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Top three Penguins players who could be traded by the deadline, according to The Athletic's Chris Johnston
Photo credit: Edit from The Hockey News
The Athletic's Chris Johnston revealed the three most likely Penguins players that Kyle Dubas could trade before the trade deadline arrives in March.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have not closed their doors on the trade market. Recently, they traded Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for goalie Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak, and a second-round draft choice in 2029.
Both Skinner and Kulak can be traded before the March 6trade deadline. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman stated on Dec. 12 that the Penguins' executive and GM Kyle Dubas is sure to hear from interested teams for the two players.
The top Penguins player Chris Johnston has on his trade board
While Skinner may look like the more attractive trade commodity, he was not listed on a trade board published on Dec. 17 by Chris Johnston of The Athletic. Kulak, on the other hand, ranked 17th.
He is a veteran defenseman sporting a cap hit of $2.75M and two points through the first 33 games of the season.
With Kulak being a free agent as soon as the end of the 2025-26 season, Pittsburgh undoubtedly has a motivation here to acquire and not simply let him depart for nothing.
Why Kyle Dubas may choose to trade Bryan Rust
Other Penguins from Johnston's trade list are Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson. Rust is 33 years old and has 28 points this year, second only to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Dubas may choose to trade Rust for younger assets in the rebuild.
Karlsson is 35 years old with an AAV of $11.5 million; however, there is a retention of $1.5 million by the San Jose Sharks.
Pittsburgh's situation looks different after a strong start to the year. As of December 19, the Pens have lost seven games in a row.
The presence of older players, including Rust and Karlsson, as well as several other players over 33 years old, means that a rebuild may be imminent, and therefore, there could be more trades.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 19 | 94 ANSWERS Top three Penguins players who could be traded by the deadline, according to The Athletic's Chris Johnston Will at least one of these three players get traded? | ||
| Yes | 74 | 78.7 % |
| No | 20 | 21.3 % |
| List of polls | ||