The State of the Team

So it's Feb 25th and the trade deadline is only 4 days away. So far we robbed Dallas of Neal (not to mention the courtesy toss-in of Niskanen that makes Shero the best GM in the league), and grabbed Kovy for next to nothing. If you ask me I think that's an absolute domination of a trade deadline so far. With Tanger playing like he is, Martin making 5 a year, and Despres in the system, Goligoski was clearly the odd-man out. Just like Whitney, a puck-moving defenceman on the Pens gets massive numbers and then gets traded for a winger plus a toss-in.  That's the beauty of having such a good system. Shero can afford to move young pieces to obtain help in areas of weakness.

I'll be honest I was dead-pan shocked when I heard about the Kovalev trade. In my mind there was no way that he could play the type of game Bylsma demands every night. But the more I think about this trade, the more I like it. It reminds me of Miro Satan. Most people have no idea what I'm talking about when I say this, but Miro Satan was just as important in the Washington series as Sid was. Whenever the Pens seemed hemmed in their own end, or things weren't going right, Satan always seemed to continue to make the right play. The pens fed off this and were able to regain momentum several times. Now mind you he didn't do TOO much more, but that was enough for me. (PS See TK for the 2011 version of the spark-plug - most under-appreciated player in the league).

I still think there is a chance Shero will be looking for a centre and a veteran depth D-man. As much as I like Lovejoy, I still think he is a year away and that someone comparable to a Jay Mckee would be very welcomed.

And to end the night, I'll give you my projected lines for the playoffs (assuming the current roster stays):

Kovy-Sid-Neal
Kunitz-Staal-TK
Cooke-Letestu-Conner
Dupuis-Rupp-Adams

(Talbot, Jeffrey, and Sterling get primary back-up duties. Talbot could see time replacing Dupuis or Conner, but as of right now I think this is the best way to go)

Next post coming either Tomorrow with a pre-game or a Saturday full analysis plus pregame.