Whitney traded to Ducks for Kunitz and Tangradi

[Hawkeynut]

Anyone here got a good beat on Kunitz? I know he's been playing well recently. What kind of forward is he?

You know.. I would put him as a Malone replacement.

[KG]

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=612790

Ducks fans not happy...

[Gaucho]

Best of luck, Ryan.

[DontToewsMeBro]

the true question is...

Who is going to be the true Tang?

[Pitts]

I guess Pronger will be traded this off season?

Either that, or they simply let Neidermayer walk in the off season.

[Ron`]

I'm reading Kunitz can miss an open net with the best of them. He should fit right in here on LGP.

[Mongoose87]

the true question is...

Who is going to be the true Tang?

I can't wait for Tang-to-Tang goals!

[SolidSnake]

Whitney was more of a reliablity back there anyways. This move can only improve us and it shows the team that Shero and management want to make the playoffs. I think if they didn't make this type of move then they would of been sellers only. If we lost last night this move may never of happened.

[KG]

I'm fine with the trade. It's fair.

I will say that I feel like we still need a goal scoring wing for Crosby...not sure who else we could deal to get that done...(not named Staal)...

[CKA24]

I love it -- so excited for tomorrow's game!

[penny lane]

funny~ ironic thoughts. 2 months of Whitney sucks and we now have we didn't get enough for Whitney. just the way of sports and fans.

I am happy he is going to a good defensive coach that may make it click for him.

[CKA24]

I'm fine with the trade. It's fair.

I will say that I feel like we still need a goal scoring wing for Crosby...not sure who else we could deal to get that done...(not named Staal)...

I'm placing Kunitz in a Malone-replacement role. That said, there are still Frolov rumours...

[joopen]

How is Kunitz's skating ability, aka can he keep up with Sid?

[Jesse]

Whitney's value was much lower than I thought. Kunitz blows. He may be the Pens best ES wing, but that is more an indication of the Pens not having any good ES wings. He tries hards and is a decent skater, but is a borderline top 6 type wing. He was on waivers a few seasons ago and absolutely sucks during the playoffs. He is not a top goal scorer at all and had his best season as the 3rd wheel on the Selanne/MacDonald line. He isn't even a proven #2 guy on a line and he has declined a bit the past few seasons.

Tangradi was invisible at the WJC and is posting his OHL stats as a 20 year old.

This is a classic example of selling a player at his lowest value. Not a good move IMO.

Hahah, here we go with the age garbage again.

[Draftnik]

Tangradi was drafted in the 2nd round in 2007. Tavares will be the #1 or #2 pick in the 2009 draft. 2 years is an eternity in JR hockey. Comparing them is nonsensical. Tavares had 8 goals at the WJC despite being 2 years younger than Tangradi. I think Tangradi had 1 goal. He was an afterthought for Team USA. Tavares was the tournament MVP on the Gold medal winning team.

[Mad City Mike]

I like it. I had been a Whitney fan until this year. But he has been just terrible the last couple months. Absolutely awful. I think you still have to like his potential, but at what point, if ever, will he reach that level? He just hasn't progressed due to either injury or whatever. The Pens get a guy capable of playing on a top line, though as Drafty said, he is borderline. But he has to be better than Dupuis, right? Tangradi remains to be seen, I think. Like Drafty, I am wary of 20-year-olds who put up big numbers when they hadn't done so in the past. But bigger guys also take longer to develop, so we shall see.

But this is the type of trade Shero needs to be making. Somehow, some way, they need to get some forwards in the pipeline.

[Paekman]

Anyone here got a good beat on Kunitz? I know he's been playing well recently. What kind of forward is he?

You know.. I would put him as a Malone replacement.

Kunitz is a good fit on Sid's wing. He's not a sniper by any means, but he's exactly the kind of skilled, yet tough winger that's a perfect compliment for Bing. Not a Hossa replacement by any means, but I'm going to say that he's the 2nd best option Sid has had at wing over his career.

[Indyman]

I'm much more excited about Tangradi than i am about Kunitz......

[supermario]

Whitney's value was much lower than I thought. Kunitz blows. He may be the Pens best ES wing, but that is more an indication of the Pens not having any good ES wings. He tries hards and is a decent skater, but is a borderline top 6 type wing. He was on waivers a few seasons ago and absolutely sucks during the playoffs. He is not a top goal scorer at all and had his best season as the 3rd wheel on the Selanne/MacDonald line. He isn't even a proven #2 guy on a line and he has declined a bit the past few seasons.

Tangradi was invisible at the WJC and is posting his OHL stats as a 20 year old.

This is a classic example of selling a player at his lowest value. Not a good move IMO.

I agree with you Draftnik. I may be in a minority, but this trade sucks. I expected a talented winger for Sid out of Whitney. Instead we got a third line grinder. Why didn't they just use Cooke there. This reaks of desperation. I hope I'm wrong, but time will tell. I hope this Tangredi works out well.

[SolidSnake]

Whitney's value was much lower than I thought. Kunitz blows. He may be the Pens best ES wing, but that is more an indication of the Pens not having any good ES wings. He tries hards and is a decent skater, but is a borderline top 6 type wing. He was on waivers a few seasons ago and absolutely sucks during the playoffs. He is not a top goal scorer at all and had his best season as the 3rd wheel on the Selanne/MacDonald line. He isn't even a proven #2 guy on a line and he has declined a bit the past few seasons.

Tangradi was invisible at the WJC and is posting his OHL stats as a 20 year old.

This is a classic example of selling a player at his lowest value. Not a good move IMO.

Now I know why I should never took him seriously before.

[Draftnik]

Whitney's value was much lower than I thought. Kunitz blows. He may be the Pens best ES wing, but that is more an indication of the Pens not having any good ES wings. He tries hards and is a decent skater, but is a borderline top 6 type wing. He was on waivers a few seasons ago and absolutely sucks during the playoffs. He is not a top goal scorer at all and had his best season as the 3rd wheel on the Selanne/MacDonald line. He isn't even a proven #2 guy on a line and he has declined a bit the past few seasons.

Tangradi was invisible at the WJC and is posting his OHL stats as a 20 year old.

This is a classic example of selling a player at his lowest value. Not a good move IMO.

Hahah, here we go with the age garbage again.

It isn't garbage. It is based in empirical data. Guys that don't put up monster JR stats until they are 20 are longshots relative to guys that do it at 17 or 18. I saw Tangradi play several games at the WJC. Did you? He was invisible, so I understand if you don't remember.

[Soon5one4]

This is definitely the type of deal the Pens needed to make. Despite popular opinion here, I liked Whitney. I think Pens fans have been spoiled with Gonch, Letang and Goligoski. Most players don't have one player like that, let alone 4.

Kunitz may not be the answer, but he's a good piece of it. Getting a $7 million dollar winger isn't what's best in the long run and leaves you too inflexible to fill in the pieces they need. I think the biggest part of this deal could end up being Tangradi. With him and Caputi coming up through the system, then throw Moon and CPZ in there as well, the Pens have some solid offensive prospects in the system. A move like this is what's going to make them competitive in the long run.

[pfim]

Whitney's value was much lower than I thought. Kunitz blows. He may be the Pens best ES wing, but that is more an indication of the Pens not having any good ES wings. He tries hards and is a decent skater, but is a borderline top 6 type wing. He was on waivers a few seasons ago and absolutely sucks during the playoffs. He is not a top goal scorer at all and had his best season as the 3rd wheel on the Selanne/MacDonald line. He isn't even a proven #2 guy on a line and he has declined a bit the past few seasons.

Tangradi was invisible at the WJC and is posting his OHL stats as a 20 year old.

This is a classic example of selling a player at his lowest value. Not a good move IMO.

Hahah, here we go with the age garbage again.

It's a valid point. There aren't any 20 year old can't miss prospects in junior. If this trade turns out to be Whitney for Kunitz, it's a bad deal.

[SolidSnake]

Whitney's value was much lower than I thought. Kunitz blows. He may be the Pens best ES wing, but that is more an indication of the Pens not having any good ES wings. He tries hards and is a decent skater, but is a borderline top 6 type wing. He was on waivers a few seasons ago and absolutely sucks during the playoffs. He is not a top goal scorer at all and had his best season as the 3rd wheel on the Selanne/MacDonald line. He isn't even a proven #2 guy on a line and he has declined a bit the past few seasons.

Tangradi was invisible at the WJC and is posting his OHL stats as a 20 year old.

This is a classic example of selling a player at his lowest value. Not a good move IMO.

Hahah, here we go with the age garbage again.

It isn't garbage. It is based in empirical data. Guys that don't put up monster JR stats until they are 20 are longshots relative to guys that do it at 17 or 18. I saw Tangradi play several games at the WJC. Did you? He was invisible, so I understand if you don't remember.

What's with the stats all the time? and I remember you saying that MT would never been fired. Yea.....

[The Snapshot]

Whitney's value was much lower than I thought. Kunitz blows. He may be the Pens best ES wing, but that is more an indication of the Pens not having any good ES wings. He tries hards and is a decent skater, but is a borderline top 6 type wing. He was on waivers a few seasons ago and absolutely sucks during the playoffs. He is not a top goal scorer at all and had his best season as the 3rd wheel on the Selanne/MacDonald line. He isn't even a proven #2 guy on a line and he has declined a bit the past few seasons.

Tangradi was invisible at the WJC and is posting his OHL stats as a 20 year old.

This is a classic example of selling a player at his lowest value. Not a good move IMO.

I agree that Kunitz is not a top end winger, but Tangradi as a power forward is a project. Realistically, you can't expect more than this kind of return for Whitney at this point. He was terrible last season, and is playing on a surgically repaired foot that makes him almost useless to us in this playoff push.

You have another "body" to throw into the mix at wing, one that is a veteran, capable player and who has scored 20+ goals multiple times in the NHL. He also fits very nicely right into Whitney's salary slot and time to UFA. I think that these factors have to have played into the deal.

Adding a "project" like Tangradi into the pool in this same deal is a great pick-up as the non-NHL roster piece. He is a type of prospect we sorely lack in the system.

I'm going to look at the fact of adding Kunitz as being and enormous upgrade at forward on this team, because it means the Minard will not dress. This team lacks forward depth as much as it lacks top 6 wingers, with guys like Godard, Thomas and Minard taking a sweater and basically doing nothing in it most nights.

If Kunitz plays on the top 6 forward set, and scores at his normal 25 goal pace, we will have improved quite a bit. Add in the fact that we will be losing the constant poor defensive decisions and horrible giveaways that Whitney was bringing every night of late, and I don't see any way that we are not a better team today.

Gonchar coming back and playing like he has certainly made Whitney look bad. He has done in 5 games what Whitney still has yet to do, which is regain NHL form.