Quoting: pharrow
everyone is replaceable till you don't have anyone to replace them with. You replaced Pettersson with Matheson. Which right now, is a hope and dream.
No on knows what we have there. We could end up with an awful defense worse than last years.
And McCann is only 24 years old. Last year he was 23. Most guys are just getting into the league at 21-22 years old. Let alone breaking out. No he's not Jake, he's not netting 40 goals. But if you don't think after the streak he had he's capable of 30 you are mistaken. Consistency is the hardest part for a younger player. Instead of giving up on him, you let him figure it out. The speed and the talent is there. A bit more consistency in his role would help. Giving up two good young players for an aging one and a backup goalie is unreal. No way. There are 56 games next year. We'll be fine.
You have to consider Pens situation and the overall team additions and subtractions as a result of the deal.
You lose MP and McCann. Sure, two good pieces right now and the future. Could McCann score 30 (82 game fixed) next year? Maybe. Probably not on the third line where he is currently slotted though. McCann is a good player. That is what he is. He will not be a consistent 30 goal scorer in this league. He wasn`t even a prolific scorer in juniors. Max P would be much more likely to score 30 and is an upgrade no matter how you slice it. Granlund also has a higher ceiling. You also bring him in as a result of this deal as well. Pens are all in for 2 years so the value of taking a chance on McCann to MAYBE amount to a 30 goal scorer (IMO quite unlikely) is void because you are replacing him for 2 years with an actual 30 goal scorer and a guy who truly has elite potential in Granlund.
You lose MP and replace him with Chara. Chara fits the role MP will need to play this year better. Can`t argue that. Matheson might not work out. That`s true. I anticipate he is at least a serviceable dman though. The Pens also have POJ and other prospects who could step up this year if need be. Pens also need to sign Marino next year. That would be difficult to keep Letang, Dumo, MP, Matheson and Marino all above 4M a year. One of them is going to have to either way - the most logical is MP as he has value. No other team would take Matheson right now.
Fleury > Desmith. Jarry has less than 70 NHL games experience. That is a lot of trust in someone who has yet to truly establish himself. If he doesn`t play as a top 15 NHL goalie this year then we are screwed. I feel like having Fleury as a plan B (someone who can play a lot of games and ALSO act as a mentor to Jarry is very important). This would also be a huge boost to team morale and chemistry. I think everyone in the org. would be happy to have him back as a safety net. Hopefully Jarry doesn`t need him but It would be wise to have that insurance there.
So all in all this deal makes the team MUCH better. Especially considering their window is 2 years. So they are much better in the 2 years we are discussing.
In: Chara, Granlund, Max P, Fleury, Zetterlund
Out: McCann, MP, Desmith, Riikola, Sceviour
Max P >>> McCann
Chara > MP (in terms of the role these players would be playing and intangibles brought to the table. I would choose 1 year of Chara over 1 year of MP NO PROBLEM)
Fleury > Desmith
Riikola and Sceviour replaced with Granlund. Or Haula. Or Perry. Or Kovalchuk.
Bottom line: This team is better positioned to compete for a Stanley Cup during their 2 year window. I would feel quite confident that if the Pens had this roster they would have as good of a shot as anyone to win it all this year. I can`t say the same for how it is currently structured in real life.