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5 BEST Penguins Trades of the Sidney Crosby Era
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- 5 BEST Penguins Trades of the Sidney Crosby Era
5 BEST Penguins Trades of the Sidney Crosby Era
We have analyzed, overanalyzed, and examined every aspect of the Pittsburgh Penguins roster over the laboriously long offseason. With actual hockey and news just a couple of weeks away, we can have a little bit of fun.
We've done the five worst Penguins trades of the Sidney Crosby era, but we've not yet done the five best.
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Perhaps without coincidence, the best Penguins trades have immediately preceded success–Stanley Cup success. In fact, the best Penguins trades weren't always for the biggest talents or most notable names, but were about acquiring players who fit seamlessly, thus markedly improving the club.
For every bold stroke that didn't pan out, like acquiring Marian Hossa just minutes before the 2008 NHL trade deadline (but the saving grace of the deal was getting Pascal Dupuis ), there are a few smaller deals that became gems.
For example, on paper, Carl Hagelin for David Perron would have been a terrible move in most years. However, the January 2016 deal quickly looked like a stroke of genius by former general manager Jim Rutherford.
In fact, Rutherford pulled off four straight trades that might be the best run by a Penguins GM ever. In order, he acquired Phil Kessel , Nick Bonino , Trevor Daley , Hagelin, and then Justin Schultz .
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The honorable mention list will include the Hagelin trade and acquiring Schultz for a third-rounder in 2016. In 2017, Schultz was an essential cog in that blueline by committee and had a career year.
The last honorable mention is trading Daniel Sprong for Marcus Pettersson , who was a defensive stalwart for six seasons and often the Penguins most consistent defender, even when the rest of the blue line was anything but consistent.
Top 5
5. James Neal & Matt Niskanen
Feb. 21, 2011. One deal that didn't yield a Stanley Cup directly, but was a steal, occurred when former GM Ray Shero traded defenseman Alex Goligoski for winger James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen.
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Goligoski was an offensive defenseman, and a fine one, but Niskanen became a solid top-four defenseman who registered 46 points in 2013-14, and Neal popped a career best 40 goals in 2011-12 as he became a consistent sidecar on Evgeni Malkin 's line.
A top-four defenseman and a top-six winger for a small second-pair defenseman. And it did yield a Cup, indirectly, when the Penguins traded Neal in 2015.
4. Bill Guerin
March 4, 2009. No one could bust Crosby's chops like Guerin. It didn't matter if it was Crosby's sweater at a restaurant or a bad pass; Guerin could knock Sid down a peg to laughter from all.
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As the Penguins were coming out of their slump under new coach Dan Bylsma, who took over later in the season from Michel Therrien, Shero sent a conditional fifth-round pick to the Islanders for Guerin. The pick eventually became a second-rounder as the team erased the previous year's disappointment in the Cup Final by winning it all in 2009.
Oh, and Guerin had a strong finish to his career after fading with the Islanders. He had 15 points (7-8-15) in 24 playoff games in 2009 and was a steady linemate for Crosby.
And an all-time chirper in the room, which was exactly what the team needed. Guerin became a cult hero in Pittsburgh, later joining the organization in a management capacity.
3. Patric Hornqvist
After Neal wore out his welcome, the Penguins badly needed a refresh. The team was behaving petulantly on the ice, and tensions were rising off the ice as they went five years after their Stanley Cup with very little playoff success.
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As his first act on the job, Rutherford traded Neal to the Nashville Predators for Patric Hornqvist, a scrappy if not crazy winger who agitated and fought for every inch of space, especially at the net.
Hornqvist had four straight 20-goal seasons with the Penguins, and will anyone ever forget the iconic scene as Hornqvist stood behind the Nashville goal, his arms raised in triumph as he scored the Cup-winning goal late in Game 6 of the 2017 Final? It was a bank shot off Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne , fittingly within a few feet of the net.
2. Phil Kessel
July 1, 2015. The Penguins paid up for Kessel. The primary assets that Rutherford surrendered were Kasperi Kapanen (the team's 2015 first-round pick), a 2016 conditional first-round pick, and a 2016 third-round pick.
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It wasn't a steal, but it was worth every asset.
Kessel had been beaten down by the Toronto media and fanbase. He was solely responsible for the 50-year Cup drought, the Canadian economic struggles, and perhaps the national epidemic of the worsening quality of Poutine.
With Toronto, he was a 35-goal scorer. In his first season with the Penguins, he was … pedestrian. The Penguins had bigger issues to complain about as the team started terribly under coach Mike Johnston before Rutherford made the switch to Mike Sullivan .
The lousy, in-fighting Penguins became red hot and were winning games by January, so Kessel's mediocre numbers were under the radar. But Kessel broke through in the second half of the season and in the playoffs.
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In his first season with the Penguins, Kessel finished with 26 goals, but his clutch play in the Stanley Cup playoffs was when he became a hot dog-munching cult hero and a two-time Stanley Cup champion.
(He won a third Cup with Vegas in 2023).
1. Chris Kunitz
Feb. 26, 2009. Preceding the Guerin trade by a week, Shero zipped defenseman Ryan Whitney to Anaheim for Kunitz and prospect Eric Tangradi .
Perhaps the shine of the Kessel trade overshadows this deal, but Kunitz not only helped to deliver the 2009 Stanley Cup, he was also a contributor in 2016 and '17. He was Crosby's trusted linemate for parts of six seasons, and was Crosby's "hand in glove' linemate.
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Kunitz's first four seasons with the Penguins were 20-goal campaigns, peaking in 2013-14 when he lit the lamp 35 times and made the Team Canada Olympics squad.
The post 5 BEST Penguins Trades of the Sidney Crosby Era appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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