Did Shero get taken in the Ponikarovsky
Penguins Q&A with Dave Molinari
Q: First off, I’d like to say that I’m a huge Ray Shero fan. My question: Is it safe to that say he lost his mind trading a young top prospect in for ?
Brian Pietro, Weirton, W. Va.
MOLINARI: No, and the problem isn’t so much with what Shero gave up — sellers generally have all the leverage at the trade deadline, and buyers routinely have to overpay to acquire an asset they are seeking — but with what they’ve gotten from .
Caputi was regarded as the No. 2 forward prospect in the Penguins’ organization, behind only , and the Penguins were in no way eager to lose him. However, Shero needed a top-six winger to enhance his team’s chances of competing for another Stanley Cup, and everything about , from his size to his work ethic to his history of being good for 20-plus goals, suggested that he could be a good fit here.
And while willingness to work and attitude have been beyond reproach, his lack of offensive production led to him being bumped from line to the No. 4 unit and, finally, out of the lineup last Saturday.
Whether he’ll be able to redeem himself this spring remains to be seen, but hasn’t given the Penguins much reason to move aggressively to re-sign him when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. It probably would be a mistake to write him off entirely just yet, but penciling him in as a significant part of this team’s future doesn’t make a lot of sense at the moment, either.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10131/1057101-125.stm#ixzz0nojZcYZm