After weeks of rumors that Penguins general manager Ray Shero would trade out of the #2 pick, Shero decided to follow his scheme to build for the future and draft the big 6ft4 center Jordan Staal which came as no surprise. So what happened to Carolina obtaining the pick and the Penguins getting Jack Johnson. There were talks between the two teams but nothing really serious as Shero wouldn’t take that trade straight up. Rumors are he asked for Andrew Ladd and the talks stalled from there.
TSN Analysts Pierre McGurie on the drafting of Jordan Staal:
“When you think about Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, this is an embarrassing array of riches down the middle for the Pittsburgh Penguins.How are people going to beat these guys? How do you draw up a game plan to stop a player like Staal at 6’4″ and 215 lbs.? This team will run scores up on people and it will be a dynamic thing to watch. If they can ever add some quality defense and get a goaltending coach for Marc-Andre Fleury, the Penguins are going to be for real. And it will be very tough for whoever coaches that team. To divvy up all that ice time will be virtually impossible”
The Penguins took defenseman Carl Sneep ( 2nd round), Brian Strait ( 3rd round) and Timo Seppanen in the 7th round. Taking three defenseman with 5 picks shows what Ray Shero thought is the main weakness in the organization: Defense. The steal of the day could be Timo Seppanen who was the 13th rated European prospect who suddenly dropped to the 7th round.
Qualifying offers: The Penguins have qualifying offers to 6 players: 1.Colby Armstrong, 2.Fleury 3.Orpik 4. Jani Rita 5.Niklas Nordgren 6. Ryan Malone
Notable players who didn’t get offers: Andy Hilbert, Tomas Surovy and Koltsov.
DePaoli’s take: Gotta love getting rid of Andy Hilbert and Tomas Surovy. Hilbert and Surovy are players who can only succeed at times when there on a line with a Sidney Crosby. The reason i like this move is because it’s time to strive for higher goals and get below average NHL players off our top 2 lines. Koltsov was a little surprising to me but can’t blame management for not offering him a contract. Koltsov a former first round pick is a above average penalty killer but he only scored two goals last season. You expect that kind of production from a 7th round pick not a first.
Check in sometime tommmorow for my Monday morning opinion on the world of sports a day late
Related posts:
NHL Draft Watch: 1st round winger prospects a primary area of focus for Penguins
1st round draft chatter: Breaking down draft prospects linked to Steelers at Linebacker, O-Line & Defense Tackle
Steelers expected to make a 1st round tender or a 1st/3rd round tender to OT Willie Colon
Latest Draft Buzz: Four wingers on Pittsburgh’s Radar in 1st round
