Another Window

5 Months to 28 Months

Trades--Realistically Speaking


I've already admitted to suffering through hockey withdrawal, and in an attempt to curing such withdrawal, I've read some absolute drivel on the Internet. (I know, really, who would have guessed that one could read utter nonsense on the World Wide Web? But I digress.) Such drivel is usually bandied about by bored fans when discussing which players could potentially be traded and for whom. In my mind, the most ridiculous claim in most of these-surely-will-never-actually-happen-potential-trades is the assumption that these trades should be made at the present moment in time. And to that, I say, no how, no way.

When it comes to "managing assets," and by this I speak of players who are "assets," not seventh defensemen, I see the Penguins' organization having a starting window of five months from now and a closing window of approximately twenty-eight months from now to make those "trades" that transform a young, promising team into a contender. Think, perhaps, of the trade that brought Paul Coffey to Pittsburgh in 1987, or of the more recent deadline deals in 1991 and 1992. In each of those trades, valuable assets, in all cases, All Star players, exchanged teams in order to meet the needs of a developing contender.

Frankly speaking, despite those Pittsburgh fans who want to play salary cap guru and general manager and despite those fans of opposing squads who wonder if they could snatch one of the Trifecta or our other young stars away, at bare minimum, it will take until November 2007 for Ray Shero to start trading assets for assets the team lacks. Honestly, I expect trades of assets for assets to occur further toward the end of the twenty-eight month time frame than the start of the time frame. E.g., rather than even seeing a deadline deal this season, I might expect to see a trade in November or December of 2008 or January of 2009.

The point which must be reiterated: Until you know what you have, you cannot trade what you realize you have. In terms of the youthful Pittsburgh core, we know how fabulously good Sidney Crosby is. We're still waiting to see how Malkin and Staal follow up rookie seasons. We're waiting to see how Fleury continues to develop. We're waiting to see how Whitney develops and what, exactly, Kris Letang, will become. In addition, there's now the fun of wondering if our potentially flashy 2007 first round pick, Angelo Esposito, will boom or bust.

But the point remains: it is downright insanity to give up a player still on an entry-level contract for an asset the team currently lacks. At this juncture in the development of the youthful Pittsburgh core, fans are just going to have to practice patience and wait. Because, until you are 98 percent certain you're making a deal that will seal the Cup for your team, it is horrible practice to hemorrhage youthful assets. (And in the event the 2 percent uncertainty prevails, you've screwed over your team for the future.)

So, for now, though I know it's an impossibility in the midst of summer, I'd beg people to stop proposing insane trades. My definition of an insane trade is this: Trading a potential franchise player or sure-fire All Star, trading someone who could definitely help you win the Cup eventually, just because that player may not be perfectly ready to help you win the Cup this season.

At the start of last season, I reminded myself that "patience is a virtue" when rooting for a young, talented team. A young, talented team coming off an unexpected 105 point season makes me, almost, want to scrap the maxim that "patience is a virtue."

Fortunately, so long as Ray Shero is the general manager of the Penguins, expect to see patience last for at least five more months. And, then, well, at just the right time, even if it's not this season, hopefully deals get made that make sense.

But until then, watch the kids time and again, and marvel at what, one day, may be.