With nine defensemen on their roster, it would appear at first glance that the Penguins might be a team to watch for on the trade front. Team president Brian Burke acknowledged to Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now that there are some teams calling to inquire about their blueliners although, for the time being, there aren’t any active trade discussions. Prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph is now waiver-eligible and likely wouldn’t sneak through and while Ty Smith is exempt from hitting the waiver wire, they didn’t acquire him from New Jersey for John Marino simply to play him in the minors. While there’s nothing on the front-burner now, there’s a good reason to think that Pittsburgh could be moving a defenseman at some point over the next month.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- While Golden Knights prospect Jesper Vikman is eligible to turn pro and play in their minor league system this season, it’s expected that he’ll be returned to WHL Vancouver, notes Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. The 20-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Vegas back in 2020 and had a decent start to his major junior career with a 3.05 GAA and a .903 SV% in 35 games with the Giants. While the Golden Knights might benefit from a bit of extra depth in their farm system with some of the uncertainty that they have between the pipes, sending him back would likely be best for his development.
- Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that he has fully recovered from the back injury that cost him the final 23 games of last season. Jenner has missed time with back trouble in three different seasons now but all three have been in different areas. The 29-year-old had 44 points in 59 games last season while logging over 20 minutes per night for the first time in his career and he will undoubtedly be a welcome return for a Columbus team that is looking to turn their fortunes around quickly following the addition of Johnny Gaudreau this summer.
Really don’t see a clean or obvious trade solution for the Pens here. This is working on the assumption that they won’t trade Dumoulin or Pettersson (even though he’s long been the primary trade candidate, moving Matheson leaves them too thin on the left side to trust two young players like POJ and Smith).
Letang, Petry and Rutta are locked in on the right side.
Friedman can play either side, which gives him some added value.
They just acquired Smith.
So that leaves trading POJ (ideally for a young forward) or dumping Ruhwedel, who’s a useful player in his own right.
Spilled milk now, but in a perfect world, Hextall would have found a way to keep Matheson and add enough to the offer to move Pettersson in the Petry deal.
I like POJ a lot, so I’d actually still be open to moving Pettersson or Dumo, but…they likely won’t.
Move Ruhwedel to the Nucks if Poolman can not play.