What type of player are the Penguins getting?
During a radio interview with 105.9 The X on Thursday, Winnik used one word to describe his game – heavy. It’s an accurate description. Winnik even plays bigger than his 6’2”, 210-pound frame, and is a productive player in the dirty areas of ice such as the offensive corners and in front of the net.
He’s much more than a mere tough guy, though. He uses his size and strength to drive the offense to the front of the net and pull defenders away from his linemates. Winnik had been playing on Toronto’s second line with Nazem Kadri and Joffrey Lupul, a pair of highly skilled forwards.
He was also the anchor of the Maple Leafs’ penalty killing unit, with 3:27 minutes of shorthanded time on ice per game. He leads all NHL forwards with 200:19 of shorthanded time on ice this season.
Where will he play?
A natural center, Winnik can play all three forward positions. He has played left wing for most of his NHL career but was recently playing on the right wing in Toronto.
In addition to killing penalties, he will probably fit in on the Penguins third line with Brandon Sutter and either Beau Bennett or Steve Downie.
Isn’t two draft picks and a player a lot to give up for a bottom-six rental forward?
Yes – and no. On the surface, it seems like a lot to give up, but multiple factors are at play here. The prices for trades at the deadline are driven by market value, and historically, it would seem that Pens slightly overpaid for Winnik’s services.
Here are some examples of bottom-six forwards acquired at the deadline in previous years:
2014: Marcel Goc from Florida to Pittsburgh for a 3rd and a 5th-round draft pick.
2014: Ales Hemsky from Edmonton to Ottawa for a 3rd and a 5th-round draft pick.
2014: Dustin Penner from Anaheim to Washington for a 4th-round draft pick.
2013: Raffi Torres from Phoenix to San Jose for a 3rd-round draft pick.
2013: Blake Comeau from Calgary to Columbus for a 5th-round draft pick.
2013: Michael Handzus from San Jose to Chicago for a 4th-round draft pick.
Remember however, that the Penguins also got the Maple Leafs to retain half of Winnik’s $1.3 million salary cap hit, as well as take Zach Sill in return, which cleared another $550,000 from the Penguins’ books.
The net result of those two moves is that the Penguins are able to go into Monday’s trade deadline with around $730,000 of salary cap space available. That will allow general manager Jim Rutherford the flexibility to make another move – possibly an upgrade to the blueline.
Haven’t the Penguins given up a lot of draft picks lately?
The Penguins have now traded their 1st, 3rd and 4th-round selections in 2015 and their 2nd-round pick in the 2016 NHL draft. But at the same time, the Penguins haven’t traded any of their top-ten prospects.
Defensemen Derrick Pouliot, Brian Dumoulin and Scott Harrington, forwards Kasperi Kapanen, Jake Guentzel and Oskar Sundqvist and goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray represent some of the Penguins highest-value trading chips, and they all remain with the team.
The Penguins currently have four selections in the 2015 draft – but that list is far from finalized. The team could decide to trade a player on draft day to get back up on the board as they did in 2013, when they moved Tyler Kennedy to San Jose for the pick that became Jarry.
Are the Penguins done making moves now?
I don’t believe so. Rutherford said on Wednesday that there was “nothing we’re looking at right now, but I don’t think we should close the door.”
His longstanding preference has been to make deals far in advance of the zaniness – and high prices – of deadline day, but the way Winnik’s deal was structured gives the Penguins some room to play with between now and Monday afternoon, and the position that will probably draw the most attention is defense.
The Penguins have seven capable NHL defensemen, but they don’t always mesh together seamlessly. Derrick Pouliot and Christian Ehrhoff played together as the second pair on Wednesday in Washington, and while I think it is a good fit stylistically, it will place assistant coach Gary Agnew’s agendas at odds.
On one hand, Ehrhoff should be a prime candidate to receive heavy ice time in the playoffs, probably over 20 minutes per night, while dealing with opponents’ second scoring line. On the other hand, Pouliot, a 21-year old rookie with only 20 NHL games to his credit, should probably receive more sheltered minutes in his first NHL playoff experience.
If the Penguins could trade for a defenseman that could play those hard minutes alongside Ehrhoff – Edmonton’s Jeff Petry would be a great fit – it would allow the team to keep Pouliot’s minutes down while allowing the second pairing to take the heat off the already taxed top unit of Kris Letang and Paul Martin.
Photo credit: NHLI
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Thanks for the questions and keep them coming in. We will have another mailbag session before Monday’s trade deadline. To participate, leave your question in the comments under this article, on the PSN Facebook page or find me on Twitter @ASaunders_PSN.
