Penguins acquire Alex Kovalev

The Pens have sent a low draft choice to the Senators for Alex Kovalev.

The pick is a seventh round choice. It will become a sixth round choice if:

• The Pens win their first round series
• Kovalev plays in at least half of the games in the first round

I have to say I was wary of bringing Alex back to Pittsburgh, but at this price I absolutely love it. This is a nearly no risk move by Ray Shero. The biggest cost is the money out of ownership's pocket. There was room under the cap, and room on the roster given the injury situation.

What happens next is entirely up to Kovalev. He has a well-earned reputation as a playoff performer, but he is going to have to buy into the system that the Pens play. He'll have to be willing to work hard and play defense. He did waive his no-trade clause to come here, so he has to have an idea of what he's getting into.

I think he earns his spot in the Top 6 and solidifies the goal scoring from the wings. The Pens now look downright dangerous once they get healthy.

Penguins acquire LW James Neal,D Matt Niskanen

The Pens traded away Alex Goligoski today in exchange for James Neal and Matt Niskanen.

Neal is the key to this deal. The Pens have him under control for this year and next with a cap hit of $2.875 M. He will play on the top two lines and can score. He had 21 goals in 59 games this year for Dallas, following up campaigns with 24 and 27 goals, respectively.

Niskanen is a bit of an enigma. He was taken as the Stars first pick in 2005 (right before James Neal) but has seen his playing time (and his +/-) decrease each year. This season he has been playing less than 16 minutes per game but is only a -1 on the year (-11 and -15 for the two years prior). If he can regain some of what he showed in his rookie year, he'll be a steal.

I'll be sad to see Goligoski leave. I think he didn't get the credit he deserved in Pittsburgh. Letang went through growing pains before he became the defenseman he is today - I think Goose was on the same path. Hopefully he succeeds with Dallas.

The really interesting part is that the Pens have set themselves up for trouble following this season. Goose for Niskanen is nearly an even move against the cap (Goose counted nearly $400,000 more against than Niskanen will). Neal will count $2.875 M next year. That means the Pens are either setting themselves up for a blockbuster trade, salary-wise, or they will be limited in how they can spend this summer (limited as in about $3 M left to sign 5-6 players).

For the remainder of this season, however, I like what I see. Niskanen isn't that much of a drop off from the role that Goligoski was playing (except maybe on the power play) and Neal is a definite upgrade at forward.

Pens running Wilkes-Barre shuffle

Some interesting roster developments this afternoon in the wake of Matt Cooke's four game suspension:

• Eric Tangradi and Tim Wallace were sent to Wilkes-Barre.
• Four players were called up from the Baby Pens (which has be be some kind of record) - Joe Vitale, Nick Johnson, Ryan Craig and Brett Sterling.

Of the four players coming to Pittsburgh, Craig has the most NHL experience with parts of 5 seasons and 184 games under his belt. He plays center.

Sterling is a winger and he has put up some BIG goal totals in the AHL. The knock against him, however, is his height. He's listed at 5'7".

Vitale is a center in his third professional season. He kill penalties and plays a good two-way game.

Johnson is the best prospect of the four. He has some size (6'1") and has produced at a respectable level the last few seasons. He's played well this year, leading Wilkes-Barre with 20 goals.

The Pens now have the Baby Pens two best players up here (in terms of point production) - Dustin Jeffrey and Nick Johnson. Let's see if they can make some noise.

Tangradi and Hutchinson sent down

According to the official website, both Eric Tangradi and Andrew Hutchinson were sent to Wilkes-Barre.

This isn't a surprise for either player. Tangradi was playing the fewest minutes of the forwards, and Hutchinson was the most recent call-up from Wilkes-Barre.

I think Tangradi has a future with the Pens in a top 6 role. He has the size and strength they desperately need. You want him playing tons of minutes in Wilkes-Barre instead of barely cracking 10 minutes per night in Pittsburgh. He'll be back.

This means that one of the injured forwards, most likely Jordan Staal, will return on Wednesday in Tampa.