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Trade Speculation: Sean Bergenheim

We’ve dished a lot on defense, but let’s talk offense, baby. Today, I’ll be babbling on about Florida Panthers Finnish veteran winger Sean Bergenheim.. A guy who could add some serious depth to our team at a reasonable price..

Player Bio:

Birth Date: February 8, 1984 (31 years old)

Place of Birth: Helsinki, Finland

Shoots: Left

Drafted:Drafted by NY Islanders in 2002, 22nd overall.

Season Team GP G A PTS +/- PIM
2003-04 NYI 18 1 1 2 -4 4
2005-06 NYI 28 4 5 9 -11 20
2007-08 NYI 78 10 12 22 -3 62
2008-09 NYI 59 15 9 24 -2 64
2009-10 NYI 63 10 13 23 1 45
2010-11 TBL 80 14 15 29 0 56
2011-12 FLA 62 17 6 23 -5 48
2013-14 FLA 62 16 13 29 -16 40
2014-15 FLA 39 8 10 18 2 34

At 5’10”, 210 lbs, Sean Bergenheim is a hot new name in trade rumors. He has requested to be traded from his respective team, and it sounds like Dale Tallon is kicking tires to get him on his way. There are a lot of teams in on him – Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver, etc. There hasn’t been any speculation on Detroit’s end that they would be interested in him, but why not talk about it anyway? I like him as a player. He’s a true utility forward who can play in all situations and can be had for an absolute bargain right now.

The Pros and Cons:

The Wings have a lot of depth in their prospects as far as wingers go. However, a proven veteran player like Bergy definitely would be a great tool to have in hopes of making a deep playoff run. He’s shown that he can be money in the postseason, even though he’s only played 23 games. The looming concern for me is how the bottom six has tended to perform as of late. Adding a fancy stats darling like Bergenheim could really bolster that, and give Detroit some scoring depth. Yes, we have a lot of prospects knocking on the door, but adding a rental player like Bergenheim doesn’t change the future of the prospects who are ready for the NHL.

The obvious cons are that you would essentially be giving up a mid draft pick for him, which has the upside of being a player who could really help the organization in the future. My counter to that is if you’re going to win it all, you need to prepare like you’re going to win it all. He’s a guy who can play anywhere in your lineup and add another power forward to your core.

His fancy maths are pretty good.. Check out his HERO chart, from @MimicoHero’s awesome blog:

I reached out to my buds at The Sunshine Skate, for some insight on Sean Bergenheim, and what a realistic price is. Here is what Kris (@trashnewton) had to say:

Plays way bigger than his size. Normally played on the 3rd line but cut his teeth on the 4th a bunch & played physical when necessary, realistically you could likely play him anywhere and he will generate shots. Yes, he can be a bit fragile but he works hard. The price could be depreciated because Florida has scratched him quite a few times this season. The Panthers would really like to get a LW/RW prospect, as they are stacked at center, and defense.

Here is the projection from Sunshine Skate:

Sean Bergenheim for..

3rd round draft pick + low tier prospect (Say, a player like Mitch Callahan)

or

2nd round draft pick

He’s a rental, that’s for sure.. But for a team who is looking to make a deep run into the playoffs, it could be worth it. He has 17 points in 23 career playoff games. TSN threw out a rumored asking price of a 3rd round pick, which is more than reasonable.. But Detroit does not have a pick in the 3rd round this year after trading up to get Dominic Turgeon last year.

Conclusion:

I think it makes sense, but I don’t think it actually happens. I’m not really comfortable with giving Florida a 2nd round pick for him. I would certainly consider a 3rd round pick for Bergenheim, straight up. Bob McKenzie and Pierre LeBrun had stated on Twitter that the asking price was a 3rd rounder, but since Detroit doesn’t have that luxury, I would be comfortable with a 4th round pick and a player like Mitch Callahan. I would even entertain a trade like Martin Frk for Sean Bergenheim. A lot of people would scoff at me for saying that, but I wouldn’t even think twice about pulling the trigger on a deal like that.

What do you think?

Would you make this trade?

Yes, it’s a great bargain. 216
Nope. 193
Frk for Bergenheim straight up 233

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