By Seth Rorabaugh/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When Brandon Sutter found out he was traded to the other side of North America last week, he wasn’t even on the continent.
“I was in the Netherlands,” he said. “I was visiting some of my fiancee’s family over there. It was kind of a funny time.”
The Penguins dealt Sutter as well as a 2016 third-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks on July 28 in exchange for center Nick Bonino, defenseman Adam Clendening and a 2016 second-rounder. It marked the second time Sutter had been traded in his career. On each occasion, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford was the one who jettisoned him. In 2012, the Penguins acquired Sutter from the Carolina Hurricanes _ where Rutherford was then the general manager _ as the primary return in a deal involving center Jordan Staal. “It’s obviously quite a coincidence that he’s had to trade me twice, and I think both times were kind of a situation where his hands were tied a bit, and that’s just the way it goes,” Sutter said by phone Thursday night. “It is a business, and unfortunately he’s had to do it twice to me, but I don’t really hold anything against him for it.”
Sutter was caught off guard by the 2012 deal and needed a few days to adjust. This time, he fully expected to be moved.
“I think it was a little different than the last time,” Sutter said. “When I came to Pittsburgh ... I was very surprised and shocked by it. I didn’t see it coming at all. This (recent trade), just kind of throughout the summer, you could get a feeling that something might happen. I kind of had that feeling for a while. It was just a matter of time.”
With the Penguins seeking to improve their depth among the bottom six forwards while also gaining more flexibility with their salary cap, Sutter thought a trade was possible, if not likely, for most of the offseason.
“Starting at the draft (in late June) and from there on, talking to my agent, he said there’s a chance that something might happen,” Sutter said. “’They don’t think they’re going to re-sign you.’ Obviously, they brought in (right winger Phil) Kessel, too, who is another big contract. “You look at some of the guys on the team, there’s a lot of big contracts, a lot of good players. Unfortunately, there’s only room for so many. I really enjoyed my time there and I wish it would have gone longer. But, again, it’s business, and I was kind of waiting for something to happen. “
Canucks general manager Jim Benning called Sutter a “foundation piece” for his team and promptly signed him to a five-year contract extension worth $21,875,000 Tuesday. The contract includes a no-trade clause for the first three years of the deal and provides Sutter, who has one-year remaining on his current deal, some measure of stability which he hasn’t had throughout his career.
“It’s not a lot of fun being traded, and I’ve been through it a couple times the last three years or so,” he said. For that reason, he said it was important his next contract include a no-trade clause to offer him some security. “That’s something I really wanted, and Vancouver is very accepting of that,” he said. “Like I said, it’s tough getting traded. No one wants to go through it. Unfortunately, I have to go through it now, but, hopefully, it’s the last time.”
Benning suggested Sutter could serve as his team’s No. 2 center. Throughout most of his three seasons with the Penguins, Sutter was a third-line center and had the considerable task of living up to large standards set by his predecessor.
“Oh, there’s an expectation in Pittsburgh, that’s for sure,” Sutter said. “Obviously, with the way Jordan Staal played while he was there, coming in there after that, I think everyone kind of expected you to score a lot of goals and be a superstar. Where, when you really look at it, Jordan moved on to sign a 10-year $60 million contract (with the Hurricanes). ... It just shows that he did need an increased role, and he is a top-three or top-six forward.
“I really thought I played well and played my game while I was there, but the expectation is pretty sky high there. Hopefully, people enjoyed having me there.”
