The Penguins have officially started selling. After seeing multiple deals made this weak with notable players they’ve decided to get into the action. Marcus Pettersson will be heading west.

The destination is not a surprise. Jim Rutherford was who traded for Pettersson in the first place and if there’s anything Rutherford loves it is a top four defenseman who makes around 4M. He also loves to trade first round picks. With this trade he gets to do both.

Kyle Dubas did a great job, here. This looks like a best case scenario trade for the Penguins defender.

The Penguins acquired the Rangers’ 2025 first-round pick (conditional), forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, and 2024 third-round pick Melvin Fernstrom from the Canucks for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.

Details: https://t.co/96yIZjGSC4 pic.twitter.com/MZzl5PbP1c

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2025

Dubas in press release: “Tonight’s trade continues to move us in the direction set one year ago which is to continue to add young prospects, young players, and draft capital to the Penguins as we chart our course to return the club back into contention as urgently as possible."

— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) February 1, 2025

Getting the first round pick is really good and the main component for the Penguins. They get the type of asset they are really coveting right now which is quality draft capital. One detail about the pick is that it is top 13 protected via the Canucks/Rangers trade involving former Pittsburgh resident JT Miller

Marcus Pettersson is a big hole to fill and it appears like Vincent Desharnais was thrown in to give the Penguins a physical body to play some minutes. At first glance I don’t think the Penguins should have long term plans for him. He is a very defense only kind of player and I just don’t like that in 2025.

Drew O’Connor and Danton Heinen are a wash. O’Connor turned in a miserable 2024-25 campaign compared to what the expectations were before the season began. He will look for the change of scenery boost. It wasn’t happening in Pittsburgh this year.

While I don’t love that Desharnais and Heinen have another year left on their deals for 2M and 2.25M respectively, I think it is an easy price to pay. Picking up a first round pick for a pending UFA and an ineffective depth player is really good and the depth players acquired are a real small inconvenience all things considered.

As for Marcus Pettersson he was a player who really grew on me over his time in Pittsburgh. I thought he was tremendous in how consistent he was. He did such a wonderful job with his positioning and stick work. He was able to use his acumen and skating to close gaps very effectively. He was also decent passer. A perfect partner for the Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang types. He wasn’t quite Paul Martin, but he is in that kind of mold. Pettersson was a really good Penguin.

The Pettersson trade was definitely something Dubas was going to have to eventually do leading up to the trade deadline. Not only has he gotten that out of the way, but he has done really well in acquiring a first round pick. He can now focus on other areas of the roster and plan for what I imagine will be multiple trades in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading!

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