And So It Begins

"The only thing I actually know is that Ray Shero is looking into this far more expansively than me or any other hockey "expert". Whatever he decides to do I am sure it will cause a major stir throughout the league." - Bromer Sports


That is the last thing I said about the Pittsburgh Penguins potential trade deadline moves. Boy, did Ray Shero prove that to be true? Today he traded Alex Goligoski to the Dallas Stars for LW James Neal and D Matt Niskanen. Both player's contracts expire at the end of next season. James Neal was a mentioned name by some "experts" in the last few days, but it was not really expected to happen. Neal immediately becomes the Penguins best winger. He has a lot of potential. Not too many players score 20+ goals in each of their first three seasons, he is on pace for over 30 this season. Hopefully the Penguins can work out a long term deal with him and he can become Sid's left wing for many years to come.

Matt Niskanen on the other hand is not so exciting. He showed a lot of promise early on, with being a first round pick and being a +22 his rookie season. Since then his numbers have gotten worse each season, last season he was a -15. Niskanen does provide a very solid fifth defenceman. He is a strong physical defender that will do well paired with Engelland. Niskanen is best known in Pittsburgh for fighting Sidney Crosby.



Overall this is a great deal for the Penguins. They added a very strong goal scorer and solid defender. While at the same time they managed to remove their greatest liabilty on defense. My only worry is if they are short on offensive defenceman now. I still believe Shero is going to make at least one more trade. A lot of people are starting take the Kovalev rumor very seriously. It is expected that all it will take a deal very similar to the one they made for Bill Guerin a couple seasons ago. If that is the case, the trade is a no brainer. This is why I love the trade deadline.