A Changing of the Bird

It was reported today that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks, two teams just looking to qualify for the playoffs, have made the first big pre-trade deadline splash of 2009. The Ducks sent versatile winger Chris Kunitz and prospect Eric Tangradi to Pittsburgh for d-man Ryan Whitney.

Does the move make sense? Maybe. A change of scenery might be good for both players. Kunitz has been an integral part of the Ducks and was seen as a franchise cornerstone. But the emergence of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, coupled with a drop in Kunitz's play this season, has reduced his role with the Ducks. Pittsburgh has been longing all season for a winger who can keep up with Crosby and/or Malkin, and I'm not sure if Kunitz will be that guy. Right now, he doesn't seem much more effective than the Pens already average set of wingers (Sykora, Satan, Fedotenko, Dupuis, etc.) who can be good at times, and invisible at others. Here's hoping for the best.

Whitney was also supposed to be a franchise cornerstone for the Pens, but fell victim to a game of numbers. The Pens started the season with a hashed up blueline that forced them to make some moves and bring up some players prematurely. As players have become healthy, the Pens found themselves in a logjam at defense. Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang have established themselves as the go-to guys on the powerplay (actually, Gonchar's the go-to guy for just about anything), and Brooks Orpik and Hal Gill are better-than-average stay-at-home defensemen. In essence, Whitney, who was having a so-so year to begin with, suddenly became expendable. He's still young and very talented, and could make a long-term difference on the Ducks blueline, which is only getting older. Don't forget, Whitney's only 26.

The trade could also be a precursor to a major shake-up of the Anaheim blueline, a rumor that has been floating around for the past month or so. Chris Pronger seems to be the main target of a move, and even captain Scott Niedermayer - whose reputation has been marred by his sitting out most of last season and tying up salary cap money - has not escaped whispers and could retire if not traded. Could this mean one of them will be moved next week? We'll see.