Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Penguins Rumors

Penguins Recall Jonathan Gruden

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Yesterday, the Penguins opted to bring up one of the three players they had assigned to the minors in forward Valtteri Puustinen.  Today, they’ve brought up a second one as the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Jonathan Gruden has been recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The 23-year-old has spent most of the season at the AHL level, tallying 13 goals and 10 assists in 41 games.  Meanwhile, this will be his fourth recall of the year and Gruden got into nine games with Pittsburgh in the first three, scoring once while chipping in with 26 hits in 8:32 per game.  He’s playing on a one-year, two-way deal worth the league minimum at the NHL level and will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Notably, the Penguins don’t have the cap space to execute this recall so there is a secondary transaction that hasn’t been announced.  With Jansen Harkins expected to be out for a while, he has likely been transferred to LTIR which would open up another $850K in LTIR space, enough to cover Gruden’s $775K AAV.

Barring an unannounced injury to one of their current forwards, Gruden’s recall should burn one of their four post-deadline non-emergency recalls.

Penguins Trade Magnus Hellberg To Panthers

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Penguins and Panthers have swapped minor-league goalies, per an official announcement. Ludovic Waeber is heading to Pittsburgh along with a conditional 2025 seventh-round pick, while Magnus Hellberg is heading to Florida.

Waeber is in his first season in North America, joining the Florida organization as an undrafted free agent after seven years in Switzerland’s National League. He’s off to a slower start in America, posting six wins and a .887 save percentage in 15 appearances with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. It’s a far cry form the strong performances he managed in Switzerland, where he recorded a save percentage above .910 in each of the last three seasons, including a .920 in 30 games during the 2021-22 season. Across 115 career games in the National League, Waeber managed 54 wins and a .915 save percentage. He also added 27 wins and a .918 in 55 appearances in the Swiss League, Switzerland’s second-tier league.

While Waeber is certainly still getting adjusted to North American hockey, he had lost his role in Charlotte, with his only game in the last month coming with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. Waeber lost that game, allowing five goals on 21 shots. That performance may have been the final sign for Florida, who now swap him with the more-established Magnus Hellberg. Hellberg, 32, made his pro debut in the 2012-13 season, when he managed an impressive 22 wins and .924 save percentage in 39 games. He’s since totaled 210 games in the AHL, tallying 95 wins and a .914. He has alo garnered plenty of NHL experience, playing in 26 games across six seasons – though his results were limited to a much more modest eight wins and .890 save percentage. Hellberg also took a five-year break form North America, playing in the KHL with the Kunlun Red Stars, SKA St. Petersburg, and HK Sochi. He managed 169 games and a .927 save percentage in Russia.

Waeber certainly offers interesting potential, after dominating Switzerland’s top leagues for so long. But Florida has opted for the safer route, bringing in a veteran pro that could prove to be invaluable depth as the Panthers eye a long playoff run.

Penguins Likely To Move Alex Nedeljkovic, Make Several Roster Moves

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Penguins moved out Jake Guentzel last night and it appears he won’t be the only rental on the move.  Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that they’re likely to move goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic before the 2 PM CT deadline.

Nedeljkovic spent most of last year in the minors but has been a full-timer with Pittsburgh this season, faring relatively well in the backup role.  Through 21 games so far this season, the 28-year-old has a 2.87 GAA and a .908 SV%, his best numbers since his rookie campaign back in 2020-21.

While the goalie market has had a few big names in there, talk of some of those names moving has started to die off.  Instead, the goalies that move might be short-term rentals and Nedeljkovic on an expiring $1.5MM contract fits right into that category.  There are playoff-bound teams that could use an upgrade at the backup goalie position and he would fit the bill so GM Kyle Dubas should be able to find a suitable return for his services.

While not consequential after the 23-player roster limit that was lifted this morning, they also cleared a roster spot by placing winger Jansen Harkins on injured reserve, per CapFriendly. The 26-year-old winger has just four points in 43 games this season and did not return to last night’s game against the Capitals after a fight.

Meanwhile, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that forwards Valtteri Puustinen, Joona Koppanen, and Jonathan Gruden were all assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Those moves were needed to get them back into salary cap compliance after losing Guentzel’s LTIR buffer in the swap yesterday.  Puustinen has played in 31 games with Pittsburgh so far this season, notching 13 points and seems like a likely candidate to be recalled after the trade deadline if they have cap room.  Gruden, meanwhile, has a goal in nine NHL appearances while Koppanen has been held off the scoresheet in his four contests.

Rangers Acquire Chad Ruhwedel

at CDT | by 10 Comments

The Rangers acquired right-shot defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from the Penguins for a 2027 fourth-round pick, per a team announcement.

Ruhwedel, 33, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Sabres in 2012 and remained in the organization as a depth option for four years until landing with Pittsburgh in free agency in 2016, where he’s remained as a bottom-pairing/press box fixture since. He logged 28 AHL games in his first campaign with the Penguins but has not been assigned to the minors on a full-time basis since, save for a five-game stint in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2018-19.

The San Diego native has played more than 50 games in a season just once but may do so this year with 47 already under his belt. A pending UFA with an $800K cap hit, Ruhwedel had one goal, three assists, four points and a -4 rating while logging 12:33 per game, competing for limited minutes among a crowded group of depth defenders in Pittsburgh.

Ruhwedel has had middling possession numbers with a 48.0 CF% at even strength and a 46.5 xGF%, but he’s also received some of the most taxing defensive-zone usage in the league with a 74.5 defensive zone start rate at even strength. He’s able to slot in on the penalty kill, too, where he’s averaged around two minutes per game.

It’s a solid piece of work for Rangers GM Chris Drury to add a capable penalty killer to serve as injury insurance down the stretch and in the postseason. Ruhwedel was scoreless with a -3 rating in 25 postseason games with Pittsburgh, including six games in 2017 that got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. The Rangers still have $2.1MM in cap space ahead of the 2 p.m. CT deadline.

Penguins Currently Not Cap Compliant

at CDT | by 1 Comment

  • CapFriendly points out (Twitter link) that the Penguins are currently not cap-compliant following the overnight swap of Jake Guentzel, a move that cleared $6MM from their LTIR pool. If Bryan Rust is going to miss a couple more weeks, he can be flipped to LTIR but otherwise, Pittsburgh will need to send some players down or make a trade or two to open up the needed cap room.  They have until 4 PM CT to get back to compliance.

Hurricanes Acquire Jake Guentzel From Penguins

at CDT | by 48 Comments

2:30 a.m.: The trade call is now complete with the Hurricanes also receiving Ty Smith as part of the trade, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirms. The Penguins will receive Bunting, forward prospects Ville Koivunen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, and Cruz Lucius, a conditional 2024 first-round pick, and a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick. If the Hurricanes don’t make the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the first-round pick downgrades to the Flyers’ 2024 second-round pick. The fifth-round pick only transfers if the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup. The Penguins are also retaining 25% of Guentzel’s $6MM cap hit. A previous report indicated that defense prospect Scott Morrow was headed to Pittsburgh in the deal; this is false.

5:26 p.m.: The Hurricanes and Penguins are close to a trade that would send star winger Jake Guentzel to Carolina, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. Forward Michael Bunting is expected as part of the return to Pittsburgh. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic adds that both teams being in action tonight may delay the final trade call but that “all signs point to Guentzel going to Carolina.”

This is the first major splash at this year’s deadline for Hurricanes GM Don Waddell, who’s largely held out of making big moves late in the season throughout his time at the helm in Carolina. He notably didn’t swing for a forward upgrade at last year’s trade deadline, and his Metropolitan Division-winning squad ended up bowing out to the Panthers in an Eastern Conference Final sweep. The Hurricanes have seemingly beaten out four other teams – the Canucks, Golden Knights, Panthers, and Rangers all remained in contact with Pittsburgh today – for Guentzel’s services.

Guentzel, 29, has been a first-line staple in Pittsburgh alongside Sidney Crosby since making his debut in 2016, memorably scoring on his first NHL shot. After leading Pittsburgh in playoff goals during their run to the Stanley Cup in 2017 and breaking out for a 40-goal regular season two years later, Guentzel inked a five-year, $30MM contract that will expire this summer. There was little reason to believe Guentzel wouldn’t extend in Pittsburgh after he hovered around the point-per-game mark yet again last year with 73 in 78 games, but a disappointing season for the Penguins in the standings has caused the organization to shift to retool mode.

This year, Guentzel is back above the point-per-game mark, notching 22 goals and 52 points in 50 games. He’s missed the last few weeks with an upper-body injury and, until the trade goes through, remains on the Penguins’ LTIR list. However, he’s not expected to miss much more time and skated in a full-contact jersey today for the first time since the mid-February injury. Averaging 20:53 per game, his possession metrics across the board are strong, logging a +9 rating, a career-high 56.3 CF% at even strength, and a spectacular 57.1 xGF%, per Hockey Reference.

Surely, Guentzel’s career numbers have benefitted from so much ice time with one of the best players in league history. Hurricanes number-one center Sebastian Aho may not fall into the generational category, but he’s still among the league’s elite and should form a mutually beneficial relationship with Guentzel down the stretch and into the postseason. There’s no reason to believe Guentzel won’t slot into a top-line role immediately, allowing 23-year-old Andrei Svechnikov to drop down to the second line and receive some easier 5-on-5 matchups.

That addition will cause some domino effects, although the pressing issue of an upgrade on Jack Drury or Jesperi Kotkaniemi as a second-line center remains. While depth scoring wingers like Stefan Noesen have been a revelation, posting 31 points in 60 games for the ’Canes despite logging under 12 minutes a night, he’s no Svechnikov. The 23-year-old is playing some of the best hockey of his career and is scoring at a career-best 0.93 point-per-game clip, and he and Martin Necas anchoring Carolina’s second line offers much more insulation to the overtaxed Drury as a true strong secondary scoring unit behind the Aho line. Noesen could then slot into a more comfortable fourth-line role, boosting their bottom unit alongside Kotkaniemi and Jesper Fast to be more well-rounded offensively.

While there won’t be an extension for Guentzel as part of this deal, it’s certainly possible before he reaches free agency on July 1. Bunting was signed for two more seasons with a $4.5MM cap hit, so moving him to the Penguins opens up a fair amount of cap space to devote to what could very well be a Guentzel extension that comes in north of $8MM per year. The Hurricanes will have $36.15MM in projected cap space next year after the trade, assuming no other players are coming from Pittsburgh to Carolina, with a roster size of 11. They have multiple impact players unsigned for next season, though, including Necas, Seth Jarvis, Teuvo Teräväinen, and Brett Pesce.

For the Penguins, this confirms the start of GM Kyle Dubas’ retooling to give the team a third wind in the twilight years of Crosby’s, Evgeni Malkin’s, Erik Karlsson’s, and Kris Letang’s careers. They still have an incredibly formidable core but lack much speed, depth, youth, or skill among their secondary. Guentzel’s departure tonight could signal the departure of other assets, such as winger Reilly Smith and netminder Alex Nedeljkovic, before tomorrow’s deadline.

Bunting will provide a slightly younger and cheaper option in Pittsburgh’s top six compared to Smith, Rickard Rakell, or Bryan Rust. It marks the second time Dubas has moved to acquire him – his former GM with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds was responsible for his big major-league chance by signing him in Toronto as a UFA, where he broke out as a top-line threat alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Even away from Toronto’s stars, Bunting maintained a decent level of production in Carolina, scoring 13 goals and 36 points through 60 games while averaging 15:07 per game. His possession impacts have nosedived away from Matthews and Marner, though, posting a 49.2 xGF% this year compared to his 58.2 mark throughout his two years with the Maple Leafs.

A first look at the futures the Pens acquired looks like a rocky start to the Dubas-led retool. Despite interest from multiple teams with deep prospect pools, Pittsburgh failed to secure a guaranteed first-round pick or a first-round-caliber prospect in the swap, opting for a trio of U-22 players instead.

The most notable prospect heading to the Penguins is Koivunen, who the Hurricanes selected in the mid-second round of the 2021 draft. A 20-year-old who can play both wing and center, Koivunen has dominated the Finnish Liiga in a proper breakthrough campaign this year, tied for first in points with Oulun Kärpät with 21 goals and 55 points in 57 games. He represented Finland at the 2022 and 2023 World Juniors and scored once in 12 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last season, his only North American professional experience. Koivunen signed his entry-level contract in August 2021, but the deal slid twice due to his European Assignment Clause kicking in for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. As such, his contract only began in earnest this season and doesn’t expire until 2026, when he’ll be an RFA.

Ponomarev, 21, is the only prospect picked up by Pittsburgh with NHL experience. Another mid-second round pick of the Canes, selected one year before Koivunen, the Russian center notched a goal and an assist in his first two NHL games earlier this season. On assignment to the AHL at the time of the deal, he’s expected to join the Penguins’ affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after spending time with both the Tuscon Roadrunners and Chicago Wolves earlier this year. A Calder Cup champion with the Wolves in 2022, Ponomarev has eight goals, 29 points, and a -17 rating in 41 minor-league games this year. He’s in the second active season of his entry-level contract and will be an RFA in the summer of 2025.

Lucius, 19, was the latter of the Canes’ two fourth-round picks in 2022 and has not yet signed his ELC. The Lawrence, Kansas, native plays right wing and is in his sophomore season at the University of Wisconsin, where he’s been highly productive with 23 goals and 65 points in 66 games since 2022. He missed a solid chunk of his draft year due to injury, limiting his stock, so he does have a higher likelihood of cracking the NHL than his fourth-round billing suggests. The Penguins have until Aug. 15, 2026, to sign him to a deal before losing his exclusive signing rights.

While the Penguins may have technically added a second first-round pick in the upcoming draft, their selections are conditional. Pittsburgh could end up with no first-round selections this year if Carolina doesn’t reach the Final and their own first-round pick ends up outside of the top 10. The Pens dealt their 2024 first-rounder to the Sharks in last summer’s Erik Karlsson trade, but the pick is top-10 protected and would defer to 2025 if Pittsburgh ends up with a top-10 pick after this year’s draft lottery.

By removing Guentzel from LTIR, the Penguins now exceed the cap by $2.275MM, according to CapFriendly. They must clear space via additional trades, placing another player on LTIR, or reassigning players to the minors by 4 p.m. CT Friday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Five Teams Remain In Talks For Jake Guentzel

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Canucks, Golden Knights, Hurricanes, Panthers, and Rangers are the five teams remaining in the Jake Guentzel sweepstakes as a trade is “getting close,” reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas didn’t have a deal in place for his star winger by Wednesday night as he’d hoped, but all signs point to Guentzel still changing hands before tomorrow’s trade deadline.

None of these teams come as a surprise, and various sources have bandied them about as fits for Guentzel throughout the past few weeks. The Golden Knights, Panthers and Rangers have been incredibly aggressive in advance of the deadline, collectively acquiring some of the top trade targets in Noah Hanifin (VGK), Anthony Mantha (VGK), Vladimir Tarasenko (FLA), and Alexander Wennberg (NYR) in the past 72 hours.

The veteran winger is amidst another All-Star-caliber season. While he’s been out since Valentine’s Day with an upper-body injury but is inching toward a return, practicing without a non-contact jersey today for the first time since the injury (video via team reporter Dan Potash). He scored 22 goals, 30 assists and 52 points in 50 games before getting hurt, his fourth time averaging over a point per game since 2019. He’s also logging over 20 minutes per game for the fifth straight year.

Despite the high level of production and his clutch postseason performances (58 points in 58 career playoff games), it makes little sense for the retooling Penguins to sign the 29-year-old pending UFA to a long-term extension. Multiple reports over the past week indicate that Guentzel will likely be dealt as a rental and be the top free agent on the market when the 2024-25 league year begins on July 1. His suitors probably note that Guentzel backs up his consistent production with consistent possession quality control numbers – he has a 57.1 xGF% this season and a 54.5 career xGF% throughout his 503 games as a Penguin, per Hockey Reference.

The Golden Knights, Hurricanes and Panthers could all take Guentzel’s $6MM cap hit at 50% retention without involving a third-party broker. The Rangers are a few grand short of having the necessary cap space to do so and could still make a trade work with a third party, while the Canucks have just $125K in cap space and would need to move a significant chunk of salary out to accommodate Guentzel, even at a 75% reduced $1.5MM cap hit. There have been some spotty but credible rumors of Vancouver potentially flipping Elias Lindholm, whom they just spent a first-round pick to land from the Flames in January, to create cap space for Guentzel.

Improbably, Vegas is still well-positioned to land Guentzel even after landing the top defenseman on the market in Hanifin. The team still has $3.8MM in deadline cap space with Robin Lehner and captain Mark Stone on long-term injured reserve despite having 27 players on the roster counting against the cap – their full 23-man roster plus $9.375MM taken up by Alec Martinez, Brett Howden, William Carrier, and Pavel Dorofeyev on standard injured reserve. They also still have their first-round draft picks in 2024 and 2026 and have not parted ways with top prospects Brendan Brisson, David Edstrom, and Carl Lindbom.

Metropolitan Notes: Seeler, Koppanen, Acciari

at CDT | by 1 Comment

One of the most popular names on the rumor mill may be out until the trade deadline. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic is reporting that defenseman Nick Seeler of the Philadelphia Flyers will be out for a short period with an injury and that the injury is not serious.

In now his third season with the Flyers organization, Seeler has taken upon more responsibility this year, averaging nearly 17 minutes a night for the first time in his career. A valuable shutdown defenseman, Seeler sits first on the team in blocked shots with 184, and first on the team amongst defensemen in hits with 112 on the year up to this point.

As a pending unrestricted free agent, Philadelphia is at least gauging the trade interest across the league for Seeler’s services, but are notably asking for a first-round pick in return. If the Flyers asking price is not met, they will carry Seeler and pending UFA Sean Walker into the postseason as they currently sit comfortably in third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Other Metropolitan notes:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins forward Noel Acciari is being evaluated for an upper-body injury and will not play tonight according to a team announcement. Acciari’s absence will open up a spot in the bottom six of Pittsburgh’s forward core, allowing the team to make a call-up. In 45 games for the Penguins this season, Acciari has averaged a total of 13 minutes of ice time per night, scoring two goals and five points overall.
  • To fill the void left by Acciari, the Penguins have called up forward Joona Koppanen from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (X Link). Koppanen has already played in three games for Pittsburgh this year, registering zero points overall. At the AHL level, Koppanen has seen plenty of action, suiting up in 49 games for WBS, scoring five points and 16 points up to this point.

Updates On Jake Guentzel, Elias Lindholm

at CDT | by 32 Comments

One month ago, the Vancouver Canucks acquired forward Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames in a trade to bolster the organization’s top-six. Now, it appears that Lindholm’s days in Vancouver may be numbered, as Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that the Canucks have spoken with the Boston Bruins about flipping Lindholm in order to acquire Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In theory, a trade could work between the three teams, but there will undoubtedly be a lot of moving parts in any trade of this magnitude. Hypothetically, the Bruins could send a package of Jake DeBrusk and John Beecher to the Penguins, with the Canucks sending Vasily Podkolzin to Pittsburgh as well.

Before this year started, the Bruins were heavily rumored to be a team looking for center help after watching Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retire in the offseason. Nevertheless, the team opted to utilize Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle as their one-two punch down the middle. Both players have handled the pressure well, with Coyle now six points away from a career-high in a single season.

It is interesting to see Lindholm’s name pop back up in trade rumors, as they surrounded him for nearly a year in Calgary. In 14 games with the Canucks since the trade in late January, Lindholm has scored two goals and six points overall coupled with a 58.1% faceoff percentage. Ultimately, the team may prefer to add more offense to their wings, instead of employing Lindholm in a third-line role down the middle.

In the hunt for their third President’s Trophy victory in franchise history, the Canucks are seemingly doing everything they can to create a Stanley Cup-caliber team. Infamously, even with the organization now being 53 years old, Vancouver has lost all three Stanley Cup Finals in team history.

Penguins Hoping To Trade Jake Guentzel By Wednesday Night

at CDT | by 24 Comments

TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins are hoping to have a trade in place for forward Jake Guentzel by Wednesday evening. The news is significant as it confirms that the Penguins are committed to moving out Guentzel to bring younger pieces into the organization.

In the report, Dreger indicates that the Penguins are looking for a first-round pick, a young NHL-caliber player, as well as prospects. TSN’s Chris Johnston is also reporting that the teams looking to acquire Guentzel are not interested in pursuing a contract extension and are purely viewing him as a rental.

The news comes only a day after reporting indicated the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights were two primary suitors for Guentzel’s services. Without a doubt, Vancouver can create the best trade package between the two in terms of prospects they would be able to send to Pittsburgh, but the Golden Knights still have a 2024 first-round pick to send to the Penguins, with Vancouver not having a draft pick until the third round of this year’s upcoming draft.

Albeit a rare scenario in the NHL, the Penguins are putting themselves in a position to trade two months of Guentzel for much-needed prospect and draft capital and re-sign him to a lengthy contract in the offseason. It has become clear throughout Guentzel’s eight-year career in Pittsburgh that both he and franchise icon Sidney Crosby are very close both off and on the ice.

Now 10 points back of a playoff position in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference wild card race, the logic behind trading Guentzel is clear. However, given that Guentzel is so close to Crosby, the ramifications of a trade may be heavy on the team and General Manager Kyle Dubas.

Nevertheless, whichever team ultimately acquires Guentzel, will undoubtedly be favoring his impressive track record during the Stanley Cup playoffs. In 58 career playoff games, Guentzel has scored 34 goals and 58 points overall, including a Stanley Cup championship against the Nashville Predators in 2017.

Sitting 11th, 12th, and 14th in the league in GF/G, respectively, the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Golden Knights all have a need for Guentzel’s offensive prowess come playoff time. Ultimately, there are likely several teams still involved in the mix, allowing Dubas to take the best deal on the table.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top