The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the hunt to capture their third Stanley Cup in as many years. While the Penguins look to bolster their lineup to make another deep postseason run, the Ottawa Senators may be looking to do the opposite.
The Pittsburgh Penguins sit one spot outside of the Wild Card with 35 points. Moving forward, the end goal of this season remains the same; winning a third consecutive Stanley Cup.
The Ottawa Senators are in a downward spiral, posting a 1 – 8 – 1 record in their last 10 games. They rank 29th in the NHL with 25 points.
It seems that trading for Matt Duchene hasn’t exactly bolstered their offense. They’re 24th in the NHL with a 2.68 Goals/GP rating, and 27th in Shots/GP with 29.3.
Now maybe they’re just testing the waters, trying to see what kind of offers they can get. But here at Pen’s Labyrinth, we’re a greedy bunch. All we care about is how this could benefit the Pens. Let’s look at what Pittsburgh could fetch in an attempt to strengthen their lineup before playoffs.
Forward
This post would consist of me raving over Kyle Turris if he wasn’t already shipped to Nashville. He could slide in *perfectly* to that elusive third line center position, but he took Nick Bonino’s job- er, took a “different opportunity”.
Admittedly, I do have a thing for defensively responsible forwards. And Ottawa forward Mark Stone is looking like a snack. Like, as a hockey player. Whatever. He’s off to a terrific start despite his struggling team.
Stone leads Ottawa in points (26) and takeaways (29), and leads forwards in SAT% (52.18). Needs a little help with his water bottles, but the guys a stud.
GIF: Mark Stone DERP. pic.twitter.com/Iq8v25uFcX
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 16, 2015
Stone is definitely a top 6 guy, and the fact he’s 25 with a 3.5 mill cap hit makes me think he might be untouchable. If the Sens are looking to do a semi rebuild, he could stick around.
If we aim a little bit lower, and address that 3C spot, two guys jump out at you. Derick Brassard and J.G. Pageau. I’m leaning Pageau, and I’ll explain why.
The money has to work for a move to make sense. Pageau carries a 3.1 mill cap hit compared to Brassard’s 5 mill (thank you CapFriendly.com). It’s a little bit of wiggle room, but for the Pens, every million counts.
Pageau is a right-handed centerman with a 52.12% face off percentage. He’s use to playing third line minutes (15:57 TOI/GP) and has a physical element to his game (58 hits, leads Ottawa).
He would he’s an offensive upgrade from Sheahan, and gives the Pens a very solid group of centers.
Defense
It’s been rumored that even Erik Karlsson could be subject to a trade as Ottawa cleans house, but that kind of deal would cost an arm, a leg, and then some.
The Swede has 19 points through 24 games, but only one is a goal. He plays an average of 25:34 minutes a game, and boasts a respectable 53.94 SAT%.
In trying to realistically complete a trade for Erik Karlsson, which is highly unlikely, the Pittsburgh Penguins would have to offer a current NHL D-man, a good prospect, a first rounder, and another decent player. And this is at the very least. Below I tried to create a hypothetical (THIS IS WHY I’M A BLOGGER, NOT A GM) trade scenario.
I still feel like Ottawa would want no part of it.
If we let the Erik Karlsson pipe dream be just that, Cody Ceci is a guy the Pens could realistically add to the back end. He’s only 23 years old, plays 21:51 a game (in all scenarios), and would be a lot cheaper than Karlsson.
He could be deployed on the right side with Dumoulin or Maatta, taking some of the pressure (and minutes) off of Kris Letang. While he wouldn’t be lighting the lamp every game, he has a modest total of goals for a defenseman, including a 10 goal year in 2015-16.
Goaltender
Nope. Nothing to be had with the Sens.
Thoughts?
The situations depend heavily on how both team perform going forward. Maybe Ottawa turns it around and keeps the gang together. Via Post-Gazette.com, when asked if he would consider making a major trade soon, Jim Rutherford stated, “Yes”. Harrowing stuff. We all know GMJR makes deals in December like he’s running Toyotathon, so the next few weeks will be interesting.
What do you think? Could there be a deal between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators? Any players I overlooked? Let us know in the comments.