After reporting in this space around 9:30 PM last night that Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero was about to acquire 6'4", 225# winger Alexei Ponikarovsky from the Toronto Maple Leafs for prospect Luca Caputi, the deal was formally annouced by Shero around 11 PM.
As it turns out, defenseman Martin Skoula also went to the Leafs in the deal. I forgot to mention him.
Can you blame me?
Anyway, for the 4th straight spring, Shero has made a splash at the deadline by acquring one of the hotter properties on the market.
Ponikarovsky -- held out of Toronto's game with the Carolina Hurricanes last night as a precaution in anticipation of a deal -- is a hulking winger who moves well for a guy his size. He will go to the front of the net and provide the presence there which Head Coach Dan Bylsma likes.
And, as his 19 goals and 22 assists this year evidence, he knows what he's doing when he gets there.
That goal figure, by the way, immediately slots him as third best on the Penguins, right behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Speaking of Geno, expect Ponikarovksy to start on his line, beginning Thursday in Madison Square Garden when the Penguins take on the New York Rangers.
Contrary to some belief, and despite his size, Ponikarovsky is not a banger. However, he's an excellent two-way player. He was a team-leading +5 on a miserable Maple Leafs squad -- one of only 4 plus players in Toronto.
"Poni" also has been relatively consistent throughout his career. The 4th round draft pick in 1998 made it to the big club full time in the 2003-04 season for the Maple Leafs and is about to reach the 20 goal plateau for the 4th time. He has more than 100 goals in his last 5 years.
Last season, he had 23 goals and 38 asssists for 61 points.
The downside with Ponikarovsky is that, like most guys available at the deadline this year, he's an unrestricted free agent this summer.
With a current contract that pays him 2 million a year -- and a salary cap figure of 2.5 million -- it remains a question as to whether or not the Penguins will be interested in bringing him back after this year.
Of course, that may be contingent on how he performs in the next three months.
In giving up Caputi for him, Shero chose to part with one of the Penguins' better prospects -- a guy who was said to be untouchable leading up to the trade deadline this year.
Caputi leads Wilkes Barre in scoring with 23 goals this year. This has been his best minor league hockey season, and he clearly was one of the top 5 prospects in the Pens' system -- and certainly in the top 3 up front.
But, while Caputi was always looked at as a long term winger the Penguins were hoping to groom, there has been some concern within the organization as to whether Caputi is strong enough to translate his game to the NHL level.
In the AHL, Caputi is strong along the walls and in the corners and, while his skating leaves a little to be desired, he can finish.
In the big leagues, however, Caputi -- 6'3" and 190# -- hasn't been able to use those same traits as successfully against bigger, stronger, faster competition.
Caputi also has shown some inconsistency when in Pittsburgh. Earlier this year, he was recalled for 5 games. He played like gangbusters for the first game and 1/2, then his play fell off to the point where he was a healthy scratch in favor of enforcer Eric Godard for the last 2 games of his stay with the big club.
In Toronto, Caputi will have a chance to show what he can do at the NHL level right away, but only time will tell if he develops over the long term. Some scouts and personnel evaluators see him as a good prospect; others have doubts whether he can be an impact player up front. And you don't have to take it from me; take it from Darren Dreger of TSN:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=312187
Frankly, I believe that Shero was satisfyed enough with the progress of prospect Nick Johnson -- who also saw his first cup of coffee in Pittsburgh this year -- to ultimately decide after meaningful delibertation with club officials yesterday to put Caputi in the mix on this deal.
My take?
I think Ponikarovsky can be a good fit in Pittsburgh and, while it hurts to lose Caputi, I never felt he was a sure-thing prospect. Are you taking a risk trading away a young, still-developing player with potential? Sure. Especially in exchange for a guy who may only be with you for a few months.
But with the Penguins still one of the top contenders to win Lord Stanley again this year, this is probably a move Shero felt he had to make. Ponikarovsky has size and skill that most of the other available players out there right now don't possess. You can fairly reason that his offensive output in Toronto will only increase with the Penguins.
And nobody is going to dispute that it fills a need for Pittsburgh, either.
Here's some more on the deal:
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2010/03/02/13087766.html
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=312196
http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/scott_cullen/?id=312175
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_669768.html
With the deadline about 7 hours away, I'll have more up in a little bit on whether the Penguins may do anything else today. Needless to say, other players they looked at extensively -- like Raffi Torres and Ray Whitney -- won't be wearing the black ,white and Las Vegas gold anytime soon. That doesn't mean they're finished dealing, however.
Stay tuned.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment