Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Pittsburgh Penguins traded a buried defenseman for a faded forward prospect on Monday in what is likely a minor trade, but curious nonetheless.
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas cleared St. Ivany, a right-handed defenseman, two days before the NHL free agent frenzy in exchange for David Gustafsson, a depth center who was the Winnipeg Jets’ second-round pick in 2018.
Both players are 26.
St. Ivany appeared to be turning the corner and ready to claim a full-time NHL roster spot last fall, but an early-season injury followed by a flukey injury in January derailed his season. First, he missed the first 28 games due to a lower-body injury, returning in December. Then on Jan. 26, he blocked a shot, which forced him to undergo hand surgery.
When St. Ivany returned in mid-March, he never reclaimed his role on the third pairing. Including 20 games last season, St. Ivany has 53 games of NHL experience. The Penguins signed him as a college free agent out of Boston College in 2022.
Gustafsson is a big center and more of a defensive specialist. In 149 NHL games, he has just six goals and 20 points. But he’s a big body who takes care of the defensive zone. However, his career high is just 46 games played, set in 2022-23. Otherwise, he was frequently a healthy scratch with Winnipeg.
Update: After announcing the trade, the Penguins announced they tendered Gustaffson, who is a restricted free agent, a qualifying offer. Gustafsson is arbitration-eligible.
Snap Analysis
PHN gives this trade a bad grade because St. Ivany flashed his very best game in that short gap from mid-December to later January before he suffered another injury. St. Ivany unequivocally showed that he could be an NHL defenseman.
Winnipeg won this trade.
St. Ivany was a late bloomer who continued to improve throughout his Penguins career. Pointedly, his biggest problem was not poor play but staying healthy at the NHL level, but his right-handed stick only added to his potential value as a physical, stay-at-home defenseman.
Currently, the Penguins only have three right-handed defensemen, and one of whom is a prospect: Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, and Harrison Brunicke. D-man Connor Clifton is headed toward free agency on Wednesday.
At worst, St. Ivany was merely right-handed insurance against injury to the other RHDs, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. And insurance if Brunicke isn’t ready, despite a powerful performance in the AHL playoffs. An eighth defenseman.
Gustafsson might be another of Dubas’s unearthed finds, but his steady diet of press box nachos on a bad team is concerning. Also, his similarity in potential role to Hendrix Lapierre, whom the Penguins acquired for a third and fifth-rounder last week, is also curious.
The Penguins weren’t lacking for potential bottom-six forwards. It seems like the Penguins gave up on St. Ivany in this deal, which would be a mistake.
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