Sidney Crosby made his NHL debut in 2005, and for the better part of the 19 years since then, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been a Stanley Cup contender OR winner. However, two consecutive playoff misses and a 6-10-3 start to this season later, it seems as if the window has officially closed on the Pens' 'Big Three' of Crosby, Malkin, and Letang competing for Stanley Cups.
And this past week, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman confirmed that Kyle Dubas has told teams the Penguins are open for business.
While it has been specified that this will not be a full teardown, the Penguins are clearly ready to deal some current players on their roster for futures and/or prospects. If there's any team that can accommodate these wants (and needs to add to their current roster), it's the Buffalo Sabres.
With Tage Thompson dealing with injury, Mattias Samuelsson missing some time, and the overall roster needing a jolt even with those two healthy, both these teams seem like ideal trade partners.
The question then becomes who could the Sabres be targeting? Seemingly all the big insiders from Friedman to Pierre LeBrun to Darren Dreger to Frank Seravalli have discussed how Kevyn Adams has been one of the most active GM's in the league to start this season. While to many (including myself), it doesn't matter how many phone calls he makes if he doesn't end up making a trade, I do believe he is trying.
So let's jump into some trade options for the Sabres and see what Adams could be bargaining for.
Marcus Pettersson
Let's start with the one and only defenseman on this list: Marcus Pettersson.
The 28 year old, left-hand shot defenseman is in the last year of his current deal with Pittsburgh, and is one of the few core pieces still performing up to par this season.
Among the headliners for potential Penguins trades, Pettersson is absolutely at the top of the list for quality of talent. He's garnered a ton of interest already, and given an extension is probably not coming, I'd bet he's going to be dealt before the trade deadline.
While acquiring yet another left-handed defenseman may make some roll their eyes, I would encourage people to give this some serious thought. Pettersson may be left-handed, but he's a VERY GOOD left-hand shot defenseman.
Most important to me, he'd be coming in with some legit pedigree, and that's something that this group desperately needs. Bowen Byram might be a Stanley Cup Champion, but he had multiple ups and downs in his career before arriving in Buffalo, and that trend has only continued in his time here.
Pettersson would be the legit top-four defenseman that this young D-core could desperately use, and potentially the long-awaited partner for Owen Power if that were to hypothetically work out.
Plus, given his own career of ups and downs and unavailability, who knows how much longer until the organization's patience with Mattias Samuelsson wears thin. Pettersson could be that replacement.
I don't know exactly what the price would be in this situation, but I'd imagine it would rely on the Sabres' confidence in getting an extension done, especially in a summer where Kevyn Adams will already be loaded with RFA negotiations. Perhaps a 1st/2nd + Isak Rosén? Just spitballing.
Pettersson does carry a modified no-trade clause, but otherwise, there's nothing stopping Adams from potentially striking a deal here. Although, my gut does tell me that he's looking for help up front as opposed to on the backend (he should be looking for both!).
Rickard Rakell
So let's move onto the forwards. We haven't had much insight into what exactly Kevyn Adams has been looking for, except for rumors he's been willing to do something "big". However, Frank Seravalli did drop a in a recent piece that sources have indicated rival teams are suggesting the Sabres are "looking for a top-six addition at forward."
I think 31 year old Rickard Rakell is the closest thing the Penguins have to checking off both boxes. Since being acquired by the Penguins in 2022, he's been mostly great, spending a lot of time in the top-six with Sidney Crosby during that period.
Along with Pettersson, he's been one of the few Penguins players performing well early, especially on the defensive side of the puck. In 18 games, he's scored 6 goals & 11 points.
While he's great right now, I would have some concerns about this as a potential move. For one, as I stated, Rakell is 31. I have no issue with the Sabres adding a 31 year old, but I do have worries about adding a 31 year old with four years left on their current deal. Rakell is slated to make $5 million per season until 2028, a hefty price tag for player his age.
It's not an absurdly long commitment, but taking into account what the acquisition cost would also be for a player that is still performing well and has considerable term makes me wary about a potential big swing such as this.
Like the player, but Adams would have to be cautious here.
Michael Bunting
Jumping the gun a bit here, but this one makes a ton of sense to me.
Michael Bunting has obviously gotten a negative reputation for his behavior as a rat in the league, but he's still been a decent player throughout his career. He was a productive player while in Toronto (playing alongside Auston Matthews & Mitch Marner), and kept that pace up last season with time split between Carolina and Pittsburgh, scoring 19 goals and 55 points in 81 games.
This season has slowed the raw production (3 goals & 5 points in 18 games), but the impacts don't seem too shabby.
Obviously, he's not a good defensive player, but he does have a knack for the front of the net which the Sabres could always use more of.
Bunting is signed through the 2025-26 season at $4.5 million AAV, but it doesn't seem like the Penguins have all that much loyalty to him. He was the recipient of a healthy scratch just a few weeks ago.
I will say that while I don't entirely hate the idea, and the acquisition cost wouldn't be too extreme, this isn't the type of move that gets people ecstatic. It's not a nothing addition, but I don't think Bunting moves the needle like the Sabres need.
Anthony Beauvillier
Anthony Beauvillier falls into this category for me as well.
He's been seemingly everywhere since leaving the New York Islanders, to varying levels of success, but he's had a nice little start to this season with Pittsburgh. He's potted 6 goals in his first 19 games, which is a 25-goal pace over 82 games.
Again, not a terrible player or idea, but I think the Sabres should be aiming higher than this.
Beauvillier is a UFA after this season and only makes $1.25 million, so he does have the Economic status they're always looking for, but he's not going to move the needle in your top/middle-six either.
He would be the type of addition that would be fine as long as an adjacent move was coming, whether it was another forward or a defenseman.
Drew O'Connor
Lastly, we arrive to Drew O'Connor, who is the only player that I am putting a firm "no" to.
I actually only bring him up because he's one of the main names alongside Pettersson that the Penguins are attempting to acquire youth/draft picks in return for.
This is a bottom-six forward, and not even that much of an effective one at that. He's fast, but there's not much more to his game, and I don't think he's an upgrade on anyone in Buffalo's bottom-six, which isn't even that high of a bar to clear.
If this is Kevyn Adam's spiritual successor to the Eric Robinson trade from last season, that would be an incredibly deflating outcome to all of this smoke surrounding him.
Hopefully he's got something way bigger in store, whether it involves the Penguins or not.
Charts and Data posted are from Evolving-Hockey.com
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