Shoot me in the face if this is even a consideration.

*bang bang*

Explain

Kapanen & Zaitsev for Kris Letang. Not enough bangs! I need several more

Because the pens are trading their best defenseman and thats their biggest weakness. That makes their defense even worse. Kapanen is the only value piece coming from TOR

... best d-man that's also highly injury prone and makes over $7M a year.. that a bit cap hit to take on for a guy who gets hurt as often as Letang does.

AND A FIRST!

Zaitsev is a steady defenseman that was deployed wrong. People don't forget how to play defense overnight. He also played well in the world cup every year once Leafs were out. I think Sully could get the most out of him and he's at a nice price point for a long time. Play him with Johnson and he will fly.

I wouldn't mind giving up more for Letang as well. Injury prone but we have a good medical team for that. Really wanted him before Pens re-signed him.

Injury prone or not, he's still their best defenseman and one of the best in the league when healthy. He's not getting traded unless its a overpayment

Late 1st rounders have zero value to the pens, they constantly are trading them away. Letang brings elite offense to the pens, and Zaitsev isn't comparable. It would hurt the penguins big time if he's traded

He hasn't played a full season in almost a decade and Pittsburgh is in a notable cap situation.. they won't get an overpayment because of those 2 main factors

And they aren't trading him away just because of those reasons as well. Zero reason to trade away Letang unless its a overpay

Sorry. Didn't know you were Jim Rutherford's assistant or consultant or something like that. I'll make sure to ask you for every Pens trade I see to see if it's "realistic" or in other words, only benefits your team.

People like you are funny. Cant hear the opinions of others without taking offense to it lmao.

Fact is, Jimmy Rutherford makes bold moves others think are stupid (ala, Trading Matta instead of Johnson, or signing Johnson). It is not out of realm of possibility he could see Z as a decent top 4 replacement and maximize what he can get for Letang/free up cap space if Phil wont waive.

Lol. You think I'm offended? Nah. I just find it comical how much you overvalue players on your favourite team. Was gonna keep that in mind the next time I saw a Pittsburgh trade for a good laugh

Ok then Ill break down this trade for you since you think I'm over valuing Letang. Why would it make sense to trade the pens best defenseman when their blue line is already awful for Zaitsev, who is not close to being a good replacement, a 1st rounder that carries no value to pittsburgh since they never draft in the 1st round, and Kapanen, a winger that they already traded and needs a new contract and the pens do not have the money to pay that? To get certain players, teams need to overpay. Letang is one of those players. Really not a hard concept to understand

If JR saw Zaitsev as a decent top 4 replacement Lemieux better fire his ass. And if Zaitsev is indeed a decent top 4 D, why doesn't Toronto keep him

Guess if you actually got it right, you could understand it. Pittsburgh needs wingers, Kapanen is actually a very good middle 6 winger with top 5 speed in the league. Zaitsev is overpaid but is still a NHL d-man. The amount of Zaitsev + Kapanen's new deal adds up to right around Letang's current contract, then the Pens have 2 players for that price instead of 1 that can't stay healthy. & if you're saying that the 1st round pick has no value, you need to look into things before you comment. The 2020 draft is one of the deeper ones they'll be in a while. Could be just as good as the 2015 draft. Even if Pittsburgh didn't use the pick (they're dumb to trade all the pucks away when they're trying to get younger), they could trade the pick away and it still holds pretty good value.

So if you actually look at it the right way, it's not that hard of a concept. & it's actually a slight overpayment from Toronto in the first place.

It's not a question of why Toronto doesn't keep him, the player requested a trade. To keep the player and locker room happy, a trade is best. Zaitsev is a #4-5 guy. He's slightly overpaid and a bit too long of a deal, but he certainly has value

Bruh, leafs fans opinion on Zaitsev switched from someone who should be kidnapped and buried in Siberia to the most underrated RHD in the NHL the instance the trade rumor started. I don't think you can win an argument. By the way, Letang should only be traded for a young D and a top prospect; if the offer isn't there, it'll be stupid to move him

lmao so by "the right way" you mean by making the pens biggest weakness even weaker? lmao ok make sense. You're too focused on 1 side of the trade. Zaitsev is a horrible replacement. Other than Letang, Schultz is the only dman that puts up points and he's a UFA after this year. Pens have a ton of wingers. McCann, Rust, Guentzel, HQ, Kahun, Simon, Kessel. And I said the 1st rounder has no value TO PITTSBURGH. The pens do not draft in the 1st round, ever. It doesn't matter how deep the draft is, they dont draft in the 1st round.

Exactly. To move Letang, it needs to be an overpayment. Some players will only be traded if its an overpayment. Do you think the Leafs would trade Matthews if they got equal value? Hell no.

You agree that Zaitsev is a 4-5 defensemen, who is over paid, and for too much term. He also has requested a trade, and is also on a team that has cap issues. Combine all those points together, and his value is next to nil. You can find a 4-5 defenseman anywhere for 1.5 - 2 million in free agency, all teams have 4-5 guys in the system. You can't say that Letang's value is lowered because Pittsburg is in a cap crunch without including Toronto is also in a cap crunch, and that Zaitsev wants out. All 3 of these trades are slanted badly in Toronto's favour.

nah, he's a 5-6 guy who's paid 1.5-2 million too much and for way too long. He's still a NHL level defenseman so maybe there's some value to teams like the nucks or the yotes, but I don't think the return will be high

Lol. Didn't know that #5-6 guys help shut down the top line in hockey in the playoffs at 5 on 5.. I guess if that's what they do, then yeah he's a bottom pairing guy lol.

yeah, erik gudbranson was Pens best shutdown D in the later part of the season and the playoffs, are your telling me he's top 4 material as well loll? Looking at the normal stats, the advanced stats, Zaitsev's really just a 5-6 guy.