The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a team linked to the Montreal Canadiens when it comes to Tomas Plekanec, but he may not be the Pens priority.
There are a handful of teams notorious for making a splash at the Trade Deadline, and unfortunately, the Montreal Canadiens generally aren’t in that category. After being a team on the outside looking in to well in a playoff spot, the Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to take a run at their third Stanely Cup win in a row. No one wants that to happen more than Jim Rutherford who is dead set on making a major addition to the Penguins to ensure they have the best chance to do it.
Tomas Plekanec has been a name linked to Pittsburgh for weeks. He’s been a soldier and legend in Montreal for years, and it’s possible the Habs choose to keep him, but getting assets for him instead makes the most sense. Considering the Pens are in the market for another centre for a deep run, Plekanec is the name many have foreseen joining the program.
There’s one problem though, at least as far as the Penguins go, the salary cap is still a thing. According to Capfriendly, Rutherford has a little under $1.175 million to work with at the deadline. If said deadline splash is to occur, they’re going to need some space. Pittsburgh has already expressed the desire to shed cap off their roster by making Matt Hunwick available.
The 32-year-old signed a three-year deal over the summer at $2.25 million per but has missed time dealing with a concussion. Moving on from Hunwick would provide Pittsburgh with some extra money to make the move they want. The issue here though is that Plekanec isn’t their main target.
It looks like Pittsburgh is trying to acquire Derick Brassard from the Ottawa Senators.
Pittsburgh continues to have interest in Brassard but money/cap space is an issue for Pitt. Need to find a way to get cap space... https://t.co/1OoLU7wBSI
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 23, 2018
Brassard carries a $5 million cap hit for another season after this one, so another move may be needed to make it fit. Seeing as how the Senators are trying to shed money from their team, retaining salary may not be likely.
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So what does this mean? Plekanec, when it comes to Pittsburgh, isn’t the priority, but just an option. Montreal has the benefit of turning the 35-year-old into a $3 million player if they retain 50% of his salary. At that value, it could make Plekanec a solid Plan B while Brassard is still the Plan A.
The same thing could be said for the San Jose Sharks who were also apparently in on Plekanec. However, they just acquired Eric Fehr from the Toronto Maple Leafs which may be a Plan B in of itself. This isn’t to say that Pittsburgh and San Jose were the only teams willing to add Plekanec. Others may be willing to take a flyer on him to boost their bottom six, but additional names on the market are hurting the Habs chances.
Next: A Trade with the Minnesota Wild
Do you think Pittsburgh is still a team Plekanec can go to? Who else would want to acquire him? Let us know your thoughts down below.