The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed one of their unrestricted
free agents today, inking forward Pascal Dupuis to a three-year contract worth
an average of $1.4 million per season.
Dupuis joined the Penguins at the trade deadline as part of
the deal that sent Marian Hossa from Atlanta to Pittsburgh and quickly
established himself as a valuable energetic forward capable of playing on the
scoring lines as well as the checking lines.
The Calgary Flames added some affordable depth at forward by
acquiring Rene Bourque from the Chicago Blackhawks for a draft pick.
Bourque was once considering among the Blackhawks most
promising players but injuries hampered his development and with the emergence
of other young ‘Hawks prospects he no longer fit into their roster.
In an unexpected turn of events, the Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for forwards Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito and a first round pick.
The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens were believed in the bidding war for Hossa, so this move by the Penguins comes as a huge shock, the biggest of this year’s deadline.
It’s a huge move by the Penguins, who weren’t expected to make any major moves at the deadline, and it’s also a puzzling one.
While there’s no question Hossa adds another big gun to the Penguins offensive arsenal, he’s only expected to be a playoff rental player. The Penguins cannot possibly hope to re-sign him and still have cash available to re-sign rising superstar Evgeni Malkin at the end of next season.
With the Penguins playing so well despite losing Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury to injuries, it’s odd as to why GM Ray Shero would make this move. The Penguins have no problem in the scoring department, indeed, with Crosby expected back very soon they’d be getting a significant offfensive boost.
Bringing in Hossa makes no sense other than the Penguins are going for it this season, loading up for a Cup run.
However, by bringing in Hossa, it’s possible Shero may have upset his team’s chemistry. Armstrong was close friends with Crosby and along with Christensen were considered valuable members of the rising young Penguins.
And if the Pens fail to re-sign Hossa after this season, they’ll have parted with significant assets with nothing to show for it this summer.
The Thrashers won’t be able to replace Hossa’s offense this season, but Armstrong and Christensen could become valuable additions both now and for the future, while Esposito has the potential to become a scorer in the NHL with more seasoning.
The Atlanta Thrashers continue to load up their roster to make the playoffs, acquiring forward Pascal Dupuis from the New York Rangers in exchange for Alex Bourret, who was considered the Thrasher top prospect.
Dupuis had been dealt to the Rangers last month from the Minnesota Wild, and has been brought in by the Thrashers as a depth acquisition.
There’s concern that Thrashers GM Don Waddell has been sacrificing his future to make the playoffs this season, that there’s a sense of desperation for this team to finally make the post-season for the first time in franchise history.
Certainly dealing a top prospect like Bourret for a checking line forward like Dupuis certainly qualifies as a panic move. It would've been understandable if Bourret had been part of the Keith Tkachuk trade, not this deal.
Looks like Waddell is going all out to make the playoffs this season and perhaps to save his job.
New York Rangers general manager Glen Sather continues to tinker with his struggling roster, shipping winger Adam Hall to the Minnesota Wild on Friday in exchange for winger Pascal Dupuis.
It’s the second trade this week for the Blueshirts, who acquired center Sean Avery from the Los Angeles Kings for Jason Ward.
Sather acquired Hall last summer from the Nashville Predators, hoping the big young winger had the potential to become a power forward on the Rangers. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way, as Hall has only 12 points in 49 games this season, most spent on the Rangers checking lines.
Dupuis has been on the block since January, as Wild GM Doug Risebrough finally gave up hope of Dupuis regaining the 20-goal, 48 point career high form of 2002-03, the only year to date in Wild franchise history when they made the playoffs.
Since then, injuries and inconsistency have limited Dupuis’ effectiveness, and there were whispers of his chafing under the tight-checking defensive system of head coach Jacques Lemaire.
So it’s a fresh start for both players, which will determine their continued careers in the NHL.
Hall has never played up to the “future power forward” expectations, but his career could get a new lease as a checking forward with the Wild.
Dupuis will get an opportunity to regain his scoring form with the Rangers, who are desperately trying to find some affordable offensive depth without sacrificing their promising young players.
Hall’s salary was $975K for this season whilst Dupuis earned $798K so the impact to the payrolls of both clubs will be minimal.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
