The Pittsburgh Penguins are at a crossroads this offseason as the team looks to salvage the final year of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. After this season, Malkin will ride off into the sunset, leaving Crosby in what could be his final season.
That situation creates a sense of urgency for the Penguins who will be looking to retool on the fly, delaying the inevitable prospect of a rebuild as long as possible.
With $24.5 million in cap space, the Penguins have the means to get several key pieces who could turbocharge a quick turnaround this upcoming season.
So, here’s a look at three contenders the Penguins could absolutely fleece this summer in a trade situation.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning hit this offseason with $3.4 million in cap space. While the Lightning don’t have any big-ticket free agents hitting the market this summer, they will have to do something to address the team’s most glaring needs following a pounding at the hands of the Florida Panthers in the first round of this year’s playoffs.
That’s where the problems begin for the Lightning.
The team doesn’t have any cap space to make meaningful additions while lacking any other sorts of assets to make crucial additions.
That situation means the Penguins could fleece the Lightning in a trade designed to help the Bolts clear cap space.
If the Bolts are inclined to dump a contract, it looks like it could be Ryan McDonagh again. He’s 35 and entering the final year of his deal at $6.75 million. While McDonagh has a modified no-trade clause, Pittsburgh might not be on it.
The Penguins could get a valuable young player plus picks just for the trouble of taking the final year of McDonagh’s deal off their hands. Meanwhile, the Penguins get a valuable veteran blueliner who could stabilize the back end as the Pens look to get back into the playoff hunt.
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues have made a quick retool/rebuild leading them back to the postseason after a brief absence. However, they are tight up against the cap with a shade over $5 million in cap space.
As such, the Blues will be looking to make additions, but lack the resources to do it. That reality could open the door for a team like the Penguins to fleece the Blues as they look to make cap space.
The biggest issue for the Blues is that Dylan Holloway, Alexandre Texier, and Philip Broberg will be RFAs after next season.
So, the Blues will be looking to make room to add this season, while thinking about how they could manage these contracts next season.
Like the Lightning, the Blues may be forced to dump contracts to clear room. Cam Fowler and his $4 million cap hit stand out. So does Nick Leddy. Dumping those two contracts could free up $8 million in cap space for the Blues.
The cost of doing business could be a young player like Jake Neighbours or a prospect like Otto Stenberg. The Blues’ first-round pick this season wouldn’t be a bad throw-in either.
As for the Penguins, they could get one or two solid blue liners who could anchor the back end while a first-round pick could become an asset to be used in another deal down the road.
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are in a flux. They have just under $5 million in cap space and are rumored to be shopping big names like Jason Robertson.
The Stars fell woefully short of the Edmonton Oilers at this year’s Western Conference Final, and with such limited cap space, they can’t re-sign all of their free agents this season, including team captain Jamie Benn.
So, why not jump at the opportunity to add a dynamic young star like Robertson this season? Robertson is due $7.75 million this year and is due one more season as an RFA. Just getting Robertson for a couple of later-round picks, which the Penguins have plenty of, could become the fleecing of the century.
Moreover, Robertson is the sort of player the Pittsburgh Penguins could build around as the Crosby-Malkin era draws to a close. I could see the Penguins taking Robertson’s cap hit of Dallas’ hands for a combination of the surplus third and fifth-round picks in this year’s draft.