Thoughts on the Leopold Trade

I just wanted to throw in a couple things about the Jordan Leopold trade this morning.

In case you haven't realized it yet, this probably means two things: 1)The Penguins aren't done trading, and 2)They will not finish the season with (at least) one of the defensmen they started it with.

I like the addition of Leopold, who is only 29 and has notched 18 points (7+11) in 61 games with a significantly weaker Panthers team. He should fit in nicely as a PP quarterback, though his price tag for being a rental seems a little high, it allows the Penguins to trade away a defensmen for a forward without any significant loss of skill (hopefully)

As I said, this opens the door for the Penguins to move a defensman. The three biggest options seem to be Sergei Gonchar, Mark Eaton (Both UFAs after the season), and Kris Letang (an RFA after this season).

Moving Gonchar or Eaton along with a forward such as Ruslan Fedotenko could bring in the scoring winger that the Penguins seem to constantly be chasing. Additionally, it seems unlikely that the Penguins can afford to keep both players since they have potentially 12 UFAs to resign this coming off season

Moving Gonchar could cause some issues for Evgeni Malkin, who lives with him and looks up to him as a sort of mentor. Of course, Malkin is a big boy now and should be able to handle something like this. It's the nature of the sport.

Finally, don't even start with the Jordan Staal to for rumors. He's been playing well beyond his contract as of late, and Shero doesn't seem the type to sacrifice a member of the core.

Either way, this should make for an interesting trade deadline. Be sure to check back here often, as I'll be live blogging the deadline, as I have done in past years!