Fear the Fin eyes Alex Goligoski in potential trade

The San Jose Sharks blog, Fear the Fin, has zeroed in on potentially acquiring Alex Goligoski.  I chimed in on a little primer for them giving them information on everyone's favorite offensive defenseman.

They're thinking that Devon Setoguchi makes a good trade.  I tried to steady their interests, but they persisted:

Essentially, Goligoski is a very similar player to Devin Setoguchi in many regards-- a young and talented player who struggles with inconsistency, talent that is as undeniable as it is streaky. The two teams would be flipping their alleged strengths for their perceived weaknesses, as Setoguchi would join a Penguins team that needs forward help while Goligoski would join a Sharks team that needs help on the backend. From that standpoint it's a potential deal that has some legs and makes sense at face value for both clubs.

What thinks the Penguins contingent?  For my part, there's no point in thinking about acquiring Setoguchi (or any forward) until Sidney Crosby is back in the lineup -- or at least very close to being back.  What's the point in getting a right handed, former 30 goal scoring winger to play with Crosby when Crosby's not, you know, playing.

Setoguchi also has some baggage of his own, his stats are declining for the third straight year and other young players have made him pretty much expendable for San Jose.

For Pittsburgh, Goligoski has a very nice contract, is still improving and offers a boost on the power play.  The Pens right now have nothing to replace him in any of those areas, should Goose be traded for a forward.  And could you imagine if one or two injuries struck the defense and Goligoski was gone too?  In that scenario Ben Lovejoy is a top four defenseman, Deryk Engelland would be playing a lot more minutes and a minor league is in the lineup.  That doesn't sound very fun.

All these factors continued, I'd say the chances Goligoski goes at this trade deadline has been dropping steadily over the course of this season and is currently really low.  If the Pens make a trade, I wouldn't be surprised if prospects (even potentially big named prospects) would be included before a roster player.

Then again, Ray Shero doesn't consult me for advice.