Pens make move

The Pittsburgh Penguins made a deal to acquire 40 year old winger Gary Roberts from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Noah Welch. Roberts, a 40-year-old left winger with the Florida Panthers, previously had contended that he would accept a trade only to Toronto or Ottawa, but was persuaded to come to Pittsburgh. The Penguins, one of the youngest teams in the league with the average age of 27, desperately need more of a veteran presence in their lineup with the ageless Mark Recchi. Roberts will provide the Penguins with the hardnosed, gritty attitude that should provide the team with a little spark when they are sluggish. Roberts most importantly may be able to teach young wingers like Eric Christensen, Michel Ouellette and Ryan Malone to crash the net with effectiveness as well as additional guidance in terms of positioning, work ethic and heart.

Welch, 24 yr old defensemen, out of Harvard University was considered to be a candidate to be a stalwart on the Penguins blueline for years to come. However, in short callups the past two seasons, he seems to be having trouble adjusting to the game. Some would argue that this is tentative and has trouble keeping up with the speed of the game. Not the best skater in the world either, Welch isn’t blessed with tremendous agility making it tougher for him to adept. Welch also seemed overwhelmed on the ice while the older Rob Scuderi and Josef Melichar who are seemingly consistently overwhelmed offer no where near the same amount that Welch can offer with some seasoning yet continue to stink up the joint.

After being sent down to Wilkes Barre, Welch’s inability to excel at the AHL level on a consistent level caused quite a bit of concern. The issue becomes exacerbated because now the front office obviously doesn’t feel secure enough if Welch is ready to step in here next year and play well enough to merit even a spot on the third pairing. And after this year, they can't just send him back to Wilkes-Barre. He has to clear waivers. As a result, he had to be traded… or so the Penguins front office thought.

In my mind, I like what potentially can Roberts can bring to the Penguins lineup but let’s not kid ourselves. Giving up a player like Welch, for an at maximum, a year and change+ rental player seems way too steep. Further complicating the matter, is the fact this cements Melichar and Scuderi as the Penguins bottom pair of defense provided Shero doesn’t make any moves. This is preposterous and needs to be address. Melichar and Scuderi though fine 7 or 8 defensemen on most teams are not people you want “solidifying” your defensive corps. Furthermore, if and when the injury hits the Penguins blueline, there is little to no depth outside of the solid Alan Nasreddienne who many argue should be playing now anyway. After that comes journeyman AHLer, Micky DuPont. This is definitely still not a team that can be counted on to do some damage in the playoffs and while the 2 stooges man the blue line. I do like what Roberts can bring but he truly can’t bring what the Penguins REALLY need.


-OP