Three Pittsburgh Penguins Players Likely to Hit the Trade Block Early this Season

The Pittsburgh Penguins have certain players they can afford to trade sooner rather than later, and they are looking to add more draft capital and youth.

Even though they have plenty of time to turn things around and are only six points behind the Carolina Hurricanes in first place, they have too many players and a lot of young players waiting in the wings. They are currently 5-7-2, one spot from the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.

Due to their high level of value to the roster, some of the larger pending unrestricted free agents, like defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Lars Eller, might be worth keeping on the team until at least the trade deadline. However, Kyle Dubas has made the decision to delay further discussions with Marcus Pettersson regarding an extension.

The Hockey News' Kelsey Surmacz claims that while some players are valuable to the Penguins, others might be a little more expendable and still generate a respectable profit. Additionally, they can assist in making room on the roster so that other players can have a chance.

There was a bit of a roster stalemate when the Penguins entered the 2024-25 regular season with an excess of forwards. When Matt Nieto and Bryan Rust are both activated from injured reserve, the Penguins will actually have too many forwards. Given the Penguins' options, Acciari's impressive season debut justifies a place on this list.

Acciari performs many of the "thankless" tasks, according to head coach Mike Sullivan, including blocking numerous shots, taking and delivering hits to create plays, playing on the penalty kill, and blocking passing lanes in the defensive zone.

He is a solid fourth-line player and is the kind of depth player that any contending team wants on its roster during the playoffs. To strengthen their depth, teams like the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, and the Nashville Predators, could benefit from adding the veteran.

Drew O'Connor is one of the pending unrestricted free agents who occasionally gets overlooked. With just three goals and four points through the first 14 games of the 2023-24 season, he is a team-worst minus-10. Although O'Connor doesn't have particularly poor numbers, he hasn't been among the Penguins' top players this season overall. It's possible that Pittsburgh could get a mid-round asset from a team in exchange for the 26-year-old's pending UFA status.

Finally, the Penguins may attempt to trade one of their NHL goaltenders to a team in need, and that is a very real possibility. From a contract perspective, the Penguins' ability to trade Tristan Jarry is unquestionably the better result. However, Jarry's ability to be traded is largely reliant on him going on a run of success after his AHL conditioning stint, which would also raise the perception that the Penguins are playing decent hockey at the same time.

When Jarry returns, rookie Joel Blomqvist will most-likely be sent to the AHL. The Penguins do want him back on the NHL roster, and an argument can be made in some ways, that his potential is superior to both Jarry and Nedeljkovic. Considering these factors, it wouldn't be shocking if Nedeljkovic were shockingly shipped out soon. If Jarry finds his game, he is simply more tradeable than Alex Nedeljkovic.