Pittsburgh Penguins Trade Rumors: Stars Being Made Available

The Pittsburgh Penguins trade block better have plenty of room according to Rob Rossi.  On Wednesday’s edition of the Marek vs. Wyshynski podcast, Rossi dropped a proverbial bomb on Penguins fans.  He listed four players, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Marc-Andre Fleury, and then said it was likely one of them would be traded by the start of next season.

In the cases of Crosby and Malkin, Rossi cited that both players took less money to stay with the Penguins with the promise that the team would remain competitive.  Over the last few years the Penguins, pending the outcome of this year, have had increasingly disappointing ends to their seasons.  When the question was put to him point blank “Could Sidney Crosby be traded?” he answered with the tried and true statement, “Gretzky was traded”.  The biggest issue in trading either one of these players is that it would have to be player initiated as both players have no trade clauses that would have to be waived.  If either one of those two players initiates a trade it would be evidence of how dysfunctional the internal workings of the franchise are.

More from NHL News

• Should the NHL make referees give postgame interviews?
• Why Carolina Hurricanes fans should be excited for the 2023-24 season
• Why any NHL team would be lucky to add Phil Kessel to their roster
• The New Original Six Teams of the PWHL has been revealed
• The Top 5 Centers in the NHL Today Might Not Be Who You Think

Adding a little extra fuel to the fire was the postulating of Doug MacLean that Malkin could be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Phil Kessel and a first round pick.  I think that the Penguins would want more in the way of forward depth as well for an asset like Malkin. Remember that Malkin would have the final say over any deal.

Kris Letang is a much more tradable player as he has a modified no trade clause where he can nix trades to certain teams.  If the Pittsburgh Penguins trade Letang he would command a steep price.  One of the best defenseman in the league would provide the Penguins with a combination of either depth players or draft picks.  The return would have to be strong enough for the Penguins to be closer to contending for a Stanley Cup without Letang than with him.

Marc-Andre Fleury is not very likely to be traded.  This season he has shown that he can be consistent and has even carried the Pittsburgh Penguins at times.  If the Pittsburgh Penguins trade Fleury it would just create a new hole to fill at goaltender.

At the core of this is a struggle that Rossi mentioned between the two heads of the Penguins ownership group; Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle.  The tension exists in that Lemieux wants hockey people making more of the decisions throughout the organization and Burkle has a very results oriented businesslike approach to the club.  The rumors have swirled that if Lemieux had his way that Ray Shero would still the general manager of the Penguins.

The Penguins offseason is showing promise of being more entertaining and fascinating than the end of their disappointing season.

Next: Los Angeles Kings Playoff Chances Come Down To Thursday