Quoting: dgfresh78
Yeah he’s a good point producer and can QB the hell out of a powerplay but I feel like it’s been pretty well documented that he has a habit of suffocating himself in his own end and needs to be paired with a 2 way defender who’s capable of picking up most of the defensive responsibilities. I feel like this is something that’s been known since the ‘17 cup run but I could see the Penguins trying for Kapanen or Johnsson with how desperate Toronto is for defense and backup goaltending.
That's because like a lot of puck movers he needs to be hidden.
Which they were doing and things were going well until their blue line became a total mess. That is what it is. But the value of what he brings is still high because it's a specialty skill at his level.
Not many players can do what he can do in the offensive zone.
Given that defense almost always comes at a premium I'm pretty sure they can return more than that above.
Especially given multiple teams in need of defense. TOR isn't the only team looking, WPG would just as desperate.
But having said that, I don't think the penguins will trade him. They are still barely holding on for a playoff spot. It's not even necessarily their play is horrible, they have been treading water, but it's the division is so tight they can't seem to gain any ground. It's like there isn't much room for error. But there is only like a month to go and bodies come back. So I think they are holding onto him and making a playoff push eventually.