At one point in time, it seemed like Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ian Cole was as good as gone. The two-time Stanley Cup champ had been losing ice time and was even a frequent healthy scratch. However, Cole has seen his role return in recent weeks as he continues to be one the most defensively sound players on the team. The impending free agent now seems safe through this season, but the Penguins are still looking to move a defenseman to open up cap space for their ongoing pursuit of forward depth.
The new name on the chopping block is Matt Hunwick. TSN’s Darren Dreger stated earlier that it was “looking like” Hunwick would be the blue liner shipped out of town. That is, if anyone is willing to take him. In only his first season in Pittsburgh after signing a three-year deal this summer, Hunwick is an unexpected addition to the market. Signed for two more years at a $2.25MM cap hit, any team interested in Hunwick would be looking less for a rental and more for a long-term investment. An underwhelming presence in Pittsburgh this year, Hunwick has missed significant time due to a concussion, has just five points in 33 games, and has the worst Corsi among Penguin defensemen.
With that said, Hunwick has shown 20+ point upside and the ability to play 20:00+ minutes per night in past seasons. His three-year, $7.75MM contract doesn’t look great right now, but if acquired at a bargain rate as a Penguins cap dump – perhaps with some salary retained even – Hunwick could prove to be a valuable depth resource for any number of teams. If GM Jim Rutherford is intent on moving out Hunwick, he’ll find a way to do it.
Never understood this signing but Jimmy has always been good at fixing his mistakes.
take polak and Martin back and the leafs will be willing to take hunwick back
Hahaha hundwick was a terrible signing don’t get me wrong but gmjr will find a way to dump that contract for nothing compared to that
Lol
Stupid.
Hunwick is not that bad. I don’t know why there’s this notion that it was a bad contract. As the article states, he’s had injuries, and right now he’s the 7th/8th D-man depending on Ruhwedel’s availability. So he really hasn’t had the opportunity.
The Penguins are just enjoying some depth on the blueline right now with the Oleksiak trade looking like another JR heist. Moving Hunwick absolutely makes sense…for that reason.
Hunwick should have gotten a 1 year deal for 800 K. That’s his worth.
At best he’s a number 6, tying up a decent amount of cap space for multiple years for a 6 never made sense and makes even less now as they try to fit a third line center under the cap.
And he’s not a 6. He’s a 7 even without Oleksiak because Ruhwedel is better. So, he’s a #8 D man making $2.25 million. Not ideal.
But that’s what I mean – he’s a #8 on the Penguins, because of their depth. He would be a very nice 3rd pairing D-man for many other teams.
That’s part of the point though. Teams can find cheaper options for a third pairing D-man. Whether that be guys on rookie contracts, a cheap late offseason signing, or a journeyman D-man who signs for one year; they’re all cheaper options.
Well there aren’t any cheap late season signing options available to my knowledge. A playoff team would likely be much more interested in a veteran like Hunwick than a cheap rookie option.
Not with his contract length. The actual cap hit isn’t bad, but another two years for $2m per year for a third pair dman isn’t the best use of resources. Someone might end up trading for him, but I doubt they trade for him in exchange for anything valuable unless the Penguins eat some of his salary.
Bobby Sanguinetti from team USA would probably sign for $750K and can perform at least as a #6
I hope someone running one of those teams agree.
I’ve pitched my armchair trade offers for Brassard by including a 2nd round pick to take Hunwick as part of the deal.
Hopefully, some team will take him for a 7th or something but if not, Pens might have to sweeten to get it done.