The Pittsburgh Penguins chose to part ways with Jake Guentzel, trading him to the Hurricanes. Who did they get in return? Vasily Ponomarev [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA0ODc5MTc2ODgzMjUwNTIy/usatsi_22240253_168393426_lowres.jpg] Vasily Ponomarev The Jake Guentzel trade set off a firestorm on social media, with Pittsburgh fans largely fretting about the return for their beloved erstwhile winger. Carolina surrendered three prospects in the deal, none of whom were their top kids. Alexander Nikishin, Bradly Nadeau, Scott Morrow and Gleb Trikozov all cracked Future Watch's top 100 in the NHL (available now!) and all remain property of the Hurricanes. Ville Koivunen ranked seventh on Carolina's team rankings, Vasily Ponomarev ranked 10th and Cruz Lucius was not listed, but there is definitely some potential there. Are any of these prospects sure-fire NHLers? No. But they all have upside and could very well find their way into the Pittsburgh lineup some day. VILLE KOIVUNEN, KARPAT (LIIGA) Koivunen, who was knocked for his skating in his draft year, was also lauded at the time for terrific hockey IQ and offensive instincts. This season, he's been one of the top scorers on Karpat Oulu in Finland's top pro circuit, the Liiga - and he's still only 20 years old. VASILY PONOMAREV, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (AHL) Ponomarev is a two-way center with a great motor who has already made his NHL debut, notching two points in two games with Carolina. He can fit up and down a lineup, but the most likely scenario is him finding a home in the bottom six - perhaps even soon. CRUZ LUCIUS, WISCONSIN (NCAA) Lucius is intriguing because he missed most of his draft year due to injury, but has put up great numbers in his first two seasons with the NCAA's Wisconsin Badgers. He's a skill guy who leans more on the playmaking side (older brother Chaz Lucius was the sniper when they played together as youngsters). [gallery ids="7894"] But here's why I don't mind the trade for Pittsburgh: They needed options in the pipeline. During the past decade, the Penguins either dealt away picks before the draft, or dealt a number of those prospects away in pursuit of titles. This is where the Penguins can take a lesson from Carolina: In the past three drafts, the Hurricanes have made 30 total picks, even though they were going for a championship. Pittsburgh has made 30 total picks in the past six drafts, only three of which were first-rounders. So they needed bodies and they got some players to fill out their pipeline. I would even venture to say that Carolina's seventh- and 10th-best Future Watch prospects would probably be Pittsburgh's third- and fourth-best (Brayden Yager is the only Penguins kid in Future Watch's top-100, ranking 26th overall). The two conditional draft picks Pittsburgh got in the deal - one of which could even turn into a first-rounder - are just as valuable as the prospects because the franchise needs volume. Pittsburgh's pool was ranked 27th overall in Future Watch and while Carolina was only a bit higher at No. 22, only one of these teams is favored to contend for a Cup this year. Stay tuned after the trade deadline for a league-wide roundup of which prospects were traded by Tony Ferrari.
