3 Under-The-Radar Penguins’ Trade Candidates This Summer

As it’s already been said many times over this summer, the trade market should be an interesting venture for the Pittsburgh Penguins this summer. With general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas expressly wanting to take a big step toward “sustainable contention” next season, it stands to reason that the team will be pretty active.

Of course, there are some obvious trade candidates who have high value and who have been discussed for the past couple of years. Defenseman Erik Karlsson and forwards Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust are at the top of the list, although it would take a whole lot to pry any of them from Dubas and the Penguins.

However, there are some other names, too, who may be able to fetch a fair bit of value on the trade market. Even if the payout won’t come in the form of first-round picks or other high-value assets, they may be able to fetch sneaky good returns for a few of their players — and they can either use those players as leverage in part of a larger trade or use the assets collected to assist in acquiring the young talent they covet.

Dubas needs to be careful and calculated in the trade market this summer, as the team is progressing forward and needs those impact 20-somethings in order to legitimately contend, but they also can’t sacrifice too much because they still need to build out from the draft, too, and keep bolstering an already-improving prospect pool.

So, the more assets and draft capital, the better. The more they have, the more expendable some of those assets become, and they can leverage some of it for younger players. And there are a few players who should be able to help them collect on that.

Should Penguins Look To Flip A Veteran Ahead Of NHL Draft?

Should Penguins Look To Flip A Veteran Ahead Of NHL Draft? With the short- and long-term in mind, it may serve the Penguins well to consider flipping veterans for a few more valuable assets ahead of this year’s NHL Draft.

Novak, 29, has one year remaining on his current contract at a cap hit of only $3.5 million. While the stats may not jump out like most other second-line centers in the league – or, at least, that’s the role Novak played for most of the 2025-26 season – that doesn’t mean he wasn’t effective in that role.

With 16 goals and 42 points in 82 games on the season, Novak was right in line with his production during his time with the Nashville Predators, so the consistency is encouraging. But he also developed fantastic chemistry with Egor Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin, and even if he wasn’t showing up on the scoresheet as regularly as the other two, he consistently helped drive offense on that line and did the little things away from the puck and on the forecheck to be a positive impact.

Novak can produce anywhere in a middle-six role, and his versatility is a major plus. Of course, the Penguins could very well just keep him around, but he’s someone they might be able to sell high on right now, especially since he’s approaching 30. If they can use him as leverage in a trade or the assets collected in a trade to acquire a younger talent with higher upside, it’s certainly worth considering.

Now That Malkin Is Signed, It’s Time For The Chinakhov Extension To Be Finalized The Pittsburgh Penguins took care of business Tuesday when they re-signed Evgeni Malkin, but there is still more work to be done — and the priority has shifted to young Russian winger Egor Chinakhov, a pending-RFA.

Unfortunately, the stock on the 6-foot-6, 232-pound Brazeau dipped as the season went on, as he had a scorching start to 2025-26 – registering six goals and 12 points in 12 games during the month of October – before an injury interrupted his season for more than a month.

After that, the production came in bunches, but there were relatively long stretches between with nothing to show for his efforts on the score sheet. He still managed to post 17 goals and 34 points in 64 games, but he found himself a healthy scratch for all but one playoff game.

That said, the 28-year-old showed flashes of potential, as his soft hands and shot deflection ability – particulalry, around the net-front – showcased his puck skills and ability to utilize his frame in tight spaces.

Was his season in Pittsburgh – a career-best across parts of three NHL seasons – a fluke or a sign of untapped potential? Just like Dubas wants to take a chance on other players in those situations on other teams, another team might want to take a flier on a guy like Brazeau.

He has a very team-friendly $1.5 million cap hit for next season – pretty good for a 17-goal scorer – so it shouldn’t be all that difficult to sell him. The key will be getting a maximum return, so it may serve the Penguins best to see if he can replicate his hot start from last season in 2026-27 — and sell him then.

Penguins’ Goaltending Future Looks Bright — And The Success Of Their Rebuild Depends On It With talented but unproven netminders like Sergei Murashov in the system, the Penguins appear to be a franchise with a lot of promise at the goaltending position.

Now, would it be a substantial risk to deal who was very nearly a perfect defense partner for Erik Karlsson, who enjoyed his best season as a Penguin in 2025-26 and who found his vintage generational form?

Absolutely. But, if teams are calling about Wotherspoon – Karlsson is also on the final season of his contract – and if the Penguins have a plan to explore the defensive trade market, it might be worth seeing what they’re offering.

Wotherspoon – along with Chinakhov – is the perfect example of a player who had untapped potential in a limited role with the Boston Bruins and maximized that potential with the Penguins. He went from a fringe bottom-pairing blueliner to a top-pairing shutdown defenseman in a year’s time, and he’s a bargain top-four defenseman at $1 million for next season.

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Given what Marcus Pettersson fetched for the Penguins ahead of the 2025 trade deadline – and the fact that prices are even steeper now because of bargain contracts relative to the rising salary cap – it’s not unfathomable that Wotherspoon could, potentially, fetch something close to a first-round pick. And this is especially true because the 28-year-old is coming off of a breakout year and has career-high trade value.

Again, dealing him would be a risk if there’s no immediate plan to replace him. The Penguins are notably thin on the left side, and aside from Owen Pickering and Jake Livanavage, there’s not exactly NHL-upside prospects waiting in the wings, either.

However, depending on his perceived value, it’s worth picking up the phone. Even if a first isn’t in the cards, another second could do wonders for getting a bigger deal for a young player – perhaps a young defenseman – across the finish line.