There was plenty of noise around the Pittsburgh Penguins and Jason Robertson in recent days, but the chatter appears to have cooled without producing a deal.
On his 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman said other teams believed Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas had real momentum on Friday and Saturday, though nothing crossed the finish line.
“I heard that there were talks with Pittsburgh on Friday/Saturday. There were a couple of teams who thought there was some momentum there, but obviously it didn’t happen.”
Robertson’s name has been attached to Pittsburgh for a while now, and that part has hardly been a secret. One report that PHN did not quote went a step further, suggesting the Penguins would send both Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust, along with first-round picks, to Dallas for Robertson.
That kind of package would amount to the equivalent of four first-rounders leaving Pittsburgh for one player, since both Rust and Rakell would be worth first-round value in a trade. The question is whether Dubas ever wanted to pay that price - or whether Dallas simply didn’t like the return. Either way, if the Penguins truly put Rust, Rakell and two first-round picks on the table, the sense here is that the Stars would have moved quickly.
The bigger point is that this would be just about the most Pittsburgh can offer. The Penguins are trying to keep one eye on the future, and first-round picks matter more and more in that kind of build. Handing over three of them would feel like the kind of move that says the rebuild or retool is over, even though there still isn’t an obvious heir to Sidney Crosby or the other names near the top of the lineup beyond Robertson.
Dallas already made a massive move with Seattle, taking in three first-round picks and a young player, but Robertson still wouldn’t sign there despite a contract offer worth more than $15 million per season.
Robertson’s production makes the price talk understandable. Last season, he scored 45 goals in 82 games, his third 40-goal season in six years. He has 213 career goals in only 456 games.
Pittsburgh’s wingers have been productive too, just not at that level. Rust has 60 goals in 143 games over the past two seasons, while Rakell has 59 goals in 141 games over the same stretch.
Dubas’s comments Friday night also made it hard to believe a major splash was imminent. His words left little room for optimism, and his tone suggested the Penguins had tried, found the market too steep, and were still working.
“Yeah, I think we’ll continue to work away at it. What I wanted to (get) was maybe not so much late 20s (difference maker), but in the range of some of the guys that have been moved, in past years, they haven’t gone for that level of asset, right?”
said Dubas. “There were multiple top 10 picks moved, which isn’t overly common.
So, for us, we would aspire to be involved in every one of those conversations.”
He followed that up by making clear Pittsburgh wasn’t necessarily ready to change course.
“It might not be the same way that everybody else does it, but I don’t know that we’ll pivot (after not being able to make the trades). We’ll continue to stay involved in all those discussions and see where it lands.”
Dubas will keep pushing, but the market has already spoken. One factor that can get lost in all the trade talk is the challenge of recruiting a player like Robertson to Pittsburgh in the first place.
Sidney Crosby carries enormous respect, but players also know the Penguins are in need of a reset, and that makes the sell tougher for an elite talent. Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski are examples of players on competitive teams who are still asking out.
Robertson is good enough to make Pittsburgh chase. He’s also good enough to make the price painful. For now, that leaves the Penguins in a familiar spot: interested, involved, and likely unwilling to pay what it would take this summer.
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