When you're a general manager and your objective is to fire a shot across your team's bow, you use a torpedo, not a BB.
That explains why Jim Rutherford first dealt a popular veteran player like Carl Hagelin and not, say, Daniel Sprong Wednesday.
"What message would that have sent?" one team source wondered. "We just traded a guy with no goals and is a healthy scratch? Like, that'll show them?"
Indeed, the trade that sent Hagelin to Los Angeles in exchange for Tanner Pearson was symbolic as much as it was a hockey trade.
The Penguins believe Pearson can help them, has the requisite speed to play Mike Sullivan's up-tempo system and has a greater offensive upside than Hagelin. But Rutherford also needed to send a message: What the Penguins have shown this season is unacceptable and isn't going to be tolerated.
The trade of Hagelin might have bought Sprong some time but, make no mistake, the Penguins are still looking to deal him and that is still expected to happen sooner rather than later. If the Penguins fail to respond as Rutherford hopes, there will be even more.
Wednesday, Sprong assumed he would be drawing back into the lineup and was preparing to do so. Tellingly, though, even with the injuries to Sidney Crosby and Derick Brassard, and Pearson being thrust into the lineup without the benefit of a full practice, Sprong still couldn't crack the lineup for Thursday night's game against Tampa Bay.
Yep, Sprong sat a fourth straight game, even as players of far less pedigree such as Garrett Wilson and Derek Grant played.
There is now no illusion the Penguins are merely going to place Sprong in a top-six role and try to showcase him for a potential suitor.
After 38 games at the NHL level, Sprong has shown plenty on tape, not all of it good. By playing him, the source said, the Penguins could actually be reducing his trade value.
Another source wondered if Sprong, who scored 32 goals in 65 AHL games, was a classic "4-A" player. He believed that Sprong could very well go on to have a long productive professional career tearing up the American Hockey League. But if the 21-year-old is unable to adapt his game, it'll never happen in the NHL.
MORE PENGUINS
• The NHL's tentative settlement of a concussion lawsuit by 146 former players didn't draw much attention in the Penguins' room this week. Some of the players I spoke to were simply unaware. Another player just rolled his eyes and all but laughed. Understandably, too. Under the agreement, the former hockey players will receive up to $22,000 and medical testing and treatment. That's a pittance compared to what former football players, more than 20,000 of them, received in their settlement with the NFL. Under that agreement, NFL players are entitled to up to $5 million. -- Bradford
• Matt Murray's last start at home included a 3:13 leave of absence against the Maple Leafs Nov. 3. It was initially thought the goalie might have suffered some sort of injury. Instead, Murray confirmed he had an equipment issue after his skate struck the goal post and was dulled beyond use. Like most goalies, Murray says he uses a 3/8- to 1/2-inch hollow on his skates. Casey DeSmith had to enter the game as Murray went to the dressing room to have Dana Heinze sharpen his skates. Unlike skaters, goalie's skates don't have a trigger release that allows a trainer to switch out the steel with replacement blades in a matter of seconds. -- Bradford
STEELERS
• There are some people in the Steelers' front office who aren't necessarily happy with the decision to flex the team's Dec. 2 game against the Chargers from 1 to 8:20 p.m. First, the league had told the Steelers a couple of weeks ago that game was one of several that had been protected by the scheduled network -- in this case CBS -- and thus wasn't going to be moved. Secondly, and more importantly, everyone knows West Coast teams struggle when playing at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The Chargers are just 3-5 in those games the past two seasons, including a loss at Cleveland in 2016 that was the Browns' only win that season. So the Chargers will gladly play at the later time. Then again, that is balanced out by Ben Roethlisberger's 22-4 record in prime time games at Heinz Field. -- Dale Lolley at Rooney Complex
• The Steelers had been gaining an additional $855,000 on their salary cap every Monday when Le'Veon Bell did not report and sign his franchise deal. Now that Bell cannot play at all this season, his entire $14.54 million contract has now been added to their cap for this season, putting the Steelers at $19.1 million under the cap -- a record for the team at this point in a season. Any cap space that remains unused this season can be rolled into their 2019 cap. Currently, the Steelers have $180 million and change allocated for 38 players in 2019 according to overthecap.com. That would put them $10 million under the cap, assuming it goes up the $10 million or so it does each year. But with the money they can roll into 2019, the Steelers would have approximately $30 million in cap space available this offseason -- which also would be a record for the team. -- Lolley
• The Steelers have a big following in Mexico -- like everywhere else -- and have been rumored to be a team slated to play in that country soon -- with Mexico City being the most likely site. That's why it caught the attention of the team when the league had to move this weekend's big showdown between the Rams and Chiefs from Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to the L.A. Coliseum. Heavy rainfall in Mexico left the turf at Estadio Azteca unplayable. The NFL tells participating teams they cannot host an event at their home stadium just in case something like this happens and the game has to be moved. That doesn't help fans, however, who made plans to travel to the game. It shows there are still some logistics to work out with these international games. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• A week has passed since the Pirates re-signed Jung Ho Kang to a one-year, $3 million contract in free agency. The third baseman also can add $2.5 million through plate appearances bonuses. That move has raised plenty of eyebrows around the game as many executives and scouts felt Kang would get nothing more than a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to major league spring training. Kang, of course, missed the entire 2017 season following his third arrest for DUI in his native South Korea and played just three games at the end of the past season because of his continued difficulty in securing a work visa to enter the United States, as well as wrist surgery. The penny-pinching Pirates made a great leap of faith by committing $3 million to a player who is anything but a sure thing after being away for so long. -- John Perrotto at Highmark Stadium
• Left fielder Corey Dickerson is likely to wind up with a salary of around $8.5 million for 2019 through the arbitration process. Though the Pirates are short on outfield depth, an executive from another major league team believes the Pirates will trade Dickerson this winter, especially since he is eligible for free agency at the end of next season. "It's not their M.O. to let a player just walk," the executive said. "I don't get the sense they are actively shopping him but I'm sure they'll listen." -- Perrotto
PITT
• One of Pitt’s top basketball recruiting targets, 6-foot-10 forward Akok Akok, made his official visit to Oakland on the final weekend of October — the weekend Pitt football hosted Duke — and by all accounts, the visit went well. But now, in addition to known competitors UConn, Syracuse and Georgetown, another option is in play for Akok’s services: the NBA. Akok is playing a postgraduate prep school year at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut and already is 19 years old, so he meets both requirements to be exempt from the rule that otherwise forces players to attend college for a year. Akok has until Wednesday if he wants to sign a binding Letter of Intent during the current early signing period. — Matt Grubba
HOUNDS
• Bob Lilley stopped over at the DKPittsburghSports.com offices Thursday, and we talked about how the team is approaching the start of free agency. Lilley said agents have provided him with a list of more than 30 players seeking a team, and he has been replying to indicate which ones off the list — “about three guys really I like,” he said — the Hounds would be interested in signing. Lilley also said there are more good players on the list who could be options later, but this early in free agency, prices are higher as players want to keep options open for tryouts in MLS or in other countries. — Grubba
