Egor Chinakhov has been a revelation with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Tristan Jarry has been the opposite of that with the Edmonton Oilers.
Offseason additions from Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau to Parker Wotherspoon and Arturs Silovs have the Penguins unexpectedly in position to make the playoffs.
In other words, Kyle Dubas has the hot hand, so it’s easy to think he might be tempted to press his luck at the NHL trade deadline Friday.
Sidney Crosby is, presumably, still out another couple of weeks. Evgeni Malkin is staring down a suspension for a slash to the head of Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on Thursday night. Dubas might consider looking for band-aids for a team that’s suddenly on a two-game losing streak in a bunched-up Eastern Conference.
Dubas didn’t speak to reporters leading up to the deadline this week, but on his radio show with Josh Getzoff, he didn’t exactly sound like a GM itching to shake up his roster.
“I think at the deadline, it’s seen as time by outside observers where you have to act. I think we’ve already acted,” Dubas said, before quickly offering a caveat.
“It doesn’t mean we ever stop trying to improve the team, especially in positions that can help the group now and in the future,” he continued.
So which will it be? A splashy deadline that could fix recent ills or a calm trusting of the roster-building process that started a couple of years ago?
Here are some points to ponder as the 3 p.m. deadline approaches with an answer.
1. Add 87
It might be the most popular cliché used by NHL GMs who don’t make high-profile additions at the trade deadline, and Dubas busted it out this week.
He was talking about how Crosby is two weeks into a projected four-week recovery from an injury suffered in the Olympics.
“Obviously that will be the best trade deadline addition we could make,” Dubas said.
He’s not wrong, of course. Nobody on the trade market will make half the impact Crosby could down the stretch this season.
If the playoff picture is still rosy for the Penguins by the time Crosby makes his return, the vibes surrounding the team and its postseason hopes will be extremely positive, whether they make a deal Friday nor not.
2. Stay young
When describing the type of move he would favor at the deadline, Dubas laid out some pretty specific criteria.
He said the Chinakhov trade was the template he was working from.
“I think the ideal acquisition for us will be a player that’s in their 20s, closer to their mid-20s, that has some team control,” Dubas said. “Either they’re signed or they’re a pending restricted free agent or they’re not a rental.”
It makes sense. The Penguins, at this point in their “rebuilding” process, don’t need to behave like a team looking to trade future assets for a few veteran pieces to get over the Stanley Cup hump. They need to continue to build with youth.
Think a deal for 22-year-old center Shane Wright, who seems to be on the outs in Seattle, not a deal for 32-year-old Vincent Trocheck, who is definitely on the block in New York.
Problem is, trades for young impact players are hard to pull off. (That’s why the Chinakhov move looks to be such a home run.)
3. Keep your rentals
There’s a school of thought that says the Penguins could be both buyers and sellers at the deadline.
Move out pending free agents like Mantha or goalie Stuart Skinner and use the assets acquired to buy younger pieces under team control.
While that type of move can’t be ruled out – especially since the goalie market looks pretty bleak and the Penguins have a ready-made replacement in Sergei Murashov in Wilkes-Barre – Dubas almost came out and said he’s not looking to do that.
“There have been a few teams in the last number of years that have had great success with a lot of pending free agents, and we’re just hopeful to become the next in that line,” Dubas said.
4. Shopping center
Even if Dubas decides to play it cool and not be a prisoner of the moment, there’s a spot on the Penguins roster that is screaming for an upgrade.
Center depth.
Imagine the Penguins make the playoffs and in Game 1 of a first-round series, a center gets hurt. They’re screwed. The Rickard Rakell experiment hasn’t been a smashing success. There’s nobody to call up from the AHL.
Here’s a name to think about: Erik Haula. Nashville is in fire-sale mode, and Haula is a nice veteran player with good faceoff skills on an expiring contract. The price wouldn’t be nothing, but it wouldn’t jeopardize the rebuild either.
After all, the Penguins have accrued 34 picks in the next four NHL drafts, including 20 in the first three rounds.
5. Cough, 71, cough
Let’s say Dubas doesn’t make a big move Friday. A lot of GMs in that position like to have something to announce at a post-deadline press conference to please the fan base and stay on the right side of the PR battle.
Maybe something like the announcement of a contract extension for a popular franchise icon on an expiring deal.
The Penguins don’t have anybody like that on the roster, do they?