The Vegas Golden Knights are adding another versatile forward to their lineup, acquiring Teddy Blueger from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2024 third-round pick and 22-year-old blueliner Peter DiLiberatore.
The Golden Knights made a move to clear room on their roster for this trade earlier today, sending veteran forward Byron Froese to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.
Pittsburgh general manager Ron Hextall issued the following statement regarding this trade:
We are grateful for everything that Teddy has done for this team and the organization over the past 10 years. He was one of our most reliable penalty killers and a consummate professional. We wish him nothing but the best going forward.
Blueger is Vegas’ second addition to their forward corps in this trade deadline season, coming just a few days after the team sent 2021 first-rounder Zach Dean to the St. Louis Blues for Ivan Barbashev.
This move clears a roster spot on the Penguins’ roster at the cost of their fourth-line center. Blueger is playing on an expiring contract at a $2.2MM AAV, meaning the Penguins have also cleared that cap space off their books.
The Penguins have been rumored to be interested in pricer forwards such as Vancouver Canuck J.T. Miller, and this move, alongside Brock McGinn’s placement on waivers, gives the team some more wiggle room under the cap to make any desired additions.
In this trade, Pittsburgh has also added DiLiberatore, a 2018 sixth-round pick who has split time this season between the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate in Henderson and the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates. His contract expires at the end of this season.
By subtracting Blueger, the Penguins lose a capable 28-year-old fourth-line center who has been with the organization since he was made a second-round pick at the 2012 draft. After four productive seasons playing college hockey, Blueger put together three productive campaigns in the AHL before earning his first NHL call-up in 2018-19.
While he came too late to taste Stanley Cup glory during the team’s back-to-back championships, he has been a valuable down-the-lineup contributor to some competitive Penguins teams.
Blueger is a responsible two-way center who averages the most short-handed ice time of any Penguins forward this season. Per SinBin.Vegas, Blueger has started 87.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone this season, and he’ll be a reliable defensive specialist for coach Bruce Cassidy as he looks to lead the Golden Knights on a long playoff run.
He could replace Brett Howden in the team’s fourth-line center role, or fill in as the third-line center, allowing Chandler Stephenson to shift back to the wing.
Regardless of where he ultimately factors in on game day, this is a smart, if a tad pricey move for the Golden Knights. Adding Blueger gives the team a strong defensive forward to add to a penalty kill that ranks in the middle of the pack leaguewide.
For the Penguins, this deal lands them a decent draft pick as well as some more cap space to work with as they look for some upgrades on the trade market.
The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman was first to report that Blueger was headed to Vegas, while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the core compensation headed to Pittsburgh.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Someone help Pitt get off the pot.
Hextall kept him and Carter instead of McCann and Tanev.
And people actually defended it as the right move.
For some reason.
@66TheNumberOfTheBest – Sounds like those people needed a couple of extra windows open for fresh air, doesn’t it? How much different would the Pens’ fortune be with McCann & Tanev instead?
Hindsight is 20/20. McCann wasn’t put into a position to succeed in Pittsburgh outside of injuries and he wouldn’t have grown into what he’s becoming, much like how Kapanen became relatively worthless in his misused and scapegoated role. Blueger actually had great chemistry with McCann, but they forced him into a constant shutdown 4C role. Loved Tanev, hated to see him go. Trading for Carter was a great move. Protecting and extending him though… That’ll be a thorn in this team for a while.
They need to put Carter on waivers