Penguins trade Whitney

[hrd12]

The Penguins finally got around to making a deal:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/

What do you guys think?

[Vince]

Sheiro robbed the Ducks GM.

[hrd12]

I know a lot of Penguins fans hate Whitney, but he was really good when he was healthy and felt good about his game. I don't think that was ever the case since he came back.

Ducks fans... Whats up with Kunitz, or did they just need a d-man to help replace Pronger and Niedermayer?

[Ridgeberg]

I'm not sure you can say robbed, that seems unfounded. Kunitz's best year was 25 goals, playing with Andy McDonald (I think). Obviously Crosby is a upgrade over McDonald, but that doesn't mean Kunitz will all of a sudden be a 40 goal player. Shero mismanaged his RFAs and paid too much for Whitney instead of trying to get the winger that Sid needs, which forced his hand. Obviously he would rather get rid of Goligoski or Letang as they are more one-dimensional, but Anaheim wouldn't bite. I think he was able to shed a little salary in the deal as Kunitz makes a smidgen less that Whitney. Whitney is a young, puck-moving defenseman, good on the PP and has been to the Stanley Cup finals. He has had a poor year because of his injury (maybe he was rushed back) plus the added pressure of having to be the #1 guy until Gonchar came back. In Anaheim he'll learn from (arguably) 2 of the top 5 defensemen in the NHL. Now Anaheim has the luxury of trading Pronger (if they get wow'd) now or over the summer (if Niedermayer does not retire) OR if Nieds does retire, their top pairing is Whitney - Pronger. Plus, the emergence of Ryan has made Kunitz expendeble. The only wild card is the OHL prospect Anaheim gave up, who is doing well there and was a 2nd round pick. Kunitz is an upgrade over Dupuis, a guy that will go into the corners and can keep up with Sid. Plus he's won a cup.

I don't know how you can call that a robbery. Seems like a pretty fair trade to me.

[metallicatz]

I think it's a very solid trade on Shero's part. Whitney was in no way deserving of the contract he was getting and was costing the team games with his turnovers and careless puck play. We've more than enough defensemen who can do at least as well as Whitney. Goligoski is a better scoring defenseman than Whitney and would be much better suited on the powerplay than Whitney. And Whitney was sucking it up even after Gonchar came back.

It's not always about the goals. Kunitz has put up very solid points in his first 3 seasons. Add to that the Pens got a very nice prospect in Eric Tangradi who's putting points all over the place in the OHL. Not to mention kunitz is locked up through 2012 at a reasonable price and the Pens get to shave some much needed cap space.

Time will tell who got the better of the deal but right now it looks like Shero has the edge on this one IMO.

[Qb]

This looks like a deal that could benefit both teams, assuming Whitney can get his game back together, Kunitz meshes with Crosby and Tangradi develops as in the next few years.

I don't know how much of a factor his foot still is, but Whitney hasn't been the same player for about a year. He's obviously struggling with his confidence and/or focus right now, so a change of scenery may do the trick. He's become a whipping-boy in Pittsburgh; I was at the game last night and the announcement of him as a healthy scratch drew a somewhat hearty cheer (not from me, I think that's classless). Make no mistake though -- he's a talented player, probably a top-pairing d-man if he could be more consistent, but he's not there yet. Plus he's signed at a relatively reasonable rate of $4M for several more seasons, and the Ducks have a slew of FAs on the blueline after this year.

While Kunitz isn't the true sniper most would've liked to see acquired, he's shown that he can put up 50-60 points playing with good players and he's willing to do some dirty work around the net. You can only assume he'll play with Crosby, so hopefully they can click. He's definitely got more skill than Dupuis, will work a hell of a lot harder than Satan and has proven himself at the NHL level, not a prospect or a developing player like some of their other options. Plus he's signed through 2012 at a manageable $3.75M.

Tangradi could make this trade a great one for Pittsburgh if he pans out. He's only 20 and already listed at 6-3, 214 and is having a great year in the OHL with Belleville (87 points in 52 games). He was a 2nd round pick in 2007, so there is some pedigree, and will likely slide into a 1A/1B designation for the organization's top forward prospect (with Luca Caputi, also a 20 year-old power forward in the making). I saw Belleville play Erie last year, so I think I've seen him play, but I'd be lying if I said I have any recollection of it. Although I do remember them having a couple of monsters up front -- Shawn Matthias was one -- so maybe he was the other.

Truthfully, I was hoping Shero would hold off on any major deals until after the season, but I think he may have made a solid move here. If Whitney were playing better they may have been able to get more for him, but with his play this season, it may have forced his hand somewhat. Ultimately this looks like a win-win, but only time will tell...

[VanCitySportsGuy]

This is a fair trade for both teams. From the Pen's perspective, I'm sure they are happy to get rid of Whitney's contract, since he recently signed a 6 year deal.

[Vince]

Apparently the prospect they got is a big power forward who is second in the OHL in goals behind Tavares...