Shero lowering expectations as trade deadline is 8 days away

BOYES TO PENGUINS?

The Penguins cap situation and a lack of sellers (asking prices are sky high) has Penguins GM Ray Shero lowering expectations on the Penguins making a big splash before the March 5th trade deadline. “In terms of getting a top-line winger, that is probably far-fetched at this point,” Shero said during a media session moments ago.

From a cap standpoint, what has the Penguins backed into a corner a bit is the uncertainty with Kris Letang and Tomas Vokoun. “Little bit of a guessing game right now {with injuries}, but we certainly need to have the most information by March 5th,” Shero said. “We don’t know where {Kris} Letang and {Tomas} Vokoun might be,” Shero said in regards to their being a “lot of moveable parts” with long term injured reserve.

The Penguins have no idea right now if Kris Letang will return this season and multiple sources say the team is operating with the mindset that it’s a longshot that he plays this season. Shero, though, said the team will keep some cap space available for the prospect that Letang does return.

In an ideal situation, the Penguins would like to add a defenseman but the cost of adding even a third pairing d-man is high as the Penguins learned last season when they gave up two second round picks for Douglas Murray. “Adding any NHL defensemen for any team is going to be difficult,” Shero said of the current market. If the Penguins add a defenseman, it could be more along the lines of a hockey trade, sense, adding someone under team control or with term.

What we heard from Shero today is similar to what other GM’s are saying around the league. The trade deadline, though, is still eight days away. Prices are going to come down but the Penguins big issue is the cap.

When it comes to adding a right winger, think along the lines of Brad Boyes who has just a $1 million cap hit. The Penguins are doing a lot of homework on him.