Puck Drama wrote:Staal's departure sent Shero's only successful draft pick packing. Shero traded up with no plan and the team is not as good as it was going into the draft. Maybe if he gets Suter or Parise this balances out.
I couldn't disagree more. Shero's only successful draft picking? Despres, Morrow and Harrington were great selections under Shero's tenure. Obviously that remains to be seen, but all signs point in the direction that those guys are going to be serious NHL players.
Saying Shero had "no plan" isn't fair at all. GMs in this situation can't always operate in a methodical sense. Sometimes GMs have to just act, Shero did, and I don't think we could have gotten a better trade. Whether or not the Penguins are not as good remains to be seen. Obviously Sutter isn't not on the same level of Staal, but that doesn't mean that team's dynamic doesn't remain in tact. While I liked Michalek, a weak link in the D-core has been removed. Also, and this may sound silly, there are fewer question marks with Staal gone. The Penguins can concentrate on the 1-2 punch of Malkin and Sid. Their line-up is much more straight forward.
Also, while Shero may have had to act under pressure, I think there is/was a plan in place. Trading Michalek was a salary dump, meaning the Pens intend to make more moves. I think the Penguins are going to witness one of the most exciting off-seasons in a very long time as far as fans who love to see their team make lots of moves. Shero has obviously known about the Staal situation for a bit. The trade that occurred has been in speculation for a few weeks now.
Mark my words on the following three possibilities that will occur:
1. Parise or Suter WILL be a Pittburgh Penguin come the beginning of next season if either player has any interest in coming here.
2. If those options are not executable, the Penguins will make a trade with Anaheim that has Bobby Ryan coming here and either Martin or Orpik going there.
3. The other possibility, and this is the most unlikely, but still possible as all things are: The Penguins will move either Martin or Orpik to dump salary, sign Parise and either Suter or Matt Carle.
We were told that Shero would not trade Martin as a salary dump because they don't believe in that and only make "hockey trades"...Michalek was traded as a salary dump.
We were told Staal WOULD NOT be traded at the draft.
We're now told that Shero is not looking to trade any more roster players...
but will hear all options and be open to all possibilities. That statement right there is as blatant as you can get from any GM without them flat out saying they're going to move more players.
Shero is not done, he's a far better GM than people on this board give him credit for. Sometimes things just don't pan out the way people hope, i.e. signing Martin and Michalek. I think by the time camp rolls around, Penguin fans are going to be more excited than they have been in a long time to see their team play.
Truthfully, I'm shocked Shero got as much as he did. In the other Staal post I stated at the point the Penguins knew Carolina was the only team he'd sign with right now that the Pens no longer had leverage and should be happy if they JUST got a 1st round pick. I'm glad to be wrong.