1:40pm: Friedman tweets that the hold up is related to an insurance issue. It is still not clear what the particulars of the trade would be, if it does go through.
10:50am: The Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers appeared to be close to a deal that would see Patric Hornqvist and Mike Matheson switch teams, but there has been a “glitch” holding it up according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Pierre LeBrun and Josh Yohe of The Athletic both tweet that the deal is not yet done. Hornqvist does hold a full no-trade clause, though it is not clear if that is the issue here or if the trade will happen at all.
Matheson has become something of a whipping boy for Panthers fans, ever since he signed his eight-year, $39MM extension in 2017. At the time he seemed like an up-and-coming top-four defenseman, but even then the eight-year term and $4.875MM cap hit seemed like a risky proposition. Since then his performance has declined drastically, with the team either benching him or trying him out at forward to attempt to recoup some of the investment. Ridding the books of his contract would be a win for new GM Bill Zito, though the cost of doing so is obviously important to consider.
Hornqvist meanwhile has three years remaining on his own questionable extension, signed in 2018 and carrying a $5.3MM cap hit. That would actually mean the Penguins would gain some cap space in a straight swap, though the veteran forward still does have some effectiveness left in his game. Hornqvist plays one of the most physical, grinding styles in the NHL, constantly battling in front of the net or in the corners. It’s resulted in a lot of offensive success over the seasons including this one in which he scored 17 goals and 32 points in just 52 games. Still, that style of play can often lead to a steep decline as a player enters their mid-thirties, which Hornqvist is firmly in as a 33-year-old that could very well turn 34 before the next season gets underway (his birthday is January 1).
If the trade does go through without any additions, it would seem a curious decision for a Pittsburgh team that already has plenty of money tied up on the back end. That said, their recent acquisition of Kasperi Kapanen has likely pushed Hornqvist out of a top-six role, making him quite the expensive option in his own right. Perhaps they believe that returning assistant coach Todd Reirden can help Matheson regain his form, or were just looking for a way to get out of Hornqvist’s last few years.
Stay tuned for more information.
Any time you can acquire 6 years of Mike Matheson, you just gotta do it.
JR should’ve went out on top, he’s quickly racked up a pretty big list of awful moves in the last couple of years.
Couldn’t agree more.
1st rounder going to PIT?…
This looks like a bad joke GMJR is trying to play on his own team. But, if you want laugh your butt off, see some of the comments on Elliotte’s page, referenced above! (Especially some of the folks screaming, “We already have Jack Johnson!”)
Hornqvist not top 6 on Pens. Doesn’t fit in top unit of PP. doesn’t kill penalties. 5.3m is a steep price to pay for grit and energy. Opening spots up for younger cheaper more skilled players not a problem. Hope it goes through.
I for one love JR – Flyers fan
JR has won three Cups. The Flyers have won two Cups (and it’s been so long since the Flyers won those Cups that Jim Rutherford was still playing in the NHL then).
So, he’s certainly someone the Flyers and their fans should look up to and try to emulate.
1975.
Fun fact
Crosby #1 overall pick in 2005
Hornqvist #230 (last) overall pick in 2005
Played years on the same line
This will be a win for the Panthers- Matheson is a liabilty as of now, but with Dadnov leaving they need a new winger and Hornquist fits the needs the Panthers have. Look to see this actually happen.
This was not the mistake by Rutherford. This was cleaning up a mistake by Rutherford. Maybe two. An extension for an aging, beaten Hornqvist didn’t make sense (especially when we had Phil at the time, too).
I know little about Matheson, but Cole, Schultz, Daley, Oleksiak, etc. had all fallen out of favor with their teams and did very well here.
A 33 year old was turned into a 26 year old and money was moved from the bottom six to the D corps, all but surely displacing Jack Johnson from the lineup. The concept here makes a lot of sense.
Horny is what the Panthers need, but more like 2015 Hornqvist.
And obviously, they can’t carry this many D. So, they likely either have a way to dump Johnson (possibly by attaching him to Murray and basically giving them away) or they have a blockbuster involving Letang.
Just because you are trying to correct an earlier mistake, doesn’t mean you aren’t still making a mistake. This is like steering your car into oncoming traffic to correct for veering too far into the lane to your right. Overcorrecting is still a mistake.
Bottom line…are the Pens better off with Hornqvist or better off with Matheson?
Again, I haven’t really seen him (Panthers get almost no national air time) much, but Matheson would have to be pretty bad and be uncoachable (because, again, Cole Schultz Oleksiak were all healthy scratches when we got them, too) to not be more useful to us than 34 year old Horny (see jmartin’s post above for why).
I didn’t think Hornqvist’s deal was moveable, except maybe to Poile. Seems like a good roll of the dice to me.
@forwhomjoshbelltolls – At first blush, I thought Matheson’s numbers maybe weren’t that bad, since we all knew that FLA had less-than-inspiring D. Then, hockey-reference put that one to bed. And, of course, CapFriendly reminded me of that overpay he was given, that some of us panned at the time. So, right now, I’d say Horny, even at his age, would be a (slightly) better keep than getting Matheson in to make up for Schultz. Not much better, but at least not acquiring yet another bad contract, unless GMJR has a secret deal to flip Matheson to, say OTT, for their first pick in this year’s draft.
Term doesn’t matter to us. We are going to be bad in a few years, carrying bad deals at that point just gets us to the top of the lottery. If any Pens fans are not at peace with this, well…bad news.
Like I said, we’ve rehabbed too many other team’s D busts that I’ll take a chance on him getting better over what I know about Horny. He wasn’t helping the team anymore. Blocking Jake from the top PP and slowing down the third line 5 on 5.
This might clear a path for a Samuel Poulin – Jared McCann – Nathan Legare line. Younger, cheaper, faster and more skilled.
@forwhomjoshbelltolls – Fair points, as always. One thing that we don’t know is how Coach Sully feels about Matheson. Maybe he sees something there that can change him from “project” to “productive.” As you have pointed out, he (and GMJR) really soured on Schultz, and a couple of others. If he could be turned into a worthwhile blue liner, the cost wouldn’t sting as much.
The price doesn’t sting, though, that’s my point. If the best offer for Horny was a 6th, I’d have taken it and run. I thought the contract was unmovable.
As long as Matheson is better than Johnson, the team is better for this trade.
PS- This is a unique situation for Pen’s fans with the “glitch” holding up and putting the trade at risk. Gives a chance for an honest assessment instead of looking for the positives after the move is already made. If I didn’t like the trade, I’d be hoping it falls through. Instead, I’m worried that it won’t happen.
@forwhomjoshbelltolls – I agree that *if* he can be better than Johnson, it would be a pretty good trade. It would be cost certainty, lower than Horny’s current hit, and maybe he can benefit from the old “change of scenery” factor, like some of the guys that have been able to escape from OTT. Those exceptions, of course, are Karlsson, Dzingel, and Turris. His numbers may be tainted by the South Florida effect and could possibly shine in PIT. At least you have to hope that will be the case. Like you said, #72’s game is not as it was five years ago, so at least Matheson would cost less (I think I had misread somebody else’s cap hit for another topic, hence the sting reference). But, if the injury insurance hangup can’t be overcome, as Elliotte reported, it’ll be on to Plan B.
Mac , hope all is well with you, here is some info on contract status
Matheson $4,875,000 (UFA 2026)
Hornqvist $5,300,000(UFA 2023) Modified No Trade Clause -8 teams , capfriendly
Stay Safe
If Yandle or Ekblad was not in Florida running PP then Matheson would have been giving more minutes on the PP. I really think if he joins the pens he can blossom… Marino or Pettersson could be the near future QB on pens PP.