Pens will try for Sharp

[CHunter]

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks expects the Penguins to try to trade for Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp this offseason.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford wants to add a top-six, goal-scoring winger to pair with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. The Blackhawks will likely have to move a few key pieces in order to free up cap space this offseason, and Sharp, who has two years left on a contract with a $5.9 million cap hit, could be one shipped out of town. It remains to be seen whether the Penguins have what it takes to pull off a move like this, especially because they have several important pieces potentially leaving as well.
Source: New York Post
sam., juin 20 2015 23:32

[Slug]

Pens do have some young Dmen that would probably interest CHI but not much else as far as trade chips go.

[The Bottlenecker]

There is no way I would do this if I am Jim Rutherford. I would be more apt to allow the young defense to grow then bring in another aging veteran "to play alongside Crosby or Malkin". He hasn't had much success with guys like Winnik, Perron or Spaling so why continue to beat this dying horse. Bring up a prospect like Kapanen, and let him live and learn alongside one of the two great centers he has. Even if Sharp comes in and does well for a season or two, then what? He alone isn't going to make the Penguins more dangerous in the playoffs, so why bother? I would rather see a youngster come in, take a year to figure things out then have him for the foreseeable future producing for the team. Just my opinion.

[mounD]

The Penguins need to worry about making smart, effective signings for the middle- and bottom-six forwards spots. The Penguins should have the top-six set up pretty well with:
Perron-Crosby-Hornqvist // Kunitz-Malkin-Kapanen; however this is contingent on Kapanen being ready to go in 2015-16.

The penguins need to worry about, perhaps, spending some of this cash on a Top4 Dman, and some bottom-six depth signings in the Marcel Goc vein, not the Max Lapierre route.

[metaldude26]

They should worry about generally intelligent asset management. If they've got near $6M to spend on another top-six forward is trade really the best way to about acquiring it when you've got free agency coming up right away? It seems like they'd be opening one hole to fill another. Also, doesn;t Pascal Dupuis factor into their calculus as well here or is he cooked? They seemingly have a bunch of options. I just don't like this time of year for trade acquisitions unless you are coming up with a long term solution. If they get Sharp for a cheap pick and Chicago eats a bunch of his salary then that's a great deal for how Pittsburgh has their assets spread out. If not I don't see how he fits.

[mounD]

They should worry about generally intelligent asset management. If they've got near $6M to spend on another top-six forward is trade really the best way to about acquiring it when you've got free agency coming up right away? It seems like they'd be opening one hole to fill another. Also, doesn;t Pascal Dupuis factor into their calculus as well here or is he cooked? They seemingly have a bunch of options. I just don't like this time of year for trade acquisitions unless you are coming up with a long term solution. If they get Sharp for a cheap pick and Chicago eats a bunch of his salary then that's a great deal for how Pittsburgh has their assets spread out. If not I don't see how he fits.

I think Rutherford is just a damn idiot, so my hopes aren't up on this one. I could see him further stripping us down to trade for Sharp when you hit the nail on the head: the answer is smart asset management, i.e. keeping Goc and Despres over guys like Lapierre and Lovejoy. On the topic of Dupuis, I am assuming he will be back good to go for training camp -- at least he says that he will be, that he's fully healthy now and preparing for NHL hockey again. But I think he's going to be a very effective piece on a Penguins third line; provided the Penguins don't move Sutter, which I think they should and will, it may look something like:

Downie - Sutter - Dupuis --> I think this could be a very good third line, but I think it could be just as effective with a guy like Goc instead of Sutter. Sutter had 20+ goals last year, and some teams may have interest in a guy who has been nothing short of a possession drain for the Penguins. If the Penguins can get Sharp for something like sutter + harrington, then I think it's a great deal, but that's probably not going to happen. Furthermore, the Penguins don't have a 1st round pick with which to deal, and the Hawks seem pretty set on getting a top pick back as part of the Sharp package. Whether they get it remains to be seen, but I have a hard time believing the Pens are anything but nominally involved in these trade talks.

Rutherford needs to make a series of quality, low-cost signings. He doesn't need to make a splash. The Penguins need some bottom-six depth signings, and a Top4 Dman. Those are the team's biggest needs; however, the "winger for Sid" argument just never seems to die. If your biggest organizational goal is to find an expensive winger for a guy who made Dupuis and Kunitz look like top-20 fantasy players, then you've got serious philosophical issues w/in the organization.

[Zorro]

The Penguins are in a tough spot right now.. They have some solid, very solid, young d-men who just aren't quite ready to join the Pens yet..
They could definitely use another top six forward.. They also need some team toughness.. I'm not sure why they let Tanner Glass walk last season?? I thought he was a great fit.. They also need to quit trading their 1st rounders..

Sharp would be a nice add, but he's no spring chicken.. Either is Kunitz.. They are going to be old and young!! HaHa..

[mounD]

The Penguins are in a tough spot right now.. They have some solid, very solid, young d-men who just aren't quite ready to join the Pens yet..
They could definitely use another top six forward.. They also need some team toughness.. I'm not sure why they let Tanner Glass walk last season?? I thought he was a great fit.. They also need to quit trading their 1st rounders..

Sharp would be a nice add, but he's no spring chicken.. Either is Kunitz.. They are going to be old and young!! HaHa..

They let Tanner Glass walk because he's a terrible player who contributes basically nothing to shot creation and is a negative shot-suppression player. All in all, he's just terrible. It was about time the Penguins stopped giving him time in the lineup. Same story with Craig Adams, the Pens are finally realizing he's just awful right now. Kunitz had a down season, but his skating / positioning / shot creation are all on point, and comparable to his previous 3 seasons in which he was basically a top-20 fantasy player. The story right now is just his hands, and his finishing ability going WAAAAAY south in 2014-15. Having watched nearly every Pens game last season, in my opinion Kunitz was dealing with some sort of wrist injury -- I think we're about to see a major rebound season, and I think he should be a fantastic mid-to-late round selection in multicat fantasy drafts.

Pens are in better shape than people think. Pouliot is ready. Letang, Maatta are both studs. Cole / Dumoulin / Lovejoy / Harrington / Scuderi / Chorney are all guys who can play in 5-6-7 Dman positions, and I think Dumoulin and Harrington will see significant roles this season. I could foresee the bottom-four Dmen as some combination of: Dumoulin, Lovejoy, Harrington, Scuderi. I hope they part with Scuderi, but they have already said they aren't going to buy out his contract - and I highly doubt they'll find any takers in the trade market. So it looks like bottom pairing duties for Scuds.

I really wish the Penguins would re-sign Ehrhoff, but we already know that's not going to happen. Sucks, because I know he would round out a beautiful top-four group with: Letang-Maatta - Ehrhoff-Pouliot. In that scenario, Cole-Dumoulin could slot in as your third pairing, and then guys like Harrington, Lovejoy, Scuderi can be effective bottom-pairing players. While Ehrhoff isn't coming back, the example illustrates just how profound the acquisition of a Top4 Dman would be for the Pens blue line group. As it stands, the Penguins are praying for good health. Another top4 guy would give them some depth, and some breathing room. This is why I think that the Penguins would have a greater impact using some $$$ for a Dman as opposed to throwing some stupid offer at the Hawks to snag Patrick Sharp. The team needs to use that money on a top-four Dman and some bottom-six depth signings - smart ones.

[donpaulo]

Chicago are motivated sellers but I am not sure I see Pitt having the assets to trade for Sharp, especially when another team can quite likely pay more.

I am from Missouri when it comes to the Penguins blueline built around a guy who had a stroke and another who had cancer on his thyroid and 2 shoulder surgerys in less than a calendar year.

[sammynos]

This would be a mistake for the Penguins. Assuming that they somehow have the assets to acquire Sharp, this would once again put them in a financial situation where the bottom 6 will have a questionable makeup. It would prove that no one has learned anything from past mistakes.

[reeveta]

As a Sharp owner, this move gets my vote.

[Daydream Nation]

As a Sharp owner, this move gets my vote.

Agreed. I own Sharp too and Pitt would be awesome. FLA would be OK too.

[Big Ev]

Hoffman + pick for Sharp. Make it happen

[Bass56]

Bah, don't get your panties in a bunch... Sharp is coming to Montreal

[Pengwin7]

There are actually very, very few teams in the NHL that have cap room for Sharp.
I don't see PIT being a fit due to cap restraints.
Sharp's $5.9m on PIT would put PIT at $65m, still needing 5F (incl. Bennett), 2D (incl. Cole), and a back-up G.
You just can't roster 8 players for $6m. [That $750k each.]

I would say Anaheim is probably the prime candidate for Sharp.
They are set on D (8-signed) and G (2)... and have 10F signed + 2 RFAs.

So, they've got two open slots at forward to fill.
And they're only at about $53m.

They've basically got $17m of open cap for two forwards.
They DO have several RFA D-men (Lindholm, Vatanen, Despres) coming due in summer of 2016.
But that makes them a perfect fit for one-year salary.

And Sharp played on Team Canada with Getz/Perry.
Not that is has much to do with a "trade"... but a team could have a bit extra interest if Getz(30) and Perry(30) have good relationship with Sharp(33) and think he might be a candidate to re-sign (value there)