What does the market look like for Fleury?

Tampa Bay were in a similar position to the Penguins this season with a strong goaltender originally starting out as the number one in net, only to be replaced by an improving rookie goaltender. As a result the Tampa Bay Lightning traded Ben Bishop yesterday to the LA Kings for very little. In total they traded him for Peter Budaj, Erik Cernak and a pick.

The Penguins have been involved in talks around Fleury's future to the media throughout the season with many believing the best time to trade him would have been on Free Agency Day last year. The reasoning rightly being that there are more likely going to be open spots for him there. He wasn't traded and he is still with the team.

A number of teams have been mentioned throughout the season with those being Calgary, Dallas and, to a lesser extent, St.Louis. The latter team has come up more recently due to talk that the Penguins are interested, alongside the Capitals, in Kevin Shattenkirk. The logic is that any deal seeing Shattenkirk's cap hit coming to the Pens will need to see a fairly large contract going back and Fleury is the only one that really fits. Do I see St.Louis going for him? No. I don't think we will get Shattenkirk and I think the asking price will be too much to realistically want to achieve.

Dallas have had goaltending issues all season despite having the most expensive goaltending tandem in the league. Quality has not come with that price tag. That has made them a prime topic for trade discussion. The most likely situation is that one of Lehtonen or Niemi would come back in either a straight swap or as part of a bigger deal. However, the Stars are out of the play offs by 9 points and with a game extra played so I don't see them making moves. Even if they do trade for Fleury they won't get extra cap room to spend on re-signing players this summer, so there is no real benefit for them. 

That brings up the last team, Calgary. The most likely destination. Brian Elliot would almost certainly come back and due to the cap restraints on Calgary right now they would need to send back a similar sized contract too. Dennis Wideman is the most likely candidate due to the Penguins wish to improve on defence. However, with the Flames in the play off spots, will they want to trade away and affect their chances of making it?

In all, there aren't really many landing spots for Fleury which is a worry. But the last two options the  Penguins have if he isn't traded are to either buy him out or ask him to waive his NMC so that they can protect Murray instead. The next 48 hours will be hectic.

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Hainsey becomes the newest Penguin

With the news today that Daley would be out for 6 weeks Rutherford didn't waste time in bringing in a new body and some reinforcements for the upcoming play off battles that will almost certainly involve a series against Washington or Columbus at some point. Barring a miracle we will play them.

The cost for Ron Hainsey is fairly cheap for a serviceable elder statement in the league with experience and, in Hainsey's case, a strong set of skills on the penalty kill. Which is an area where the Penguins have struggled. In full the trade reads that the Penguins gave up a 2nd round pick this year and American Hockey League defenceman Danny Kristo for Hainsey at 50%.

To me that is a fair price and a good deal for both sides. If Hainsey was at full cost then  I reckon you would have seen a 3rd instead of a 2nd but even then, the 2nd will likely be pick number 46 and beyond. That is a late pick to give up and not one that you will regret giving up if it gives you a player who can really improve your team. This will be Hainsey's first play off game in his career at the age of the 35 but he has worked with Rutherford before, whilst in Carolina.

It is highly likely that the Penguins will put Maatta and/or Daley on LTIR to give them maximum space at the trade deadline and allow them the possibility of adding a top forward for the play off run. It also means there is less of a rush to trade Fleury due to him potentially taking up cap that is needed elsewhere in the team. 

The deadline is on Wednesday the 1st March and I expect the Penguins will be involved but I don't expect Rutherford to absolutely deal. He will want the right deal and he has been in this game long enough to know that he can always say no. 

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Will the Penguins target a defenceman going forward?

Following the game against the Winnipeg Jets the Penguins called up Cameron Gaunce to make up for the loss of Justin Schultz to a concussion with an indeterminable timetable and Olli Maatta for six weeks. Both have been key players for the Penguins this season, Schultz more-so and their absence causes problems due to the heavy reliance it puts on player more accustomed to playing in the AHL.

With Olli Maatta out for six weeks the Penguins have placed him on LTIR which means they will have an extra $4m to play with at the trade deadline, should they wish to trade for a new defender. Of course, they'd much rather have Maatta fit not just because he is needed but also as a potential trade chip. Outside of him they only really have Pouliot. Guys like Schultz and Daley are too important to trade away.

The Penguins don't need to go mad, they have a strong team and Maatta will hopefully return for the play-offs but signing an extra person for the bottom four would be helpful. Shattenkirk is a name that has been mentioned but I think the asking price would be too high and his cap hit of $4.25m means we'd be spending all our space on one player. Unless that player is someone who is going to be completely brilliant and have an impact from day one then I'd rather spread it.

The Penguins could with help on their forward core so I think they'll look to pick up two fairly cheap players to fill those holes. If they trade Fleury they could get a little extra in cap space but any trade is likely to be with the same cap going both ways, or close to. With a number of players coming off contracts next season there is a bit more freedom to go for players signed up for another year.

Nick Kypreos has mentioned before that the Flames are still interested in Fleury and the Penguins could solve two issues with one trade. However, the Flames are up against the cap with only $3.2m cap space. That space comes from Smid being on LTIR. Straight off the bat Giordano and Hamilton are unreachable to be traded and Jokipakka and Bartkowski are unlikely to attract interest.

That leaves ex-Penguin Deryk Engelland, TJ Brodie and Denis Wideman available. TJ Brodie is signed long term so I would expect they would rather trade Wideman or Engelland. If the Flames are interested in Fleury too then that would make a make a trade for Wideman much more likely than one for Engelland. It depends whether the Penguins want a defender who is better offensively or defensively. If the Flames trade for Fleury then it is a certainty that Brian Elliot will be coming back the other way.

I'm going to look at more players the Penguins could target going forward but it is likely that the Penguins will be involved in the deadline. Lets just hope we don't over pay.

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What is up with 2017 Sid?

Coming into 2017 the league was at Crosby's mercy. He could do no wrong and seemed to score from all sorts of angles without any difficulty. He was keeping McDavid company despite having fewer games played and was on course for a potential Art Ross and Rocket Richard double. Since 2017 rolled in he has struggled and not looked like the same player.

Before this year Crosby was sitting at 26 goals and 16 assists through 32 games putting him at a 1.31 Points per Game pace. So far in 2017 he has added just 4 goals and 14 assists in 16 games, which is a 1.13 Points per Game pace. That is a drop of 13.74% in production. He has nearly the same number of assists in those 16 games but that is somewhat distorted due to the 4 point and 3 point games Crosby had against Washington and Boston which included and accounted for 35% of his assists in 2017.

Crosby's biggest change in this year compared to the last is his drop off in goal scoring. He was a street ahead at the top of the Rocket Richard standings beforehand but since his gap has shrunk and he is just one ahead of a resurgent Jeff Carter. Alex Ovechkin is only 4 back in 7th place. Crosby has in 2017 a 9.5% Shot percentage compared to a rate of 23% in 2016. Crosby's career average is 14.7% and I would expect him to improve going forward. Other players are closing in though so he needs to go back to what was working if possible.

As mentioned above, Crosby has kept his assist play going but he has had to deal with a number of changes to his lines this year as the Penguins have had a number of injuries to their key players that have required the lines to constantly be shuffled. From memory he has played with Kunitz, Cullen, Hornqvist, Rust, Sheary, Guentzel and Wilson already. Sheary seemed to have a lot of chemistry with Crosby before he got hit with an injury. Kunitz, to me at least, is no longer a top six player which has meant his left wing from becoming a revolving door.

One of the ideas is that Crosby is just spent physically and, possibly mentally. Perhaps he needs a break. It might sound ridiculous as he is a professional athlete but aside form the off season he hasn't had a real break from hockey in a while. The Penguins went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, he played in the World Cup of Hockey and has played 48 games this season. The Penguins have a few day gaps between the two coming games so hopefully he can get some rest. I don't think he is hiding an injury as I think that would be far more obvious.

Whatever is wrong with him is slightly concerning but it says a lot about Crosby that concerning is a 1.13 Points per Game pace. Hopefully he can rebound and get his 1000th point against the Canucks and push on.

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Crosby nearing 1000 points

Crosby is nearing 1000 points and could very well hit it this week with the Penguins playing three games before next Monday against the Flames, Coyotes and Avalanche. Those three games are against teams that aren't strong defensively so could prove very fruitful for Crosby and I would expect he will hit it against the Avalanche at the Pepsi Centre on Thursday night.

Crosby missed the first 7 games this season and returned against the Florida Panthers on the 25th October and started the season with a goal on the man advantage. 2016 was Crosby's year and was wonderfully topped off with the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe in June after besting the San Jose Sharks and he continued his good play straight off the bat.

There have been prolonged periods this season where Crosby has been completely unstoppable. He has continued point streaks numerous times, the longest being for 9 games from the 26th November against the New Jersey Devils to the 14th December against the Boston Bruins. Crosby is currently only one point behind McDavid who sits first in the Art Ross race with 60 points. Crosby is also leading the Rocket Richard with 30 goals but the field is closing in on him.

Crosby has been a superb captain for the Penguins and whilst 2017 has been a bit quieter, with 16 points in 13 games, he is still a dangerous player and come April he will no doubt switch gear again to help the Penguins attempt at repeating. I'm looking forward to seeing Sid hit his 1000th point and the continuing dominance of the league thereafter. I just wish it was happening on home ice.

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Rowney makes Penguins debut

Carter Rowney made his Penguins debut in a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators last night. He was called up almost as soon as the All-Star break was over to fill the vacant spot needed due to Evgeni Malkin's injury.

Rowney is a late bloomer at 27 and has helped with key production for the Wilkes-Barre Penguins this season with 21 points through 26 games so far for them. Putting him 8th on the team although he has missed over 20 games this season. Without those he would be joint top with Guentzel.

Rowney had a decent game despite not scoring a point or notching a goal in his first game like Guentzel did. He finished the game with a 63.16CF% along with 2 Hits in just over 9 minutes Ice-Time which gives the impression the Penguins eased him in last night. He will learn a lot in his time in the NHL which will be a huge help going forward.

The Penguins win last night continues their dominance at home this season and was a key win without Evgeni Malkin who is likely to miss this weekends game against the Blue Jackets and the Blues. In his absence the lines have been juggled and they seemed to be effective last night. It was good to see Hornqvist scoring again and continuing to do the dirty work.

The Penguins have a stretch of games coming up that look winnable and could give them a good chance of finishing as a high seed in this years standings. I would be disappointed not to see the Penguins get at least 6 points from their next five games.

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