In a move that seems to foreshadow someone knowing that Sidney Crosby is probably getting ready to return to the ice for the Penguins, Pittsburgh today dealt ALex Goligoski to Dallas in exchange for scoring winger James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen. Before you say Matt Who?, Niskanen is the guy that Crosby absolutely embarrassed during a fight on November 3rd in Dallas:
That should lead to an interesting introduction when he and Sid first appear in the locker room together. You sort of wonder if Crosby was consulted before this trade … but not really because Sid is a professional and much like we saw with Asham and Cooke, what happens on the ice when players on opposing teams is washed away when they suit up for the same club.
As for Neal, well he has the scoring touch that you would like to see in a winger for Crosby at least for the price that was paid. He has 21 goals and 39 points this season. Last year he had 27 goals and 28 assists.
Goligoski became the casualty of a deep blue line for the Penguins. He has the skill to be a top four defenseman but was wallowing as the #5 man in the Penguins defensive corps. And with Despres all but ready to join the Penguins next year someone had to go. And that someone was not going to be Michalek or Martin both of whom the Pengiuns acquired at good prices and locked up long term this past off season. Orpik wasn’t going anywhere and neither was All-Star Kris Letang. Deryk Engelland also was not heading anywhere now that he has established himself as a solid defenseman who can take over the enforcer role for the Penguins when Goddard is most likely not resigned.
Sad to see Go Go go, but overall this trade helps the Penguins and helps Go Go too. In Dallas he will get more ice time and more responsibility as a #3 or #4 defenseman than he would get here in Pittsburgh.
Twenty-one games into the season Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are pacing the Penguins in scoring. Sidney Crosby is on top with 33 points (14 G & 19 A) and a +4. Evgeni Malkin, who has struggled at times, is second with 20 points (7 G & 13 A) but is a -3. Kris Letang is taking over Sergei Gonchar’s spot on the scoring list at number three with 18 points (3 G & 15 A) and is an impressive +9 as well.
There is one distinct disappoint however beyond Malkin’s spotty play until lately. Zbynek Michalek who was touted as a shut down defenseman is a -5 on the season. It is hard to see him not finishing the season with much better numbers but his performance does bear watching.
Have you seen me?
In 2008-09 Eric Goddard played 71 games for the Penguins. In 2009-10 Goddard played in 45 games during the season. This year Goddard has played in just 6 games. He is a +2. If this trend continues, the Penguins enforcer is on pace to appear in just under 25 games this year. His diminishing role can be attributed to the accession of other players willing to drop the gloves. In particular Deryk Engelland who has proven himself a serviceable sixth defenseman and who has appeared in 19 games. Engelland has shown the ability to take on the opposition’s tough guys and stand up for his teammates. All this points to Goddard’s days with the Penguins pretty much ending unless something catastrophic happens such a injuries.
Simon Despres has made his case to be the Pens No. 6 defenseman this season. And the Pens have taken notice as no one else has stepped up to fill that role. But are they going to be more interested in playing salary and contract games or fielding the best team possible come this Thursday when they christen the Consol Energy Center?
Reports are that the Penguins are giving Despres a hard look for the open day roster. But those reports also say that his spot on the roster would be for a limited time as the Pens want to send him back to his Juniors team before he would trigger the NHL’s arbitration clock on his entry contract. That would be a limited engagement of not more than 9 games if the Pens go this route.
Ok, I can understand the Pens not wanting to start the clock ticking on having to give this 19 year old a new contract but seriously the NHL is about winning not about playing contract games. If Despres is good enough to win the No. 6 spot then he should be rewarded with that spot. Sure, no one else has stepped up, but Despres is not going to be awarded the No. 6 spot because he is the best of some pretty bad options thus far. He has played better than anyone could expect for a 19 year old defenseman and has earned the spot outright.
The Penguins should put him on the roster and put their faith in him. If he proves incapable then you decided what to do with him afterwards. However as of right now he is our best option.
Simon Despres, Pittsburgh’s first round pick (and 30th overall) in 2009, finally got some game ice time last night against Columbus. During his just over seventeen minutes of playing time which included 3:35 of penalty killing work, Despres made a good case that he should be on the Penguins roster come opening day as their seventh defenseman. The problem is, in all likelihood, is that he will not be.
At age 19 he will likely be sent back to the minors for some more honing and considering the other defensemen in camp likely to make the roster even putting him on the team as the seventh defenseman seems like a long shot.
Orpik, Goligoski, Letang, Michalek and Martin are locks for the starting roster. The inside track for the sixth and seventh slots goes to Lovejoy, Brian Strait, veteran Andrew Hutchinson and Corey Potter. So back to the minors it is most likely for Despres unless he can beat out three of those four. And frankly unless he is going to be the sixth defenseman on the roster sending him down makes the most sense.
He needs playing time to further hone his talents and as a seventh defenseman he will not get it often enough if he stays in Pittsburgh.
Against a Columbus team stacked with young first round picks with worlds of talent Despres stood his ground with a mix of physical and smart play at both ends of the ice. He faltered at times as any young defenseman would but his performance was solid and he was one the ice for two of Pittsburgh’s three goals (earning a +2) and had four shots.
If the Penguins want to make a splash Despres perhaps should get his shot to play full time but there are other players ahead of him that will get that chance instead. Only if they falter does it look likely that Despres will get the chance he seems to be earning.
The first game back from the Olympic Break resulted in a Penguins victory against the Buffalo Sabres as both starting goal tenders sat letting their backups carry the load. Miller sitting might have been understandable considering that he had just played two weeks of hockey for Team USA. But Fleury sitting is a bit of a mystery considering that he received his gold medal despite never seeing a single minute of game actions for Team Canada.
The game, which marked the debut for new defenseman Jordan Leopold, a veteran 29 year old blue liner, went well for the Penguins as they pretty much showed no real signs of rust against a great Eastern Conference team and wound up with a 3-2 victory, two points and kept pace with the New Jersey Devils who also won and remain a point ahead of the Penguins with a game in hand.
Gonchar scored his 200thcareer goal in what could very well be his last season as a Penguin as Leopold, who was a -1 in his debut for the Black and Gold provides the Penguins with another, although admittedly lesser, option on defense for providing offense.
What I am really waiting for is Saturday and the debut for the flightless birds of newly acquired rental player Alexei Ponikarovsky who came over from Toronto for the hefty price of Luca Caputi. Personally, I like Poni, or the Ukrain Train as he is known, but I do not like the Penguins giving up a man that has shown he was probably the best chance the Penguins had of a reliable NHL level scoring talentdeveloped from within the organization. That internal development is the best way to put a competitive team on the ice while not flirting with salary cap disaster as the Penguins are now doing.
Ponikarovsky is a free agent at the end of the year and at just 29. As a proven reliable 20+ goal scoring wing it means he will probably command too much money for the Penguins to even think about resigning. But then again, if Goncharwalks looking for that one more big payday that does free up some money but I wouldn’t hold my breath. The question for Gonchar is does he want more money or more championships and only he can make that decision on how to end what I think is a Hall of Fame career.
Mortgaging the future for quick benefit is a risky endeavor. I don’t think that the Penguins have destroyed their future and made winning future championships harder by dealing Caputi. But I don’t think they have made it any easier beyond this season.
Tuesday all doubt about who would be the Penguins seventh defensemen in the long term were laid to rest. On Tuesday the Penguins signed veteran blue liner Martin Skoula who, at 29, has the skills and the talent to partially fill the void left by the departures of Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi. With 185 points (41 G, 144 A) over his career he can contribute a little offensively when need be. Overall he is a good last minute addition to the club I believe although whether or not he will have the chemistry with the rest of the team and the ability to accept and play the Penguins system will remain to be seen.
The Penguins Defense is already stacked. This morning, without Skoula, the team site officially lists eight defensemen on the roster. The locks to be wearing black and Vegas Gold on opening day are Mark Eaton, Alex Goligoski, Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang, Jay McKee and Brooks Orpik as the starting six. Nathan Guenin (a Sewickley native) and Ben Lovejoy appear to have had their hopes dashed of remaining with the team due to this signing unless the Penguins decide to carry an extra defenseman on the roster, something I think is highly unlikely. As of this moment Lovejoy remains on the roster while Guenin cleared waivers and is now in Wilkes-Barre.
One thing is for certain thought, just as with last year the Penguins will have a plethora of defensemen ready to step up when the inevitable injury bug bites.
