The Penguins need a scoring forward. In a perfect world they will find one using their first round pick and perhaps one of their mid-tier defenseman, maybe even Kasperi Kapanen. The forward will have term left on their deal and it won’t be a rental. That’s a perfect world. Things don't always go the way you want. Rentals, while way less ideal are out there. I believe the Penguins have to do something. If they whiff on players with term they may have to consider a rental. Again, not ideal.
We’ve been there and done that with the Brock Boeser, Connor Garland, and JT Miller talk. Let’s look around the league at some forwards that are definitely available or might be available if the Penguins make the price right for the other team. There's no rhyme or reason for the order
Tyler Bertuzzi
The Penguins have been linked to Bertuzzi who has another year remaining on his contract at 4.7M. The Red Wings are supposedly open for business and Bertuzzi is allegedly fine with moving on. He brings an element of sand paper which Brian Burke would surely love to bring in. Bertuzzi is 26 years old and in his prime. His underlying numbers are really great. The knock against Bertuzzi is his vaccination status which prevents him from playing in Canada. This eliminates a chunk of teams pursuing him, certainly not all. For the Penguins it wouldn’t really impact them because they do not have any more regular season games in Canada. Montreal and Ottawa are nowhere near the playoffs and the Toronto Maple Leafs would have to finally win a first round series and their likely opponents are Tampa Bay, Florida, or Boston. Soooo yeah. I could see a Malkin and Bertuzzi pairing running wild on teams for sure.
Rickard Rakell
This is a rental option. Rakell is four years removed from his back to back 30 goal seasons. He scored 33 goals in 2016-17 and 34 goals in 2017-18. In his last three seasons he has scored 40 total. His finishing dried up, but this year has seen an uptick. He is shooting 11.8% which is in line with his 11.3% career average. The prior two years were 8.1 and 6.3. Because of the multi-year slump his value is probably lower than it would have been. He’s decent at creating offense at 5v5 and not so great defensively. The Penguins aren’t looking for defense.
Rakell’s cap hit is 3.79M. It shouldn’t pose a problem to acquire if they needed to.
Jordan Eberle
Eberle has been a thorn in the Penguins side for his entire Islanders tenure. He was exposed in the expansion draft and Seattle scooped him up. He’s having a decent year with the Kraken. He’s 31 years old and has three years left at 5.5M. His contract fits the timeline the Penguins are on. I don’t think the Kraken are shopping him per se, but if you threw a first round pick or John Marino their way maybe you catch their attention. Eberle could be used as Bryan Rust insurance if the forward moves on. He isn’t a rental. He is still really good at creating offense. Like Rakell his defensive impacts aren’t good, but who cares. That isn’t what the Penguins need. They need offense. He’s a career 13% shooter and has 15 goals in 60 games this year. He would easily fill a spot in the top six for the Penguins.
This isn’t a likely option, but Ron Hextall works in the shadows. I haven’t heard anybody mention Eberle and he fits what the Penguins should be looking for.
Phil Kessel
You can’t do a Penguins trade target blog without mentioning a very familiar face who also happens to be a pending free agent. Phil is a legend in Pittsburgh for his personality and integral role on the ice in back to back championships. He still has yet to miss a game since leaving the Penguins. However, as you probably know, he isn’t the same guy who was in Pittsburgh. The aging curve has come for him. He isn’t the goal scorer he was. Even his electricity on the power play has gone by the wayside. He is still a great passer, but things haven’t been great in the desert. I view Phil as a pull the lever in an emergency situation. He won’t cost much to acquire and the Coyotes would probably retain. Not a top option by any means, but technically an option
Dominik Kubalik
Chicago is clearly in the selling mood and who could blame them? They recently got a multi-first round haul from the Lightning for Brandon Hagel. Kubalik is another player with a smallish NHL sample the team might be looking to unload. Kubalik hit the scene in Chicago in a major way his rookie season. He scored 30 goals in 68 games. It was the result of a 19.1 shooting percentage. This isn’t his true shooting talent as the next two years went 10.9 and 8.6. The following two seasons only saw 28 goals total. Two fewer than his rookie year total. He is a pending RFA making 3.7M. Whoever acquires him will be banking on his shooting ability being in the middle of his rookie season and his current 8.6%.
Alexander Radulov
Miro Heiskanen is out with mononucleosis which dampers the Stars chase for the playoffs. They are currently one point out of the wild card. If things turn south they might consider moving Radulov who is a pending free agent. He makes 6.3M so the teams would have to figure out how to make that work. Radulov missed the majority of the 2020-21 season. He only played in 11 games, but had 12 points. Core surgery put him out for the rest of the season. This year he hasn’t exactly bounced back to his prior form we’ve been familiar with over the years. He only has three goals in 53 games with 19 points. I’m not naïve for the red flags here. The injury combined with the aging curve might have KO’d a wildly talented player. This isn’t the best course of action, but I’d be willing to bet Malkin wouldn’t mind playing with him. It probably wouldn’t be a high cost acquisition as far as assets go. This is a last resort kind of thing
Paul Stastny
Stastny has always been a reliable and consistent player over the years from his days in Colorado to his tenure in St. Louis. You might ask why the Penguins need a center like Stastny. I think there’s a path where the Penguins could move Jeff Carter to the wing, whether on the Malkin line or to remain on the third line. Stastny is the kind of player who could provide the Penguins an opportunity to make that switch. Stastny would be an offensive minded third line center and help with offensive depth the Penguins need. He is a pending UFA making 3.8M. I’ve always liked him as a player and while rentals aren’t ideal there’s no doubt he would help the Penguins in the ways they need to be helped.
Gustav Nyquist
Nyquist is an offensive minded winger who has one year remaining on his deal at 5.5M. He’s had some nice years points wise hovering in the 40’s pointwise most of his career. The issue here is in recent years he isn’t exactly driving offense while being a complete defensive liability. Playing with somebody like Evgeni Malkin would take a lot of the heavy lifting away from a player like Nyquist, but I’m not a huge fan of pursuing this player. That said, he’s technically an option for a Blue Jackets team likely to miss the playoffs
James van Riemsdyk
The Claude Giroux era is coming to a close and with it the likely reset button (except for that Ristolainen contract, woof). While the Penguins and Flyers aren’t likely trading partners van Riemsdyk makes sense for the Flyers to move. The issue here is his 7M cap hit for this year and next. Something would have to give. van Riemsdyk would give the Penguins a net front presence they’ve been lacking since Patric Hornqvist was traded away. These days he’s a 20ish goal and 40ish point player. The cap hit is a high premium to pay for that. I’m not a huge fan of targeting van Riemsdyk, but the guy who signed him to his contract is calling the shots in Pittsburgh
Connor Brown
Brown has carved out a nice niche in Ottawa after being traded from Toronto. He’s having a very nice year putting up 36 points in 47 games. Brown has decent speed which is certainly an attribute Mike Sullivan would enjoy deploying. Brown is 28 years old and has another year left on his contract at 3.6M
These are certainly not the only players on the board to be moved. These are the players that stuck out while glancing through cap friendly this morning. As you can see there are multiple avenues the Penguins can go down which include players with term and rentals. Some options are obviously way better than others. Some options will cost more in assets than others. Some aren’t even a winger. The one thing that is for certain is the Penguins need to make a trade. It very well could come from someone on this list.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»