Zach Smith is an unsung hero within the Sens lines...after coming just short of a SCF berth, I don't know if they want to trade away key players, especially to the team that just beat them.

Like the idea of trying out Sheahan but don't like Sproul in this deal. We've just signed a bunch of Ds for WBS of similar level I believe. Couldn't have a spot for Sproul, got Ruhwedel as right-hand shot puck mover here and Pouliot might be the 1st attacking option to step in. Need a #5/6 defensive D capable if we trade Cole. We could have used Sheary in a swap with better player. Sheahan & Sproul for Pouliot & Kuhnhackl/Archibald/.../pick might be fair?

They need a defenseman to play with Karlsson and cole can fit that bill. Plus the Sens are a budget team and having to resign Pageau will cost $$$. Getting a cheap replacement for Methot and shed some salary in the process is good for them despite where it comes from.



Sheary isn't going to be cheap to resign. Sheahan can bounce back and give Pens best center depth in the NHL with Zack Smith. Sproul is pretty much NHL ready and unlike Ruhwedel has size. He is a much more suitable replacement if Letang or Schultz get injured. Pouliot i feel is at best a rotational player despite the talk of how he has improved. I feel i'd need to see it before i believe it.

We all know about the issues with Sheary's contract but hope they can land a better option if Sheary is expandable. I don't want to say that Sheahan is a bad option though. He could have been great on 4th scoring line with ZAR. But would rather like Eakin with his more defensive outlook, a more proven and just better C/LW Henrique on the 3rd or cheaper and younger Shore from Dallas on the 4th. Sheahan can bounce back or maybe he cannot. He is RFA in one year and I'm of opinion we'll regret in both cases. Either pay him too much after his bouncing back year (thing we could already do with Sheary) or trade for nothing if he fails (would actually mean we traded Sheary for nothing).

Sproul played roughly 15 mins a game with 2 mins on PP during the season. I think we'll do just fine with Malkin and Letang/Schultz on PP1 and a puckmoving defenders on the PP2 if Letang is not in the lineup (they played that way in the playoffs). Sprould hitted 0.4 and blocked 0.5 per game being last in Detroit. Ruh's number are twice higher btw. So what is Sproul supposed to do with his bigger body? I though it is a priveledge of say Letang kind of player to play that way. But he doesn't play that way. And we need a defensive D to set him free of these duties to make him fresh and healthy for a Cup run. I would be glad if they managed to trade Sheary plus pick/prospect for Shore and Johns for instance.