If you were looking for the Penguins to do something normal with the draft, they did not. They traded back into the second round when they moved Matt Murray to Ottawa and they used the pick on a goalie.
I’m not a big fan of paying goaltenders a lot of money and I’m also not a fan of using draft capital on goalies, either. Goalies are like running backs and if you can’t find one you aren’t looking. They are everywhere and most of them are inconsistent so what is the point in investing heavily?
Goalies also take forever to make it through the ranks, if they make the NHL at all. This does absolutely nothing to help the Cup window which should be the focus. Even if they hit on this pick we are probably waiting until Guentzel’s thirties until he stops a puck for the big club. Could he be the exception to the rule? I guess, but is it really worth the risk of finding out? Furthermore, if you are going to ignore the immediate needs of the current roster why not trade down and accumulate more picks? Reaching for a goalie who wasn’t ranked anywhere close to the pick used is just a weird self-own.
Another issue with drafting goalies is trade value. Even established goalies don’t have great trade value. The Penguins traded a two-time Stanley Cup starter for the second round pick they used on Blomqvist. Drafted goalies with no NHL experience aren’t exactly going to move the needle. Sure, you might get a Derrick Brassard with a package including a second round prospect goalie… I just fail to see the upside with where the Penguins are as a franchise in using a second round pick on a goaltender.
The Penguins didn’t acquire this pick until right before the second round started so it isn’t like they had a lot of time to shop it, but I find it hard to believe trading it for something wouldn’t have been a better move than using it on a goaltender.
One goalie wasn’t good enough, though. How about a second?
I mean, whatever at this point. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to any of it.
Maybe go fix the third line.
Thanks for reading!
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