Faceoff Factor

Twas The Night Before The Deadline

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Feb 25, 08:43 PM | Hype this story!

So we’re less than 24 hours from the trade deadline — 19 to be exact — and all is (relatively) quiet in the NHL.

Aside from two free agency signings (Peter Forsberg with the Colorado Avalanche and Darren McCarty with the Detroit Red Wings) and a few players placed on waivers, little has happened…yet.

Rumors, however, aren’t nearly as rare, with talks of Marian Hossa heading to Montreal, Ottawa, San Jose, Philadelphia and about 25 other teams.

And, in Pittsburgh, little has been made official, though there is a lot of talk about the need for a scoring winger and a defensive defenseman.

So here’s what we know:

• The Penguins have six defensemen in the NHL. Next in line is Alain Nasreddine, who has played in just a handful of games this season.

• General manager Ray Shero is looking to add to his roster, not subtract from it, at least according to this article.

• Shero is patient and not willing to mortgage the future for a rental player or short-term solution.

With all of that being said, it’s highly unlikely the sophomore executive will stand pat as his opponents bolster their rosters.

But it also appears highly unlikely Hossa or any of his big-name, impending free agent buddies will be heading to Pittsburgh by the end of the day tomorrow.

Think more on the lines of middle-tier trades. Trades that change the team, but not so drastically that existing important players are shifted around.

It would appear the biggest need is an upgrade on defense.

Names that have been linked to the Penguins that seem realistic are Barrett Jackman of the St. Louis Blues, Adam Foote and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Ruslan Salei of the Florida Panthers.

The overwhelming theme with this bunch is physicality. Jackman and Foote are impending free agents, but neither would appear to be too difficult to re-sign. Tollefsen and Salei have years left on their contracts and both are affordable.

All of these would seem to be within the realm of possibility — at least until some foolish general manager drives up prices with a ludicrous trade.

Next up is the infamous scoring forward to play with Sidney Crosby.

We’ve all heard the Hossa rumors (which have zero merit), the Mats Sundin rumors (which now can be put to an end), and the Forsberg talk (which never made any sense).

What does, however, make sense, is the addition of an underachieving or mid-level sniper. Some names that are reasonable to consider are Vaclav Prospal of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tuomo Ruutu and Martin Havlat of the Chicago Blackhawks, and David Vyborny of the Blue Jackets.

Vyborny is underachieving, but talented none-the-less; Prospal is overachieving, but still isn’t considered among the elite scorers in the league; and Ruutu and Havlat are injury-prone, yet extremely effective when healthy.

Again, as with the defensemen, all of these forwards likely are in Shero’s price-range at this point in time, but a lot can happen to drive up prices between now and 3:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Lastly, it would be realistic to assume Shero is targeting a depth player or two. Maybe a penalty killer with grit is on his radar, or maybe it’s a centerman who can actually win some faceoffs.

Some names to keep an eye on in this category are Michael Peca of the Blue Jackets, who excels in the faceoff circle and with a man down; Manny Malhotra of the Blue Jackets, who is one of the league’s most talented at faceoffs; and Bobby Holik of the Atlanta Thrashers, who, in his prime, was the prototypical third line, shutdown center.

Obviously, none of these players should cost that much if Shero is interested. But, again, who knows what could happen tomorrow to make any/all of them overpriced.

Here’s what not to expect:

• Don’t expect to see any of the three goalies to go anywhere. Shero made a trade last year at this time to add Nolan Schaefer to the organization and this past summer he added Ty Conklin and Dany Sabourin. It’s obvious Shero likes his goaltending depth, and it has proven invaluable during Fleury’s two-month injury recovery.

• Don’t bank on Jordan Staal being traded. He is the kind of player teams win Stanley Cups with. Trading a 19-year-old with his talent (both offensively and defensively) would be a huge mistake.

• Don’t look for any big trades to acquire rentals. If Shero doesn’t think he can re-sign a player, he won’t trade for him. It’s that simple.

So, with all of this information now crammed into our heads, it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy what should be a very entertaining day tomorrow.

Remember, Michael Farkas will be live-updating Faceoff Factor with each and every transaction as it happens tomorrow.

For all of your trade deadline transactions, please stick with Faceoff Factor. You won’t be disappointed!