The Pittsburgh Penguins are open for business. That’s a headline that’s become increasingly common over the last couple of weeks.
The talk has picked up recently as the Pens are 3-6-1 in their last 10 and sinking to the bottom of the Metro Division standings. That situation has led one notable insider, Elliotte Friedman, to state that the team’s veteran players are available. However, GM Kyle Dubas won’t be moving anyone unless suitors meet his demands.
“It’s kind of known out there that if you want to help inject some youth into their lineup, they are interested.”
That’s an intriguing statement, as Friedman stated on the FAN Hockey Show the night before that the Penguins GM is, in fact looking to move some players, but it won’t happen easily. There is a “line” that he is expecting teams will meet before making anything happen.
“The other thing too is Dubas has shown that he has a pretty high line. Some of the guys that he’s talked about, or have been talked about, he says he won’t trade them unless he gets a certain level of return.”
So, that means that players like Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust, who have been in trade rumors for quite a while now, won’t be on the move unless interested parties are willing to pay the price Dubas has set for them.
While it’s unclear what that price tag would be, one has to imagine that it starts with a first-round pick and a high-end prospect. It’s quite difficult to imagine the Penguins making a deal without that sort of return in mind.
Penguins Looking to Get Younger
The bottom line is that the Penguins are looking to get younger. The team has numerous “legacy” players, as Friedman noted, signaling towards players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. These are guys who aren’t going anywhere.
But considering other players like Erik Karlsson and potentially Rakell and Rust, they’re currently taking up lineup spots that the club would rather see go to younger pieces who could take more advantage of them, as they look to get more NHL experience.
Clauses Could Get in the Way of Any Trades
At the end of the day, the biggest issue for the Penguins could be the “clauses” that Friedman alluded to. While Rust doesn’t have any trade protection, Rakell has an eight-team no-trade list. Andrei Kuzmenko has a 10-team list, while Karlsson has a full no-move and Samuel Girard has a nine-team list.
That’s of course assuming that Crosby, Malkin, and Letang are all off-limits. The three stars have full no-move clauses, with Letang reporting a 10-team trade list, and Malkin due to submit one in January.
That situation means that the Penguins may have a bit of a harder time moving some of the veteran players on the roster, though doing so won’t be impossible.
It will ultimately come down to interested parties meeting Dubas’ price point. Such a situation may not unfold now, but as the season progresses, there may be a couple of teams out there willing to pony up.
Penguins Will Trade Rakell, Rust If Teams Do This