NHL free agency opens in mere hours. However, absolutely no needle movers are available. Due to this, the NHL is experiencing one of the first true offseason trade booms of our lifetimes. Teams have little reason to spend big today, and historically it’s been a terrible way to build a team. The only real way to fill out a roster this year is via trade, and we have already seen plenty of moves.The Penguins have been quieter than most people expected so far, until the Penguins Wotherspoon trade dropped and made it clear they weren’t sitting this out, just waiting for the right price. They made a couple of minor moves to improve center depth by acquiring Oliver Okuliar and David Gustafsson. They spent a couple of mid rounders for another center, though this one was younger and could play for the big club, Hendrix Lapierre. The Penguins have done well to build up bottom six depth down the middle, something that was lacking from the club last season. One thing they had yet to address is the defense. They have two prospects close to ready to play in the NHL, Harrison Bruinicke and Owen Pickering. Outside of those two, all of the defensive prospects are at least a couple of seasons away. They have either acquired or developed young talent at both the forward and goaltending positions, leaving only the defense an area where they truly needed to gain youth. Well, they gained that youth yesterday by acquiring Kaeden Korczak. To acquire Korczak, they shipped Parker Wotherspoon to Vegas (with 50% retention). Then everyone lost their minds.
Why the Penguins Wotherspoon Trade Isn’t the Disaster Twitter Thinks It Is
People immediately started talking about Dubas being fleeced. Penguin’s fans collectively couldn’t understand the deal. I’m not completely delusional, I understand that Wotherspoon played remarkably well on the top pair last season. I understand that his steady presence allowed Karlsson to rediscover his game. I totally get his cap hit was among the best in the league. This trade was no fleecing though, but rather a relatively fair deal. Vegas desperately needed to free up cap space, especially with a Rasmus Andersson extension looming. Pittsburgh needed to get younger on the backend. People are acting like Parker Wotherspoon is second coming of Bobby Orr. Wotherspoon lest we forget has only played one full NHL season, last season, where he performed decidedly well. Before last season, Wotherspoon was a 7D, or AHLer. Just a year ago, to the day, people were puzzled by the Wotherspoon signing because it seemingly did nothing to revamp the Penguin’s blue line. Well, a year later Pens fans have not learned a thing. Kyle Dubas knows more about NHL players than you do. In fact, most of the people claiming a fleecing probably weren’t even aware who Parker Wotherspoon was last July. Just a completely insane overreaction from fans yesterday. The Penguins defense as a whole (if we disregard which hand the players shoot with) got no worse yesterday, they only got younger and more cost certainty. People acting like the retention matters, does anyone know how much cap space the Penguins have? It’s 36 million dollars, after the trade. I think the Penguins can afford to hold 500k from Wotherspoon’s contract.
Grading trades, especially of this nature, in a vacuum is a fool’s errand. While I thought the Penguins did well in this trade, I can understand why there was some confusion. With Wotherspoon leaving, and Shea heading for free agency, the left side of the defense is rather bare. The only season ending regular to remain is Sam Girard, who struggled in Pittsburgh. Yet, that’s really no reason to panic. Dubas isn’t going to start the season with Caleb Jones, Ilya Soloyvov, Sam Girard, and Ryan Graves on the left side. First, Pickering might be ready for a full go especially after impressing management with his play in the AHL playoffs. Secondly, free agency opens today, and the Penguins are phenomenal at finding talent around the edges, literally look at the Wotherspoon signing from last season. Lastly, as we started talking about, trades are of the essence right now. I’m sure the Penguins could swing big and find a true top pair defensemen on the trade market if they choose to do so. Hell, Alexander Nikishin is on the block. Oh, so too is Thomas Harley after Dallas attempted to move him for Zach Werenski (another top pair left sided defensemen) just last night. If Dubas makes absolutely no other moves, which is incredibly unlikely, the Penguins would have the worst left side in the entire NHL, but most fans said the same exact thing at the beginning of last season when Wotherspoon and Shea were employees in Pittsburgh. I acknowledge that currently the trade is curious, but I am educated enough to know that another shoe will drop and all will be fine. Let’s just see how the next couple of days play out, I expect some very interesting moves to be made.
Zach Werenski is as good as gone in Columbus. News leaked that he wouldn’t be resigning there and the push to trade him is on. It’s on to the point that a deal was actually made with Dallas, centered around Thomas Harley, until Werenski vetoed the move because he prefers to stay in the East. Columbus would be wise to figure this out quickly because they have several other important matters to tend to and all of them will be put on the backburner until this situation is dealt with appropriately.
The Florida Panthers figured out their goaltending situation rapidly fast. They brought in Akira Schmid and Jakob Markstrom. Markstrom will obviously be the starter, and Schmid will back him up. Tidy work for Florida as Markstrom will likely bounce back playing behind the Panthers system. Now the questions turn to New Jersey who have a gaping hole in net. Do they attempt to acquire Connor Hellebuyck? Not sure, but I am sure that Hellebuyck is another member of team USA that is bound to be moved at some point.
The Anaheim Ducks signed AJ GREER to a 4 year 4.25-MILLION-dollar contract. People think I overvalue Rikard Rakell. Well, AJ Greer just got a contract that is only a few hundred thousand dollars last than Rakell’s deal. Greer’s career high in points came last season with 32. Rakell scored 30 goals last year. Rakell’s value stems from his glorious contract, especially for the contending teams who are getting cap squeezed a little bit.
