Mark Madden: Penguins' Patric Hornqvist trade had sentimental impact, but not much else - TribLIVE

If you’re looking for deep meaning to the trade that sent winger Patric Hornqvist to Florida and took the best part of two days to complete, let me know if you find it.

It’s being overanalyzed like crazy because of thirst for clicks. But in the ‘70s or ‘80s, it might have been the lead item for a notes column in one of Pittsburgh’s papers.

The Penguins traded a third-line winger for a third-pair defenseman and a fourth-line winger. That’s the nuts and bolts. The deal has big sentimental impact because a two-time Stanley Cup champion departed. Hornqvist was a huge contributor thereof.

Hornqvist’s tie-breaking, Cup-clinching goal at the death of Game 6 in the 2017 finals is one of the franchise’s biggest moments. Many others provided speed and skill. Hornqvist provided guts and edge. He accepted any role and maximized it, just like he’s maximized his career after being picked last (230th overall) in the 2005 NHL draft.

Personally, I will never forget Hornqvist graciously talking to the media, albeit in two-minute allotments. Hornqvist had a real feel for that. He didn’t even need a stopwatch.

The locker room is doubtless in tears (separate, but together). Penguins fans bid Hornqvist a fond fare-thee-well.

The more pragmatic might tack on a whispered “not a moment too soon.” Hornqvist did OK this past season, netting 17 goals in 52 games. But at 33, his merciless style is breaking down his body. The end is closer than the middle.

The return from Florida is hard to decipher, to say the least.

The Penguins added about $800,ooo in salary cap when they want to move in the other direction.

Winger Colton Sceviour, the perceived throw-in, ranked third among the Panthers in hits (91) and fourth in blocked shots (72). Sceviour’s stats are vaguely reminiscent of Zach Aston-Reese’s. When was the last time you got excited about him? Sceviour, 31, is also a good penalty-killer, solid veteran, honest player, blah, blah, blah.

The main, uh, prize was defenseman Mike Matheson, 26, who has to be the most mediocre talent in the history of any sport to get an eight-year contract.

Matheson’s deal pays him $39 million through 2026, when he will be a free agent and I will very likely be dead. Sidney Crosby is only signed through 2025, for heck’s sake.

They say you can never have enough good defensemen. If you play fast and loose with defining the word “good,” the Penguins may test that. They now have six defensemen who primarily play the left side but, in a pinch, could play the right side very poorly.

Matheson is intriguing because he has speed and skill. He will be a better fit with the Penguins than Florida, which applies to just about anybody. Matheson isn’t aggressive or physical.

If Matheson’s arrival means the departure or scratching of Jack Johnson, he’s a good get. If it means trading Brian Dumoulin or Marcus Petterson, not so much.

The Penguins have prospered by fixing defensemen who struggled elsewhere, like Trevor Daley and especially Justin Schultz. But the assistant coaches who did the fixing were Jacques Martin and Sergei Gonchar, and they just got fired.

But Todd Reirden is back for a second stint with the Penguins as an assistant, and he did well here with Matt Niskanen.

Surely Reirden can find three decent left-sided defensemen out of the half-dozen on hand to choose from. Or perhaps the Penguins can use all six at once and run jet sweeps in that direction.

The trade should prove to be of little consequence beyond a schmaltzy farewell to Hornqvist via the tribute video upon his return to PPG Paints Arena. That assumes any fans are present. If not, do it via Zoom. No longer than two minutes.

It’s tough to evaluate any offseason moves until we witness what trickle down follows and what roster shows up at training camp, whenever that is.

If the NHL’s next season doesn’t start until deep into 2021, as I suspect, the Penguins might have 10 left-sided defensemen by then.

The acquisition of Matheson and the accompanying glut at that spot will test the Penguins’ commitment to Johnson. You might have noticed Antifa-level backlash from fans and analytics geeks about Johnson’s continued and ineffective presence in the lineup, but general manager Jim Rutherford and coach Mike Sullivan pay that no never-mind.

The devotion to Johnson is odd on Rutherford’s part, who almost always ditches his pride and corrects his mistakes — except in Johnson’s case. But now there’s no logical way to keep using Johnson, unless the Penguins do anyway. Or unless Rutherford trades a left-sided defensemen and a spot for Johnson opens up.

One of those six left-sided defensemen is hot-shot prospect Pierre Olivier-Joseph, 21. He probably won’t see Pittsburgh until Matheson’s contract expires in 2026.

Categories: Mark Madden Columns | Penguins/NHL | Sports