Even though the season is still young, everything indicates that the Pittsburgh Penguins will miss the playoffs for a third straight season, something that hasn’t happened since 2006, when they just missed spring ball for a fourth year consecutive. Thus, general manager Kyle Dubas may well have to do a major cleaning up in his training.
The former Toronto Maple Leafs big man also began liquidating his assets by sending forward Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday in exchange for two draft picks.
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And according to informant Elliotte Friedman of the Sportsnet network, two other players should experience the same fate as Eller: defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor. What’s more, the contractual situations of Noel Accari and Michael Bunting could be obstacles to a possible transaction, even if they apparently interest several teams contending for the Stanley Cup.
As for the team’s stars such as Sidney Crosby, Evgenii Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson, only the latter seems to be a strong candidate for a possible trade, although his salary remains an issue for the club which would like make your purchase.
“Karlsson is under fire locally and internationally,” Friedman wrote in his popular 32 Thoughts. “Johan Garpenlov, long-time general manager of the Swedish league and national team, told Radio Sporten that the defender’s game was too risky for the 4 Nations tournament. But, as his salary drops, it’s not wrong to believe there would be interest. He’s still very, very talented.”
Forward Evgeni Malkin, who played his entire career in a Penguins uniform, told the media on Wednesday that he wanted to stay and finish his career in Pittsburgh.
“It’s my second home here. I’m happy to be here, no matter if we win or lose. I still want to stay here with “Sid” (Crosby) and “Tanger” (Letang). We understand that it’s a difficult time at the moment,” he told the media on Wednesday.
The Penguins are currently sixth in the Metropolitan Division, with a record of 6-9-3. They have a differential of -22, the worst in the entire National Hockey League.
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