Eller traded back to the Caps

[FLPensFan]

[KG]

Ah too bad Eller was the shoe to drop. I'm sure KD traded him to a place he wanted to go too. Would have like to have gotten more of a return, but...

[DelPen]

Good for Eller to get out of this **** show, return is meh but it wasn’t going to be much better later. I’m sure when he signed last year he wasn’t expecting this team to suck so bad and miss the playoffs.

[KG]

KD loves trading for draft picks that are years down the road....It's nice to have job security!

[Luckybreak]

Real shame, seeing Eller give a **** will be missed. Was also enjoying seeing him, pool party and DOC form the best 3rd line we've had in a LONG time (until Sully split it up).

As Sully seems unlikely to ever be canned, my only hope is this indicates the start of the nuclear tear down. Sorry Sid, Geno, you deserved better as this was likely the last possible legit opportunity for playoffs for a while.

[Tico Rick]

Not surprised, but sorry to see Eller go – he was one of the few who played with heart every game, and he seemed to have become the conscience of the Pens in his relatively short time here.

[FLPensFan]

KD loves trading for draft picks that are years down the road....It's nice to have job security!

Washington has CAR 3rd in 2025, otherwise, they don't own their own 3rd in 2025 or 2026. I don't mind it. It builds draft capital out over multiple years, which is what this team needs. They need to go the Ari, erm, Utah route. Utah has/had I think 19 picks in rounds 1-3 over a 3 year period. That's how you stockpile talent. Of course, you need to actually hit on some picks, and hope you are getting picks in strong draft years.

Other thoughts on Eller trade:

--I think the return is fair. I think someone wanted a 2nd or a crazy legit prospect. Eller is 35. He's good defensively and been above average than expected last season and so far this year.

--I wonder to myself if this was simply WSH filling a need (definitely was), or how much Eller could have been the first piece out the door because he has "media mouth" a la Ian Cole and Brooks Orpik. Eller was very friendly with the media and not afraid to tell it how it was instead of sugar coating or touting the company line.

--Moving Eller likely means less two-headed monster, at least until Glass and Hayes return.

--Speaking of Glass and Hayes, and Acciari, too...any of those 3 should be the next out the door. Start with the older guys, but, while his analytics have been good and his off puck play has been good, we're 14 games into the season and Glass has yet to score a goal and that has been a problem with him over his career. As a #6 overall player, he's been a bust, and not even the Puljujarvi kind of bust that didn't hit top 6 potential but at least is a solid 3rd liner. Glass hasn't seized the opporunity.

--Speaking of opportunity, it's right there for Sam Poulin, although, he hasn't played much center lately. If Poulin doesn't step up, they should seriously get a 5-10 game look at Tristan Broz. He's been outstanding all summer and into the WBS season. Ponomarev may make a case, but I'm not sure the point production ceiling is as high for Pono as it may be for Broz.

[KG]

DK loves his Eller...There is a link to the article, Taylor

[Zalapski33]

Eller is a solid player,a versatile bottom 6 Guy who still can skate and be useful in situational spots.He played well for the Pens.
The 3rd Round Pick is about all they were going to get,that 5th Round one is just a throw in since the Caps received it from Chicago.
Dubas definitely looking at being able to tell FSG that he isn't idle and this is a move for the future.
There are other Players that should seriously considered to be moved(Karlsson,Letang,Pettersson,Jarry) but if Dubas doesn't have the authority to purge the Coaching Staff it isn't a Plan that offers hope moving forward.

[IntangibleBeer]

Sorry to see him go. He played with a lot of heart. The return doesn’t seem all that great, but it is what it is.

[ahawk9]

I liked him a lot. He really helped immensely when the Caps won it all in '18. I thought he might pull a 2nd at the deadline but maybe this is moving salary and grabbing a couple picks to sweeten another deal. More irons might (should) be in the fire. Sorry to see Eller be the first to go but he may have been the most tradeable of those guys.

[Crash66]

I wonder if Eller demanded it after last nights crap show.

[offsides]

Sounds like a GOOD deal for the Caps (and Eller) to me. Pretty much nothing for us.

[100565]

I agree with DK on this. Not a terrible return but trading one of few players that seemed to care seems to indicate a total sell off. This certainly doesn’t make them better now.

[FLPensFan]

I agree with DK on this. Not a terrible return but trading one of few players that seemed to care seems to indicate a total sell off. This certainly doesn’t make them better now.

Without giving up a 1-3 round pick, or any top prospect, was there really a deal out there that was going to improve this team? Would you waste a 1-3 round pick and/or a top prospect on a fleeting CHANCE that the team improves a little?

I just don't think they have much else left. They've got Sid, Geno, Rust, and Rakell and a bunch of scraps at forward, and Letang, Pettersson, and a giant train wreck on defense.

Burn.It.Down.Now.

[Dynasty1970]

I agree with DK on this. Not a terrible return but trading one of few players that seemed to care seems to indicate a total sell off. This certainly doesn’t make them better now.

Without giving up a 1-3 round pick, or any top prospect, was there really a deal out there that was going to improve this team? Would you waste a 1-3 round pick and/or a top prospect on a fleeting CHANCE that the team improves a little?

I just don't think they have much else left. They've got Sid, Geno, Rust, and Rakell and a bunch of scraps at forward, and Letang, Pettersson, and a giant train wreck on defense.

Burn.It.Down.Now.

Interesting take….But…..what do you do with Sully, perhaps one of the top two or three coaches in this league?

[Antonio]

Lucky Lars

[FLPensFan]

I agree with DK on this. Not a terrible return but trading one of few players that seemed to care seems to indicate a total sell off. This certainly doesn’t make them better now.

Without giving up a 1-3 round pick, or any top prospect, was there really a deal out there that was going to improve this team? Would you waste a 1-3 round pick and/or a top prospect on a fleeting CHANCE that the team improves a little?

I just don't think they have much else left. They've got Sid, Geno, Rust, and Rakell and a bunch of scraps at forward, and Letang, Pettersson, and a giant train wreck on defense.

Burn.It.Down.Now.

Interesting take….But…..what do you do with Sully, perhaps one of the top two or three coaches in this league?

Make.Him.Suffer. LOL

I saw another good take on this today on Twitter, discussing both keeping and firing Sullivan.
--On the keep side...what is this team really going to do this year? Are they magically going to become Cup contenders? Nope. So why not just stick it out instead of paying Sullivan not to coach, and bringing in someone who may improve the team a little, but isn't going to pull off a miracle with this roster. Also, unless you are bringing in an interim guy, why go out and dump him here with a roster that is likely to be gutted the rest of this season. Just wait.

--On the fire him side...the person mentioned wanting to play younger guys and not having those players jump into the NHL on a team that is so discombobulated and an utter train wreck. Get an interim coach in, fix some things so at least systems are running somewhat decent and accountability takes place, even if the team is still losing. Another mention in a post not the article, was if you don't fire Sullivan, with as badly as this team is playing, you run the risk of killing any trade value some of these players have.

https://danhopper.substack.com/p/should ... e-sullivan

[KG]

I agree with DK on this. Not a terrible return but trading one of few players that seemed to care seems to indicate a total sell off. This certainly doesn’t make them better now.

Without giving up a 1-3 round pick, or any top prospect, was there really a deal out there that was going to improve this team? Would you waste a 1-3 round pick and/or a top prospect on a fleeting CHANCE that the team improves a little?

I just don't think they have much else left. They've got Sid, Geno, Rust, and Rakell and a bunch of scraps at forward, and Letang, Pettersson, and a giant train wreck on defense.

Burn.It.Down.Now.

Totally agree. There is no realistic trade out there that will turn this team around. KD isn't going to deal 1st round picks or a top prospect. Unfortunately it looks like once again the roster isn't good enough to compete for a playoff spot, meaning Sully will once again be safe.

[Antonio]

I'm going to say I bet Eller said get me out. This trade serves zero purpose overall. Makes no impact of any sort... clearly they moved him because he requested it.

[100565]

I agree with DK on this. Not a terrible return but trading one of few players that seemed to care seems to indicate a total sell off. This certainly doesn’t make them better now.

Without giving up a 1-3 round pick, or any top prospect, was there really a deal out there that was going to improve this team? Would you waste a 1-3 round pick and/or a top prospect on a fleeting CHANCE that the team improves a little?

I just don't think they have much else left. They've got Sid, Geno, Rust, and Rakell and a bunch of scraps at forward, and Letang, Pettersson, and a giant train wreck on defense.

Burn.It.Down.Now.

Totally agree. There is no realistic trade out there that will turn this team around. KD isn't going to deal 1st round picks or a top prospect. Unfortunately it looks like once again the roster isn't good enough to compete for a playoff spot, meaning Sully will once again be safe.

I agree. With the way they have performed they should not be moving high picks/prospects. I was optimistic the team would perform better but not anymore. Last night was nail in coffin for me. I did not think any team with Sid/Geno/Letang would finish bottom 5, now maybe.

[E-Ramone]

This season is just making me really dislike Dubas and FSG. You still have Sid and Malkin for a few more years. Why hang on to Sullivan and just waste away for another season? Might as well dump him and his staff and see what you can do over the next couple of years with a different coach and philosophy. If that doesn’t work, oh well, but at least you tried. We all knew well before the season started that Sully wasn’t going to get it done anyway. Lost time is never found again in this case.

[FLPensFan]

Per Taylor Haase (https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/team ... s/feed/p/1) Dubas said via email Tuesday night that the Eller trade had been in the works since the spring, Washington met the asking price, so the trade was made. (FLPensFan takes this to mean Dubas has had a price set for awhile, not necessarily that PIT and WSH have been talking that long. He likely set a price at the trade deadline that wasn't met at that time.)

Dubas then said Lizotte is back, they have Glass, and they now have Sam Poulin plus young centers in the system. He also said as the team feels players in the AHL have maximized their development there, they'll be called up to the NHL as well.

Sounds like the get younger plan has been fully activated, seeing that geezer squad failed for the 2nd year in a row.

Also, per Matt Vensel of the PG, he said there were "rumblings" that Eller was not happy with his role last season. I can't figure out what he would have been unhappy about if that were true. He got almost 2 minutes more TOI per night than he did with Colorado, and had roles on both the PP and PK.

[Daniel]

Per Taylor Haase (https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/team ... s/feed/p/1) Dubas said via email Tuesday night that the Eller trade had been in the works since the spring, Washington met the asking price, so the trade was made. (FLPensFan takes this to mean Dubas has had a price set for awhile, not necessarily that PIT and WSH have been talking that long. He likely set a price at the trade deadline that wasn't met at that time.)

Dubas then said Lizotte is back, they have Glass, and they now have Sam Poulin plus young centers in the system. He also said as the team feels players in the AHL have maximized their development there, they'll be called up to the NHL as well.

Sounds like the get younger plan has been fully activated, seeing that geezer squad failed for the 2nd year in a row.

Also, per Matt Vensel of the PG, he said there were "rumblings" that Eller was not happy with his role last season. I can't figure out what he would have been unhappy about if that were true. He got almost 2 minutes more TOI per night than he did with Colorado, and had roles on both the PP and PK.

Maybe he was unhappy with the added ice time and responsibility at his age?

[Puck-Lurker]

About the last player I wanted to see go from the vets. And the return is... meh to nothing.

I hate it.

But more opportunities for people downstream and more cap flexibility. I guess this is okay?