Who could the Penguins trade to clear cap space? taken at PPG Paints Arena (Penguins)

GETTY

Jason Zucker.

The Penguins have $23,208,158 in cap space to fill out seven vacancies on their roster by the beginning of next season.

Whether it be Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin or two free agents, a significant chunk of that cap space figures to be divvied out to a top-pairing right-handed defenseman and a second-line center. There won't be a ton of money left over for the Penguins to spend on the remaining holes in their group of forwards. Even after signing a second-line center, they will have only 10 forwards under contract next season. At least one of the contracts they sign, in addition to the ones mentioned, will need to be a winger -- preferably Rickard Rakell right-handed -- that can play in the top-six.

Players of that variety aren't exactly cheap, either. Ron Hextall might have to get creative and trade one of his players on a medium-sized contract in return for low-end draft picks, ultimately clearing more cap space.

Which players could provide the Penguins with some cap relief if they were to be traded?

FORWARDS

Jason Zucker
Age: 30
2021-2022 stats: 41 games, 8 goals, 9 assists, 14:49 time on ice per game
Cap hit: $5,500,000
Years remaining: 1

After being acquired in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk, Calen Addison and a first-round draft pick during the 2019-20 season, Zucker found instant success alongside Sidney Crosby while Jake Guentzel was out with injury. Since Guentzel returned from that injury, the Zucker-Crosby duo has not been revisited despite an apparent clash of styles between Zucker and Malkin. 

Zucker's impact and inability to stay in the lineup have been incredibly frustrating over the past two seasons. During the 2020-21 season, Zucker found the back of the net at a decent clip, scoring 0.91 goals per hour, but the Penguins got absolutely cratered with him on the ice at five-on-five, scoring only 43% of the goals and controlling 44.8% of the expected goals, per Evolving Hockey.

This past season, Zucker's shot volume increased and the quality of his chances were greater than the prior season, but his goal-scoring rate dropped to 0.79 goals per hour. Most interestingly, the Penguins controlled play much better with him on the ice, as they created 55.5% of the expected goals. That didn't quite come to fruition in actual goals, though, as they barely kept their heads above water at 50.4%.

The $5.5 million cap hit Zucker carries would normally make him the most probable candidate to go, but in this case it's unlikely. The biggest factor is that Zucker hasn't been able to stay healthy for the past two seasons and could even require surgery this offseason. At that price tag, Zucker simply brings too much risk to take a flyer on. The Penguins would likely have to retain salary on any trade that sends him packing. Once the Penguins were to sign a replacement, the total money of the new contract paired with the retention on Zucker's contract would probably come out close to what they were paying to begin with.

It's not ideal, but the Penguins' best bet is to let Zucker ride out the final season of his contract and hope that he's able to get healthy this offseason. His 2021-22 season indicated he still has the ability to drive play in a middle-six role. There is value in that, but the Penguins will need some more goals to come along with it.

Brock McGinn
Age: 28
2021-2022 stats
: 64 games, 12 goals, 10 assists, 14:59 time on ice per game
Cap hit
: $2,750,000
Years remaining
: 3

McGinn's cap hit isn't quite as hefty as the other players on this list, but it's large enough that it could make a difference if it were no longer on the books. There's no reason to believe his impact can't be replaced by someone on a much cheaper deal.

While he did have an above-average effect on helping the Penguins limit quality chances against at even-strength, McGinn was one of just three Penguins skaters this past season to be out-chanced at five-on-five (47.1% expected goals share). His 10 goals at five-on-five was good for eighth on the Penguins, but outside of his individual finishing ability, he dragged down the Penguins' attack. The Penguins scored 1.93 goals per hour with him on the ice at full-strength, the lowest rate of any skater on the team.

I'll spare you the numbers, but McGinn's metrics when short-handed also graded out as incredibly pedestrian. That's an area where he could justify the contract he signed, but it appears any average penalty killer could provide similar, if not better, impacts.

All that said, McGinn's season wasn't much different than any of his other seasons in the NHL. He didn't change as a player, and the current regime was the one that signed him. I doubt they'd look to move him just a year into a four-year contract.

DEFENSEMEN

Brian Dumoulin
Age: 30
2021-2022 stats: 76 games, 3 goals, 15 assists, 21:49 time on ice per game
Cap hit: $4,100,000
Years remaining: 1

There's no easy answer on what to do with Dumoulin. He's coming off what many considered the worst season of his career. He's also at the age where defensemen of his caliber start to see a sharp decline in their performance. Is he the right guy to continue manning the left side of the top pairing? If he isn't, the Penguins have a pretty expensive short-handed specialist on their hands.

That's the thing. Losing Dumoulin means the Penguins lose their best net-front defender as well. It wouldn't bode well for a unit that lacks in that department overall. It's a skill that is valued league-wide, but Dumoulin's lower-body injury history, including a torn MCL suffered in Game 1 against the Rangers, will be of concern to potential suitors. A rebound in performance doesn't figure to be in the cards after that kind of injury, especially because his deteriorating skating has been the source of his downward trend. That doesn't mean a general manager out there doesn't want him for his pedigree.

John Marino
Age: 25
2021-2022 stats: 81 games, 1 goal, 24 assists, 20:38 time on ice per game
Cap hit: $4,400,000
Years remaining: 5

Marino had a strong playoff performance in which the Penguins controlled a whopping 70.5% of the expected goals with him on the ice at five-on-five, but played a part in several of the Rangers' goals in Game 7. It would be bold to assume Marino will be the player he was for most of that series instead of the player he has been for large stretches of each of the past two seasons.

His skating and transition skills make him the easiest of anyone on this list to move. That doesn't necessarily mean the Penguins should do it. It's not that he's a must-have player, it's that neither of Chad Ruhwedel or Mark Friedman are equipped for second-pairing duties. Any capable right-handed defenseman in free agency is going to cost nearly as much as Marino is making now.

There is significant untapped potential within Marino, but this past season portrayed him as one of the worst defensemen at helping his team create quality chances. When he starts to play with more decisiveness and attacks the middle of the ice, that could change in a hurry. The Penguins certainly don't want him taking over the No. 1 defenseman role if Letang doesn't return, but with his status up in the air, it wouldn't be wise to move on with an obvious lack of replacements.

Marcus Pettersson
Age: 26
2021-2022 stats: 72 games, 2 goals, 17 assists, 15:39 time on ice per game
Cap hit: $4,025,175
Years remaining: 3

The most likely of the bunch to go is Pettersson. Acquired for Daniel Sprong in 2018, Pettersson has been on the ice for the fewest goals against per hour (2.11) and second-fewest expected goals against per hour (2.04) at five-on-five of any defenseman on the Penguins since joining the team.

He might be slightly overpaid, especially for the role the Penguins deploy him in, but he's the most sure-fire option of the bunch. He can be counted on to go out and stymie mid-to-low-level competition and surprise you with an occasional slick play offensively. He is a bit limited because of his weight and it becomes a problem at the net-front periodically.

Pettersson also makes the most sense to trade of the group, but it doesn't come without its own questions. The Penguins need to find out what they have in P.O Joseph. There isn't anything left for him in the AHL and the Penguins will likely re-sign him. Squeezing some value out of a cheaper deal like the one Joseph will receive could prove beneficial, as long as he is a fit next to Marino. They both like to play with the puck on their stick and that doesn't always mesh when put together. Pettersson has always deferred to Marino and allowed him to handle the majority of puck-moving responsibilities.

Joseph won't have the same impacts as Pettersson defensively, but he could bring more to the table on the offensive side. Considering the difference in money, it seems like the Penguins have no choice but to roll the dice on a Pettersson trade if they need to create more cap space.

Loading...
Loading...