Penguins/NHL
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News broke Saturday night that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba has been seeking a trade since May. While NHL General Managers have been aware of this for months, the news became official as the agent and player went public.
“Since May, we have been working with the Jets management in an effort to facilitate a trade of Jacob’s rights,” agent Kurt Overhardt said in a statement released to the media on Saturday evening. “Both parties continue to work on this matter. There has been no negotiation regarding the terms of a contract between our client and the Jets over the course of the last several months. The situation is not about money; it is solely about our client having the opportunity to realize his potential as a right shot NHL defenseman. As a consequence of the Jets depth on the right side, we believe it is in both parties’ best interest to facilitate a mutually advantageous trade,” said Overhardt. “Our client has nothing but respect for the people and City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Jets, its fans, management and ownership – our desire to get him moved has everything to do with opportunity,” said Overhardt. “We will continue to work with the Jets in good faith to achieve this end.”
As expected there’s a long list of suitors for Trouba.
Understandably Winnipeg is looking for a big haul.
A key piece in any trade package, the Jets covet a young top-4 left handed defenseman, preferably with term.
On paper there might not be a deal that makes more sense than Olli Maatta for Trouba.
In Trouba, who the Penguins passed on in the 2012 draft to select Derrick Pouliot, would give them a dimension on their blueline that they don’t have.
A punishing shutdown right handed defenseman who could anchor a No. 2 pairing behind Kris Letang for years to come and also help the Penguins limit Letang’s workload a bit moving forward.
In Maatta, the Jets would get a young left handed d-man with top-4 potential who most importantly is signed for the next six years at $4 million per season.
“Maatta would cross off a lot of ‘T’s’ for Winnipeg,” a scout said.
Penguin officials have been aware of Trouba wanting out of Winnipeg since the summer and Pittsburgh’s interest in Trouba has been lukewarm to this point, sources say. Most likely because of financial concerns.
While Penguin coaches don’t see Maatta in the light that the management team does, those in the front office see Maatta being under contract for the next six years as significant value.
The Winnipeg Free Press reported last season Trouba was seeking an 8 year, $56 million contract from the Jets. One NHL exec predicted Trouba will get around $5.5 million per season on his next deal.
If the Penguins want to get into the mix, they have the assets to be a player in this.
Camp Standouts
The Penguins are on the ice this morning for the third day of training camp:
Here’s a few young forwards who had a strong first two days of camp and are making early impressions:
Scott Wilson – Has been very impactful offensively. Doesn’t have the skill set of an elite offensive player but Wilson knows how to get to the right spots to put himself in position in score. The puck has been following him around during scrimmage play. Skating not a strong suit but improved foot work continues to be noticeable, looks to have a quicker first two steps in creating separation. Certainly a player who’s trending up.
Thomas Di Pauli – The skating ability as expected has been very noticeable. One of those players who creates “chaos” with his speed and he’s showed a good ability to bounce off checks for a smaller player. I want to wait to see how Di Pauli fares in a couple preseason games but coming into camp, some of the organization’s scouts felt Di Pauli was close to being NHL ready and he’s showing that so far. If he continues on this trend, could emerge as one of the first callup options on the depth chart.
Jake Guentzel – Didn’t have a great first two days of camp but there’s a lot to like. Great hockey sense in how he plays all three zones and has a smooth skating ability with acceleration to get up the ice on the attack very quickly. A key for Guentzel will be getting a bit stronger.
Teddy Blueger – 2nd round pick in 2012, Blueger is kind of at a cross-roads in how he’s viewed as a prospect. He’s one of those prospects who certainly hasn’t been written off but there’s not a huge amount of optimism like there is for others like Guentzel. Overall, though, Blueger held his own in the two scrimmages, scoring in back-to-back days. A positive sign was that both goals were one’s where Blueger created his own shot.
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