KIRK
Registered User
- Aug 2, 2005
- 109,700
- 51,216
I don't agree at all that Sundqvist "showed nothing" in his time prior to playing on St Louis. He wasn't scoring in his NHL time just prior to the trade, but to say that he "never" looked impressive in a Pens uniform is revisionism. There were plenty of times when Sundqvist showed promise.
That said, Sundqvist for Reaves is not nearly as "bad" as somewhere between 2 and 4 of these trades. Also worth mentioning that Reaves is on pace for 14 or 15 goals and is a plus player this year.
I wasn't a fan of the deal because it was one of the first signs that JR was abandoning the model that led to 2 cup wins (I should add that I got WHY they did it . . . Geno was the de facto team tough guy, and he and Sid had gotten the crap kicked out of them over the two cup seasons). BUT, as a value proposition, it wasn't unreasonable at the time, which I think is where you're going with the bolded part.