The Pittsburgh Penguins are sliding toward seller territory, but that doesn’t mean Kyle Dubas is ready to start handing out veterans for pennies.
That’s the read from Elliotte Friedman, who said on the FAN Hockey Show that Pittsburgh’s recent downturn has put trade talk back on the table. The Penguins are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games and have dropped three straight, including a heavy loss to Boston.
That kind of stretch can change the mood around a team fast. It can also change how aggressively a front office starts listening.
But Friedman made one thing clear: Dubas isn’t expected to move players just for the sake of making a move.
A big part of the issue is trade protection. Several Penguins veterans have it, and Friedman said Dubas would likely ask players where they’d be willing to go rather than try to push them somewhere they don’t want to be. At the same time, Pittsburgh isn’t looking to give anyone away.
According to Friedman, Dubas has been straightforward about wanting any deal to matter for the Penguins, especially if the team needs a player to waive a no-trade clause. The return would have to include “high picks” or players who are “pretty much ready to play.”
That makes the veteran market a little trickier. Friedman pointed to Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson as players with significant control over their futures. Rickard Rakell has an eight-team no-trade list, while Bryan Rust does not have trade protection, according to the discussion.
Friedman also floated Tommy Novak as a name to watch. Novak is 29, can play center or wing, and has term left on his contract.
He’s not a prospect, but his flexibility and contract situation could make him useful to another club. Friedman didn’t present it as a certainty, just a possibility worth tracking.
The broader feeling around Pittsburgh is familiar, even if the timing is different. A year ago, the Penguins were widely seen as a team that might sell, but the market never really opened up. This time, the recent results have revived the conversation.
Still, a bad stretch is not the same thing as a clearance sale. Dubas appears to be balancing player preferences with the kind of return Pittsburgh would need to justify a move. If another team wants one of these veterans, it may have to bring a serious offer to the table.
For Penguins fans, that’s the real question now: not just who could go, but whether any deal will be strong enough to get both Dubas and the player to say yes.
In Other News...
Sidney Crosby Sounds Off As Penguins Problems Keep Getting Worse
The Penguins skid keeps stretching, and the latest setback came in a 6-2 loss to the Bruins, their fourth consecutive defeat. Sidney Crosby didnt sugarcoat the state of things afterward, pointing to the kind of inconsistency that has made Pittsburgh so hard to trust from night to night and stressing the need for cleaner puck control and better work in the details that decide shifts.
Assistant coach Rich Clune said Boston did a good job of disrupting Pittsburgh through the neutral zone, which only added to the frustration of a team trying to steady itself. For the Penguins, the concern now is less about one bad night than the pattern it reinforces, with the captains message underscoring how much sharper the group needs to be before the losses start piling up even faster. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Slump Is Putting Crosby And The Power Play Under Pressure
The Penguins early-season slide has put a familiar part of the roster under a harsher spotlight than usual, with the power play failing to drive much offense and the team struggling to create the kind of looks that normally keep Sidney Crosby and the top unit dangerous. Even by the standards of a season that has already felt uneven, the special teams issues have stood out because they have come with so little sustained pressure or clean puck movement.
Crosbys own start has only sharpened the concern, since his production and shot volume have been far below his usual pace, and the defense has not offered much relief at even strength. None of Pittsburghs blue-line pairings has managed a positive goal differential in 5-on-5 play, leaving the Penguins with multiple areas to sort through at once as they try to stop the skid before it deepens. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Let Another Home Game Spiral Out Of Control
The Penguins opened the scoring at PPG Paints Arena, but the night quickly turned into another reminder of how fragile their home ice has been. Pittsburghs 6-2 loss to Boston followed a familiar pattern for a team that has struggled to keep games from slipping away once momentum changes hands.
Justin Brazeau gave the Penguins an early lift, but the Bruins responded in a way that left little doubt about the direction of the game. Boston spread the offense around and kept building, with Pavel Zacha, Mark Kastelic, Elias Lindholm, Morgan Geekie and Fraser Minten all getting involved as the Penguins were left chasing the rest of the way. [Read more 🡒]