2009 Trade Deadline: ANALYSIS

Heading into yesterday's trade deadline, the Penguins and general manager Ray Shero were the center of a lot of talk.

Would Shero acquire a permanent winger to man-up with center Sidney Crosby?

Was he going to change the composition of his defense by adding more physicality and toughness?

Was he going to add grit or more supplemental scoring, or both, to his forward lines?

More importantly, would the Penguins be a better team after 3 PM on March 4 than they were before the deadline?

On this latter question, there's no doubt that Shero gets a passing grade.

There were no true blockbusters made by the Penguins or, for that matter, any other NHL team. In fact, many of the big names -- including some rumored to be coming to Pittsburgh -- stayed put.

However, the parts Shero did add should do nothing but help the Penguins continue to try and nail down a playoff position -- and make their stay in the postseason meaningful once there.

In adding the New York Islanders' captain, 38-year old RW Billy Guerin, the Penguins added some supplemental offensive support, physicality, a power play presence, and veteran leadership.

One could fairly argue the Penguins were missing all of those elements.

Certainly, Guerin -- who willingly waived his no-trade clause to come to the Penguins -- is a complementary player. He has 16 goals and 20 assists in 61 games so far this year, and is not going to score 30-40 goals like he was capable of in prior seasons with some of his previous 8 clubs. But, and this is surely why Ray Shero acquired him -- he is still skilled and savvy enough to make an impact.

That's the key to this deal for the Penguins and their followers. You can't expect too much from Guerin. Put his role in perspective and it's clear to see that adding him to the roster down the stretch was a pretty low risk move for Shero.

That's part of the reason why the cost was so minimal -- a 5th round conditional draft pick, rising to a 4th rounder if the Penguins make the postseason and to a 3rd rounder (and no higher) if the Penguins advace to the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Guerin, a previous Stanley Cup Winner in 2005 with New Jersey, will be an unrestricted free agent after this season and it's purely speculative to judge whether he will leave or return after this year.

Shero also acquired another player yesterday, C/RW Craig Adams from the Chicago Blackhawks. Adams, 31, was picked up on waiver and also has a Stanley Cup to his resume (winning with Carolina in 2006) and is primarily a checking line center who is willing to do a lot of the dirty work in the corners. He will center the 4th line here, after having fallen out of favor in Chicago because of their emphasis on youth.

Adams isn't a notable addition, but he brings additional grit to the club.

Penguins head coach Dan Bylmsa was not enamored with Bill Thomas for some reason, so Adams will fill that checking role for the Penguins. Not surprisingly, Thomas was sent to Wilkes-Barre yesterday, along with Tim Wallace who had been recalled several days ago and played against the Tampa Bay Lighting.

(I apologize for not posting a recap of the Penguins/Lightning game by the way. I was out of town and focused all my free time solely on the trade deadline. Needless to say, the Penguins again looked solid in winning their fourth in a row to go to 9-3-1 in their last 13).

Speaking of the Baby Penguins, Pittsburgh had to take the notable step of sending veteran RW Miroslav Satan there yesterday to clear his salary off the books to make room for Guerin's. The Penguins will still have to pay Satan his full salary in Wilkes Barre, but it will not count against their cap.

Shero was noncommittal yesterday on what may happen with Satan -- or whether Satan might even report. He said he would talk with Miro and his agent and sort it out in the next few days.

Clearly, however, Satan seems to have played his last game in a Penguin uniform.

I understand the fault the organization has with Satan. He doesn't have enough mustard in his game and doesn't score consistently enough to overlook that. All that said, he has scored 17 times this year -- and not always in a top line role. Casting a veteran scorer like him aside, especially since it seems like he was coming on recently, wasn't an easy decision. But I think it was clear going forward he was not going to be back with the club next year, and the salary cap forced Shero's hand now.

What I found most curious about yesterday was Shero not moving anybody else. I really thought Hal Gill would be traded. I also heard that others may go, including Max Talbot, Ruslan Fedotenko or Pascal Dupuis. Of course, there also was a lot of talk the Penguins might bring in a big scorer, like Martin St. Louis, or a younger, accomplished player with potential for even more growth playing with Crosby, like Alexander Frolov or Alex Ponikarovsky.

Shero made one other deal yesterday, sending minor league defenseman Dany Richmond to St. Louis for minor league defenseman Andy Wozniewski. Wozniewski is a big (6'3") physical defenseman who will go right to the Baby Penguins.

Curiously, Richmond was recently disciplined by the Baby Penguins -- along with top prospect Luca Caputi, Chris Minard, forward Aaron Boogard and defenseman Jon D'Aversa -- for unspecified violations of team rules. Neither Baby Penguins GM Chuck Fletcher, coach Todd Rierden or Shero would release details of what happened with these players, but from what I know, it doesn't seem to be a police matter. Caputi and D'Aversa were sent to the Wheeling Nailers of the East Coast Hockey League, while Minard was Aaron Boogard were suspended by the team.

Tonight the Penguins continue their road trip looking to go 4-0 on the swing with a key game against the Florida Panthers. Guerin and Adams are expected to be in the lineup. It is unknown at this point whether Sidney Crosby's groin will be well enough for him to play.

Recap tomorrow.