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NHL Trade Rumors: Is Rebuilding Pittsburgh Penguins Still Christmas Shopping?

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
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NHL Trade Rumors: Is Rebuilding Pittsburgh Penguins Still Christmas Shopping?

With hopes of recapturing past glory, Pittsburgh Penguins fans had delusions of grandeur.  

Eight games into the regular season, the Penguins earned six wins, with Sidney Crosby earning ESPN’s top performer status twice and Evgeny Malkin once. Could the two future Hall of Famers milk one more Stanley Cup run before a full franchise rebuild commences? 

Maybe not. 

Losers of six straight, entering Thursday’s game at the Ottawa Senators, the Penguins, who are traveling with their fathers, remained two points off the condensed Eastern Conference playoff pace, but general manager Kyle Dubas signaled his near-term intentions.  

Dubas helped engineer one of the season’s first significant trades last Friday, jettisoning goalie Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin to the Edmonton Oilers for goalie Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick. 

Skinner and Kulak may not want to travel light.  

NHL Trade Rumors: Will Penguins Seek Deals? 

 As NHL teams enter a roster freeze period at midnight ET on Saturday, no trades can be made until Dec. 28. When it’s lifted, expect Dubas to continue shopping well after Christmas.  

At the top of this trade list are likely Skinner and Kulak, two players who will enter free agency this summer.  

In his Penguins debut, Skinner turned aside 17 of 22 shots, dropping a decision to his former club.

Kulak carries a cap hit of $2.75 million, but has struggled moving the puck this season, posting just two points in 32 outings. Last season, he compiled a career-best 25 points. 

If the Penguins remain in postseason contention, Skinner, sharing the net with Arturs Silovs, and Kulak could be stabilizing veterans down the stretch, possibly providing a postseason runway for Crosby and Malkin. If not, Dubas could fuel the rebuild by dealing the two veterans.  

Other trade candidates could include veterans Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson. 

Rust ranks third in team scoring behind Crosby and Malkin, but at 33 years old, he may not fit in Dubas’ future roster vision. Rust’s rugged nature plays well in the Steel City, but Dubas could be tempted to add a few young prospects or draft assets. 

Moving Karlsson would be a financial decision. At 35, Karlsson carries a $11.5 million cap hit, managed a bit by the San Jose Sharks covering $1.5 million annually. The defenseman has one more season remaining on his deal, but a team like the Detroit Red Wings, who balked at acquiring Quinn Hughes, could become interested.  

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  
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