Penguins-Devils Make Blockbuster Deal
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2022 5:30 pm
With the rebuild coming to a close, the Penguins have started bringing in top end talent. The Penguins have made a few moves this offseason, bringing in Jacob Trouba, Claude Giroux, Jake Muzzin, and Artyom Zub, along with adding Tristan Jarry in the contraction draft. But the biggest deal came Friday when the Penguins sent off Josh Norris, Alex Turcotte, and a 3rd round pick to New Jersey for Mikko Rantanen. Rantanen is a 26 year old power forward who produces exceptional offensive numbers. With 3 years left on his deal at just over 9M, Rantanen immediately becomes the highest paid Penguin and one of the faces of the franchise. However, you have to give to get, and the Penguins sure gave up some good assets when acquiring Rantanen. The main piece going back to New Jersey is young center Josh Norris. Norris has broken out in to a 30+ goal scorer at just 22 years old. Norris is a fantastic young player and will be a big part of the Devils for a long time. Also going to New Jersey is Alex Turcotte, a small yet talented center who plays a 200 ft game. His career has been knocked a little off track by injuries so far, but he still has upside as a two way top 6 center. These two guys were tough to deal, but with Rantanen-Kuznetsov as a 1-2 punch the Penguins wont have to worry about finding a top 6 center for the foreseeable future.