The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently still very much invested in the present.
They have a roster featuring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang — and frankly, it’s not a core they can give up on until that core is ready to step away.
That doesn’t meant the Penguins can’t think about the future, though. In fact, it’s incredibly necessary that they do think about the future.
There’s going to come a day, sooner rather than later, when Crosby and Malkin and Letang aren’t skating onto the ice.
What will the Penguins look like then?
It’s a question they’re already having to answer, and they could take a big step toward that picture by considering a trade for Simon Edvinsson.
The 23-year old defenseman who seems to be on his way out from the Detroit Red Wings is a talented, 6-foot-6, left-shot, former first-round pick who would make the future brighter for any team.
Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz suggests in a new article on Wednesday that the Penguins are a team that should look into him.
Simon Edvinsson to Penguins?
Edvinsson is exactly the kind of help-now and help-later player the Penguins could use in a trade.
“General manager Kyle Dubas has repeatedly said they will be in the market for any young player who becomes available, and they have been very aggressive in exploring that market,” Gretz writes. “It has worked out well at times. Edvinsson would seem to be a natural fit. Not only because he is still only 23 years old and fits the mold of the type of player they are interested in, but also because he would fill a major long-term position of need.”
Gretz also points out that the Penguins’ left side of defense is pretty limited anyway, even right now.
And then on the other side? Not only is Letang there, but so is the pending free agent Erik Karlsson, who is 36.
“They could really use a potential top-pairing defenseman who will be there for the next seven-plus seasons,” Gretz writes.
What a Deal Could Look Like
The Penguins have a lot of future assets, so they can both throw together a good package and a variety of different options.
“They have all of their future draft picks, including seven second-round picks over the next three years,” Gretz writes. “They also have an exceptionally deep group of NHL-level forwards and some prospects that could be dangled as trade bait. One such prospect: Forward Will Horcoff, who is also the son of Red Wings interim general manager Shawn Horcoff. If they are not already calling, they should be.”
It sure seems like someone other than Detroit is going to end up with Edvinsson. It’s up to the Penguins to decide if that team is them.
Penguins’ Simon Edvinsson Trade Pitch Charts Post-Sidney Crosby Future