The vultures are beginning to circle the struggling Penguins — and the team's recent decision to move Lars Eller may just have been the start.
The Athletic's Josh Yohe reported Monday that the most likely candidate to be in new threads before the trade deadline could be Marcus Pettersson, with the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers interested in the six-foot-five, 175-pound defenceman's services.
It's been tough sledding for Sidney Crosby and Co., and the Penguins might be in the process of blowing it up as suitors like the two Canadian teams line up in hopes of striking a deal.
The 28-year-old Pettersson is in the final year of a five-year, $20.1 million contract he signed in 2020. He has a cap hit of $4.025 million this season.
According to Yohe, the team values Pettersson, but also hopes to re-load its prospect pool and system in hopes of contending in future seasons.
Despite not playing on the team's power-play unit, Pettersson is third on the team with an average of 22:21 TOI per night. He has the highest even-strength TOI on the team at 19:29. He has tallied one goal and seven assists in 20 games this season.
Last season, the Swedish blueliner picked up career highs in goals (four), assists (26) and average ice time (22:40).
Along with Pettersson, defencemen Matthew Grzelcyk and Ryan Shea are also set to become unrestricted free agents this season.
Additionally, Yohe mentioned that the Penguins and GM Kyle Dubas could be interested in moving defencemen Ryan Graves and Erik Karlsson as well as goaltender Tristan Jarry. However, he added that other teams likely would not be interested in the trio considering their long-term contracts.
The Penguins made their first big sale of the season last week, shipping forward Lars Eller back to the Washington Capitals for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick.
Pittsburgh has fallen short of expectations this season, stumbling to a 7-10-3 record that puts its seventh in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins have a league-worst minus-25 goal differential.
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