Would the Pittsburgh Penguins risk losing three key free agents for nothing in order to give Sidney Crosby and the championship core a real chance at a lengthy playoff run?
How much time, if any, will Crosby miss following his obvious lower-body injury at the Olympics?
The collision of variables may not be the Penguins’ friend.
Even as the hockey fans’ lonely eyes turn to Milan and the Winter Olympics, the NHL trade deadline is just 14 days away. The fast-approaching point-of-no-return will offer Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas the chance to fortify his roster, but it also presents difficult decisions on players who currently fill important roles on the surprising Penguins 2025-26 roster but are pending unrestricted free agents.
Despite a lengthy resume, Stuart Skinner is only 27 years old. He seemed to be claiming a No. 1 role or at least the primary starter’s spot, will be a free agent. So, too, will left-handed defenseman Brett Kulak, who has proved to be a blueline upgrade, and 20-goal scorer (and counting) Anthony Mantha.
Noel Acciari is also a pending free agent, and the organization clearly has multiple wingers ready to take his place, including Filip Hallander, who is on a conditioning assignment, Rutger McGroarty, who has played well but has struggled to finish chances, and the scrappy Avery Hayes, who would seem well-suited to the zippy fourth-line’s identity.
Acciari’s current station would make him expendable in either scenario and his value is likely a second or third-round pick. The forward has been a trade deadline acquisition several times for teams looking for his brand of blood-and-guts physicality and defensive responsibility. This year, he has helped form one of the best fourth lines in the game, but that presumes Hayes or McGroarty couldn’t fill his place.
Fellow fourth-liner Connor Dewar won’t be on the trade list as he’ll be easy to re-sign but have very little trade value. One year ago, the Penguins were able to acquire him and Connor Timmins for a single fifth-round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs. His career year (24 points, with 13 goals) makes him important to his current team, but it’s as hard to see rival GMs offering more than a mid-rounder as it is Dubas believing that such a mediocre pick would be more important for the team now or even later.
Kevin Hayes, 32, is the Penguins’ 13th forward, and his salary cap hit of nearly $3.5 million probably negates any trade value. Also, his lineup versatility and locker room presence make it easy to hang onto him in the absence of beneficial offers.
Evgeni Malkin’s situation is also unsettled, but that remains a deep and separate subject. As of publishing, Pittsburgh Hockey Now can report that the Penguins have not yet made Malkin an offer, and our belief is that the Penguins have not yet made a decision on his future, though Malkin is waiting anxiously.
The Penguins’ second-place standing and space between themselves and non-playoff teams is as comfortable as any team in the crowded middle of the Eastern Conference could possibly be.
With that stack of chips in the form of a playoff cushion earned from the shrewd moves of signing Mantha to an incentive-laden deal and patiently waiting for the right moment to make the Tristan Jarry trade, which brought Skinner and Kulak, the pressing question is, will Dubas let it ride into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or will he remain firmly focused on the future and move one, two, or all three pending unrestricted free agents for forward-facing assets because each will have value on the trade block?
Setting up Dubas’s decisions will also be the prices other teams are willing to pay for his assets. The last couple of trade deadlines do provide some insight.
Adding another level of intrigue to Dubas’s decisions–or perhaps making Dubas’s decisions–when examining the comparables from the previous trade deadlines, it does appear that two of three pending Penguins UFAs are more valuable to the Penguins than what they might fetch on the market.
Kulak is the exception.
As a last note, there have been very few young players of note on the trade wire and few are being discussed. Of course, there was nary a rumor or report that Dubas was so aggressively pursuing Egor Chinakhov until the trade happened. Any such deals for forgotten youth that Dubas could put together would be off the map, at least pertaining to rumors and past deadline activity.
Anthony Mantha
If we use last year’s deadline as a guide, the market for a deal centered specifically around Mantha will be poor.
Boston dealt Brad Marchand to Florida for a conditional second-round pick.
There were three others dealt for a No. 2, but only Gustav Nyquist was a potential 20-goal scorer. The others were defensive additions, and certainly not 20-goal scorers; Fourth-liner Brandon Tanev and the Penguins’ versatile defensive forward Anthony Beauvillier.
The Penguins also dealt Michael Bunting and a fourth-rounder to Nashville for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn, who became a second-round pick.
Mantha is superior to Bunting, but the deal with Nashville that was for a high-character right-handed defenseman and a struggling forward with talent would seem to be the market-setting deal.
Perhaps Dubas could find a younger player for Mantha … or simply keep him for a playoff run and worry about a new contract after the season.
Stuart Skinner
His value is in the eye of the beholder. Is he a No. 1 goalie who took his team to two straight Stanley Cup Final appearances, or is he a serviceable goalie more suited to be a 1A, or is he an average starting goalie?
Comparables: The Colorado Avalanche traded for Mackenzie Blackwood, but the deal included a lot of superfluous parts, too. The Avalanche also acquired forward Givani Smith and a 5th-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft from the San Jose Sharks for badly struggling Alexandar Georgiev, forward Nikolai Kovalenko, a 5th-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, and a 2nd-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
So, basically a swap of minor leaguers and a two–with canceling fifth-rounders–for Blackwood.
Over the summer, Detroit acquired John Gibson for a second and fourth-round pick.
In the summer of 2024, the Washington Capitals acquired Logan Thompson for a pair of third-round picks. And at the 2024 NHL trade deadline, New Jersey acquired Jake Allen for a third-round pick.
Brett Kulak
Kulak is the pending UFA that could bring greater assets in return. At last year’s deadline, Nashville acquired Nicolas Hague from the Vegas Golden Knights for bottom-six forwards Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon, and a 2027 3rd-round pick.
The Ottawa Senators acquired third-pair defenseman Jordan Spence from the LA Kings for the 67th pick in the 2025 Draft and a 2026 6th-round pick.
Schenn did net the Penguins a second-rounder from the Winnipeg Jets, and probably outreaching Kulak’s value, Edmonton acquired Jake Walman for a conditional first-rounder.
Like Mantha, Kulak could be a valuable piece for a contender that is all-in for a Stanley Cup, at which point Dubas could snare an undervalued or blocked young player. And wasn’t that the goal of the season in the first place?
However, if Crosby is healthy and the Penguins are in the hunt, it could be a very quiet trade deadline.
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