Pittsburgh Penguins explore Teddy Blueger trade reunion with $1.8M cap hit
Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Rob Rossi reported the Pittsburgh Penguins have interest in Teddy Blueger, and this NHL trade deadline feels built for a familiar face.
Blueger is 31, a left-shot center, and Pittsburgh drafted him in 2012, Round 2, by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He's on Vancouver at a $1.8 million cap hit, and his deal runs out after 2025-26, with a 12-team no-trade list attached.
That's the kind of clean rental math Kyle Dubas can actually move without ripping up the rest of the roster.
And the "why" is simple hockey, faceoffs, penalty kill reps, and a center who can survive hard minutes when the schedule tightens.
Here's the post that kicked the chatter up a notch.
Blueger's 2025-26 line is small-sample, but it pops, 5-3-8 in 14 games, and he's still the same detail-first guy coaches trust late.
Vancouver already knows he'll have a market because the league is thin at center, especially for PK types.
Teddy Blueger fits the Pittsburgh Penguins identity again
Penguins fans would not call this "exciting," but they'd absolutely call it calming.
Blueger's best value is how he shortens games, clean exits, smart chips, and being in the right lane when things get messy.
If Dubas is staring at a tight middle-six mix, this is the kind of add that protects everyone else's usage.
It also lets Pittsburgh keep lines slotted properly, instead of forcing a winger to take draws or asking a kid to PK on fear alone.
The cost is the only real fight, because Vancouver can ask for a real pick if multiple contenders bite.
But if the Penguins are serious about banking points this week and insulating the stretch drive, Blueger is the rare "depth" move that actually changes nights.
Previously on HockeyUnplugged
| POLL |
MARS 5|135 ANSWERS Pittsburgh Penguins explore Teddy Blueger trade reunion with $1.8M cap hit Should Kyle Dubas trade for Teddy Blueger before the deadline? |
| Yes | 64 | 47.4 % |
| No | 71 | 52.6 % |
| List of polls |