In the days leading up to the 2015 NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins and GM Jim Rutherford were said to be eyeing a couple of potential trade scenarios that would shake up the general makeup of their roster. One of those reported scenarios involved young forward Brandon Sutter.
Now that the draft has passed, Sutter remains a Penguin and Rutherford managed to shakeup his team via a blockbuster trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs for Phil Kessel instead. Of course, the shocking addition of Kessel leaves the Pens with little in the way of salary cap room, even with the Leafs eating about $1.2 million of his yearly salary.
From the sounds of things, Sutter isn't heading anywhere, though that doesn't mean something won't have to give somewhere else on the roster.
"I'm not planning to move him," Rutherford said, via Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca. "I like him. We have 10 guys who can play in our top nine - including Beau Bennett. But, we are up against the cap pretty good, so we'll have to do something."
Pittsburgh has approximately $5.5 million in cap space at present and they still need to sign Bennett, who is a restricted free agent, to a contract.
The Penguins and Rutherford did well to find some potential top-six help that won't cost much via the Russian talent pipeline in the form of Sergei Plotnikov. Per Friedman, the team is hopeful that Plotnikov can play somewhere on the top two lines alongside fellow Russian Evgeni Malking or Sidney Crosby.
"He just stood out to me, very detailed. He played center in (the first game I saw), moved well, straight-line player. The next game, he moved to the wing and was very effective there. Against the Swedes, he played on the left side with Ovechkin," Penguins assistant Tom Fitzgerald said.
"What's the risk here?" Fitzgerald added. "He never turns his back on the play... stops and starts, supports the puck, plays a way that you have to play to win in the playoffs."
Fitzgerald also indicated that the team was enamored by the toughness Plotinkov showed in some YouTube clips they were able to watch wherein the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder dropped the gloves a time or two.
