With the cringy NHL awards out of the way the stage will clear for one of the NHL’s most noteworthy events, the entry draft. The Penguins do not have a first round pick due to the Erik Karlsson trade. They have two second round picks, a fourth, a sixth, and two sevenths. This means barring a trade of some sort the Penguins will not be active this evening due to the fact that only the first round will be completed.
I do expect the Penguins to be involved with trades in the coming week(s). One may involve their starting goaltender, Tristan Jarry. He is on the trade block
The second part could center on Tristan Jarry. Multiple teams have been informed that Jarry, who received a long-term contract last July, is available in a trade, said league and team sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Tristan Jarry has been a perfect storm of being just good enough to give hope, but also leaving everybody wanting more. It is tough to ignore the fact he is not
strong at finishing out seasons.
The Penguins were between a rock and a hard place in last year’s goalie market. Dubas dove in head first with a five-year extension worth 5.375M. The year ended with Jarry watching the recently re-signed Alex Nedeljkovic starting 13 consecutive games. Something not common in the the modern NHL game. It was as direct of a message as their could be the Penguins didn’t trust Jarry to get the job done.
With Linus Ullmark and Jacob Markstrom off the trade market and Juuse Saros looking like he will be staying in Nashville long term with a new contract it leaves Jarry as the veteran goalie at the top of the heap in the trade market. The issue is how many teams are left looking for a goalie who hasn’t won a playoff series, is 29 years old, and has four more years on a 5.375M contract? Goalie markets are weird so maybe there is someone. With the possibility that a trade might not be feasible it appears the Penguins are also grounded to the reality they may just be running back the same tandem
The Penguins have not ruled out beginning next season with Jarry and Nedeljkovic as their goalie tandem, though there is an appetite for open competition in training camp to see who wins the No. 1 job.
Something that has complicated the goalie evaluations is the fact the Baby Penguins lost in the very first round of the AHL playoffs, robbing those in the front office of further evaluating Joel Blomqvist
Complicating the goalie situation is the lack of consensus internally that prospect Joel Blomqvist has developed to the point of being a viable No. 2 to Nedeljkovic if Jarry is dealt. The team hoped AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would make a longer postseason run to evaluate Blomqvist in high-stakes situations, but the AHL Penguins lost in the opening round.
What is Dubas looking to do?
Dubas would prefer to make a so-called hockey trade for Jarry, specifically to add either a potential top-six winger or top-four-caliber defenseman, team sources said
I’d love to trade Ryan Graves as well, but that seems as realistic as those asks.
As for Reilly Smith I think he is the most likely player to be traded. He was made available during the past trade deadline, but now that he is a pending UFA I believe there will be more interest for him
Smith recently switched agents, hiring Pat Brisson, who represents Crosby, and whose partner, J.P. Barry, is Malkin’s agent.
Dubas will work with Brisson on trading Smith if both parties determine that is the best alternative, league and team sources said. The Penguins offered Smith to teams at the trade deadline, but Dubas found no takers — though he did come away from talks confident there would be a market for Smith in the offseason.
Smith hiring one of the industry's heavy hitters only increases the probability of a trade happening. I think both player and team are in need of a change of scenery trade. I would be trying to shed Smith’s cap hit and targeting buy lowish candidates like Patrick Laine and/or Jeff Skinner. Both players have warts and might not be perfect fits, but the Penguins are beggars and can’t be choosers. They have no draft capital to trade (and I don’t think they would be open to trading it anymore), they have minimal cap space and will not be major players for big fish UFA’s. So that really limits their ability to make meaningful changes. That leaves players like Laine and Skinner as reasonable trade/signing targets. Strategic dart throws with no guarantee of working are what they are left with. It would be best to temper expectations based on the reality of the Penguins current situation.
Thanks for reading!
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