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Penguins Looking to Add But Won’t Trade First-Rounder To Do So

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | Last updated 2/6/23

Like many NHL clubs, the Pittsburgh Penguins would like to add to their lineup ahead of the March 3, 2023, NHL Trade Deadline. Also like many clubs, the Penguins aren’t willing to go all-in to add at any cost. Speaking with reporters including Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Penguins’ GM Ron Hextall stated that his team won’t be willing to move their first-round pick at this season’s NHL Trade Deadline.

Hextall did say, “If we can do something to make us better this year, I’m looking to do it”. That said, the Penguins are tight against the cap — just $1.35 million of deadline space to work with — so what they add and how hard they push will be based on their ability to work the numbers. They also don’t have a fourth-round pick to send over in a trade, or extra picks in any of the rounds until the seventh.

Hextall said:

“We’ve got to be creative with our cap situation. But I think (24) teams are either within $2 million of the cap or (using long-term injured reserve). So there’s a lot of teams that are in a tight situation here. And, certainly, we’re one of them. But we’d certainly like to find something that upgrades our group and … maybe it’s a better fit.”

Could the Penguins make a deal that would see them trade salary for salary, filling a need where they might have a surplus? Hextall likes his team on paper but as Seth Rorobaugh of TribLive.com notes, an area of concern is the team’s scuffling bottom-six forwards, who have offered limited and inconsistent contributions. Rorabaugh also notes, “Hextall suggested he is hesitant to execute a trade out of any perceived obligation to simply make one.”

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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