Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager Ron Hextall is doing just enough to correct his mistakes and improve this team before it's too late.
The Pittsburgh Penguins caught a break when Kasperi Kapanen was claimed on waivers by the St. Louis Blues. Free of Kapanen’s $3.2 million contract, the Penguins finally had some wiggle room going into the trade deadline.
The moves kept coming from Hextall as he continued to open up cap space prior to the deadline. His next moves included waiving high-energy defenseman Mark Friedman and bottom-six forward Brock McGinn. If both go unclaimed, it will free up an additional $2 million in cap space, and could be even more if another team claims McGinn.
With these moves, and a little luck, the outlook of the Penguins and their general manager don't appear as grim. If anything, the Penguins now look very formidable and in a prime position to add another difference maker to their roster.
What More Can He Do?
The Penguins look to be in better shape now than they were a week ago, but there is still plenty for the team to do to improve. First and foremost on that list is acquiring a third line center or impact forward. The Penguins are still in desperate need of improving their roster around their top two lines.
Whether it's another defensemen with skating ability, a reliable backup goaltender, or a third line center, the Penguins need better depth. Hextall can fully right the many wrongs of his tenure by acquiring one or possibly two players that fit the bill.
The one thing Hextall must avoid is overpaying. The market for trades is always unpredictable, but this year has been especially all over the place. Big pieces like Bo Horvat, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Patrick Kane have all been acquired for various price tags. What complicates matters more is the value being paid for middle of the lineup players.
The Vegas Golden Knights acquired Ivan Barbashev, a 10 goal and 30 point scorer, for a first round draft pick. The Tampa Bay Lightning gave up five assets for Tanner Jeannot. Jeannot has one 20+ goal season in his brief career, but currently has a meager five goals this season.
This makes the market Hextall is trying to navigate that much murkier. Reports and rumors have the Penguins linked to middle-six players like Brock Boeser, Adam Henrique, and James Van Riemsdyk. With the inflated price tags paid by the Golden Knights and Lightning, the Penguins and Hextall must proceed very carefully and not be the next team to overpay.
Very recently, it seemed like Hextall and the Penguins were out of moves and options to improve the team. All of a sudden, with some fearless waiver wire transactions and a bit of luck, the Penguins are back in the playoff hunt. Hextall still has a golden opportunity to improve this team at the right price, and there are just three days left for him to do so.
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