When the Pittsburgh Penguins were unable to re-sign Jordan Staal, they traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes for Brandon Sutter. Even though they lost a major offensive player, the Penguins are going to have big defensive expectations from their new forward.
There was actually a lot of defensive promise in the trade they made with the Hurricanes.
Along with Sutter, the Penguins acquired defensive prospect Brian Dumoulin and a first-round pick that became Derrick Pouliot.
Dumoulin could evolve into a good two-way defenseman that’s reliable in most situations. Pouliot, on the other hand, has the potential to become another phenomenal offensive blue-liner.
The Penguins will have to wait a little while for those two young defensemen to make an impact. Sutter’s impact will be felt shortly after the lockout ends and the team starts playing again.
It’s no secret the Penguins are an offensively stacked team. Between Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Kris Letang at the blue line, they won’t be missing Staal’s scoring too much.
That’s not to say Sutter can’t find the b ...
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Article written by Michael Prunka
Pittsburgh Penguins: What the Club Expects from Brandon Sutter
December 31st, 2012 by Michael Prunka Leave a reply »
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