PITTSBURGH _ The Penguins were one of the oldest teams in the bubble, it's true. But that isn't necessarily the case moving forward. It's not like they'll be attending team-wide early bird specials before games next season.
In fact, once you say goodbye to 40-year-old Patrick Marleau (the Penguins surely will) and maybe 33-year-old Jack Johnson (they surely should), this team could enter next season with only four players in their 30s: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist, and who knows if they try to deal Hornqvist (they shouldn't)?
The Boston Bruins seem to be doing pretty well with a handful of guys in their 30s (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Jaroslav Halak and 43-year-old Zdeno Chara). The key is to supplement those players with quality 20-somethings, because while aging stars can be major contributors, they don't usually carry teams to Cups. David Pastrnak, 23, became the Bruins' biggest star this season.
The Penguins have plenty of 20-something talent on their roster. They got younger, faster and feistier Tuesday afternoon, when general manager Jim Rutherford sent a first-round pick and other pieces to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a player Rutherford drafted, parlayed into Phil Kessel and has long since admired _ speedy right winger Kasperi Kapanen.
The logical spot for Kapanen is Sidney Crosby's right wing (not sure if you've heard, but Sid needs a winger). That would potentially give the Penguins a top six of Jake Guentzel, 25, Crosby, Kapanen (turned 24 last month), Jason Zucker, 28, Malkin and Bryan Rust, 27. I'm thinking a lot of teams would trade for that top six.
Whether Kapanen can thrive alongside Crosby is of course an open question. Veteran reporter Ken Campbell of The Hockey News is based in Toronto, so he has seen plenty of Kapanen. I asked Campbell if he sees Kapanen as a fit for Crosby.
"I don't think he's the answer, but you never know," Campbell said. "There's a lot of guys like that, where their hand speed doesn't match their foot speed, and I think this is probably another one of those guys."
Fair enough, but a guy doesn't have to be Mike Bossy to play next to Crosby. He needs to think the game like him and play fast. Guys such as Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis were excellent linemates.
Critics trotted out Kapanen's questionable advanced stats Tuesday, but guess what? Those numbers might look a little different playing next to Crosby and Guentzel.
Crosby could bring out the best in Kapanen, who scored 20 goals two years ago. Shoot, if he can hit an empty net from the goal line, he'll be an upgrade from the likes of Dominik Simon. But if things don't work out there _ and it's never a guarantee when you're attempting to collaborate with a great player _ Kapanen could upgrade the bottom six.
In any case, this was a step in the right direction. And for those of you flipping out over Rutherford trading another first-round pick, plus prospect Filip Hallander, relax. You're probably the same people who accused Ray Shero of leaving an empty cupboard. You know, before players such as Rust, Matt Murray, Olli Maatta, Dumoulin and Guentzel helped the Penguins win Cups.
There are many ways to procure young players. The Penguins are pretty good at signing college free agents, for example. But if you're still hung up on losing those precious first-round picks, just pretend John Marino was one (he's 22 and was stolen from Edmonton for a late-round pick). Pretend Marcus Pettersson, 23, was another. Pretend Kapanen is this year's 15th overall pick _ the bonus being that he has already proven he can play.
I don't look at this deal as one of those "window-closing" type moves, even if Rutherford seems to.
"When you look at what our goal is, to contend within this group of Sid, Geno and Tanger, these are the kind of deals you have to make," he said. "You know at some time you might pay the price for that down the road. But this is what we feel we need to do to continue to contend."
To acquire a likely top-six winger who just turned 24 for the uncertainty of the 15th pick? I like that deal. It's not like you just traded the fifth pick.
Meanwhile, the Penguins hardly are decrepit. Besides all the players already mentioned, Brian Dumoulin and Brandon Tanev are still in their 20s. Presumptive No. 1 goalie Tristan Jarry is 24.
A key question moving forward is what to do with 24-year-old Jared McCann. Is he the No. 3 center? He went downhill fast the second half of the season, and the Penguins just brought in a $3.2 million salary in Kapanen's. They might have to make a tough decision on McCann, a restricted free agent.
Rutherford has plenty of tough decisions ahead. I'm thinking he made a good one Tuesday.
