Trade deadline primer: Pittsburgh Penguins

With the All-Star break in the rearview, the trade deadline looms large and is now less than two weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

When new Penguins GM Kyle Dubas traded for Erik Karlsson over the summer, it looked as if Pittsburgh was aiming to take another crack at a long playoff run.  However, things haven’t gone according to plan as they find themselves outside the playoff picture at the moment although they do have enough games in hand to get right back into the mix.  Accordingly, they’re a team whose decision on buying or selling could come right down to the last minute.

Record

26-21-8, 6th in the Metropolitan

Deadline Status

Light Buyer or Reluctant Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$4.5M of LTIR space on deadline day, 1/3 retention slots used, 48/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: PIT 2nd, PIT 4th, PIT 6th, NYR 7th, PIT 7th
2025: PIT 1st*, PIT 3rd, PIT 4th, PIT 5th, PIT 6th, PIT 7th

*-If Pittsburgh’s first-round pick this season lands in the top ten, the Penguins have the option to keep it and send San Jose an unprotected 2025 first-round selection as part of the Karlsson trade.

Trade Chips

If the Penguins become sellers, the top chip they have to play is winger Jake Guentzel who could very well be the top forward that moves in the next week and a half.  What doesn’t help their cause, however, is that he’s currently on LTIR with an upper-body injury although he’s at least expected back soon after the minimum required absence of 10 games and 24 days.  Guentzel sits second on the team in scoring with 52 points in 50 games so far and is the type of top-line addition that doesn’t become available too often at the deadline.  On an expiring $6MM contract, the 29-year-old will be eyeing a significant raise on a long-term (or even max-term) agreement; wherever he is after the deadline passes will be the only team that can give him an eighth year directly without needing a sign-and-trade.  Worth noting, it’s his LTIR placement that covers all of their current cap space at the moment; Pittsburgh will be quite tight to the Upper Limit when he’s activated.

Whether they buy or sell, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic could attract some interest.  The 28-year-old has had a nice bounce-back year after spending a lot of last season in the minors and a 2.67 GAA and a .915 SV% along with a $1.5M price tag could be appealing for teams looking to upgrade their second-string netminder.  If the Penguins are comfortable with veteran Magnus Hellberg as their backup, that would give them a bit of extra spending room ($615K pro-rated).

Buyers are always looking for depth down the middle and while Pittsburgh doesn’t have any viable rental options (Jeff Carter likely isn’t moving with a full no-move clause and a $3.125M price tag), Lars Eller and Noel Acciari are non-rental veterans who would attract some interest.  Both moved at last year’s deadline and had some success with their new teams so they’ve demonstrated they can come in late and still contribute.  Eller has one year left after this at $2.45M while Acciari has two more at $2M per, price tags that shouldn’t be overly prohibitive for some buyers.

If they wind up being light buyers, prospect Samuel Poulin is someone who stands out as a prospect teams might inquire about.  The 23-year-old is wrapping up his entry-level deal this season and is having a good year although he’s currently out with an injury.  Waiver-eligible next year, there should be some teams that want to take a look at him at the NHL level that might move someone who could help Pittsburgh’s playoff push.

Other Potential Trade Chips: F Joona Koppanen, D Chad Ruhwedel, D Dmitri Samorukov, D Ty Smith

Team Needs

Youth – This one comes directly from Dubas who noted earlier this week that he’d like to see this team get younger.  Considering they have the oldest average age in the NHL at 31.3, he’s not wrong about that.  With a core group that’s considerably older than the average, getting younger won’t be an easy task or a short-term one but they can start it here by moving out a couple of veterans if they sell and either give the likes of Poulin a chance or acquire a youngster in a trade and get them on the NHL roster.  It won’t move the needle much but they need to start somewhere if they’re going to sell.

Secondary Scoring – Let’s flip the strategy and look at them as a buyer now in case they go on a bit of a run in the next few games and decide to try to add to their core.  Going into today’s action, the Penguins ranked 27th in the league in goals scored.  That has largely negated the value of being one of the stingiest defenses in the NHL; even with their scoring struggles, they have the third-best goal differential in the division.  Getting Guentzel back would help but if they could find a way to add a top-six winger (or, failing that, a good third-line piece), that might be worth an extra win or two which might be the difference between making and missing the postseason.