If we're being honest, are Rust and Rakell first line wingers on a legit team?
Depends on how you define "legit team". Without looking anything up, I'm sure there's like four teams that roll out a clearly better first line. The difference being the wingers, because Sid's honestly still one of the greatest all-round centers ever. If 'legit' means all teams qualifying for the playoffs, absolutely. Top 8? You could make the case; gets hard to justify placing them higher as you go along and compare apples and oranges that are close together in vitamins and energy values.
He's not a 1st line center playing on the second line anymore though. He's a 2nd line center playing on a 2nd line and I'd be curious to see any support other than eyeball and memory from ye olden days that he's not. I think he's one of the better 2Cs around, but the days that he could be better than Sid for stretches are gone.
Gee, I wonder if we have any right-handed, former Orange County residents that might be a perfect fit for what LA is looking for:
It really is a great match. At this point, I think I'll be more surprised if Rakell to LAK doesn't happen.
Hoping to see him get some time with Kempe in the 4 Nations tourney. If those two can make some magic happen there, LA might be more inclined to make the move and/or pony up a little extra.
Gee, I wonder if we have any right-handed, former Orange County residents that might be a perfect fit for what LA is looking for:
Greentree would be a good one to target. 1st round pick from last season. Crushing it in the OHL currently. KD loves his OHL players.
I would do something around Greentree, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot (cap purposes). 2nd choice would be something around either Brandt Clarke or Jordan Spence, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot. I'd be happy with either of those.
Gee, I wonder if we have any right-handed, former Orange County residents that might be a perfect fit for what LA is looking for:
Greentree would be a good one to target. 1st round pick from last season. Crushing it in the OHL currently. KD loves his OHL players.
I would do something around Greentree, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot (cap purposes). 2nd choice would be something around either Brandt Clarke or Jordan Spence, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot. I'd be happy with either of those.
That would be a deal I would sign for Rakell.. but isnt it a bit of overpayment with 1st pick? With Greentree already doubtfull they would give,on top of it also 1st rounder? Its more likely it would be some lower ranked prospect with 1st or Greentree and maybe 2nd rounder.. Jeannot is solid vet and expiring.
Gee, I wonder if we have any right-handed, former Orange County residents that might be a perfect fit for what LA is looking for:
Greentree would be a good one to target. 1st round pick from last season. Crushing it in the OHL currently. KD loves his OHL players.
I would do something around Greentree, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot (cap purposes). 2nd choice would be something around either Brandt Clarke or Jordan Spence, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot. I'd be happy with either of those.
I think you guys are overestimating Rakells value.
I can’t see anyone giving up two 1st round picks for him. Maybe if we retain the max on him, we could get Greentree and a 2nd.
Gee, I wonder if we have any right-handed, former Orange County residents that might be a perfect fit for what LA is looking for:
Greentree would be a good one to target. 1st round pick from last season. Crushing it in the OHL currently. KD loves his OHL players.
I would do something around Greentree, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot (cap purposes). 2nd choice would be something around either Brandt Clarke or Jordan Spence, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot. I'd be happy with either of those.
I think you guys are overestimating Rakells value.
I can’t see anyone giving up two 1st round picks for him. Maybe if we retain the max on him, we could get Greentree and a 2nd.
With the cap going up, and not that many players like him being available, I’d be surprised if if there isn’t at least a couple of overpayments offered for him.
Gee, I wonder if we have any right-handed, former Orange County residents that might be a perfect fit for what LA is looking for:
Greentree would be a good one to target. 1st round pick from last season. Crushing it in the OHL currently. KD loves his OHL players.
I would do something around Greentree, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot (cap purposes). 2nd choice would be something around either Brandt Clarke or Jordan Spence, 2026 1st and Tanner Jeannot. I'd be happy with either of those.
I think you guys are overestimating Rakells value.
I can’t see anyone giving up two 1st round picks for him. Maybe if we retain the max on him, we could get Greentree and a 2nd.
I'd say the truth lies somewhere in between. This isn't a rental. He's got 3 more years left on his deal. For a guy that is a persistent 20 goal scorer (yes, he's had some gaps there, but in years where injuries prevented 20 goals or more, he was on pace for 20+), his 5M AAV is going to be a steal in a quickly rising cap world. Add in that his game is suitable to West conference teams, and, a big one...he is hands down the best winger that may be available in a shrinking UFA rental winger market....
Greentree, a 1st and Jeannot (throw in) may be asking a lot, but if you get 2-3 teams that all want top 6 help (and there are definitely 4-5 teams that need it), I don't think it is that far fetched. Greentree is 1st rounder...but so was Sam Poulin. Different players, but, the point I'm trying to make is, there's a big difference between asking Greentree (drafted 26th overall) plus a 1st versus going to New Jersey and asking for Nemec (2nd overall) plus a 1st. Greentree is a good player but he hasn't hit the pros yet and was a late 1st. That drops his value a little bit compared to someone like a Nemec or Jiricek lottery pick. Add in that LAs prospect pool is worse than ours, Greentree was recently ranked a few spots behind McGroarty in Athletic top 100 prospects, and aside from Greentree, LA's next 3 best prospects behind Greentree are all goalies (Which we don't need)....LA is going to have to put up if they want him.
It really is a great match. At this point, I think I'll be more surprised if Rakell to LAK doesn't happen.
Hoping to see him get some time with Kempe in the 4 Nations tourney. If those two can make some magic happen there, LA might be more inclined to make the move and/or pony up a little extra.
From what I can see in the game against Finland, Rakell is playing mostly with Zibanejad and Nylander. I think this is the same combination that was used against Canada.
I read Greentree is not eligible for AHL next year. Since NCAA rules changed, some speculate he might go there.
If so, he most likely two years away from NHL. He seems to be trending very well, but thing can change.
Personally, I don’t think Rakell puts LA in legitimate contender group so why would they want to give that much up? Ya never know though.
For LA, they are the lowest scoring team of all the playoff teams. They need offense. Turcotte (7 goals) and Laferriere (!4 goals) are currently in their top 6. They would be in a much better position if they had another top 6 winger to go with Kempe and Fiala. Other than Gavrikov on defense, they have no other major UFA/RFAs to re-sign this summer. Kopitar has this year and next year on his contract. If they are going to make one more run, this would be the year to do it.
In simplest terms, Rakell will help more than Greentree will over the next 2 years.
I read an article on Ottawa's plans for the deadline and they mentioned that Josh Norris has been floated out there for a trade. When healthy, he has averaged 31 goals per season. Assuming New York's pick comes to us this year, as is likely, do we deal it in exchange for Norris? I think he'd make a very good 2nd line center for the next few years, and can be there to help usher in the next wave of young Penguins. A trade like this seems fair.
I've read a lot about Cozens and Zegras, but haven't seen Norris's name put out there.
Kelsey Surmacz from HockeyNews says Anaheim has been scouting a lot of WBS AHL games recently, and wonders if there is a deal to be made. (Twitter link to article below)
The quick summary of the article focused on Zegras, LD Pavel Mintyukov, or Mason MacTavish. She mentions Zegras stock is low and Dubas probably shouldn't be willing to give up the Rangers 1st round pick for Zegras, but should be willing to do it for either of the other 2 (which would need more than just the 1st).
My preference is reverse order...MacTavish, Mintyukov, then Zegras. MacTavish has maybe become available because his production hasn't taken the next step, and his coach recently called him a 3rd liner with offensive ability. He's an RFA after this season. He's only 22, and Kelsey mentions that he would be a good fit with someone like McGroarty on his wing.
Kelsey Surmacz from HockeyNews says Anaheim has been scouting a lot of WBS AHL games recently, and wonders if there is a deal to be made. (Twitter link to article below)
The quick summary of the article focused on Zegras, LD Pavel Mintyukov, or Mason MacTavish. She mentions Zegras stock is low and Dubas probably shouldn't be willing to give up the Rangers 1st round pick for Zegras, but should be willing to do it for either of the other 2 (which would need more than just the 1st).
My preference is reverse order...MacTavish, Mintyukov, then Zegras. MacTavish has maybe become available because his production hasn't taken the next step, and his coach recently called him a 3rd liner with offensive ability. He's an RFA after this season. He's only 22, and Kelsey mentions that he would be a good fit with someone like McGroarty on his wing.
Spoiler:
What if it were both MacTavish and Zegras? Would the Pens even have a package? Perhaps one of our goalies would be going as I expect Gibson to be moved this year.
Kelsey Surmacz from HockeyNews says Anaheim has been scouting a lot of WBS AHL games recently, and wonders if there is a deal to be made. (Twitter link to article below)
The quick summary of the article focused on Zegras, LD Pavel Mintyukov, or Mason MacTavish. She mentions Zegras stock is low and Dubas probably shouldn't be willing to give up the Rangers 1st round pick for Zegras, but should be willing to do it for either of the other 2 (which would need more than just the 1st).
My preference is reverse order...MacTavish, Mintyukov, then Zegras. MacTavish has maybe become available because his production hasn't taken the next step, and his coach recently called him a 3rd liner with offensive ability. He's an RFA after this season. He's only 22, and Kelsey mentions that he would be a good fit with someone like McGroarty on his wing.
Spoiler:
What if it were both MacTavish and Zegras? Would the Pens even have a package? Perhaps one of our goalies would be going as I expect Gibson to be moved this year.
Looking at Anaheim's goalie depth, they don't have a lot of room right now, so it would depend indeed on Gibson being dealt.
They have Calle Clang playing in the AHL. He was called up earlier this seaon, but didn't have any ice time. His numbers aren't great - 9-13-4 record, .894 sv%, 3.22 GAA, but the San Diego Gulls are last in their division. Clang has been splitting the net with veteran Oskar Dansk and his numbers are actually worse than Clang's.
Tomas Suchanek had better numbers than Clang last season in the AHL, but is out since September with a ruptured ACL. He's probably out for the season and probably why they brought in Dansk.
They also have Vyacheslav Buteyets playing mostly in the ECHL - 25 games played there, 2 games played in the AHL.
Zegras averaged 4.5 faceoffs per game last season, good for 8th in the team, and 4.9 FO/G this season. He's still playing center on occasion, but is listed for most games as a winger.
His career faceoff winning pct is 40.3, so there's one less incentive to play him as center.
Kelsey Surmacz from HockeyNews says Anaheim has been scouting a lot of WBS AHL games recently, and wonders if there is a deal to be made. (Twitter link to article below)
The quick summary of the article focused on Zegras, LD Pavel Mintyukov, or Mason MacTavish. She mentions Zegras stock is low and Dubas probably shouldn't be willing to give up the Rangers 1st round pick for Zegras, but should be willing to do it for either of the other 2 (which would need more than just the 1st).
My preference is reverse order...MacTavish, Mintyukov, then Zegras. MacTavish has maybe become available because his production hasn't taken the next step, and his coach recently called him a 3rd liner with offensive ability. He's an RFA after this season. He's only 22, and Kelsey mentions that he would be a good fit with someone like McGroarty on his wing.
Spoiler:
What if it were both MacTavish and Zegras? Would the Pens even have a package? Perhaps one of our goalies would be going as I expect Gibson to be moved this year.
Looking at Anaheim's goalie depth, they don't have a lot of room right now, so it would depend indeed on Gibson being dealt.
They have Calle Clang playing in the AHL. He was called up earlier this seaon, but didn't have any ice time. His numbers aren't great - 9-13-4 record, .894 sv%, 3.22 GAA, but the San Diego Gulls are last in their division. Clang has been splitting the net with veteran Oskar Dansk and his numbers are actually worse than Clang's.
Tomas Suchanek had better numbers than Clang last season in the AHL, but is out since September with a ruptured ACL. He's probably out for the season and probably why they brought in Dansk.
They also have Vyacheslav Buteyets playing mostly in the ECHL - 25 games played there, 2 games played in the AHL.
I'm sure every team wants to have goalie depth, but Anaheim has Lukas Dostal as their goalie of the future. He's only 24 and has more games played this year than Gibson (32 to 23). I'm not sure a package including one of our goalies would be enough of a draw for Anaheim. Pieniniemi has decent trade value as a prospect. Finn Harding (7th round pick) may have some value, as he's been blowing up in the OHL for Brampton this year. Actually, Harding and Pieniniemi are 5th and 6th in defenseman scoring in the OHL.
I think in the end it is doubtful we'd acquire both. Zegras is the pick if you are looking for offense, but his injuries are a bit of a concern. MacTavish is more of a well rounded player, but he's never put up big numbers at lower levels, so he probably tops out as a really good 3C or a very weak 2C.
I read an article on Ottawa's plans for the deadline and they mentioned that Josh Norris has been floated out there for a trade. When healthy, he has averaged 31 goals per season. Assuming New York's pick comes to us this year, as is likely, do we deal it in exchange for Norris? I think he'd make a very good 2nd line center for the next few years, and can be there to help usher in the next wave of young Penguins. A trade like this seems fair.
I've read a lot about Cozens and Zegras, but haven't seen Norris's name put out there.
Ottawa would probably only trade him now for an upgrade, either at center or somewhere else. They are currently in the WC1 spot. So I'd assume it would be a off-season trade. Shane Pinto and Ridley Greig probably deserve more ice time so it makes sense for them to ask around and see how much value Norris could get.
He gets injured a lot though. He missed almost the entire season in 2022-23 playing only 8 games. He missed 32 games last season. Only full season he's played was 2020-21 with the weird divisions. This season he played in 50 of Ottawa's 56 games. He's signed for 5 more seasons after this one with an 7.95 AAV. Even though his shooting percentage is incredible (20.7 this season, 17.8 career average) and he would get to 30+ goals and ~54 points per season, teams should be treading carefully.
