Pittsburgh Penguins Active In The Trade Market?

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a rut this season. Will we see Jim Rutherford make more deals before the trading deadline?

The Pittsburgh Penguins are not where they thought they’d be. The team is not where anyone thought it would be.

They currently sit 12th in the Eastern Conference with 33 points. Merely six points are separating the Pens from bottom-feeders Toronto and Columbus.

How do they fix it and turn things around? For the Columbus Blue Jackets, it appears the move is to ship out a big gun for defensive help.

Reports are swirling that they are shopping center and centerpiece Ryan Johansen. He’s not yet buying in to John Tortorella‘s style and system, and it seems that with the Blue Jackets on the ropes they feel like something has to change so maybe it’s time to go for the nuclear option.

Does that sound familiar to anyone?

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The talk of trading star or aging star players has been rampant in Pittsburgh for some time as well. It’s only been this particular season, the most unproductive year of Sidney Crosby‘s career, that the talk has seemed like it may have some weight to it.

Every name from Evgeni Malkin to Sid, Patrick Hornqvist and Kris Letang has been mentioned by fans and pundits.

Would Jim Rutherford be willing to bet the proverbial farm and move out some of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ offensive firepower for actual top four defensive help? Does he feel certain that this team is close enough to truly contending that he’d risk it? Or is it more likely he’d make a move simply because he knows the time is now for his core and his own long term job prospects?

I think he might. I don’t think the player moved will be Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby, though.

It’s no secret that Pittsburgh fans are increasingly unhappy with the James Neal for Patric Hornqvist trade, particularly now that we’ve reached year two of the fallout from that deal. Hornqvist has been a non-factor for the Pens this season, and though that’s not entirely his fault you’d have to think he’s the most valuable asset that is likely to fall on the sword and be the trade chip getting dangled.

Hornqvist’s net front presence is valuable and seemed like a perfect fit with the Penguins when the deal was brokered, but with drastically reduced production around him the Swede’s chaotic sweep-em-up style is not nearly as effective as it might be. He’s languishing in a bottom six role now despite top six production throughout his career.

Could Hornqvist net a top-four pairing defensemen? Not by himself, no, but he could be used as the centerpiece of a deal. There are other players on the roster who are certainly in contention (and perhaps one or two of those would go with him), but Hornqvist seems to be the most high profile player of the bunch who might realistically be expendable in Rutherford’s eyes.

For myself, though, the question becomes who do you target if you’re willing to trade a player like Hornqvist? Is the potential return enough to justify the fact that you have no assets left to account for the James Neal trade?

Immediately, most minds will snap to the idea of trading for defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. Big Buff would go a long way to shoring up the physicality issues the Penguins suffer from, as well as provide a healthy upgrade in virtually every way to the defensive top four.

Byfuglien’s contract expires after this season and he will be an unrestricted free agent.

While he’d certainly be an upgrade right now, it would seem folly to chase him and trade away assets only to let him walk in the offseason. However, if the Penguins do not let him walk, they are going to be on the hook for big money long term on a guy who is already on the wrong side of 30.

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That physical game is going to do him no favors as he ages out of his prime.

And there’s the matter of whether the Winnipeg Jets even have a need for Patric Hornqvist with Blake Wheeler on the top line and rookie Nicolaj Ehlers looking to slide into the other top six right wing slot in the near future. It may take someone else to entice them if Byfuglien is Jim Rutherford’s target of choice.

Would Matt Murray be the bargaining chip that catches the Jets’ eye?

Another aging stopgap that might be targeted is Brian Campbell from Florida. He would be more likely to be a rental, but he does provide the offensive ability that the Pittsburgh Penguins seem to crave.

It’s also kind of a shame that the Nashville Predators – Hornqvist’s original home – have such a need for a top line center and are one of the primary inquirers for Ryan Johansen. That is because Hornqvist fills the one other need on their team (a severe lack of net front presence, particularly with Mike Fisher in and out of the lineup) and they have a glut of young NHL proven defensive players who would look great in black and gold.

Is the risk worth the reward for the Penguins? Should they trade from their array of forwards to shore up the defense going forward, or is the team so flawed that any move made will not move the needle enough to ultimately matter in the playoffs?

Next: Malkin Talks Ovechkin And Sid's Leadership

From my perspective this team is more than one top four defenseman away from true contention and I’m uninterested in a rental that costs the Pittsburgh Penguins more assets. The team has bled assets for years in an attempt to steal another Stanley Cup, and that’s precisely why the Pens are in the predicament they are in.

If I’m Jim Rutherford and true top four defensive help that fits the makeup of this team can be acquired and retained (emphasis on the latter), then I work the phones. If Rutherford is entertaining the thought of a rental only, then it’s likely that the hole this franchise has dug itself into over the past several years is only going to get deeper.