Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman feels Kyle Dubas could potentially consider reuniting new Penguins winger Andrei Kuzmenko with Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson.
Less than a week after the Penguins signed Kuzmenko to a one-year deal, Friedman speculated about Pettersson as a potential Penguins trade target on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast.
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“The ground has shifted here in a huge way,” Friedman said about Pettersson’s status in Vancouver. “I’ve sat there and I’ve said, where could he go that could be good for him? I don’t know. I wonder if the Penguins, with Crosby and Malkin, might be good for him.”
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun said in a June appearance on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer other teams felt Pettersson was “definitely available.”
Any trade talks surrounding Pettersson, who will turn 28 in November, will be complicated by the size of his contract. He’s signed through the 2031-32 season at a $11.6 million AAV, and he’s scored 15 goals in each of the last two seasons.
Four seasons ago, however, Pettersson was a top-10 producer in the NHL. That was back in the 2022-23 campaign, when Pettersson posted 39 goals and 102 points while spending most of the season skating with Kuzmenko on his wing.
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That was a relatively brief partnership, as the Canucks traded Kuzmenko the following season.
That connection still makes Friedman mentioning the Penguins as a landing spot intriguing, as does the possibility of what a change of scenery could do for Pettersson.
After all, Teddy Blueger recently spoke about how difficult the culture was in the Canucks organization after experiencing Crosby “setting the tone” earlier in his career in Pittsburgh (h/t Dan Riccio). Maybe a change in organizational structure could result in a change in how much success Pettersson is finding on the ice.
Should that happen, the Penguins could theoretically add depth behind Crosby and Malkin in the short term and, thanks to the length of Pettersson’s contract, set up a succession plan at center in the post-Crosby era.
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That would hinge on Pettersson turning things around in Pittsburgh, however, as well as whether Dubas would be willing to make that bet without the Canucks retaining salary.
The player will have some say in the matter, too. Pettersson possesses a full no movement clause – and some believe his preference will be to remain on the west coast.
There’s been more buzz lately around the Penguins and Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson, about whom Friedman confirmed the Penguins have spoken with the Stars. Friedman added he still saw Pittsburgh as a “potential option” for Robertson despite his decision to file for arbitration in Dallas.
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“I think they had some conversations with Dallas about Jason Robertson. I don’t know why it didn’t happen, but I heard there were some pretty legitimate talks,” Friedman said Monday. “So I don’t know if this was the Penguins’ call, or if this was Robertson’s call… the belief is he wants to stay there, so maybe it was Robertson’s call, I don’t know. But that is a potential option, ‘cause I heard they had some pretty serious talks about it, and we don’t know where this is going to go for Robertson in Dallas.”
Friedman also provided updates on how the Penguins are viewing two of the franchise’s highest-rated prospects.
He indicated the franchise has high hopes for Owen Pickering, who played a key postseason role for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins despite skating on a broken foot.
“I think that the Penguins are really excited for him,” Friedman said.
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Friedman added he feels the Penguins could see this offseason as a make-or-break moment for winger Ville Koivunen, who played 39 NHL games last season but never established a permanent spot for himself on the roster.
“I think they’re hoping that Ville Koivunen can take another step,” Friedman said. “He had a good end to the previous year, he had a rough year this year scoring-wise, and I think they’ve basically told him: ‘You need to have a massive summer, and then we’ll see where we go.’ I don’t think they’ve given up on him by any means, but I think they’ve told him he needs to have a massive summer.”
Pickering is signed for one more season before he is scheduled to hit restricted free agency in 2027.
The Penguins have yet to sign Koivunen after extending him a qualifying offer back on June 29, so he currently remains an unsigned restricted free agent. Pittsburgh has just under $17 million in cap space after re-signing players including Egor Chinakhov and Arturs Silovs earlier this week, per PuckPedia.
