Tangradi hopes he won't be trade bait
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Social media kicked into high gear Feb. 3 when prospect Eric Tangradi was a late scratch for the Penguins Wilkes-Barre/Scranton team. Was he traded?
In fact, it was back spasms.
"It was an interesting day. I had my dad even calling me, asking me what was going on, family members and such," the left winger recalled Tuesday after being summoned again by the Penguins.
"It's just a part of the game, a part of the business that whenever something is out of the ordinary, speculation always rises. It's something I've just learned to deal with."
Tangradi entered the game Tuesday night against the New York Rangers at Consol Energy Center with no points in 12 NHL games over three previous promotions this season. In 16 games over the previous two seasons, he had one goal, three assists. He has 15 goals, 31 points in 37 games for Wilkes-Barre this season.
There seems to be some sentiment that the left winger could be trade bait because he hasn't developed into the full-time NHL power forward envisioned by the club when it acquired him in a February 2009 trade with Anaheim or that he might interest a team that can fit him into its top two lines.
Tangradi made it clear he isn't hoping for a deal.
"Pittsburgh's a great organization," he said. "If you want to win, reach the highest level and win the Stanley Cup, this is a great place to be a part of."
Tangradi turned 23 earlier this month -- "I feel like I'm getting old a little bit," he joked -- and has traveled between the AHL and NHL enough to adjust to moving to the third or fourth line while with the Penguins.
"In the past, I felt like there were differences, but now I think you have to take the most out of the opportunity you're given," he said.
"What I've learned from the past is with a role being in the bottom six [forwards], you just have to make an impact in the game and be an energy guy right off the bat. If you don't play up to that standard, you won't play anymore."
First Published February 22, 2012 12:00 am
