It's Not Going to Happen
Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo!'s Puck Daddy blog passes along the rumor that the Pittsburgh Penguins offered the Kings Evgeni Malkin for the #2 pick and Mike Cammalleri. There's no way that happens, right? I mean, it's from Bruce Garrioch from the Ottawa Sun, who I guess is retarded, and plus where do the Penguins benefit from that trade? If the Kings were going to trade for Malkin, I would have thought have thought they would have to add a few more picks or Oscar Moller or something. And the Kings... well, the Kings would have Frolov-Malkin and Kopitar-Brown as their top 2 lines... no, it's not going to happen.
You know why I would love this trade though? Because the Pensblog would blow the fuck up and it would be awesome. Too bad this trade isn't happening.
But still, it'd be pretty cool... no, dammit, not happening. But I mean...
Update: And now Helene Elliot has an article with Lombardi where he says he's probably not going to trade the pick. I haven't been this confused since Mulholland Drive.
13 comments:
This trade makes no sense for the Pens unless Malkin were, say, Hossa's age, or if they trying to rebuild on the fly instead of attempting to reload for another shot or twelve at the Cup. That No. 2 pick looks great to everyone, but is it worth sacrificing one of the most dynamic offensive forces in the game -- in his early twenties! -- to take a step back after being within two wins of the Cup? Obviously there are cap issues that make this rumor even remotely plausible (and maybe it just touches on the reality that Crosby and Malkin aren't likely to both be in Pittsburgh for the next fifteen years, no matter how unstoppable a tandem that'd be), but I still think it's foolish for the Pens to choose an almost-thirty, reaching-his-peak Hossa over Malkin, one of the guys who'll actually be pushing Crosby for those MVP trophies for the next decade.
Really, I don't know why Garrioch and all these other idiots can't understand the obvious implications of why this particular deal would make zero sense for the Pens, unless they think Cammalleri is ctually worth the $6 million a year he wanted in arbitration last year.
This trade also doesn't make a lot of sense for the Kings in the grand scheme of things. Sure, it'd be a steal, and they'd have one of the best offenses in the league. But the Kings cap would be screwed up, and it would only make that gaping hole on defense, uh, gapinger.
WARNING: WACKY THEORY ALERT
I think the Pens want to build around Crosby, and part of the impetus behind shopping Malkin is to avoid a "#1 center" controversy. But why else you would actively shop one of the best 3 or 4 players in the NHL who is only 21 years old?
I agree the Pens want to build around Crosby, and I think the whole Malkin not wanting to play second banana thing could well lead to him being shipped out of town some day. But I think a deal like this has to be at least a 2-for-1, where the Pens address a need bigger than simply trying to keep all the egos happy or doling out enough minutes to their stars.
Pensbloggers can probably address their needs better than I, but I presume defense is still their biggest need (especially with Orpik potentially leaving town), so I would think a realistic trade scenario for Malkin would have to have a rock solid young defenseman coming back, probably along with a winger who has enough offensive prowess to play along Crosby. And it'd probably take some picks as well. It's a steep price to pay, but considering the caliber of talent and age of Malkin, I'd expect a king's ransom in return.
And this is another reason I don't think the Kings make a good trade partner for Malkin: they probably have the assets to make a deal, but it'd require Lombardi to be willing to part with Jack Johnson (unless the Pens were willing to take on Visnovsky's salary, which seems doubtful, given how much a Malkin deal would be about giving the Pens more flexibility under the cap), which isn't happening. And while Cammalleri might work as a winger who would likely flourish playing with Crosby, he's also a pending UFA, which means the Kings would have to open to dealing Frolov, or more likely someone like Brown or O'Sullivan. I think there's enough forward depth for the Kings to bear giving up one of those players, but it'd come down to whether at the end of the day it makes the team better overall, which is less certain to me. Certainly, having Malkin to center a line would probably make Kopitar more productive, but I still think the holes on the back end are too glaring to make this work.
Essentially, I see Malkin to L.A. as a repeat of the good Kings teams of the Gretzky era, where there was plenty of firepower up front, and maybe some agile puck-moving defensemen on the back end, but not a team that keeps the puck out of its own net terribly well.
Did you see where Helene Elliott claimed Frolov needs to be more consistent?! Is she even watching the games occasionally anymore?
Also keep in mind that the Pens are not going to win the Cup without defense. They have a franchise forward in Crosby, and if they think they can draft a franchise D-Man with that #2 pick, then it makes sense to me, they could end up building a dynasty, and they still get a forward to plug into Malkin's spot who is not a complete suckass.
In 5 years they could have the NHL's best forward, goalie, and defenseman because of a trade like this.
If Shero did offer Malkin for the 2nd and Cammy, that says to me that the Kings are about to get a very good defenseman. Malkin is awesome, but the Kings aren't going to have trouble scoring goals in the next few years. If Shero thinks a defenseman in this draft is almost worth Malkin, then I'd say the Kings should hold onto the pick and draft that defenseman.
A big question: can Kopitar play wing? Or else the Kings could be in the same spot as the Pens.
And Rudy, I'm surprised you think Shero (or you) would think the #2 is "almost" worth Malkin. One, that nuts. I wouldn't even trade Malkin for Stamkos, no way. Two, Cammi isn't chopped liver.
I think Cammi and Johnson for Malkin is a better trade for the Pens than Cammi and the #2. No one really knows how Doughty or Bogosian are going to turn out. I'm pretty sure Johnson is going to be a stud.
Well, I don't necessarily think that (I haven't seen any of these defensemen play nearly enough), but why would Shero offer Lombardi that trade if he didn't think it was a good idea? That's the only way that trade makes sense.
Either way, I hope this happens.
It is important for the Kings to trade away defense for scoring forwards, anyone can clearly see that...
Yeah, I can't make much sense of this, either. Are the Kings really in that much haste to have an $8M player on their payroll, especially after all the whining about losing money? I mean, are they even in a place where Malkin makes them contenders?
Cap space is nice, but to tell the truth I'd probably want to use it to get more experience than young-and-soon-to-be-expensive Malkin. Granted, I hardly ever watch the Penguins, so I'm just talking theoretically.
Pick your d-man and get on with it.
Pick your d-man and get on with it.
Exactly! My subtle point was: that trade only makes sense from a Pens perspective.
With JJ and the D-man they get @ #2 this LA team is going to be really good very quickly. Let's hope Deano does the right thing.
With JJ and the D-man they get @ #2 this LA team is going to be really good very quickly.
Well, I'd be careful a bit there.
Last summer, I would have said "With Cloutier out of the nets and some smart summer signings, this LA team is going to be really good very quickly," but that didn't even come close to panning out.
Still, it's gotta improve, right?
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