The Pittsburgh Penguins are likely going to sell at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. Pittsburgh could certainly make some moves to add to their roster. Especially given that they are competing for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at this time. However, the Penguins are further back in the Wild Card race than other contenders in their conference.
The Penguins have already sold a few players through trade, in fact. Lars Eller was traded to the Washington Capitals back in November. And more recently, the Penguins traded Marcus Pettersson to the Vancouver Canucks in a four-player, six-asset trade. The Penguins are not a Stanley Cup contender, so these trades aren’t entirely surprising.
There are obvious untouchables on the Pittsburgh roster. For instance, future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are not going anywhere. Both players have trade protections in their contracts. And it appears as if neither player has any desire to play for another team.
Players such as pending free agent Matt Grzelcyk, on the other hand, could be available. This could net the Penguins some massive draft capital and future assets. Pittsburgh is working in a seller’s market, along with the rest of the league. They have most of the leverage in trade negotiations this season.
What Pittsburgh does between now and the NHL Trade Deadline will be intriguing to see. However, there is one organizational flaw the team must address. And thankfully, it’s something this franchise has already started addressing before this point in the 2024-25 campaign.
Penguins need to add young players with upside to their ranks
The Penguins have sought to add young players to their organization over the last year. General manager Kyle Dubas initially added a slew of veterans in the summer of 2023 to try and compete immediately. However, this led to the team missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24.
Since the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, Pittsburgh has sought to add youth to its ranks. For instance, the Penguins acquired Vasily Ponomarev in the Jake Guentzel trade with the Carolina Hurricanes last year. This year, they traded for Cody Glass and Philip Tomasino in separate deals with the Nashville Predators.
This goes beyond the addition of NHL-ready players, as well. Ponomarev has spent most of his season in the AHL this year. Along with him, the team acquired Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty in separate trades. And their 2024 NHL Draft haul featured the likes of Harrison Brunicke and Tanner Howe early on. This isn’t even mentioning seventh-round pick Finn Harding, who has turned heads with the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads this season.
The Penguins have already laid the groundwork to address their need for young players with upside. However, the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline presents a chance to truly knock it out of the park. Pittsburgh could use its leverage as a seller to drive up prices for some of its trade chips. And this could land some crucial assets to help the team with their youth movement.
Pittsburgh certainly isn’t near the end of its rebuild. In fact, they haven’t entered a complete rebuild in the traditional sense. This is not a team looking to trade anything with value and tear it all down to the studs. However, the Penguins are at a crucial point in their process. Crosby and Malkin are not long for the NHL. It’s important that they prepare for life without the two future Hall of Famers, and that starts at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.
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