Penguins Prospects Worth Dealing Before Trade Deadline

The Pittsburgh Penguins are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to trying to make a deal before the trade deadline.

On one hand, they need to make a move to get better, but on the other they don’t have many resources or cap space to get something done.

It’s unclear if general manager Ron Hextall has plans to strap a first round draft pick into a trade, but he has to to make something work.

In order to acquire any kind of big name on the market this year, a draft pick and some sort of prospect is going to need to be involved.

The Penguins famously have a slim pool of prospects to pick from, but it might be worth shedding some unproven talent for a splash deal.

But, what prospects in the Penguins system would be worth trading away? Ideally you hold onto the top guys like Owen Pickering, but what about below him?

Nathan Legare

The time to put up or shut up for Nathan Legare may have come and gone and he is yet to sniff an NHL roster during regular season play.

At one point thought to be a top three prospect in the Penguins system, Legare has been pushed to the side for a number of other names.

The production has been slipping away as his coasts in the AHL; in 45 games this season, Legare has only put up five goals and seven assists for 12 points.

That once high ranking as a Penguins prospect might look appealing to someone willing to buy and hope a change of scenery is the right kind push.

At this rate, it doesn’t look like Legare will ever pan out with the Penguins.

Filip Hallander

It wasn’t certain Filip Hallander would play hockey again for a while following a scary incident that ended a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins game early.

After being stretchered off of the ice in early January, Hallander has already returned to the WBS lineup and is back to producing.

Through 30 games in the AHL, Hallander has scored eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points.

What sets Hallander apart from many other Penguins prospects is the NHL experience.

While it’s not much, he has more than most with three NHL games under his belt.

Perhaps there is more untapped potential for another team in the NHL to take a crack at.

Valtteri Puustinen

Only one game of NHL experience, Valtteri Puustinen has quickly climbed as one of the Penguins best prospect options.

Despite his status in the system, is he panning out to be an NHL regular on the Penguins roster?

It’s tough to say; heading into the season, it was expected he would sneak his way into the Penguins lineup as a full-time NHLer, but that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.

If he is still considered to be NHL-ready, then another team would sure be happy to take his talents and utilize them with their big club.

In 46 games in the AHL this season, Puustinen has picked up 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points.

At the end of the day, most Penguins prospects would be worth dealing for some NHL talent that can extend their Stanley Cup window.

As long as the Penguins are in win-now mode, they don’t have much use for certain prospects.

Again, certain ones you know you want to keep around for the future, but there are quite a few that are better off fetching immediate return for.

Just about none of the prospects are enough to get a deal done alone, but pinning them to a bigger asset as a pot sweetener might go a long way for the Penguins front office.