The Pittsburgh Penguins have underperformed this season and President/GM Kyle Dubas won’t be afraid to make further changes if need be. Dubas recently turned some heads saying he would do a full-scale evaluation of his roster closer to the All-Star break to assess exactly which direction he’d like to go.
Dubas hasn’t been shy to make bold moves since taking over in Pittsburgh and it sounds like that will very well continue. The Penguins sit with a 13-12-3 record on the season and are currently on the outside looking in at the Stanley Cup Playoff picture in the east.
As far as what could be coming down the pipe should the Penguins faulter in the new year, here’s a few players to consider as prime trade candidates for Dubas and company:
Jake Guentzel
An easy target for onlooking teams as the prolific scorer is a pending free agent, who hasn’t necessarily been blown away by contract offers from Dubas. Guentzel makes $6 million against the cap and holds a modified no-trade clause against 12 teams.
So far in 28 games the 29-year-old left-winger has scored 13 times and added 32 points. He has multiple 40-goal seasons under his belt and is still in the prime of his career, there’s certainly no doubt contending teams are going to come calling.
Should the Penguins move Guentzel before the trade deadline in March, expect to see Dubas ask for proven NHL talent in return. If the Penguins sell this season, it won’t be for future considerations. They have an aging core and only a few more years to capitalize. Guentzel’s been a big part of the core for a long time now and who knows, perhaps it’s a case where he gets dealt at the deadline and then circles back to Pittsburgh next offseason.
The 27-year-old Swede is a long and lanky blueliner who doesn’t necessarily play an overly physical game. Pettersson uses his skating abilities and smarts to get himself into proper position and over the years has started to show more of his offensive abilities.
So far in 28 games this season, he’s chipped in with six assists while also laying 31 hits and blocking 44 shots. Pettersson can kill penalties effectively and has seen some time on the second power-play unit in Pittsburgh before Erik Karlsson arrived.
With one season left on his contract, any onlooking team sees some team control and at a very reasonable $4.02 million against the cap, Pettersson is tradeable. He does hold a modified no-trade clause which protects him against a deal to eight teams of his choice.
Rickard Rakell
The hardest to move out of the three, Dubas has been rumored to be exploring the trade market earlier this season on Rakell, before he went down with an upper-body injury. He has begun to skate again and should be joining the Penguins practices in the coming days.
While last season, his first full year in Pittsburgh, was a great success with 60 points in 82 games, this season has been a disaster for the veteran winger. Rakell has yet to score and has only chipped in with four assists in 17 games. At $5 million AAV through the next four seasons, this is a problem for the Pens.
Dubas will have to do quite the sell job to get another GM to bite considering the struggles offensively this season and the big ticket associated with Rakell’s contract. Regardless, with his history of producing, he’s not untradeable. Rakell submitted an eight-team modified no-trade list last summer, which Dubas would need to navigate to facilitate a deal.
The Penguins continue to be a team to watch this season. Management won’t sit on their hands if the struggles continue and while don’t expect any major moves before the holiday roster freeze next week, as we creep closer to early February, look for Dubas to do something one way or another.
Next: Blues: 3 Trade Candidates as Changes Begin in St Louis
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