Penguins acquire defenseman Jordan Leopold
by Hooks Orpik on Mar 1, 2010 10:11 AM EST
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PrintPer TSN:
The Florida Panthers have traded Jordan Leopold to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second round pick in 2010, pending a trade call with the NHL.
Leopold is an impending UFA with a salary of $1.75 million. That number will be prorated for the rest of the season but even then the Penguins must be very near the cap. If they are going to make another move, a roster player will have to be made or someone will get demoted to the AHL.
Obviously Ray Shero isn't satisfied with the defensive corps -- which was healthy for a while before the Olympics but still having breakdowns. When all are healthy who will sit, Mark Eaton? Jay McKee? That remains to be seen.
Speaking of possible demotions, Leopold gives the Penguins eight defensemen. Is Martin Skoula soon to be on waivers? Will "the next shoe" soon drop on another deal?
Buckle up, everybody, it might be about to get a little bumpy.
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Who isn’t going to play? Eaton? McKee has been really ineffective of late, but his shot-blocking will be a key in the playoffs.
I wonder if they may rotate until there’s an injury.
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
Between McKee and Eaton? Because you don’t give up a 2nd for a guy who’s going to be scratched every third game.
My guess is that another trade involving a current Penguins D is imminent. They’ve only got one truly expendable defenseman at this point, and that’s Skoula, who never plays anyway.
I’d expect Skoula on waivers very, very soon.
If another trade happens, as we’ve talked about, expect Eaton (expiring contract, $2m cap hit) to be going the other way. I think something definitely is in the works.
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
Beat me to it. I think Skoula is a goner as well.
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Leopold, really? Barf barf barf. He was crap when he was with the Avs, and really doesn’t provide anything the Pens seem to need. Alex Tanguay to CGY for Jordon Leopold to COL is one of my least favorite trades ever.
Avalanche fan stuck in Penguin territory.
He’s got 7 goals this season — other than Gonchar the Pens have Letang (3 goals) and Goligoski (no goals since Nov 3), so maybe they felt the need to add a shot from the point.
I don’t know, I havent been a big Leopold fan myself, I guess we’ll see why the scouts are smarter than I am.
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
He was Calgary’s best offensive defenseman in 2003-2004 and is right there with Bryan McCabe for those honors with Florida this year. He’s not a terrible player.
That said, other than Skoula, he’s about as valuable as McKee. Actually, a pretty decent offensive upgrade, and a defensive downgrade. That’s about it. I’m not sure I like this trade without another move to go along with it.
McKee:
0.2 OGVT
2.9 DGVT
0.0 SGVT
Total 3.1
Leopold:
1.7 OGVT
1.3 DGVT
0.0 SGVT
Total (with rounding) 3.1
As Seth from Empty Netters pointed out, Leopold’s playing 22:15 a night in Florida, drawing a lot of tough assignments too. I think that might skew him. He’s a good all-around player, but I agree, it’s a little odd of a move to make.
Shero’s earned my trust and benefit of the doubt, I guess we’ll see how the next 48+ hours unfold
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
am I the only one that still sees Skoula staying? I definitely think one of Eaton/Letang is getting moved for a forward and that Leopold was brought here to play significant minutes. It doesn’t make any sense to trade Gonchar/Orpik/McKee or Goligoski for various reasons we’ve brought up previously. Trading Eaton, will not bring anything significant back, but Letang (if talks about an extension are not going well <- me assuming) could bring something decent back. Not that i’m hoping Letang get’s traded…but to me that’s one of the only logical steps left after this trade.
It could happen. But Letang’s a RFA with limited leverage (no arbitration rights, etc), I don’t think he’s going anywhere unless Shero’s got a blockbuster lined up.
Eaton’s trade value isn’t in what he’d bring as a return, but rather clearing his contract off the Penguins books and bringing in someone else. Presumably Leopold.
So maybe Skoula stays, but barring any further moves, he’s gotta be out.
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
not sure...
how I feel about this one…I think he might be able to help with some of the tertiary scoring coming from the back line. If this is only the first move kind of like moving out the knight and bishop to open up for the castle move, then I can’t wait to see what happens!
Also, a 2nd is a lot to give up for a pure, straight up rental of a defensemen….I wonder if Shero may want to re-sign Leopold for next season. There are only 2 defensemen on the roster, after all. For about the same price Leopold might be a decent short-term player to keep
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
i trust Shero with this move. Hes played for a bad team that gave up a ton of odd man chances. I think this move will work out. I see him filling the role of Eaton though. McKee blocks a ton of shots normally, Leopold seems to fit into Eatons role.
To me this seems to put out the flame completely on the pens giving up a first round pick for Whitney or anyone. I thought it was not likely before, but now without a second round pick it seems even more unlikely.
I hadn’t thought of that, but yes that’s a good point. The 2nd round pick is a popular trading chip, and unless a team wants to take a 2011 pick, the Pens don’t have that to offer for a guy like Whitney or Ponikarovsky. And then they’re really hurting their amount/quality of prospects.
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
The next draft is “allegedly” not very deep. A 2nd round pick could almost translate as a third rounder if that’s true.
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com and twitter.
Yea, we only basically traded down a few spots to get Leopold.
by lostprophetRJX on Mar 1, 2010 1:35 PM EST up reply actions
At this point, not sure what to make of this deal… Leopold is a good 2nd pair guy, but not the physical defenceman we needed. Hoping that this paves the way for Eaton and his $2m/yr to move and Poni / Torres / Kariya etc to come our way…. Leopold trade by itself doesn’t seem to address any particular need, so hopefully this is just one move in Shero’s master plan.
by LastSonOfKrypton on Mar 1, 2010 1:22 PM EST reply actions
Toronto would want more than Eaton for Poni. Poni is actually a valuable asset. Torres would probably command a 3rd or 4th rounder along with Eaton. Kariya’s cap hit is 6.0 mil. Even prorated, that’s not happening.
Definitely would take more than Eaton. I wonder if Shero is interested in trading a prospect like Jeffrey/Caputi/Letestu. I would think that he’s not, he obviously prefers to deal picks whenever possible.
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
Why not trade Letestu? He’s a center, so where would he fit on the Pens? He’s not a 4th line/gritty/defensive guy.
Letestu’s getting old, perhaps he’s a guy to trade. I meant more for a guy like Caputi’s who’s young and ripping up the AHL. I don’t see Shero wanting to cash that chip in, but you have to give something to get it.
I’d definitely be OK with a Letestu trade, guess I should have qualified myself more.
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
This is probably crazy, but...
Letestu looked great playing with Cookie and TK on our 3rd line. Is it dumb to consider leaving Jordan and Geno together? They seem like a really good combination, though I suppose we can’t expect to convert one of them into a winger permanently.
by PensAreYourDaddy on Mar 1, 2010 7:24 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, I think long-term you leave Malkin and Staal in their natural center positions. Letestu hasn’t been bad at all, but it’s one thing to be good for a few games and another to consistently be good. We’ll see what happens.
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
Yea, he isn’t the physical Dman we hoped for in a Hamhuis or Sutton, but he’s reliable on both sides of the ice, and that’s much more than we can say for Eaton or McKee. Obviously, another deal is coming, and maybe one of those two physical Dmen will still be coming here. The good thing about Goligoski is that he could be used in a deal to acquire both a physical Dman and a scoring winger. If you package him with Feds and a mid pick, you could get one of those two physical Dmen and a top six winger with a year or two left on his contract.
by lostprophetRJX on Mar 1, 2010 1:33 PM EST up reply actions
Don’t think Shero will deal Go-go. The guys is only playing his first year. Give him a break lol!
He will become a better D-man. I think Shero may send Eaton and Skoula and may be a draft pick to get a new guy (defense or offense). It will be a tough sell. So he may be content with what he has.
Saying that someone might be traded is not being critical of the player. You can’t trade a crap player and expect something useful in return.
I know more than anyone how defense is the toughest part of the game to develop. I was the one defending Whitney and Orpik back when both were being pummeled on about their lack of game.
However, I just don’t see Gogo developing into an overly strong two way Dman. I think his defensive game will improve much, but I’m one that thinks all defensemen need to have size and an aggressive edge. I think Gogo will develop into a something of a Dan Boyle, which makes my theory sound stupid, but I just think that Cup teams need to have defensemen that have to size to overcome some power forwards in certain situations. At least Boyle plays with a bit of an edge. Gogo has been very soft this year.
However, he could fetch a nice trade being his prospective upside. You have to give something up to get something, and he’s the best option right now.
by lostprophetRJX on Mar 1, 2010 4:41 PM EST up reply actions
Quick question
Can someone explain what pro-rated means? Is it just proportional adjustment? In hockey sense adjustment of the cap number wrt the games left in season?
Close, it ends on the last day of the regular season. (Thus why the Pens could bring up Miroslav Satan for the last playoffs)
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
The Pens add Leopold’s $1.75 million salary, but only about $381k counts against the cap for Pittsburgh (the remainder counts against Florida, since he was there for that amount of the season).
This is how teams like the Pens can acquire guys like Guerin and stay under the cap, the CBA says they only take on the salary hit from this point forward and not for the whole season. Which makes sense if you think about it
Wayne Gretzky had it wrong: 100% of the shots Gary Roberts doesn't take DO go in.
Sorry boys, wasn’t trying to say that we would trade Eaton for Poni, etc, just that moving his salary might free up room to make a separate move for one of those wingers. Not sure what though, since I will be horrified if they move Letang, and Gogo’s contract is nice on the cap hit so i’d like to keep him too.
by LastSonOfKrypton on Mar 1, 2010 3:55 PM EST reply actions
Someone is listening....
I can’t believe it, all the moaning and groaning I’ve done on this blog, and Ulf Murphy can contest to that..they made the first move I’ve wished for..now if they follow previous bloggers expectations…Eaton will soon be out the door [hearing a 3 for 2 player deal on the horizon] and I’ll be a happy camper. I would still like another shut down physical d’man, Andy Sutton or one of the Stars d’men…then all you scoring forward wishers can have at it. I believe there are other young scoring forwards out there other than the Sr. Whitney, that could come without such a high price tag. The press has blown Whitney’s worth beyond the Pen’s reach. But we can all leave that up to “the man” who makes the decisions….Kudos to Mr. Shero for this first move.
Well I think it’s pretty obvious that Shero is a Pensburgh reader. I mean, he needs to get his tips from somewhere, right?
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com and twitter.
lol, good one. now everyone KNOWS that www.pensburgh.com is the greatest website ever! :)
this move (which surprised me) is a good one, but one has to think a bigger move is coming before Wednesday, we now got too many D and still need a depth forward. if Letang and/or Eaton get moved, it better be for a top 6 forward…
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