As the Penguins prepared for a matchup against the Predators Saturday morning at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, they did so in the aftermath of what Mike Sullivan described adequately by saying, "This is the hard part of the business." 

Sullivan, of course, was referring to the late Friday night trade that sent Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor to the Canucks in exchange for a conditional first-round NHL Draft pick, a familiar face in forward Danton Heinen, a right-handed defenseman in Vincent Desharnais and a forward prospect in Melvin Fernstrom.

Sullivan described both Pettersson and O'Connor as great people, good teammates and players who played significant roles with the Penguins for quite some time. Pettersson had been with the team since 2018 and O'Connor made his NHL debut with the club during the 2020-21 season. 

"They're both good players," Sullivan said. "I think Marcus is just a real, good, solid defenseman and a terrific teammate. OC, I think, there's another level to his game that has yet to be tapped into. There is an opportunity for Vancouver to try to get that out of him ... It's tough, but this is the business. It's Kyle's responsibility and prerogative to try to move our team forward and that's what he's trying to do." 

P.O. Joseph discussed the departures of Pettersson and O'Connor, recalling first meeting the former and spending time in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the latter: 

“It definitely sucks. You lose some friends and people you’ve been together with for so long," Joseph said. "I remember coming in, looking at Petey, same kind of body frame, and how much of a warrior he is and how good of a person he is. I had the chance to play with OC in Wilkes and we’ve been together for five years or so. It’s never easy to lose guys like that, but I just wish them the best.”

Kyle Dubas addressed the trade Saturday, expressing the team's excitement in the return, but also acknowledging the difficulty in trading two players and people like Pettersson and O'Connor.

"Obviously very high-character, high-quality, very popular people in the locker room," Dubas said. "But they're pending free agents and with where we're at, we just have to continue to move down the path of the mission we've set out for the last year or so, which is to continue to stockpile younger players, prospects and draft picks. That's what we did last night. It's sad to see Marcus and Drew go. That's the hard thing about this position and this business at times." 

Dubas provided details as to how the trade came about, explaining that conversations with Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin had been ongoing. The team had particularly expressed interest in Pettersson, who was originally acquired from the Ducks by former Penguins GM and current Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford in December 2018.

"It was an excellent deal that worked out extremely well for the Penguins. There's deep familiarity and appreciation for Marcus and all that he does," Dubas said. "Patrik had come to me earlier in the week. We had been going back and forth about this for a while that he was going to get another asset that he previously wasn't able to offer, that being the prospect, Fernstrom, that he was willing to part with and the first-round pick coming into play as well. So that was the way that materialized." 

In addition to acquiring two NHL contributors as well as an 18-year-old prospect who they had highly rated in last year's draft, the Penguins acquired a first-round pick to give them four first-rounders among the 29 picks they hold over the next three drafts. A total of 15 of those picks will come within the first three rounds over the next three years. That's the most of any NHL team. Dubas said he sees the draft picks as valuable assets, as they give the Penguins options to either execute in drafting impact players or use the picks to acquire players that fit what the team is trying to accomplish. 

"If there are moves that make sense for us, we'll make them," Dubas said. "But I think we'll use this time to gather information and be prepared for the time leading up to the draft and the offseason."