Trade Bait: Are Pittsburgh Penguins Trying to Move Plotnikov?

With only a week before the trade deadline, rumors are running wild about who will be moved and who won’t. The Pittsburgh Penguins have been mostly removed from those rumors, but there are some guys you just have to expect they’re shopping. Like Sergei Plotnikov.

The trade deadline is Monday, February 29th, at 3 pm Eastern time. Several trades of major magnitude have already happened, like the Dion Phaneuf marquee move. Rumors are flying faster than a Shea Weber slapshot.

For the most part, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been under the radar. General manager Jim Rutherford made a lot of moves in the offseason and early on this year, picking up players like Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin, and Trevor Daley, so he might be done unless a great opportunity presents itself.

Still, the Penguins are carrying a lot of deadweight right now. Head coach Mike Sullivan has stuck with the same lineup for quite some time, leaving the same players on the outside looking in.

Ian Cole, acquired at the last trade deadline in exchange for Robert Bortuzzo, is one of those. Another is forward Sergei Plotnikov. It’s reasonable to think that Rutherford is shopping players like these, even if it’s not making news.

It’s a problem the Penguins – and every NHL team – have encountered repeatedly over the years. They have players who aren’t being effective and want to get rid of them, but no one else wants to take them.

Of course, that’s how a lot of Penguins fans felt about Rob Scuderi, and Rutherford adeptly got rid of him. Scuderi is languishing in Rockford right now with the Chicago Blackhawks‘ AHL affiliate, where he hasn’t exactly made a big impact either. It could always happen again.

There were high hopes for Plotnikov coming into the season. Though a rookie in the NHL, he played several seasons in the KHL, most recently for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. He won a gold medal with Russia in the 2014 World Championship, finishing the tournament third in scoring.

I saw him at one of the pre-season open practices, and he looked great. He had chemistry with his countryman Evgeni Malkin, and scored some beautiful goals in a scrimmage. I was very excited to see what he could do.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t been much. Playing in the NHL is a major adjustment for any player, whether they’re kids straight out of juniors or coming in from an international professional league.

In the 32 games Plotnikov played this season for the Penguins, he posted two assists and 20 penalty minutes. Even for a fourth-line player, that isn’t good. It’s no wonder he’s found himself watching his team from the press box for a while.

It is important to note that Plotnikov’s contract is two-way, meaning he could easily be sent down to play for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. If the Penguins were looking to keep him around, sending him down to actually play and develop would make sense.