Penguins trade Sutter to Canucks, sign Fehr

The Penguins have traded Brandon Sutter and a third-round draft pick to the Canucks for center Nick Bonino, defenseman Adam Clendening and a second-round draft pick.

The team also signed free-agent winger Eric Fehr to a three-year, $6 million contract.

Wow. Take a deep breath. A couple of striking moves from the Penguins, and on the surface, I have to say that I’m quite impressed.

Let’s start with Fehr. He might not be ready for the start of the season because of elbow surgery. But this guy is a really, really solid player, an ideal No. 3 center. He scored 19 goals last season and is a very strong penalty killer. He’s also a big guy, listed at 6-4, 212 pounds.

Fehr is 29, in the prime of his career.

Solid faceoff guy as well, winning 52 percent of his draws last season.

I can also tell you that Fehr has an outstanding reputation around the NHL. Ask Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen about him, and you’ll hear good things.

Let’s move on to the trade. Sutter had become a very polarizing figure among Penguins fans and even among those in the organization. He will score 20 goals a year, including many in big moments, and there are only so many third-line centers who can manage this.

However, Sutter also disappears for long stretches of the season. He’s also noticeably weak on the puck at times, not something you want in the center who is often relied upon in defensive situations.

His cap hit was $3.3 million for next season, and the Penguins ultimately thought that number was too high for what he was giving them. I never thought he was as bad as the advanced stats community will tell you, but he was obnoxiously streaky at times and not a shutdown, defensive player.

So, what did they get?

Bonino is a really nice player. He scored 22 goals two seasons ago with the Ducks and 15 with the Canucks last season. He strikes me as a guy who can be the third-wheel in a top-six role and can certainly add offensive punch to the bottom-six. Good skater with some legitimate goal-scoring touch. Plus, he’s only 27.

More information — and comments from Jim Rutherford — are on the way. Rutherford will speak at 12:30 p.m. Will keep you updated all day.

Update 12:44 p.m.: Here’s what Orpik just told me about his former teammate Fehr: “He’s a big body that plays really well on both sides of the puck. Also, he’s a really nice guy that will fit in any locker room. That being said, Brandon Sutter is one of the nicest guys I’ve played with.”

12:49: Video highlights of Bonino and Fehr:

1:17 Just got off the conference call with Rutherford. Really interesting stuff.

Let’s start with Fehr’s health. He had elbow surgery on June 3 and the Penguins did plenty of homework. In fact, they’ve been consulting with his physician. The original prognosis was for Fehr to miss 4-6 months.

According to Rutherford, Fehr is in the top 20 percentile in terms of his recovery. His timetable is now 4-5 months, which could make him ready for the season opener.

“But we will be cautious,” Rutherford said. “We’re looking at the big picture here.”

What struck me about Rutherford’s press conference was that he apparently is planning on using Fehr and Bonino at center. This seems odd, given that both can play wing and both seem overqualified to play a fourth-line center role.

But man, that’s some remarkable depth down the middle if they pull it off.

I asked Rutherford about Bonino, what he likes about him, and where he will play.

Here’s what he said: “His strongest position is center. That would be the preference. But with the depth we have at forward, there is a possibility he could move to wing. He is a very smart player. He’s got really good hockey sense. He can play in all situations. He can play the half wall on the power play — that will be hard here — at least potentially on the second unit. He also kills penalties. He almost got 40 points last year.”

Fehr is more of your classic, bruising third-line center. He also can play wing. Here’s what Rutherford said about him: “He could jump into the top-six if the opportunity presented itself. He’s coming off a year where he played center. He was strong on faceoffs. A very good shutdown guy. We like how good he is on the defensive end and he can kill penalties.”

Some other nuggets:

• Clendening is a former second-round pick by the Blackhawks and still is only 22. He’s a skilled offensive guy, but according to Rutherford, “still needs to learn the defensive game.” I would imagine he will begin the season in Wilkes-Barre.

• There was no cash exchanged and no salary retained in this deal.

• Rutherford liked the analytic numbers as they pertained to Bonino and Fehr.

• Rutherford said he had been in discussion with the Canucks regarding a possible Bonino-Sutter swap for “a long time,” and said he spoke with the Canucks approximately one month before the draft about such a move.

• Rutherford wanted four lines that could score. When healthy, this is a look at their potential top-12 forwards: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, Patric Hornqvist, David Perron, Fehr, Bonino, Sergei Plotnikov, Beau Bennett and Oskar Sundqvist. There’s a serious amount of skill there.

• Rutherford said the Penguins may yet add a forward through free agency at some point this summer.

2:10: Just spoke with Clendening. He had just traveled to Vancouver to spend the rest of his summer training in the Pacific Northwest. Whoops.

Still, he sounds quite happy.

“I was drafted by Chicago and I always wanted to play there because you looked at the roster and saw Toews, Kane, Sharp and Hossa,” he said. “Now I look at my new roster and see Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Kessel. Same kind of thing. I’m excited to be a part of that.”

Rutherford mentioned that Clendening’s defense needs some work. The defenseman bristled slightly at this.

“I’m not the most physical guy,” he said. “Maybe the average fan looks at me and thinks I’m just standing there. But I think I’m pretty good positionally. I work very hard on my defense and I work hard on getting better at it all the time.”

2:28: I’ve spoken with Fehr on a few occasions before and have always been struck by what a professional he is.

Nothing has changed.

He told me his elbow is rehabilitating nicely. He hopes it will be ready for the start of the season.

But…

“I will play when I’m 100 percent,” Fehr told me. “It’s the kind of injury where you don’t want to play if you’re not ready. But the rehab is going really, really well.”

Fehr said he tore ligaments in his elbow with two months still remaining in the 2014-15 regular season. He played through it. He’s a hockey player, after all.

“I hate missing time, especially in the playoffs,” he said. “Some days were worse than others when I was playing through it.”

So, center or right wing, Eric?

“It really doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I’ve played center the last couple of years, so I’d say I’m pretty comfortable there right now. I like center. But honestly, it doesn’t matter. I played right wing most of my career, so it really doesn’t matter. I’ll go where the staff wants me.”

Fehr admits being on the other side of the Penguins-Capitals rivalry will be interesting.

“I’ll have to talk with Orpy (Orpik) and Nisky (Niskanen) about that,” he said. “It will be weird. But that’s OK. I’m really looking forward to it. Playing on a championship contender was something that was very important to me. This is a team that is really talented. I can’t wait to be a part of it.”

Fehr is known for being a quality leader. That won’t figure to change.

“You never like to say you’re one of the old guys in the room when you’re 29,” he said with a laugh. “But I’ll fit in the locker room in whatever way is best. I hear it’s a great room. I want to be a part of it.”

Fehr spends summers in his native Winnipeg.

2:40: The trade might be a little tougher for Bonino on a personal level. He likes Vancouver, has only been there for a year, and his wife is from that area.

But he’s not unhappy about the move.

“It’s like every trade,” he said. “You’re kind of shocked, kind of disappointed and kind of excited all at the same time.”

Bonino is also a guy who can play wing and center, but he made it pretty clear that center is his primary position. Look for him, not Fehr, to be the third-line center next season.

“I really haven’t played that much wing,” he said. “I’ve always been a center. I’m not sure what the plans are yet, though.”

Bonino is a good skater and a smart player but not especially big. This trade, then, might work out.

“I’m not a huge guy and the West is nothing but huge teams,” he said. “The California teams, Calgary. Look at them. They’re all huge. The East might be a little more gentle on the body, and I’m looking forward to the travel being better.”

Playing with a gallery of superstars sounds like fun, too.

“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s a great team. A team that’s won it all before. It isn’t crazy for them to say they’re Cup contenders every single year. Not all teams can say that. I want to be a part of that. And it’s a city that I want to get to know.”

4:50: Wanted to take a moment to wish Sutter the best of luck. What a wonderful human being. He has a warmth about him and will be missed in the community.

He must be happy to be traded, though. His name has been dangled seemingly ever since he arrived. That can get frustrating for a person, even one as laid back as Sutter.

“Moves are always hard,” Sutter said. “But I’m looking forward to coming to play in the Western Conference.”

4:55: Not to rain on the parade – this has been a very, very good day for the Penguins – but Rutherford has spent an awful lot of time dealing with his forwards this summer. The blue line, not so much. And the GM knows it.

The Penguins have lost Paul Martin, Christian Ehrhoff, Taylor Chorney and Scott Harrington this summer. Two talented but unproven players – Derrick Pouliot and Ian Cole – currently make up one half of their top-four rotation. If the Penguins make any significant trades during the season, it will almost certainly be for an experienced defenseman.

“I’m comfortable going into the season,” Rutherford said. “But it’s the area we will watch the closest. We won’t be in a hurry to make any changes. Hopefully these young guys fall into place and do a consistent job. If not, having more depth up front can help us in the long run. If we have to get a defenseman, we have those extra forwards, those extra pieces. I’m fully aware that at some point in time we might have to have an addition at that position.”