Pro Hockey Rumors

The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently spiralling in freefall after the past two weeks and have gone from a comfortable playoff spot to the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins have exhibited much of the same behaviours over the past couple of weeks that were on full display in the previous three seasons, when they missed the postseason, and they might not be ready to compete for the playoffs just yet. The difference this season in Pittsburgh is that the organization has hope in their young prospects and a ton of cap space available next summer.

The Penguins talked in the summer about going young, but in the past few weeks, they’ve injected a few veterans in favor of their young players, and the results haven’t been pretty. Pittsburgh also has several veterans on expiring contracts who don’t figure into the team’s long-term future, and given their recent stretch of play, they should begin unloading some of those veterans to bring in more young talent for their surging cupboard of futures.

Some might assume a headline like that means moving Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell or Erik Karlsson, but quite the opposite is true. The Penguins have many capable veterans who can play in the NHL, but their age and contracts make their prospects in Pittsburgh very murky. The likes of Noel Acciari, Connor Clifton, Brett Kulak, Stuart Skinner and Anthony Mantha are five players Pittsburgh should be actively shopping to acquire assets and move a few young players up from the AHL.

That list could be much longer, as Pittsburgh has several other UFAs they could move, such as Matt Dumba, Danton Heinen, Connor Dewar, Kevin Hayes, and Ryan Shea. Dewar and Shea are likely candidates to receive extensions or, at the very least, be offered contracts to remain in Pittsburgh, as they both seem to be favorites of Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas. By contrast, Heinen and Hayes hold little to no trade value at their current levels of play. Depending on how things go for Pittsburgh and the trade market, Hayes and Heinen could find a small trade market close to the deadline.

Back to the other four players: their trade value varies widely, and, to be perfectly honest, none of them is going to carry a high price tag. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have any value. Mantha, for example, has 22 points in 33 games and has been a great offensive piece for the Penguins. He, along with Justin Brazeau and Evgeni Malkin, formed a formidable second line in Pittsburgh and was lights out when all three were healthy. That trifecta was short-lived, however, as both Brazeau and Malkin were injured for a significant stretch, and Mantha bounced between linemates. Speaking of injuries, Mantha has dealt with them in the past, including last season, when he played only a handful of games and missed much of the year. If the Penguins want to maximize the asset that is Mantha, they would be wise to move him early in the new year, unless they go on a heater over the next couple of weeks.

Mantha is 6’5” and 240 lbs, but he plays smaller than his size and has never been overly physical for a big man. He skates well for a bigger player and produces offense at a solid clip, particularly when he has skilled linemates. There should be a market for his services if the Penguins decide to move him, especially for teams that want a capable top-six forward without giving up a ton of assets.

Acciari is another forward the Penguins should seriously consider moving, as he is in the final year of his contract and carries a $2MM cap hit. Acciari has been a good soldier for the Penguins, but has been handed ridiculous deployment over his three seasons, starting nearly 90% of his shifts in the defensive zone this season. As you can imagine, his offensive numbers aren’t good, with just 25 points in 154 games as a member of the Penguins. Credit to the 34-year-old, he continues to play hard-nosed hockey and should net the Penguins a late-round pick. In 20 games this season, Acciari has a goal and five assists and has 27 hits, but he can kill penalties and provide leadership as a fourth liner on a playoff-bound team. Acciari isn’t part of the Penguins’ plans, and at this point, the Penguins might be wise to get out in front of the trade market so they aren’t left holding players after the deadline, as they were last year when they couldn’t move Matt Grzelcyk.

Kulak has been a member of the Penguins for only over a week, having arrived in the Jarry trade to make the cap hits work. He likely isn’t destined to remain in Pittsburgh, and it makes little sense for either side to reach terms on an extension. Kulak is serviceable and was actually quite good in the playoffs last year for the Edmonton Oilers. Still, the Penguins already have a ton of defense at or around Kulak’s skill level, and there was reportedly interest in him before he was traded. With the Penguins eyeing a youth movement and Kulak approaching the end of his career, the Penguins should move him and get what they can. If the goal is still to go young and build for the future, hanging onto Kulak makes little sense, especially with the team plummeting down the standings.

Then there is Skinner, who also came over in the Jarry trade from Edmonton. It’s hard to pin down what Skinner is because of his inconsistency in the NHL. People might forget, but the 27-year-old was a runner-up for the Calder Trophy in 2022-23 and was fantastic that season, but has been all over the map over the last two and a half years, which is why he was dealt from a Stanley Cup contender to a rebuilding club. He has a fantastic regular-season win-loss record (109-63-18), but his playoff numbers leave a lot to be desired (26-22). Unfortunately for him, he has been prone to gaffes and meltdowns at the worst possible times.

Now, in Pittsburgh, there doesn’t appear to be a fit, at least not on the surface. Skinner is approaching free agency, and the Penguins already have their goalie of the future in Sergey Murashov. However, the backup position is a bit of a question mark, as Arturs Silovs has struggled in his last dozen starts and may not be an NHL netminder. Pittsburgh also has youngster Joel Blomqvist waiting in the AHL, so they appear to be set for the near future.

Skinner could also have some value on the trade market, as teams are always desperate for netminding near the playoffs. Skinner has a minimal cap hit of just $2.6MM this season, which should be manageable for just about every team in the league should they want to add him. With Skinner, a lot is riding on his playing well the rest of this year. AFP Analytics projected earlier in the year that Skinner could get four years at $6.14MM per season, which seems wildly inflated after his start to the season. But being a UFA should give Skinner plenty of motivation to prove his detractors wrong, which is likely what Pittsburgh is hoping for over the next few months before the NHL Trade Deadline.

Regardless of how they do it, the Penguins can’t keep trotting out old, expensive depth players if they want to turn the corner in the rebuild. They should by no means tear down the whole roster. Still, any veteran on an expiring deal who isn’t Malkin, Dewar or Shea should be moved out for future assets so the Penguins can finally find younger, hungrier, faster depth players.