KINGS MAKE BIG BLOCKBUSTER DEAL, ACQUIRE DUSTIN PENNER
To Kings:
Dustin Penner
To Oilers:
- Colten Teubert
- 1st Round Draft Pick in 2011
- Conditional 3rd Round Draft Pick in 2012
(could possibly turn into a 2nd)
Review:
The Kings have been in on every available (via trade or free agency) big name forward in the past year or so and have fallen short each time, but finally they have been able to make it come to fruition. The Kings brought in a key player as they acquired Dustin Penner. Penner is a big guy at 6'4 and 245 pounds, and he uses his enormous size to his advantage by standing in front of the net and making goalies lives hell. He always fearlessly enters the dirty areas on the ice and will usually win the battles. But its not only his size that makes him a good player he has a strong hockey sense and nice set of hands. So far this year he has put up good numbers on a bad Edmonton Oilers team, with 21 goals and 18 assists for 39 points in 62 games. Last season he had a career year with 63 points, which all lead to the fact that it seems Penner is starting to enter the prime of his career. With Anze Kopitar as his Center, it would not surprise me to see Penner become an even more lethal goal scorer and maybe in the near future become a 40 goal scorer. At just 28 years old, he will have plenty of time to take his game to that level and further his status as one of the best power forwards in the game right now. Now although I think Penner is a terrific player the Kings did have to pay a large price to acquire his services. The package the Oilers received was Colton Teubert, a 1st round draft pick in this year's draft, and a conditional 3rd round draft pick (that could possibly turn into a 2nd round pick) in next year's draft. Teubert is a big strong defenseman that stands tall at 6'4 and weighs 194 pounds. He was the 13th overall pick in 2008 draft by the Kings and has played 39 games for Manchester of the AHL, and has 2 goals and 8 assists for 10 points. Teubert is known for his mean side on the ice. He is a tough SOB and will knock the crap out of anyone. He loves to throw big hits and although he might take himself out of position occasionally trying to achieve them, its a big part of his game. But his nastiness is only one part of his play, he is a terrific all around defenseman. He has a huge shot that can be used on the PP and makes a nice 1st pass from his own zone out. Consistency seems to be a bit of an issue at times with him but as he develops further and matures he will learn how to fix that. At 20 years old (8 days from 21), he seems like a hugely promising defenseman that will scare opponents silly for a long time with the Oilers. Along with Teubert, the Oilers received a 1st round draft pick in this year's draft. I don't even have to explain how important that is for a team like the Oilers who now will walk away from June's draft with potentially two young stars. The conditional pick will either be a 3rd round draft pick in 2012 or a 2nd round draft pick in 2012, depending on how the Kings do in the Playoffs.
Short-Term Winner: Kings, they don't lose any current roster players and were able to get a player that will be huge for their team and might just be the missing piece to help them be cup contenders. They have finally gotten their star 1st line winger that they have been looking for, for years.
Long-Term Winner: Oilers, even though the Kings were able to grab a terrific player that is still in his 20's, the Oilers just got too many good future assets to lose this trade in the long-term. Teubert WILL be an NHL player, I guarantee that and in my opinion he will be a damn good one. He's gonna be a stud for the Oilers and to make it even better he should be ready for some NHL time soon. The 1st round pick is huge for this organization who now have a plethora of young talent waiting for them at the 2011 draft. To just top off the impressive package they get a 3rd or 2nd round pick in next years draft.
