Possible Pens Trades

I wouldn’t make any of these trades. Nor do I think Shero will make a big splash at the deadline either. If he makes any moves it will likely be similar to the low key pickups he’s made in recent years.

Not sure if I’m alone here, but I’d be extremely unhappy to see any of those trades happen. In my opinion, the only thing the Pens need is to get healthy.

And while I’m not particularly fond of Martin’s contract, I’d like to see him remain a Penguin.

Here’s the thing: the team is built pretty well, and the Pens are (most likely) going to make the playoffs. So the reasons to make a trade aren’t about cap issues or getting something for a player you won’t be able to sign in the off-season, or sparking the team with an “anyone can get traded so everyone should play better” sort of move. The reasons for a trade would have to be about strengthening some recognized weakness on the team, or giving the team a boost for heading into the playoffs.

So we’re not trading any of our core players — the players Shero has been building the team around — any time soon. If the Pens were in the midst of tanking in a season I could see a guy like Kunitz or Asham getting traded, but only if Shero could get someone in return who is going to both replace what is being lost and add whatever it is that seems to be missing from the team. And even then I definitely wouldn’t trade Kunitz for Setoguchi.

Given the current situation, and the growing pains and chemistry building that result from a trade, the only remotely possible trade, of those you’ve listed, would be a trade involving Asham. But I actually have a hard time imagining even that, since he has been filling his role on the team pretty well, at the right price.

Now suppose Shero looks at the team and sees an opportunity to bring something important to the team. You have to give something to get something, and assuming there aren’t all sorts of picks sitting around to be traded, guys on the team I could imagine being subject to a trade include guys like Tyler Kennedy (except the Cooke-Staal-Kennedy line still rocks), Steve Sullivan (if he doesn’t get things going the way we’d like him to, but he will), Dupuis (nooo!), Engelland, Lovejoy (NOOOOO!!!!), and maybe Dustin Jeffrey. There might be others, but that’s a list of trade-bait off the top of my head.

James Neal and a 3rd for Phil Kessel.
Jordan Staal and a first for Claude Giroux.

…you’ve seen the original poster’s work at BSH?

Hell, why do any of these trades when you could just package Ben Lovejoy and a 6th rounder in 2029 for Shea Weber?

Sidney Crosby for Rick Nash and a first round pick(1st)

Might set this as my signature.

None of this crazy deals.

only one I would remotely consider is the last one.

I highly doubt Boston would agree to that.

Martin with the small window and take with a grain of salt, emergence of Despres.

Matt Cooke and Evgeni Malkin for Brian Boyle, Derek Stephan, Brandon Dubinsky, Mike Rupp, and a first round pick.

Stepan*

Is there any way you can make this work without Cooke? Please? I’ll throw in Woywitka or something!

Paul Martin and Zybenek Michalek for Ryan McDonaugh, Micheal Del Zotto, and a first round pick.

McDonagh* and the Rangers wouldn’t, and shouldn’t ever consider a trade even slightly similar to this one. Why trade two of the best young defensemen in the game AND a first round pick for Michalek (who I admit is a great piece) and 30 year old Paul Martin?

What is this a fire sale? Terrible ideas.