So far, Ray Shero is looking pretty good as our General Manager. In '07 it was 'Scary' Gary Roberts and Georges Laraque (lead to our first playoff birth in 5 years and an early exit), in '08 it was Marian Hossa and Hal Gill (lead to the Stanley Cup Finals appearance), in '09 it was Billy Guerin and Chris Kunitz (lead to a Stanley Cup Championship). It is 2010. What does Shero have up his sleeve now?
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There are so many possibilities that ran through my head about trades that could happen even before the rumors started flying. I knew our needs and our wants and compared them to who was available. I will honestly say the first of Shero's moves was never in my radar, but I am sure glad he worked it. Jordan Leopold is a skating, puck moving defenseman. He fills the Penguins mantra better than the defensively sound Jay McKee. McKee blocks alot of shots and is a good defenseman, but the thing about him that handcuffs him a bit is his skating. It isn't as smooth and quick as the other defensemen on the team. That is why they grabbed up Leopold. Leopold isn't as tough and aggressive as we could have bought, but, like I said, he fits our mantra. The second trade, I picked out, but I really didn't think we could get him. That is pretty much why I threw him out as a perspective Penguin. It is Alexei Ponikarovsky. He is a perfect match for Evgeni Malkin's line. Who is next? I don't see anymore needs, but who knows with Shero our Hero.
March 3rd at 3:00 PM EST is the trade deadline.
As I type this, there are discussions going down.
Looking at Leopold statistics (below), you can see that he isn't huge, can score goals, and play a decent amount of minutes. The things that drew him to the Pens are things that can't show on the scoresheet or in the records. It is the way he will fit in our system and the way we want to play.
Jordan Leopold for a 2nd round pick.://www.everythingpittsburgh.net/blogs/media/blogs/a/Leopold.gif">
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What is left? I know we now have a long list of UFA's next year to include Gonchar, Poni, Leopold, Feds, Guerin, Cooke, Eaton, McKee, and Brent Johnson. It is going to be once again tough for Shero to sign all of them. We also have to consider that Letang is a RFA. What happens now? Who are we going to have to lose? Who can we keep? Unless something crazy happens, I don't think we can keep Gonch. He is making over $5 mil a year and is demanding alot. Grant it, he deserves most of it. He is 35 though and a 5 year contract at the same money is kinda lenient. You also have to consider that he has missed alot of time due to injury the past couple seasons. He is getting to that age where it is easier to get hurt. I believe we have a good chance to sign the necessary pieces to keep this thing going.
We are under 24 hours left. Will there be more? Who knows, but if I was a betting guy, I would say yes.
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