Pittsburgh Penguins: A Trade for Matt Duchene Stirring Up

Earlier this season, there were many reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins were interested in acquiring Colorado Avalanche star centre Matt Duchene.

Trade talks have surrounded Duchene for most of the season. The Pittsburgh Penguins were rumoured to be trying to acquire him at the deadline, perhaps for a playoff push. Well now we know we didn’t need him, but it looks as if the Pens are taking a look at him again.

Pittsburgh Penguins

As Jimmy Murphy reported, the Penguins interest in Duchene has returned at the draft. Negotiations were underway but the Penguins felt that the demand was too high.

So why all of a sudden? Well as reported earlier this week, it looks like Nick Bonino may not be wanting to re-sign here in Pittsburgh. That makes us lose our third line centre.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are no doubt already our one-two punch down the middle, but the third line has to be strong as well. If we can acquire Matt Duchene, we could have the best third line centre in hockey. On top of that, he can easily serve on our other top lines if needed, and our power play.

Should We Do It?

Honestly, if the price is right, why not? We’ve trusted in this management and they’ve only brought us success. The Phil Kessel trade ended up being great, and we can be sure they won’t try to lose too much here.

If we can get Duchene at a good price, then go for him. However, it is looking like the demand is too high on him. The Penguins are already tight with their cap space and have a number of free agents. We need to be careful with how we deal here. We may be in win-now mode but some of those prospects and picks will be important.

We’ll have to see what Rutherford can cook up. If another blockbuster deal can go through, lets hope it will be us on the winning end.