With the 4 Nations Face-Off break now almost over, the trade deadline looms large and is less than three 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.
Things haven’t gone exactly as planned for the Penguins this season. After tweaking their roster, GM Kyle Dubas hoped that this group would be able to hang around the playoff picture. While they’re still within striking distance of a playoff spot, they’ve already dealt away their top rental, signaling that they will likely be subtracting from their roster once again at the deadline.
Record
23-25-9, 7th in the Metropolitan
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$9.88MM on deadline day, 2/3 retention slots used, 49/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2025: NYR 1st*, PIT 1st, MIN 3rd, OTT 3rd, PIT 3rd, PIT 4th, CHI 5th, NYR 5th, PIT 5th, PIT 6th, PIT 7th
2026: PIT 1st, PIT 2nd, STL 2nd, PIT 3rd, SJ 3rd, PIT 4th, NSH 6th, CHI 7th, PIT 7th
*-Top-13 protected; if it doesn’t convey this year, it becomes New York’s unprotected 2026 first-round selection.
Trade Chips
With Marcus Pettersson now in Vancouver from the trade at the beginning of the month, Pittsburgh’s top rental blueliner is long gone but Matt Grzelcyk is another who could draw interest. He struggled to start the season as he adjusted to his new team but he has played better in recent weeks leading up to the break. The 31-year-old has set a new career-high in points with 28 in 57 games, putting him second on the Penguins in points by a defenseman (behind Erik Karlsson but ahead of Kris Letang) while he’s logging over 20 minutes a night for the first time in his career. While Grzelcyk would likely be more of a third-pairing option on a contending team, his $2.75MM AAV is one that is reasonably affordable which should give Dubas some options if he wants to move out another rearguard.
Their other rental options are more of the depth variety. Anthony Beauvillier has a dozen goals in 56 games despite not even averaging 13 minutes a night and isn’t too pricey at $1.25MM. For a team looking for some low-cost scoring depth, he could be a viable option. When healthy, Matthew Nieto has been a capable checking winger. Staying healthy has been a challenge lately and he has struggled this year but at just $900K, it’s possible a team could flip a late-round pick to bring in some extra depth.
While Pittsburgh would undoubtedly want to get out of Tristan Jarry and Ryan Graves’s contracts, that’s probably not happening. Nor is it likely that they’d move their older core group that they’re trying to build around. But even with that in mind, there are a few other possible trade options.
Rickard Rakell’s tenure with Pittsburgh has been a bit uneven but this has been one of the good years. He already has 25 goals this season, giving him a chance to surpass 30 for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign and sits second in team scoring behind Sidney Crosby while often playing with the captain on the top line. As far as trade value goes, it’s reasonably high, especially since he’s signed for three more years at $5MM. It doesn’t seem likely that the Penguins would embark on a larger-scale rebuild so he’s someone they’d probably prefer not to move so it will take a big offer to get him. That same sentence applies to winger Bryan Rust who is also in that price range.
Pittsburgh has a pair of bottom-six forwards who could attract some interest as well. Noel Acciari is a physical fourth-line center who has seven different seasons of playoff experience and had some success as a deadline pickup two years ago. He has one year left on his deal after this one at $2MM which is a salary that looks a bit more affordable with the big jump coming in the salary cap. The other is Blake Lizotte. He provides a bit more offense than Acciari and is capable of playing both center and the wing although he’s also undersized. He’s in Acciari’s price range with one year left on his deal as well at a $1.85MM price tag. Neither player would command a significant return but moving one of them would open up a roster spot to give one of their prospects in AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton an extended look.
Team Needs
1) Young Pros: Last year, we saw Dubas prioritize a nearer-future return in the Jake Guentzel trade, adding Vasiliy Ponomarev and Ville Koivunen as part of the package instead of picking up more draft picks. We also saw them add Rutger McGroarty, the more pro-ready piece, in a swap of first-round prospects with Winnipeg over the offseason. The emphasis is getting players who are closer to being NHL-ready who could still fit with the current veteran core. There’s no reason to think they won’t take a similar approach this time around.
2) Contract Flexibility: With only one open contract slot at the moment, that doesn’t give the Penguins much flexibility on that front, either in terms of adding more minor-pro players in a trade or even for the college free agent market if they need to burn a year now to entice a signing. Freeing up two or three slots would certainly help them on that front, especially when you keep in mind that contracts don’t expire until July 1st so having that extra wiggle room could also help them at draft time in trade discussions. It’s not a must-do but it would certainly be beneficial for them.
Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.
It’s the Penguins dumpster fire sale! Everything must go.
It’s going to be a long & painful rebuild. Pens fans are in trouble if Dubas is still in charge then. I still can’t believe he was given the job. Nail meet coffin.
They really need to fire whoever is in player development, they have developed nothing… you don’t have to have high picks to still develop young talent, other teams do it all the time.
This season, goals scored by players 25 years of age or younger:
Carolina 65
NYR 64
NJD 58
Wash 47
Pitt 12
They are not only behind these teams in the standings, they are also lagging way behind in the development of young NHL talent. That’s not how it’s supposed to work when you haven’t won a playoff round in 6 years, you are supposed to at least be developing talent at the NHL level and not scrounging for draft picks.
If they attempt a rebuild with the same player development infrastructure they are doomed to a fate even worse than what they are now because whoever is evaluating both amateur and minor league prospects is beyond inept.
It’s hard to compare Pittsburgh to those other teams you mention besides Washington(who has “retooled” beautifully). We won a couple of cups and mortgaged the future to do so. NYR, NJD and the Canes not so much. They never had high picks to develop. Although you are right with what they did draft in the past. Poulin, Beau Bennett and Kapanen are all busts.
On a more somber note, the great Mike Lange passed away today. Best hockey play by play man in my lifetime. RIP Mike.
Better than Leah Hextall?
“49/50 contracts used”
To me, this is an important team stat. Dubas and Co. need more flexibility to make moves than permitted by only 1 contract spot. I expect they’ll move some vets for picks – or better, AHL players. The Pens need a lot of help, and while loyalty to their franchise core players may be admirable, it really just delays the inevitable changes needed.
Pens fans have experience coping with extreme lows after exhilarating highs. Looks like a redux is coming.
I’ve said we should trade one of Rust or Rakell, but given how much Rakell has increased his value (and, to a lesser extent, Rust’s history here, two rings, etc.) we should move him at the deadline or the draft this year.
Move out the UFA’s.
Be willing to listen to creative ideas on Karlsson.
Trade any of the randos like Acciari if someone wants them.
Accept that Graves and Jarry aren’t worth moving, just let them play in WBS or sit in suits.
The one other guy we should listen on, though, is Ned. If a a team needs more scoring from the blue paint he’s the guy.
But, also he’s a guy whose contract would allow a team like EDM to bring him in as a 1B. A guy who can get hot and be solid enough that if your 1A falters your playoff hopes aren’t automatically over.