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WILKES-BARRE — Chris Summers is pretty confident that none of his Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin teammates are concerned about Monday’s trade deadline.
If they are, it’s a surprise.
“If they’re talking about it, they’re talking about it behind closed doors because there’s no talk in the locker room,” Summers said after Thursday’s practice at the Toyota Sportsplex.
Coming from a player who was traded at the deadline once in his career, Summers knows how much of a distraction the issue can be. That’s especially the case if a player requests a trade, he said.
“The grass isn’t always greener on the other side,” Summer said. “As far as I know, we don’t have that here.”
Still, as the Penguins remain on the outside of the playoff chase — four points behind Hershey and Providence for the fourth and final spot in the Atlantic Division — Summers pointed out that the threat of being traded may be greater due to the Penguins’ spot in the standings.
“That’s just looking at it from a player’s perspective,” he said.
It’s a threat that Summers hopes doesn’t come to fruition. Even though the Penguins are fighting to back back into the playoff hunt, if they’re going to achieve that goal Summers wants to do it with the players they already have.
“We understand what’s in front us, and we have a lot of faith in each other,” he said. “This is something we’d like to achieve within the room.”
Notes
– With a day off on Saturday, head coach Clark Donatelli said it’s possible that goaltender Tristan Jarry will start both games, Friday and Sunday, this weekend.
– A day after signing an NHL contract with Pittsburgh, forward Joseph Cramarossa cleared waivers. He didn’t practice with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday morning, but did report to the Toyota Sportsplex after noon.
– While the Penguins are four points behind Providence and Hershey in the standings, there is one big difference that has cost the Penguins so far this season. According to Summers, the team has consistently fallen victim to untimely goals against.
“You look at goals at the beginning of periods, at the end of periods, goals right after we scored, it’s been our Achilles’ heel. I would say in at least 10 games, you eliminate at least on of those goals it’s a completely different result,” he said.
– Friday’s opponent, the Hershey Bears, are on a 15 game point streak and have won 14 of those contests, with the lone exception being a shootout loss. Summers said the Penguins are well aware of Hershey’s current run, and the plan is simple.
“We look at it as it’s a good time to get them to 15-1,” he said. “They’re due for a loss.”
