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Kyle Dubas Pittsburgh Penguins President of Hockey Ops (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Penguins’ Trade Deadline Moves Continue Building for the Future

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Jordan Orth | Last updated Mar 10, 2025 8:55 AM ET

The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, with the Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager (GM) Kyle Dubas making four trades on deadline day. He also made a couple of trades leading up to the deadline. The moves, for the most part, have proven that Dubas will continue to build for the future while trying to put a product on the ice that will compete for a playoff spot. While competing for a playoff spot is out of the question for this season, the assets and players acquired at the deadline could help accelerate a return in the coming seasons.

Trade Deadline Recap

What the Penguins Got at the Deadline

While the return in the trades Dubas made on deadline day will not blow anyone away, he did well in a seller’s market. Getting a second-round pick for Beauvillier, a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) at the end of the season, was a strong move, as was adding the other picks he received. On March 5, he moved on from Michael Bunting, sending him to the Nashville Predators for Schenn and Thomas Novak. Bunting had a strong stint with the Penguins after being acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes last season in the Jake Guentzel trade, so the move at the time did seem a bit odd. But being able to flip Schenn to the Jets for two more draft picks helped make the original acquisition more sense. Novak, who has had a strong couple of seasons with the Predators, comes to the Penguins to fill a middle-six role in the forward group and has term on his contract (he does not become a UFA until after the 2026-27 season).

In the trade with the Maple Leafs, Dubas brought in two players who will not provide a ton offensively, with Dewar tallying three points this season and Timmins with eight, but both will fill in towards the bottom half of the lineup from their respective positions. Sending Glass and Gruden to the Devils is more of an organizational depth move, with Stillman making his debut with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) on March 8. The 2021 first-round pick of the Devils has not been able to find his way to the NHL to this point in his career. Graham, who is still an unsigned prospect, has spent the last four seasons with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and is seen as more of a gritty player with some offensive skill to his game. He will likely be a player who spends most of his time in the minor leagues (if he does sign with the Penguins before his draft rights expire).

What It Means Going Forward

After the deadline, the Penguins now own a plethora of draft picks over the next three years:

2025 picks

2026 picks

2027 picks

As mentioned before, Dubas has made it clear that he wants to keep the team competitive and give the core three of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang another chance at a Stanley Cup. He may end up moving some of these picks if he finds more value in packaging them up to either trade up in a draft or make a move for a player who will immediately impact the roster at the NHL level.

With the Penguins’ draft capital and a likely lottery pick in this year’s draft, there are plenty of pieces to consider that help indicate that things could be heading in the right direction if Dubas uses them properly.

Plenty of Intrigue Going Forward

The 2025 Trade Deadline continued to serve as an example of Dubas’ plan for the Penguins going forward. It also continues to make the offseason something to keep a close eye on as he tries to get the organization back to where it was used to being in the last decade: the playoffs and making deep runs towards a Stanley Cup.