NHL Rumors: The Pittsburgh Penguins Need to Make Some Moves Sooner Than Later

The Pittsburgh Penguins need to lower their ‘sky-high’ asking prices to put them in a better future position

Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The current Pittsburgh Penguins lineup is likely closer to a playoff spot as opposed to being in the running for a potential top-two pick. The Penguins have some players to move out, but will GM Kyle Dubas lower his asking price to get a better draft pick?

If/when there is a change of ownership for the Penguins, multiple sources say not to expect any direction change to their plans of rebuilding.

The asking prices for forward Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust are “sky-high,” according to Dubas. It’s not known what the asking price for defenseman Erik Karlsson is. Holding onto Karlsson seems odd, as his roster spot blocks a young defenseman or a defenseman that could turn into a future trade asset. Karlsson does have trade protection and wants to play on a contender. Trading him makes sense as they don’t want to get better just yet. Same for Rakell and Rust.

Will maintaining a high asking price eventually have an adverse effect? There can be a huge difference in having a top-five draft pick, as compared to the number 10 pick.

There is a larger group the Penguins would move, and they’re still eyeing the goalie market

The Fourth Period: The Pittsburgh Penguins have a group of players they are open to moving, with talk possibly resuming this month and into the start of the season. That group includes, and is not limited to, forwards Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Noel Acciari, defencemen Erik Karlsson and Ryan Graves, and goaltender Tristan Jarry.

Rakell and Rust have three years left on his deal, and only Rakell has trade protection – an eight-team no-trade list. Jarry has three years left a 12-team no-trade list. Sources say that even after acquiring Arturs Silovs, the Penguins continue to look at the goalie market.

Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote that teams are interested in Karlsson but not at the $10 million cap hit. Karlsson has two years left, and it’s not known if the Penguins are willing to retain up to 50 percent.