Scales heavily favor PIT here. Swap the pick going to MIN instead of the other way around (also drop rust off this deal)

Which defender do you think is better at their best, Letang or Spurgeon?

Letang by a slight margin. But since his contract expires next year Letang's overall value is greater still. I'd say the difference is voided out by the Wild taking back Johnson though. Zucker is also far better than any of the remaining assets there though. Probably worth Simon, Rust and a 2nd.

Yeah JJ is a cap dump and he would probably get buried in the AHL. Do you think Jason Zucker is better than Tanner Pearson?

obviously?

Well, Pearson is actually quite good, he just didn't fit in with the Penguins. Please check out my new thread and feel free to make any contributions. https://www.capfriendly.com/forums/thread/259749

Thanks!

I live in Vancouver and the Canucks are my #2 team - I like him, but he is a middle six winger who had one great year in LA. Zucker however still can become a top line LW on most teams and has far more trade value. If you traded Pearson for Zucker, you'd need to add a decent prospect and a 2/3 rnd pick

You are right. Zucker is a 30 goal scorer after all.

I don’t usually respond on here but the difference between between letang and spurgeon is a lot more than a slight margin

say what you want about his turnovers and injuries but Letang is a generational talent and consistent norris candidate while spurgeon is a very average top pair defenseman

Right now? Letang is deteriorating and Spurgeon is in his prime. Spurgeon is a top 2 defenseman on any team other than San Jose. Letang still is slightly better, but the margin isn't nearly as large as it would have been 3 years ago.

Edit* I noticed you said at their best. I was talking about right now.

Your right he’s 3 years older but the guy just had arguably his best season almost averaging a point a game. spurgeon declined from his previous year and he’s a UFA this year. i made the trade because spurgeon fits what the penguins need which is more defensive minded d who can still move the puck. i don’t think there’s an argument that letang is not clearly the better player in the past or at the moment.

All I'm saying is that Johnson makes this a 1 for 1, even with letang having more term. Zucker doesn't have the value of Rust and Simon, nevermind Zucker and a first for those two.

Very average top pairing defenseman? Last season his WAR was 11.3, which was tied with Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis for 6th in the league behind Hedman, Klingberg, Giordano, Karlsson and McDonagh.