Josh Yohe might not have a crystal ball on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ future but, if his insights are close to accurate, the team is ready to begin in a full-on fire sale. In his recent article in The Athletic (Subscription Required), Yohe expects Pittsburgh to try and trade nearly everyone on the roster besides Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.
This past week was a litmus test for the Penguins as they played against subpar teams such as the Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, and San Jose Sharks. Pittsburgh only collected three of a potential six points confirming for the team that the current iteration of the roster can’t compete.
Starting with the expiring contracts, Yohe asserts that Marcus Pettersson, Matt Grzelcyk, Anthony Beauvillier, Drew O’Connor, and Jesse Puljujarvi will likely find new homes should interested teams come calling. Pettersson should command the most return value of any expiring contract but his modified no-trade clause gives him moderate control of where he goes.
Yohe even suggested the Penguins will attempt to move veterans with term such as Kris Letang, Tristan Jarry, Ryan Graves, and Erik Karlsson. It makes sense for Pittsburgh to try and move away from these contracts. Still, salary and trade protection in each player’s contract inject considerable complications into any trade negotiation. The Penguins are likely better served waiting for next offseason to make any trades involving the latter group.
Other Metro notes:
- Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia shared a few updates on injured defensemen for the Philadelphia Flyers Jamie Drysdale and Cameron York. Both defensemen are recovering from upper-body injuries suffered a few weeks apart with York expected to be the first to return. Drysdale will miss his fourth straight game for the Flyers tonight and hasn’t graduated out of a non-contact jersey up to this point in his recovery process.
- Filip Chytil has already missed a full game for the New York Rangers and his return doesn’t appear imminent. Mollie Walker of the New York Post reported that Chytil is being evaluated by doctors in New York, and the organization couldn’t provide updates regarding his recovery timeline. Chytil, who has a recent history of concussions, hasn’t stepped on the ice since colliding with teammate K’Andre Miller in the team’s recent game against the San Jose Sharks last week.
Pens should trade all the guys on expiring contracts, then play Jarry and Karlsson as much as possible to ensure the best lottery pick.
Trading is most effective at the deadline because playoff teams would give you what they won’t give up now. Now is the time to replace Sullivan with coach Q and see what happens.
Look at coach Carbery. His Caps are playing like a legit Cup contender. He’s getting a league-leading 15 goals out of 39yo Ovechkin.
On paper, the Pens have more talent than the Caps.
The Pens do not have more talent than the Caps. The Caps are +28 in goal differential, the Pens are -25.
You really think that is because of the head coach?
The reason is because the Caps have developed and acquired quality young players, and the pens have not.
The big problem being: The Pens are stuck with a roster full of names who are near their lowest point in trade value. It’s not like this cast of misfits is bringing back high-1st-rounders in return.
At this point last year the Oilers looked just like that. They replaced the coach and toward the end their roster was near the highest point in trade value. Exactly the same happened to them the year before.
Replacing a coach is an inexpensive tool. It often works. There are many examples of miraculous transformations.