After a four-game road trip that saw the Pittsburgh Penguins go 1-3 and fail to gain much, if any, ground on teams ahead of them in the playoff race, first-year general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas finds himself in a tough spot with the trade deadline coming up on March 8. The way the Penguins have played this past week should signify that it’s best to be fully in “seller” mode at the deadline.
Road Trip Starts Well But Ends Bad
The Penguins found themselves having just over a 31 percent chance of getting to the playoffs after they pulled off an overtime victory in the first game of their road trip in Vancouver against a strong Canucks team. But things went downhill from there.
After the win in Vancouver, the Penguins dropped the next three games of the trip to the Seattle Kraken (2-0), Calgary Flames (4-3) and the Edmonton Oilers (6-1). The loss to the Flames was a backbreaker for the team as they had a 3-1 lead early in the third period and fell apart, giving up four unanswered goals to lose the game and seemingly could not find their game against the Oilers either. The Penguins now have just an 18.2 percent chance of making the playoffs while also 10 points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference as of March 3.
Penguins Have Players of Interest
The road trip went about as bad as it could for the team, and it very well could send them into seller mode at the deadline. The Penguins have not been able to get going in the crucial time of the season and have fallen a ways behind the teams that they are chasing for a playoff spot at this point.
With several players that could have interest from contending teams, Dubas should look to sell high on some of his players. It could come in the form of Reilly Smith, who was acquired in the offseason and has not been able to get his offensive game on par with how it was with the Vegas Golden Knights, possibly Alex Nedeljkovic, or the injured Jake Guentzel.
Nedeljkovic is the most likely of the two goalies the Penguins have to be traded. He will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) at year’s end after signing a one-year deal last offseason. He would cost teams less both in cap space and assets given up. With Jarry signing a long-term extension paying him roughly $5.375 million a year for five years with a 12-team no-trade clause (NTC), moving him would be a tougher task. The organization seems happy with how he’s played this season, and they will likely keep him in a Penguins jersey.
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The Penguins’ biggest wildcard is Guentzel. While he is still out with an injury, he is reportedly gaining interest from multiple teams around the league, and it seems increasingly likely that he will be elsewhere after the trade deadline passes. The Penguins have been rumored to want two prospects in return for the soon-to-be UFA, but they may have to settle for a prospect and picks unless they package more with Guentzel. Sending him to a contending team benefits both the Penguins and Guentzel, as the team will get some much-needed assets for the future, and Guentzel can compete in the playoffs while trying to get himself a long-term extension.
While these three players have received the most attention for possibly being moved, the Penguins have plenty of players who could draw interest from other teams and bring back the assets needed to help the organization down the road.
Disappointing Season for the Penguins
After Dubas’ moves this offseason, many had hoped the Penguins could make one final push for the playoffs with their core. However, that has not come to fruition, and most of the moves have not panned out. This finds the organization in a tough spot going forward. With the aging core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and now Erik Karlsson, the team will need to look at what the future will look like when these players find their way to retirement.
Figuring this out could start with the 2024 Trade Deadline for adding assets and possibly rebuilding the organization. As much as they and their fans do not necessarily want to go through a rebuild, it may be the time to do so.