’s just a marginal one.
At the very least he’s a bit younger and has in the past performed admirably at the role the Pittsburgh Penguins look to place him in. And if not, well, the Pens can bench him without a thought as he has no history with this team.
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While it is a bit concerning that the Blackhawks decided to trade Trevor Daley for Rob Scuderi straight up, one can’t help but feel that this is at least some sign of Jim Rutherford making a positive move to tighten up the team and right the ship.
Daley will essentially be a $4.425 million cap hit for the Penguins (due to retained salary from Scuds), while Scuderi will cost the Blackhawks $2.25 million thanks to the retained salary.
If Scuderi is (presumably) bought out by the Hawks over the summer, it will cost Chicago $1.138 million in 2016-17 and $0.555 million in 2017-18. A Scuderi buyout by the Blackhawks would also cost the Penguins $0.569 million next season and $0.277 million in 2017-18.
For now, Pens fans rejoice. A month from now? I’m not sure. It is hard for me to picture Daley being worse for this team than Scuderi was on the blueline. He does count more against the cap, however, so if he fails it’s going to hurt even more than Scuderi did.
Also, are we allowed to be indignant if Scuderi wins another cup this year in Chicago?