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Pittsburgh Penguins To Acquire Dmitry Kulikov

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are going to acquire Dmitry Kulikov from the Anaheim Ducks. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the two teams are putting the final pieces in place to complete the deal.

Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports the return for Anaheim will be a third-round pick and a player. Jeff Marek of Sportsnet added that the Ducks will be retaining a portion of Kulikov’s salary. LeBrun reports that the player heading back to Anaheim will be Brock McGinn.

Kulikov will add some depth to the Penguins defense, and has three goals and 15 points in 61 games this season. He is a pending unrestricted free agent at season’s end and has a cap hit of $2.25MM. The 32-year-old defender is a veteran of 866 NHL games, giving the Pens some valuable experience to round out their blue line.

McGinn is a gritty winger who is in the second season of a four-year contract that has a cap hit of $2.75MM. He passed through waivers earlier this week and was assigned to the AHL. The 29-year-old winger scored ten goals and 16 points in 60 games for the Penguins this season.

This trade will open up some cap flexibility for the Penguins moving forward. Kulikov’s deal expires at season’s end, but the Pens get out from the final two years of McGinn’s contract, giving them an extra $2.25MM to spend in the coming years.

Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Nick Bonino

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Forward Nick Bonino has been re-acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the San Jose Sharks. The 34-year-old center previously played for the Penguins from 2015 to 2017 and was a key member of their back-to-back Stanley Cup Championship teams in 2016 and 2017.

To make the cap work, the Montreal Canadiens were included as a third party. The full deal looks like this:

  • To Pittsburgh: Nick Bonino
  • To San Jose: Arvid Henriksson, conditional 2024 fifth-round pick (PIT), 2023 seventh-round pick (PIT)
  • To Montreal: 50% of Bonino salary, Tony Sund, 2024 fifth-round pick (SJS)

Bonino played center on the team’s third line for both Stanley Cup victories, scoring 18 points in 24 games in 2016 while playing on the “HBK Line” with Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel. The trio gave the Penguins great depth, and Bonino will look to add some depth for them once again.

With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter already lining up down the middle, Bonino likely takes on a fourth-line role this time around. Bonino has ten goals and 19 points in 59 games this season with the Sharks.

For San Jose, adding a couple of draft picks for an expiring contract is exactly the kind of work that needs to continue in a rebuild. Bonino was an important veteran voice in the locker room, but is nearing the end of his career and not much use to a club trying to reorganize around young talent.

The fifth-round pick will turn into a 2024 fourth-round selection if Pittsburgh advances to the Conference Finals this season.

They’ll also grab the rights to Henriksson, who is finishing up a four-year career at Lake Superior State after coming over to North America in 2018. The 25-year-old defenseman was a seventh-round pick by the Canadiens in 2016, and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if not signed to an entry-level contract by the middle of August.

Montreal grabs a pick for playing the middleman and the rights to Sund, an interesting inclusion in a deal like this. The 27-year-old signed an entry-level contract with the Sharks back in 2019-20 but never came over to North America. Now, he is playing with Rogle in the SHL, where he partners with Canadiens 2022 draft pick Adam Engstrom.

There’s a chance that Montreal has spotted Sund as a potential target to sign this summer while watching their young prospect, though his rights will expire at the end of the season anyway, given his age.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the news early Friday morning.

Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Mikael Granlund

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have made another trade. The team has acquired forward Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick.

Penguins GM Ron Hextall had the following to say about this trade:

Mikael is a versatile forward, able to play either wing or center, and contribute offensively. He has experience on both the power play and penalty kill and can add options to our lineup.

By acquiring Granlund, Pittsburgh has not only added an experienced top-six player to their lineup, but they have also signaled their intention to invest in this season’s Penguins team with the hope of going on a playoff run. While the Penguins remain in playoff position, the team has (recent three-game winning streak aside) stumbled as the calendar shifted to 2023.

Their struggles led to calls from fans and local media members alike for the organization to fire Hextall, but this trade indicates that the organization believes that the team’s underperformance is a bug, not a feature.

This season, Granlund has scored 36 points in 58 games, and averaged over 18 and a half minutes of ice time with some sporadic penalty-killing time. While his offensive production is down from last season, he scored 64 points last season and is under team control for another two seasons after this one at a $5MM cap hit that’s reasonable given his resume.

He’s not the ascending young player anymore that he was on the Minnesota Wild, and some underlying numbers have soured on him this year, it’s easy to see why the Penguins are optimistic about what he could bring to their lineup.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has quite a few options for how to approach adding Granlund to his lineup and has to be thrilled to have a new, highly capable forward to work with. The 31-year-old Finn can play both at center and as a winger, and his well-respected two-way game gives him added on-ice versatility.

The Penguins could opt to have him replace Jeff Carter as the team’s third-line center, letting the 38-year-old vacate an everyday role in the midst of what has been a nightmare season. They could also shift Carter down to the fourth line in Blueger’s vacated spot, although one would think that offseason trade acquisition Ryan Poehling would be preferable there.

Sullivan could also keep Carter entrenched as the third-line center and use Granlund to shuffle the team’s top six. Since Evgeni Malkin has had his fair share of injury issues in recent years, Granlund’s ability to play center will be of significant value should Malkin find himself knocked out of the lineup.

At the price of a second-round pick, the Penguins have added a player who figures to make their team better for this season and for a few years to come. Is it the wisest move for a team to make when they’re widely seen as being a cut below the heavyweights of the Eastern Conference? Maybe not, especially seeing as Granlund hasn’t been as productive this season, and at 31 years old that could be a signal of an age-related decline.

But with Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang all inching deeper into their thirties, the Penguins are looking to maximize whatever time they have left with their franchise icons. Every passing year could conceivably be the last of that trio as elite players, and this trade shows that the Penguins are serious about trying to make noise this spring.

For Nashville, this deal continues their decision to pivot towards building for the future. With Barry Trotz now back in the fold and set to fully take the reins from GM David Poile in the Summer, the team is charting a new direction in its search for a contender. Mattias Ekholm, Tanner Jeannot, and Nino Niederreiter have all been dealt already, and Granlund adds another draft pick to their growing stockpile.

The Predators give up a player who figured to be a top-six staple for the next few years, but since they don’t seem as intent on short-term Stanley Cup contention, it’s easy to see why the pick is more valuable.

Additionally, in today’s flat-cap environment, it’s extremely difficult to move money without taking dollars back. The value of the Predators clearing Granlund’s $5MM off their books without having to retain or take any contracts back is definitely an important element of this trade.

Nashville now has five second-round picks over the next two drafts and could add more if they choose to trade any more veteran players. While the Predators’ coaching staff can’t be thrilled to lose such a capable veteran, Predators fans that have long hoped the team would pivot towards a more rebuild-like direction seem to be finally getting their wish.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report on Granlund being traded to Pittsburgh. 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vegas Golden Knights Acquire Teddy Blueger

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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

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Isaac Belliveau

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed prospect Isaac Belliveau to a three-year entry-level contract, which kicks in for the 2023-24 season. Belliveau currently plays for the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL, where he will remain through the end of the season.

Now 20, Belliveau was a fifth-round pick of the Penguins in 2021 and would have become a free agent if not signed by June 1. The 6’2″ defenseman has 40 points in 44 games for the Olympiques this season, playing second fiddle to Anaheim Ducks prospect Tristan Luneau, who leads the team and all QMJHL defenders in scoring.

Belliveau is 12th in that race, though, and an intriguing prospect in his own right. He has had an especially good stretch recently, with five points in his last three, and has a chance to go on a long playoff run with the 39-12-6 club.

He’ll be ticketed for his first professional campaign in 2023-24; whether he can continue that offensive performance at the next level remains to be seen.

Brock McGinn, Mark Friedman Clear Waivers

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March 1: Both players have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues, giving the Penguins additional cap space.

Feb 28: The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to use the waiver wire to clear salary off the books, this time waiving Brock McGinn and Mark Friedman, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets. As the deadline approaches, clearing room could give the Penguins enough flexibility to pull off a more significant move.

McGinn, 29, was one of Ron Hextall’s first big moves when he took over as general manager in 2021. He signed a four-year, $11MM contract with the Penguins on the first day of free agency after several up-and-down seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. Almost immediately, it was clear that McGinn’s offensive production would never really materialize as he settled into a checking role in Pittsburgh.

In 2021-22, he scored 12 goals and 22 points in 64 games, numbers that he has yet to match this season. By placing him on waivers, the Penguins could bury $1.125MM of his $2.75MM contract in the minor leagues, or—perhaps hopefully—lose the entire contract to another team, as they did Kasperi Kapanen recently.

Cap space is more valuable for the team right now, especially if the team has something big in the works for the deadline. Reports have emerged several times about Hextall trying to trade McGinn, but it seems like they couldn’t find a taker before being forced into this move.

While Friedman certainly isn’t as expensive—he carries a cap hit of just $775K through next season—he is another asset that can be buried in the minor leagues to open up some room. His entire cap hit will be removed if he clears and is assigned to the AHL, though it isn’t much more than the league minimum.

Trade Deadline Primer: Pittsburgh Penguins

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The trade deadline looms and is now less than two 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.

Being one of the game’s most recent dynasties, and housing one of the greatest players in NHL history, expectations are always high for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not reaching the Conference Finals since their Stanley Cup victory in 2017, the Penguins are looking to squeeze out the last few seasons of their generational talents such as captain Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. Dealing with the ramifications of contending for so long, the Penguins no longer have the pipeline of young players they can bring into the lineup. Surviving mostly on the supplementation of college signings, the Penguins have only drafted in the first round three times in the last decade.

With a tight cap situation, and a lack of young assets to dangle, GM Ron Hextall will have quite a lot of work to do in the coming days in Pittsburgh. Serving at the helm since 2021, many of Hextall’s trades have come with mixed reviews. Acquiring players such as Jeff Carter, Jeff Petry, and Rickard Rakell, many of these trades were well received at the onset. However, through injuries or simply underperformance, these players have not been the game-changers that the Penguins may have expected them to be. As things currently sit, the Penguins sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division, barely hanging on to the last wild card spot in the East. As their playoff hopes are hanging by a thread, and several holes to fill in the lineup, the Penguins will have some hard decisions to make over the next few days.

Record

29-21-9, 5th in Metropolitan

Deadline Status

Conservative Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$1.9MM in full-season cap space today,  $2.1MM at the deadline, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2023: PIT 1st, PIT 2nd, NJ 3rd, PIT 5th, PIT 6th, PIT 7th, FLA 7th, TOR 7th

2024: PIT 1st, PIT 2nd, PIT 3rd, PIT 4th, PIT 5th, PIT 6th, PIT 7th

Trade Chips

Taking a page out of their rival, the Washington Capitals, the Penguins should look to deal expiring contracts and any player that is not performing to their cap hit. Although trading underperforming veterans such as Carter and Brock McGinn could prove to be difficult even at their relatively modest cap hits, these are the players that the Penguins must look to move from their roster. Former Penguin Kasperi Kapanen was in a similar situation to these two. In the first year of a 2-year, $6.4MM contract, Kapanen wasn’t able to put it together in Pittsburgh once again this season. After being put on waivers, the St.Louis Blues claimed the forward, absorbing the rest of the contract. Although they didn’t receive anything in return, removing a player that isn’t producing in line with his contract is exactly what this team needs at the moment.

Because their cap hits are relatively modest compared to other underperforming stars, Jeff Carter and Brock McGinn shouldn’t need a world-changing offer to move. A former top-line center for the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings, Carter was acquired from the Kings during the trade deadline of 2021. Already having Crosby and Malkin in the mix, Carter was acquired at the time to provide depth in the Penguins’ bottom six. However, only scoring 21 points this season paired with a dismal -11 +/-, Carter just isn’t living up to the 2-year, $6.25MM contract he signed prior to this year. Being a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Kings, there could be a team willing to acquire Carter as well as his salary to mentor some of their young centers of the future.

Additionally, since it doesn’t appear that they are going to run to the Cup Final, the Penguins should be looking to move any player not named Tristan Jarry set to hit unrestricted free agency. After several down years, Jason Zucker has had a revitalization of sorts. Scoring 16 goals and 18 assists in 55 games, he has shown this season that he can still be a top-six forward in the NHL. Interestingly enough, after not throwing over 100 hits in any season prior to this one, Zucker has already racked up more than 150. Being able to score goals and throw the body are invaluable to many teams for the playoffs, and the Penguins should net a decent return for the forward if they sell.

Other Potential Trade Chips: F Teddy Blueger, F Danton Heinen, F Josh Archibald, D Brian Dumoulin

Team Needs

1)  Top-2 Defenseman: Already a franchise legend, Kris Letang has still been tasked with leading the Penguins from the back end. After acquiring defenseman Jeff Petry from the Montreal Canadiens over the summer, the Penguins were hoping to take some of the stress off of Letang’s shoulders. Unfortunately, even after the addition of Petry, and the signing of Jan Rutta, the Penguins’ defense has continued to look lackluster. The goaltending tandem of Casey DeSmith and Jarry has allowed the Penguins to maintain a respectable 3.20 GA/G over the course of this year, however; the team is also 29th in shots allowed, giving up a total of 2007.

Although Erik Karlsson is a name that many fans would like to see donning the Penguins black-and-gold, his age and contract should be a major hindrance to the Penguins’ brass. Scoring 77 points already this year, Karlsson is still -2 +/-, showing that he is not the complete defenseman that the Penguins need at the moment. A much better alternative resides in Arizona. On a similarly situated team as Karlsson, Jakob Chychrun could be a perfect fit for the Penguins. Only 24, and signed to a relatively low $4.6MM over the next three seasons, Chychrun could benefit tremendously from being paired with Petry or Letang, and also benefit from being on the same power play as Crosby and Malkin.

2) Youth Movement: According to EliteProspects, the Penguins are the second oldest team this season with an average age of 29.9. As their franchise icons grow older, the Penguins must look to fill this team with the next generation. There is a lot of value to be had in draft capital, however; the Penguins should be putting an emphasis on acquiring young players instead of draft picks this trade deadline. Fortunately for the Penguins, Crosby still has the Midas touch. Any player the coaching staff puts around him instantaneously becomes better. Instead of stockpiling picks for players just exiting the college or junior levels, the Penguins should instead look to acquire players that are just on the verge of cracking the NHL. The league is designed in a way that it is hard to make the moves necessary to win three Stanley Cups in a decade and still be sustainable, but if the Penguins are able to re-tool and acquire young players this deadline, they might still have an open window with Crosby on their roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Blues Claim Kasperi Kapanen Off Waivers From Penguins

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Kasperi Kapanen is on the move as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the Blues have claimed the winger off waivers from the Penguins.

The 26-year-old is in the midst of a tough season that has seen him record just seven goals and 13 assists in 43 games while being a healthy scratch on multiple occasions.  When he has been in the lineup, Kapanen is averaging just over 12 minutes a night which is a career low.  However, prior to this season, he has been a capable middle-six winger, ranging between 11 and 20 goals over the last four seasons between Pittsburgh and Toronto while he is one of the faster players in the league as well.

With that track record, it’s understandable that St. Louis would want to take a flyer on Kapanen to try to restore some value.  However, it does come with a somewhat notable salary commitment as the winger is in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $3.2MM cap hit.  As a result of that claim, the Blues will take the entirety of that contract on.  Prior to the claim, they had nearly $71MM of commitments on the books for next season per CapFriendly with this claim pushing that number up to nearly $74MM for 16 players.  That won’t leave them with a lot of wiggle room to add to the back of their roster.

To make room for Kapanen (who won’t play today against his now-former team) on their roster, the Blues announced (Twitter link) that forward Nikita Alexandrov has been sent down to AHL Springfield.  The 22-year-old has five points in 20 games with St. Louis in his first taste of NHL action while he has done well in the minors, picking up 12 goals and 10 helpers in 28 contests with the Thunderbirds.

Meanwhile, it’s a disappointing end to Kapanen’s tenure with Pittsburgh with the team moving a first-round pick to reacquire him from Toronto less than two and a half years ago.  However, the move gives them some much-needed financial flexibility.  Being claimed allowed the Penguins to activate Jan Rutta from LTIR without needing to make any other roster moves while they will now have a bit more space to try to add another piece before the trade deadline.

Kasperi Kapanen, Kevin Gravel Placed On Waivers

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1:00 pm: Kapanen has officially been placed on waivers, along with Nashville Predators defenseman Kevin Gravel, per NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston.

12:28 pm: The Pittsburgh Penguins will place forward Kasperi Kapanen on waivers today, according to head coach Mike Sullivan.

Kapanen, who was re-acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs before the 2020-21 season, has struggled to find his footing with the Penguins after a promising first year. In 43 games this season, the 26-year-old has recorded just seven goals and 13 assists, a steady drop-off from his production at the beginning of his Pittsburgh tenure.

The decision to waive Kapanen is made with the trade deadline in mind. The team is looking to clear some salary cap space to make a move, and burying Kapanen’s $3.2MM cap hit in the minors will take $1.125MM off his cap hit for the time being, the maximum buriable amount.

Kapanen has one year remaining on his contract after this season.

It’s highly doubtful Kapanen would be claimed on waivers, as the combination of his cap hit and term is undesirable for a player demoted to a fourth-line role this season. If he goes unclaimed, Kapanen could use some time with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to regain confidence.

Kapanen last played in the minors with the Toronto Marlies in 2017-18, recording 24 points in 28 games.

The Penguins’ name has been popping up more in trade rumors, as the team has quickly lost their small cushion on a wild card spot. Assigning Kapanen to the minors slightly adds to their $1.225MM projected deadline cap space, per CapFriendly.

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