Penguins Core Deserves Better from Ron Hextall
The poor management decisions have cost the winningest trio in Pittsburgh Penguins' history another shot at a title.
The Pittsburgh Penguins did the right thing when they re-signed Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang this past offseason. Not only was it a sign of respect for all of their accomplishments, it was also the best roster decision. The only caveat being that with Malkin, Letang, and Sidney Crosby all 35 years of age or older, this roster needed an influx of younger and cheaper talent.
Apparently that message was never received by Penguin's general manager Ron Hextall. If it was, it's been blatantly disregarded. Instead, Hextall has opted for a different approach: get older and more expensive.
After making some overdue moves by waiving Kasperi Kapanen and Brock McGinn, and trading the defensively gifted but offensively non-existent Teddy Blueger, the Penguins were in a prime position to add an impact player at either end of the ice.
Rumors swirled about the Penguins being in on Jakob Chychrun or J.T. miller with their new-found cap space. Two players that would certainly fit the bill of getting younger and helping to ease the burden on their aging superstars.
Instead, Hextall decided to pursue the 31-year-old Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators. Granlund is far from a bad player, and he certainly adds to the Penguins bottom-six. He has nine goals and 36 points, which outpaces the next leading bottom six forward's (Jeff Carter) production by 15 points.
Granlund is an offensively minded player with a pass-first mentality, reflected in his entire career statistics. The third line will undoubtedly benefit from his playmaking skills, and it's clear the Penguins are hoping Granlund can kickstart the scoring for Danton Heinen and Carter. Make no doubts about it, Granlund is an upgrade for the third line.
But, does he move the needle like Miller or Chychrun do? Absolutely not. He's not a difference maker like those two players are. Granlund is, at best, a find complimentary player at this point of his career. What really makes this trade so grim is the contract. Granlund is in the second year of a four year, $20 million contract, meaning he is on the books for two more seasons at $5 million against the cap.
How does having a 31-year-old third-line center who doesn't add anything to the forecheck, something the third line is explicitly responsible for, making $5 million a year, exactly help this team win a cup this year? Even if Granlund comes in and plays well, having another over-30 player with a bloated contract is nothing less than concerning.
To make matters worse, the acquisition of Granlund all but guarantees the exit of Jason Zucker after the season. Hextall will have a tough time finding ways to improve in the off-season (if he still has a job in Pittsburgh) with this extra $5 million on the books.
There was a time when management pulled out all of the stops for their superstars. They were bold. In 2013, former GM Ray Shero went for broke when he acquired not one, but two veteran captains in Jarome Iginla and Brenden Morrow. July 1, 2015 will go down as one of the best days in Penguins history, because it was the day management rewarded their superstars with the arrival of Phil Kessel. Heck, even two years ago GM Jim Rutherford went on a spree and acquired Zucker, Patrick Marleau, Conor Sheary, and Evan Rodrigues all prior to the deadline in an effort to revamp their middle lines.
That time of going all-in has passed, and the Penguins and the hockey world are worse off because of it.
This is meant as no disrespect to the likes of Granlund, Rickard Rakell, and Jeff Petry. All three are solid, if not better, hockey players. Rakell especially has been outstanding in the top six. But, when looking at all of the moves management has made in the last two years, it's clear that the Penguins' core trio of Crosby, Malkin, and Letang deserve much, much better.
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